DAWN HEUMANN

Last week I hit my wall with AI. My feed had become wall-to-wall content selling tools to automate the creative process: AI designing and editing, replacing the parts of this work I actually love. I posted an in-the-moment, no makeup on, reeling reel about it, and then I took it down 12 hours later. I didn’t delete it because I was wrong to feel it. I deleted it because somewhere in making it, the pressure released. That release was the impetus to dive in deeper, and that’s when I found a talk from the AMAZING @arthurcbrooks - Harvard professor, happiness researcher, and my current personal guru. Here is how he broke AI and creativity down that changed everything for me: Left brain: complicated problems. Analysis, systems, efficiency. Right brain: complex problems. Love, meaning, creativity. AI is the ultimate left brain tool. It’s brilliant at left brain sh*t. BUT it literally sucks at right brain anything. In fact, when used for right brain tasks, the outcome is loneliness, isolation and emptiness. Science you guys. Science. And for whatever reason that talk landed differently than anything I’d heard before. Because I wasn’t scared of AI doing my admin work. I was scared of it coming for my flow state. The part of this work that actually makes me feel like me. Since that switch flipped I’ve been building AI tools like a mad woman. I’ve built hand crafted agents and workflows for: cold outreach, client follow-through, new client research, shot lists from call notes, call sheets, inbox management, and email lists. Like truly building systems to solve the things I actually don’t want to do and do all the time. I put AI in its lane. The way I read light? The half-second decision on set? The trust someone gives me when they let their guard down in front of my lens? Nobody’s building a tool for that. Because it lives in the right brain. And it’s mine. Ours. So here is the new way forward for me: AI for the left brain work exclusively. And with this, I am actually invigorated by it, completely lit up by building these systems because there is actually creativity in building AI agents. (Crazy, right!) What’s on your left brain list? Drop it below.

Commercial productions involve far more people and departments than what you see on set. In this reel I’m only scratching the surface. Marketing/client is much more than “money authority,” but in a 90-second reel there’s only so deep you can go. One thing I do want to say clearly: marketing and client teams often do an enormous amount of work long before production ever begins. They’re looking at consumer trends, market data, and brand positioning while working closely with creative teams to shape how an idea comes to life. By the time the photographer receives the brief, a lot of thinking and collaboration has already happened. And of course, not every project follows the same structure. Some productions run through agencies, others are client-direct. The mix of titles and responsibilities can shift depending on the project. I made a free PDF where I go much deeper into how this ecosystem works. I break down the different roles and titles inside the three main lanes of a campaign: marketing, creative, and production. I also talk about client-direct work and how that shifts the lanes and titles. Confusing, right? And just for fun, I share the embarrassing story of what happened on that big job and how I learned the hard way to start paying much closer attention to those titles and departments. If you’re curious to dive deeper and learn more about the people behind a production, you can grab the PDF through the link in my bio. #commercialphotography #creativeproduction #advertisingindustry

Here’s where the story landed for me on this strange, summer-like November day in San Francisco. We wandered the Mission with no real plan, just letting the neighborhood shape the moments. Test shoots always ask you to stretch in a new way, and for me on this day it meant letting go of the lighting, the crew, and the comfort of full control. Trying to capture real moments with only natural light felt both freeing and unsettling. I’m learning to loosen my grip a bit, to stop taking every frame so seriously, and to trust that an honest moment can be just as compelling as something perfectly composed and lit. Still working on believing that one. Even with the best of talent, this shoot challenged me. Any photographers out there who crave total control and feel exposed without it? Same. What I do know is that I’m grateful for the people who show up with patience and heart. Huge thanks to these amazing humans for spending the day with me while I figured it out, and to @starsmanagement for always bringing the best and most thoughtful talent into the mix. Special thanks to @andrew.paulson for getting me out of my box and to the talent: @crumbalinuh @rhysdesota @ismerami22 @zoe.gardner

My mom built a million-dollar business from scratch and Amazon destroyed it. She was brilliant. She worked hard. It didn’t matter. If you’ve built something real and you’re starting to feel the ground shift underneath you right now, that feeling is not anxiety. It’s information. The creatives who make it through a shift like this aren’t the most talented ones. They’re the ones who took the signal seriously. I’m still figuring out what that looks like. What does the shift look like in your corner of the industry right now and what are you doing about it?

