Unit Set Photography: Myles Aronowitz & Cara Howe
B&H Photography Podcast
Photography has plenty of different specialty areas—portraits, sports, fashion, food, still life—to name just a few. In today’s show we’re going to investigate a specialty that involves all these subjects, while calling for a photographer who is technically precise, emotionally intuitive, and practically invisible, all at once. It’s a corner of the industry people rarely consider, but one that holds massive influence over our cultural lives. This is the domain of the Unit Set Photographer: the person responsible for the pictures that sell a film or a show before anyone else has seen...
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Photographing the Winter Games: Jean Fruth
B&H Photography Podcast
Sports photography hinges on freezing peak action—transforming a high-speed blur into a dramatic portrayal of human effort. When you combine that with the unyielding drive of elite athletes on the world stage, the pressure to nail the shot provides an incredible adrenaline rush. In today’s podcast, we discuss the unique challenges of documenting history in the making and unpacking stories from the Winter Games with renowned sports photographer Jean Fruth, recently back from her first Olympics. From a hectic scramble on arrival in Milan—getting to the arena and gearing up as her...
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Pictures in Space, featuring NASA Astronaut Donald Pettit
B&H Photography Podcast
Above Photograph © Donald Pettit, NASA At its best, photography draws from both science and art, to give resulting images a dual purpose—aesthetic innovation and scientific merit. And when that photography happens from the windows of the International Space Station, capturing star trails, city lights, and our blue planet against the void of space, it becomes something truly transcendent. In today’s show, we’re privileged to chat with NASA Astronaut Donald Pettit, a scientist, inventor, and photographer who has spent nearly two years living, working, and making pictures in orbit....
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Two Generations of Top Photo Agents with Jennifer Perlmutter & Michael Ash
B&H Photography Podcast
One of the most polarizing questions in the mind of any photographer is “Should—or shouldn’t I—get an agent?” The role of an agent in a photographer’s career is often misunderstood, leading hungry creatives to think that securing representation is their number one key to success. In truth, the relationship between a photographer and agent is far more nuanced than simply booking more assignments. In today’s podcast, we take a deep dive into this complex alliance in a discussion with two generations of top agents, whose combined careers span from the film-era to the latest in...
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The Ethics of Wildlife Photography with Melissa Groo & Bobby Stormer
B&H Photography Podcast
While its origin is murky, the adage “Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time,” is at the heart of this wide-ranging discussion about ethical practices in wildlife photography. From exotic safaris to local birding expeditions, interest in this subject matter has grown tremendously in recent years. Ever advancing camera technologies and increasing ease of use make stunning pictures more accessible than ever, but when these advantages combine with an unbridled enthusiasm for getting the shot, it can often put wildlife at risk. After defining...
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The Many Seasons of Humans of New York, featuring Brandon Stanton
B&H Photography Podcast
It takes a lot of guts to engage with a stranger on the street, ask probing questions about their struggles, and come away with a portrait and a story as a record of the human connection that was made. Now, imagine repeating this process countless times over 15 years under the moniker Humans of New York (HONY) and watching what started as a passion project take the world by storm. In today’s show, we’re privileged to chat with this 21st century archivist of everyday citizens and their lived experiences. Listen in as HONY’s creator, Brandon Stanton, shares how he transformed street...
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Next Frame: Trailblazing a Philadelphia Photo Community, with CJ Wolfe
B&H Photography Podcast
Picking up a camera is often the start of a life-changing journey. And when it’s combined with a focus on community building, the determination to lead by example, and shrewd entrepreneurial skills—this basic action can have a ripple effect with the potential to change countless lives. In today’s show, we speak with creative community trailblazer CJ Wolfe, who has built a passion for pictures and infectious team spirit into a multifaceted brand that encompasses rental studios, a creative agency, and a non-profit organization with a mission to educate and inspire disenfranchised...
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Crafting Masterful Portraits with Paul Mobley & Ian Spanier
B&H Photography Podcast
Paul Mobley and Ian Spanier have much in common: from starting their respective careers in New York City before relocating to the West Coast, to their knack for forging a human bond with portrait subjects, to an unrelenting drive to generate ambitious commercial assignments while being equally dedicated to complex personal projects. In today’s podcast, Paul and Ian compare notes on their photographic journeys from coast to coast, while discussing their shared inspiration for 20th century portrait masters such as Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, and in Ian’s case, Harry Benson. A few of...
