⭐️ Listener favorite - Trying to “Elicit Emotion” in Your Photography? Listen In.

⚠️ This episode is from the Intentional Documentary® era. I’ve kept it in the archive because it challenges a message that was everywhere in the documentary family photography community at the time: that every image must 'elicit emotion' in order to be a 'good' photographer.

While my language and lens have evolved, this soapbox moment still holds — especially if you’ve ever felt the pressure to conform, contort your voice, or chase industry trends that don’t actually reflect your why.

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Your pictures don’t have to move the masses. 

Remember the joy of picking up prints from the drugstore before you knew anything about “good photography”?

In this episode, I get on my soapbox about the pressure photographers feel to make every image emotionally powerful — to elicit a universal reaction.

But here’s the truth: not every picture needs to move everyone. And chasing that goal might actually disconnect you from your voice — the way you see. 

I talk about falling back in love with your work, flaws and all, and share two real-life examples that challenge the myth of the “perfectly emotional photo.”

Whether you’re photographing for yourself or for clients, this episode is your permission slip to stop performing and start feeling again.

Topics covered: 

• Why “does it elicit emotion?” is the wrong first question
• Reconnecting with the joy of early photography (before critique culture)
• The pressure to create universally moving images
• Photography as preservation, not performance
• Who’s the real viewer of your work?
• When technical skill overshadows emotional truth
• Stories of photos that meant everything to one person — and nothing to others
• The emotional cost of creative perfectionism
• A personal challenge to fall in love with your imperfect pictures

Access the show’s legacy resources here: → dangerouslygoodstories.com/intentional-documentary-podcast-archive