The Dead Pixels Society Podcast

Hosted by Gary Pageau

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Episodes

279

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

News, information and interviews about the photo/imaging business. This is a weekly audio podcast hosted by Gary Pageau, editor of the Dead Pixels Society news site and community. This podcast is for a business-to-business audience of entrepreneurs and companies in the photo/imaging retail, online, wholesale, mobile, and camera hardware/accessory industries. If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email host Gary Pageau at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com. For more information and to sign up for the free weekly newsletter, visit www.thedeadpixelssociety.com.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 12, 2026Episode 27928 min

How Mixbook uses AI to tell real stories, with Andrew Laffoon

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! Your camera roll isn’t a memory system, it’s a backlog, and the bigger it gets, the harder it is to turn real moments into something you can actually revisit. Gary Pageau of The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Mixbook CEO and co-founder Andrew Laffoon as Mixbook hits its 20th anniversary. We dig into a question that matters to anyone who cares about photography, printing, or preserving family history: What makes a photo book feel like a story? Laffoon gets specific about the real friction points that stop people from finishing photo books. Years ago, the problem was missing the right shots. Now it’s the opposite: thousands of images, multiple shooters, and no clear starting point. He walks us through Mixbook’s new Story Mode, an AI photo book workflow that starts with a prompt, interviews the customer to capture intent and tone, then proposes structure, selects scenes, lays out spreads, and writes narrative text that’s meant to sound like your voice. We also talk craftsmanship, why “the last five percent” is most of the work, and why AI has to feel helpful rather than generic, creepy, or oddly robotic. Laffoon also discusses the market, too: who the “chief memory officer” is, why younger generations are printing more than you might think, and why the industry still struggles with awareness compared to TikTok and short-form video. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

August 5, 2026Episode 27824 min

A privacy first photo network can still feel social, with Darin Myman, Myseum.ai

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! Your camera roll is overflowing, your group chats are chaos, and the biggest platforms keep getting weirder about data, ads, and AI. So what would a modern photo sharing app look like if it started with privacy and still felt genuinely social? Gary Pageau from The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Darin Myman , CEO of Myseum.ai , to unpack Picture Party , a new approach to event photo sharing that’s closer to a private social network than a simple shared album. Myman discusses the real differences: A feed where people can post big batches of photos and videos, add context with captions and tags, and react and comment like the early days of social networking. He explains why Picture Party is built so new members can see everything from the beginning, making it useful not only for weddings and parties, but also for long-term family photo archives that can last for decades and be shared across generations. Privacy is the center of the conversation. Myman talks about the concern that personal images get used for AI training on major platforms, and he outlines a privacy first AI direction that aims to deliver features like automatic tagging and auto album creation without exposing your data or letting it feed giant external models. Also covered are the practical controls that matter in the real world: who can invite others, who can download full size images for printing, view only modes, and moderator tools that can remove content, boot users, or approve posts before they go live. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

July 29, 2026Episode 27722 min

From skill to system: Turning services into scalable companies with Brad Sugars

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! Most businesses don’t fail because the owner lacks talent. They stall because the owner becomes the product, the manager, the decision desk, and the emergency contact all at once. That’s when growth turns into stress, customers feel delays, and the company becomes impossible to sell. We’re joined by Brad Sugars , founder of ActionCOACH and author of " Pulling Profits Out of a Hat, " to get brutally practical about what separates a skill-based job from a scalable, sellable business asset. Sugars and The Dead Pixels Society Podcast host Gary Pageau talk profit margins over vanity revenue, and why you should know exactly what it costs to keep the doors open per hour. Sugars breaks down the mindset shift from “I’m great at my craft” to “I’m building a machine that delivers outcomes,” including the trap of owner dependency and how systems, documentation, and packaging make a business transferable. If you’re in a creative or service industry like photography, printing, or local retail, the conversation on recurring revenue hits hard: one-off customers create volatility, while the right customer model can create month-in, month-out stability. Sugars also digs into leadership stages and hiring: Why early growth needs doers, why the next stage needs managers, and why real scale demands thinkers and an executive team. He lays out the clearest signs you’ve become the bottleneck, how to set goals that actually force growth, and why hiring people better than you is the only way to stop limiting your company. Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

