The One Question That Helped Rich-Joseph Facun Find His Photographic Voice, E116

In this episode, Matt sits down with Rich-Joseph Facun, a celebrated American documentary photographer, former photojournalist of 15 years, and founder of the independent publishing imprint Liars Corner. In this conversation we discuss his three monographs: Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804, the ethics of street and portrait photography, photographing strangers in Trump-era Appalachia, walking away from photojournalism, finding your photographic voice, and why the global photo book industry urgently needs more marginalised and Indigenous voices.Other things we discussed:Street portraiture, approaching strangers, and consent in documentary photographyGrowing up in a Southern Baptist military family and door-to-door evangelism as training for portrait workPhotographing Trump-supporting Appalachia as a person of colour with a trans childThe viral portrait of a stranger with a damaged forehead tattoo crying on the streetQuitting photojournalism after 15 years and the identity crisis that followedWhy he stopped using Rembrandt lighting and the decisive moment in his portrait workHow to find your photographic voice after mastering the craftSelf-publishing a photo book vs pitching to independent publishersThe making of Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804Launching Liars Corner as an Indigenous-owned photo book imprint in AppalachiaElitism, gatekeeping, and barriers to entry inside the global photo book publishing industryMentoring emerging documentary photographers and funding their first monographsWhy awards, accolades, and staff photographer positions stopped matteringRich-Joseph FacunInstagram: https://instagram.com/facunWebsite: https://facun.comImprint: https://liarscorner.press____________________________________Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!Support the showThank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. Join The Communityhttps://www.mattjacob.co/insidersMy Newsletterhttps://www.mattjacob.co/archiveWebsite:https://themoodpodcast.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay