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A milestone worth pressing pause for: The Dead Pixels Society is marking our 250th episode with the most popular episodes of the year, from AI that actually helps you create less chaos to sales that feel like service instead of pressure. 

Ever found yourself frantically scrolling through thousands of photos trying to find that one perfect shot you know exists somewhere? This frustration sparked the creation of MediaViz AI when founder Troy DeBraal's business partner slammed his phone down in a restaurant after failing to locate a crucial photo of his son. "Why can't you build something that can keep track of all my good photos and get rid of all this junk?" he demanded – and a revolutionary AI photo curation platform was born.

What if everything you've been taught about sales is actually holding you back from extraordinary success? Marc Von Musser, sales expert and founder of Soar and Roar, challenges conventional wisdom with a refreshing perspective that could transform your approach to business.
 
Growing up as the son of a renowned photographer who captured 150 national magazine covers in a single year, Von Musser learned early that success comes not from transactions but from capturing essence and creating value.

Ever wonder how a school photo lab with 600,000 students a year keeps quality high when half the photographers are new each season? We sat down with Robert Ste-Marie, CEO of 36Pix, to explore Eva. This data-driven evaluation platform scores every image so managers can catch problems fast, coach with clarity, and tie rewards to real outcomes. No fluff—just the metrics that move sales: smiles, closed eyes, blur, glasses glare, face shine, and exposure repairability, according to the company.

What does it really take to build a creative career that lasts—from film backs and FedExed portfolios to AI search and virtual production walls? The Dead Pixels Society sits down with commercial photographer and stock photo library owner Stewart Cohen to trace a candid arc across decades of change, revealing what fades, what scales, and what never stops mattering.

And, finally, The Dead Pixels Society sits down with SPAC’s leadership, Coree Cooper and Calvin Harrell Jr., to unpack how a volunteer-driven nonprofit became the world’s largest gathering for school, sports, and volume studios—and why its focus on workflows, profitability, and community sets it apart.
 
Harrell describes how SPAC evolved from film-era hotel meetups into a global hub with attendees from Europe, South Africa, and beyond. 

 

Cooper also dives into SPAC’s culture of access: scholarships for first-timers, 15-minute coaching sessions that often turn into year-long mentorships, and the live-voted King/Queen of the Hill session where peers pitch ideas that save or make real money

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Independent Photo Imagers
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Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau
Announcer: Erin Manning