July 22, 2026Episode 27621 min

How a travel photographer built an audience without algorithms, with Gary Arndt

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! Travel photography looks glamorous from the outside, but the business behind it has been quietly collapsing for years and the pandemic only sped it up. We sit down with award-winning travel photographer Gary Arndt, creator of Everything Everywhere Daily , to trace the real arc: Starting with a high-end Nikon he didn’t know how to use, improving through sheer volume and deliberate practice, and building an audience by posting a photo every single day back when blogs and RSS were the center of online discovery. Then the ground shifted. Phones put “good enough” cameras in every pocket, travel magazines thinned out, newspaper travel sections vanished, and more publications leaned on stock imagery and tourist boards instead of assignments. We dig into how platform algorithms narrow what gets rewarded, why context-heavy photos can lose to easy “wow” landscapes, and how that pressure shapes everything from creative choices to where photography tours end up. Arndt explains why he pivoted to podcasting in 2020 and why audio still feels like the old internet: no algorithm deciding what shows up next, a direct subscription relationship, and a format that compounds over time. He breaks down his daily workflow, how he never runs out of topics, and what monetization looks like with host-read ads and strong CPMs, plus why a listener relationship can be deeper than likes on a feed. Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

July 15, 2026Episode 27534 min

How FilterPixel uses AI to cull and deliver event photos faster, with Aayush Arora

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! Your camera can shoot 3,000 sharp photos in a day. So why does delivery still take a week? We sit down with Aayush Arora , CEO and founder of FilterPixel , to unpack the real “last mile” problem in professional photography: what happens after the shutter click. The bottleneck is not capture, it is the post-production workflow, especially photo culling and image selection when modern cameras produce tons of near-duplicate keepers that all look “good.” We trace the personal moments that pushed Arora toward building AI tools for photographers, then get specific about what makes culling so brutal: repeated sittings, decision paralysis, and the challenge of choosing the best frame from bursts where expressions change by millimeters. From there, we dig into how FilterPixel approaches AI photo culling with genre-aware criteria, why weddings and sports should not be judged the same way, and how transparency builds trust when an algorithm is picking images for your brand. Privacy is a major theme too. Arora explains consent-driven model training, retention policies, and why a clear privacy policy matters more than the simplistic “offline is safer than cloud” argument. We also explore AI editing as automation for redundant tasks like white balance and basic color correction, not a replacement for creative taste, plus event-ready tools like branded frames, live galleries, and QR-code sharing aimed at same-day delivery for conferences and high-volume shoots. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

July 8, 2026Episode 27424 min

How Dakis connects POS, online orders, and lab workflows, with Pat Hugron

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! Your customer starts a photo order on their phone, asks a question in store, pays at the counter, and expects everything to “just work.” Most retailers cannot deliver that simple experience because their POS, e-commerce site, kiosk, and lab workflow are stitched together from different systems, each with its own SKUs, pricing, and payment records. Gary Pageau of The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Pat Hugron, Vice President of Operations and R&D at Dakis, to unpack how unified commerce for photo retailers is meant to fix the daily grind of reconciliation, duplicate inventory, and channel confusion. We trace Dakis’s long path from early product recommendation tech to building tools for camera stores, photo labs, and specialty retailers who need a single platform. Hugron shares what has changed in production over the years, why outsourcing the long tail of photo gifts can be healthier than trying to make everything in-house, and why “seamless” matters as much to the lab as it does to the customer. We also dig into the return of film, why the resurgence surprised so many stores, and how better film processing workflow and delivery can keep customers engaged long enough to actually order prints. Then we get practical about what “unified” means: one product catalog across online and in-store, a save-and-send quote that lets staff build a cart and email a payment link, and unified data that can support smarter follow-up and add-on sales. Hugron also previews what is still coming, including purchase orders, receiving, and serial number tracking, plus how retailers can get hands-on training at the IPIC boot camp. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

July 1, 2026Episode 27323 min

ScheduLink replaces your whiteboard and Post It Notes, with Seenu Yellapu and Michael Rak