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2025 Photo Gear of the Year, with Kevin Rickert
B&H Photography Podcast
In case you didn’t already know, 2025 marks 10 years since we started the B&H Photography Podcast, making today’s show our tenth annual Photo Gear of the Year episode! A lot of cameras have come down the pike since that first recap, along with a veritable roller coaster of marketing strategies and photographic trends. To follow up on a trend discussed last year, we start out with a nod to point-and-shoots, a craze that, according to Kevin, has “become fever pitch.” To expand on this theme, we look back in time to when digital point-and-shoots were losing ground to the ubiquitous...
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Next Frame: Get Undeniably Qualified for a Photo Career, with Chelsea Mayer
B&H Photography Podcast
“Wow, this is your job? I didn't know that was a job! That's amazing. Can I have this job?” That offhand epiphany neatly sums up the enviable career path of wildlife, adventure, and travel photographer Chelsea Mayer. From an early start with her mom’s camera to her selection for an Ambassador mentorship, before becoming a partner photographer, with Girls Who Click, all the way through to her certifications as a 100-ton boat captain and professional divemaster, the course Chelsea plotted has made her undeniably qualified for a thriving career. In today’s show, we do a deep dive...
info_outlinePhotography has plenty of different specialty areas—portraits, sports, fashion, food, still life—to name just a few. In today’s show we’re going to investigate a specialty that involves all these subjects, while calling for a photographer who is technically precise, emotionally intuitive, and practically invisible, all at once.
It’s a corner of the industry people rarely consider, but one that holds massive influence over our cultural lives. This is the domain of the Unit Set Photographer: the person responsible for the pictures that sell a film or a show before anyone else has seen a frame of it.
During a spirited conversation with photographers Myles Aronowitz and Cara Howe, we pull back the curtain on what it really feels like to toil on set, build trust with talent, and come away with great images under conditions that are rarely in your favor.
In addition to learning the origin stories to their intense, multifaceted careers, we distinguish between work on feature films and tv productions, reveal the secret superpowers of stealth and stillness essential for success on set, describe how to build alliances across an film entire crew, and talk about value of the global shutter to combat banding with LED lights.
Or, as Myles sums things up in a nutshell, “One of the great things about being a still photographer on set is you're basically observing everything. I think of it as a learning experience every day.”
Episode Timeline:
3:26: Defining the role of a unit set photographer and how it fits into a larger film or tv production.
8:24: How Myles first got into photographing stills for movie sets in the analog days.
11:22: Cara’s career path to working on films, joining the union, and becoming a unit set photographer.
16:54: Digging deeper into the multifaced role of still photographer on movie sets.
20:50: Does your work on a film set affect how you experience the finished production?
22:28: Making distinctions between work on a feature film set vs a tv production.
35:40: The importance of relationships with other crew members, from the assistant director to the lighting crew to the sound department.
40:35: Episode Break
41:22: The sound blimp days of working with film and DSLRs before the switch to mirrorless.
52:37: The cameras and lenses Myles & Cara work with on set.
57:12: Booking gigs, work schedules & downtime between jobs in both feature films and tv productions.
1:00:03: Post-production and turn-around time for delivering files.
1:02:41: Pathways for joining the Cinematographers Guild—IATSE Local 600.
1:05:53: Myles’s post-retirement life and the importance of personal work as part of his vision.
1:10:28: Cara’s personal projects and connections to the Hudson Valley art community.
Stay Connected:
Myles Aronowitz Website: https://mylesaronowitz.com/
Myles Aronowitz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mylesaronowitz
Myles Aronowitz Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/mylesaronowitz?fl=pl&fe=po
Myles Aronowitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/myles-aronowitz-0779499/
Myles Aronowitz on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0036938/
Cara Howe Unit Stills Website: http://carahowephoto.com/
Cara Howe Personal Website: https://www.carahowecreative/
Cara Howe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carahowephoto/
Cara Howe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carahowe/
Cara Howe on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1244868/