EP 03: Conversation Behind The Scenes with Tony Hogrefe

What happens when you stop chasing the perfect image and allow the creative process to evolve?

In this episode of Lensbaby Presents, host Liz Willson welcomes photographer, veteran, and Lensbaby Ambassador Tony Hogrefe for a powerful behind-the-scenes conversation about photography, creativity, storytelling, and healing through art.

Tony shares how a black-and-white film photography class after returning from Iraq changed the direction of his life. What began as an elective became a lifelong creative practice, a way to communicate what could not always be spoken, and a path toward making meaningful portraiture.

Together, Liz and Tony explore why photographers often get stuck trying to force an image to match the vision in their head, and why letting go can create more freedom, better work, and more meaningful results.

Tony also discusses his ongoing Vestiges of Service project, a portrait series focused on the lives combat veterans lead after war. Through intentional conversations and handcrafted editorial portraits, he explores memory, grief, brotherhood, reconciliation, post-traumatic stress, and the human stories that continue long after military service ends.

You will also hear how Tony uses Lensbaby lenses, including the Velvet 85, Sweet 35, Sweet 50, Sweet 80, Double Glass, Edge 80, and Twist 60, to create soft, emotional, memory-like images that help viewers focus on what matters most in the frame.

Whether you are a portrait photographer, creative professional, veteran, storyteller, or someone seeking more creative freedom behind the camera, this conversation is an invitation to get out of your own way, trust the process, and make work that feels true to you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

● How to let go of rigid expectations in photography

● Why the creative process matters as much as the final image

● How intentional camera movement can expand creative expression

● How photography can become a tool for personal expression and reflection

● How to create portraits that reveal a person, not just a physical appearance

● Why client connection is essential for meaningful senior portraits

● How Lensbaby lenses can add softness, selective focus, emotion, and visual storytelling

● The story and mission behind Tony Hogrefe’s Vestiges of Service portrait project

● Why creative risk and failure are necessary parts of growth

● What it means to “shoot extraordinary”

Connect with Tony Hogrefe

Follow Tony on Instagram: @tony.hogrefe.photography

Search for Brass and Glass Studio to find more of his work and connect with him online.EP-03Conversation-Behind-The-Scenes-with-Tony-Hograve.txt

Explore creative lenses, optics, and OMNI effects at Lensbaby, and use code PODCAST for 10% off as mentioned in the episode.EP-03Conversation-Behind-The-Scenes-with-Tony-Hograve.txt

If this conversation inspired you, leave a comment below: What helps you get out of your own way creatively?

Subscribe for more conversations with photographers, Lensbaby Ambassadors, visual storytellers, and artists who are redefining what it means to shoot extraordinary.

Chapters

00:00 Letting Go in the Creative Process

01:40 Intentional Camera Movement and Creative Frustration

03:13 Finding Freedom Beyond the Final Result

03:48 Why Lensbaby Encourages Creative Experimentation

05:33 Welcome to Lensbaby Presents

05:59 How Tony Hogrefe Started Photography

06:51 Falling in Love With Black-and-White Film Photography

07:36 From the Marine Corps to Photography

09:03 Teaching Photography and Sharing Knowledge

10:47 “I Want to Make Something Pretty”

11:13 How Photography Helped After Iraq

12:21 Landscape Photography, Quiet, and Meditation

12:58 Using Portraiture to Say What Words Cannot

14:04 Photography as a Creative Outlet

15:24 Process Creates the Product

16:58 Letting a Photograph Evolve

18:06 Leaving the Photography Studio Behind

18:59 Photograph the Adjective, Not the Noun

21:11 Choosing Work That Protects Your Creative Joy

21:46 Creating Personal Senior Portrait Sessions

22:20 A Book Lover’s Custom Senior Portrait Session

25:35 Experience Creative Freedom With Lensbaby

26:32 How Tony Uses Lensbaby for Portrait Storytelling

27:12 The Velvet 85 for Soft, Feminine Portraits

27:49 Tony’s Favorite Lensbaby Sweet Spot Lenses

28:29 Creating Emotional, Memory-Like Images

30:37 The Vestiges of Service Project

31:17 The Origins of Tony’s Veteran Portrait Project

33:24 Life After War and Post-Traumatic Stress

35:22 Memory, Grief, Brotherhood, and Reconciliation

35:43 The Portrait Process With Combat Veterans

37:25 Goal: A Veterans Day 2027 Exhibit

38:32 Creating a Traveling Photography Exhibition

40:43 Finding Veterans for the Project

41:47 The Story Behind a Veteran Portrait

43:22 New Creative Projects and Senior Portrait Ideas

43:44 Creating a Forensics-Inspired Senior Portrait Session

45:37 Experimenting With Light Painting

46:23 Why Creative Clients Make Better Work

47:06 Saying No to Work That Drains Your Passion

48:44 Learning Through Failure

50:15 One Lens, One Subject, and 24 Hours

51:18 Using Self-Imposed Creative Limitations

53:04 Speed Round: Photography Gear and Rules

53:17 The Gear Tony Loves Most

53:23 The Most Overrated Photography Rule

53:29 What Makes a Photo Instantly Interesting

53:59 A Subject Tony Always Photographs

54:07 Photography Is Better When You Let It Happen

55:09 What It Means to Shoot Extraordinary

56:38 Where to Find Tony Hogrefe

57:39 Final Thoughts: Get Out of Your Own Way

What does extraordinary creative freedom mean to you as a photographer? Our mission is to give photographers the tools to move through their fear of shame, judgement, guilt, and being a part of the status quo. Photography isn't about fitting in. Photography is about discovery, risk, getting out of the box, saying no to what everyone else is doing and being EXTRAORDINARY as defined by you.

We believe that creativity isn't about what THEY do. Photography is about what YOU want to do!

What does being a photographer mean to you?

How do you #ShootExtraordinary

Learn more about Lensbaby Https://www.Lensbaby.com

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/Lensbabyusa

Elizabeth (Liz) Willson

Website: elizabethwillsonphotography.com

Instagram: @Elizabethwillsonphotography

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elizabethwillsonphotography

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