Turns out that’s not the whole story anymore. I’ve learned a lot in almost 20 years and I’m not done learning. Whether you’re busy or slow right now, I think we can all agree that things are shifting. I’m done pretending I have it all figured out. So here I am, in my garage, sharing what I know and diving head first into the unknown. Glad you’re here.

Yes, you have the eye, but do you have the social skills? Directing goes far beyond creating amazing images or knowing how to light a set. Understanding the psychology that’s going on at the monitor is the way to get clients coming back every time. There is a lot riding on every production, big or small. The client or agency at that monitor is carrying weight that has nothing to do with what you’re seeing through your lens. And even when everything looks great on set, that doesn’t mean someone isn’t quietly carrying a concern they haven’t voiced yet. The move is to notice it. Then pull them in. Give them a window into your thinking, a place to land their opinion. Make them feel like they built this with you. This is the invisible skill nobody talks about. And it might be the most important thing you do on set. Clients and agency folks: what do you actually wish Photographer understood about what you’re carrying on? I have a freebie that breaks down the three lanes of any production and how to read the monitor in my link in bio if you care to dive deeper.

To every mother who let me catch them instead of pose them: There is something that happens when a mother stops performing for the camera and just... is. It takes trust. It takes a moment when everyone forgets to be aware of the lens. Those are the images I live for. But before we get there, I get to witness something most people never see. The invisible work it took to arrive. Children soothed, details managed, the whole room held and warmed before the first frame is even made. Mothers walk onto set and somehow do all of that and still show up fully for the lens and beyond. Connecting, engaging, making everyone around them feel at ease. That kind of strength isn’t always in the photograph, but it’s always in the room. To the mothers in these frames and the creatives and producers behind them, thank you for giving me that. For letting me be in the room when you were just yourselves. And to every mother today: I hope someone catches you too. VO @britt_barrett

Having a creative production approach can win or lose you a job. When there are a lot of unknowns, the budget inflates to cover all of them. That’s not padding, that’s just math. And instead of saying no to a big ask, sometimes you show the client what it actually costs, and then you show them another way in. The leaner approach: a smaller crew goes out to the ranch for a real, BTS-style day. Capture the place, the light, the actual life of it. Then bring the full crew, talent, and food setup to a closer location for the tight lifestyle and product work. Edit the two together and you’ve got a complete story. This particular job is a big agency with a big client, but the move scales. Smaller budget, smaller ask, same principle. Two approaches, two real numbers. Let them choose. #productionlife #commercialphotography #creativedirection

Big space. Tight execution. Shot for @sealy mattresses This production was all about precision. We shot this in a large studio with multiple build outs from the ground up with a ton of intention. Every wall, every surface, every shadow shaped to elevate product and texture. I love when a set like this comes together. The scale gives us room to breathe. The details keep us focused. Polished and human. Controlled and collaborative. Plan with intention. Leave room for surprise. Capture what’s true. Grateful for this team who made it seamless: Production: L’ÉLOI @leloi 
Lighting Tech: Don Loga @donloga 
Digital Tech: Jeremy Bobrow 
Set Design: John Dittrick @johndittrick 
Styling: Aj Helie, Joanie Lapointe
Agency: Adtomic

It’s not uncommon for my favorite moments to happen after I’ve already said “cut.” While we’re paused. Waiting on feedback. Resetting. The talent turn off their acting minds and start interacting. Whenever possible, I protect that space by continuing to shoot. Some of the most honest moments live there. On a recent job I heard a term for keeping cameras rolling in those in-between beats. A term I hadn’t used before for something I’ve been doing for years. DPs and gaffers, I’m curious how common this term is in your world. If you heard it, would you know what it means?

When the shot list keeps growing, it’s tempting to promise everything. What I’ve learned is that clear, honest expectations protect the work and the people making it. Under promising creates room to deliver well. Over promising usually just creates pressure and chaos. Clarity first. Care always. #onset #productionlife #commercialphotography

Why we wear black on set. #onset #commercialphotography #creativeprocess