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! Spreadsheets, whiteboards, and “the one person who knows everything” can keep a volume photography studio running, right up until the moment they stop scaling. Gary Pageau of The Dead Pixels Society is joined b y Seenu Yellapu (ScheduLink) and Michael Rak (Artona Group) to talk about the overlooked side of school and volume photography: the operational admin work that surrounds every shoot, from scheduling and staffing to task handoffs, notes, and repeatable processes you can actually trust. We get specific about what breaks with Excel: no true data ownership, multiple versions of truth, and tribal knowledge that disappears when staff turns over. Then we unpack how ScheduleLink approaches studio workflow automation by building your SOPs into the platform with templates, default values, task assignments, and visibility across each step. We also talk about onboarding reality, why implementation can feel daunting, and how importing data and iterating while you use the system can make adoption faster for real working studios. Privacy and student data security come up as a serious differentiator. We discuss role-based access, limiting what contract photographers can see, and secure ways to collect school data without leaving it scattered across inboxes and laptops. Finally, we look ahead to profitability and decision making: combining operational data with revenue inputs so studios can understand which schools are truly profitable, not just busy. If you care about volume photography operations, studio management software, and running a tighter production season, subscribe, share this with a studio owner, and leave a review. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

June 24, 2026Episode 27227 min

Build a brand story people actually remember, with Katherine Touminen

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! You can put a famous face next to a brand and still end up with marketing that goes nowhere. What actually moves people is trust, specificity, and a story that feels human, especially in the photo imaging industry where the product is memory, emotion, and identity. Gary Pageau sits down with Katherine Tuominen from C atalyst Brand Strategy to unpack ethical marketing in a practical way: serving the customer’s needs, avoiding misleading edits or “Franken-grabbing,” and building a message you can repeat without sounding robotic. We get concrete about brand storytelling, from finding the turning point that sparked the business to adding the gritty details that make someone say, “I’ve been there.” Tuominen shares how to keep your core narrative consistent while refreshing it with timely lenses like AI, anniversaries, and local moments. We also talk photography business marketing beyond discounts, including how to sell the value of photo printing, photo books, wall art, and prints by leaning into tactile, analog appeal. If you’re thinking about in person events, we break down “event activations,” strategic partnerships, sponsors, and how to track ROI with QR codes, UTMs, email nurture campaigns, and clear objectives. Wrap it all with a hard truth for small business owners: growth often requires saying no and focusing on what actually moves the needle. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

June 17, 2026Episode 27124 min

Pinterest Marketing For Photo Businesses, with Julia Bocchese

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! The Dead Pixels Society Podcast host Gary Pageau interviews Julia Bocchese of Julia Renee Consulting , an SEO, AI search, and Pinterest consultant in Philadelphia, about how she shifted from corporate publishing and a travel photography site (plus a Viking Age history master’s) into nine years of SEO and Pinterest work. She explains Pinterest is closer to Google than social media because it’s a visual search and discovery engine designed to drive users off-platform to websites, supporting long-term traffic and conversions rather than follower-based engagement. They discuss Pinterest’s focus on user-requested features like hiding AI-generated content, improving on-platform shopping, and an ad model aligned with search intent where ads can be saved and keep driving traffic after spend stops. Bokeyze recommends testing multiple content types over 3–6 months, linking pins directly to relevant website pages, using captions for muted video, and optimizing site speed, UX, and calls-to-action. She highlights Pinterest Trends, seasonal posting 3–6 months ahead, demographics (about 70% women, strong 30–50), and limitations for analytics with third-party sites like Etsy. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning

June 10, 2026Episode 27031 min

The Work Behind Great Sports Photos, with Kirby Lee, USA Today

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! The Dead Pixels Society host Gary Pageau interviews sports photographer Kirby Lee of USA Today Sports about his path from an electrical engineering student to covering major events including the NFL, Olympics, and upcoming FIFA World Cup matches in Los Angeles. Lee explains how a beginning photography class and constant shooting of high school sports led to newspaper work at the LA Times as a writer, then a shift toward photography, with his writing background improving his ability to anticipate storylines and caption images. He discusses transitioning from film to digital around 2003, joining WireImage, and the demanding preparation, gear, remotes, and selective shooting required for pro sports. Lee recounts an accidental iconic NFC Championship photo and describes Olympic pressure, including a 2008 100m final where his camera buffered due to memory card speed, emphasizing equipment reliability. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat , the proven texting platform. ShareMe.Chat ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE Independent Photo Imagers IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp . Contact us at gary@thedeadpixelssociety.com Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network , and Facebook group, The Dead Pixels Society . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau Announcer : Erin Manning