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How to prep for a portfolio review
I have no recollection of my first-ever portfolio review. I must have been too traumatized, or I was so overconfident I couldn’t see the buzz saw I was walking ...
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Sustainability and the future of print: Dan Milnor talks POD
I am fortunate to have parents who loved the great outdoors. My father’s nickname, in fact, was directly tied to his love of wild places (BOJ, for Big Outdoor ...
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The joy of making test books (yes, Dan Milnor says joy)
Let me reverse the narrative right away. Making test books isn’t arduous. Making test books is fun.
This might seem counterintuitive, but as someone who has made and continues to ...
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Dan Milnor on how we’ll photograph, print, and publish in 2026
They say time moves faster as you get older. At fifty-seven, I can tell you—it’s no joke. I’m still scribbling last year’s date in my journal, and suddenly it’s ...
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Merciless and meaningful: editing your year in photos
Behind many of the best photographers is a dazzling array of the best editors. Photographers can be masters of their craft, but might not be able to edit their ...
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One camera, one lens, photography with intention
A few years back, a friend with a successful YouTube channel told me, “Hey, Milnor, make a film and send it to me.”
“I don’t make films,” I said.
“I don’t ...
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Dan Milnor on why stories still matter (20 years later)
“What’s your story?” How many monumental human experiences have emanated from this simple question?
Researchers believe that as far back as 300,000 years ago, our ancestors could speak as we ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: How Printing Got Me Hired as a Photographer
Printing your work helps secure photography jobs. It has for me since 1996. Yes, we are right smack in the middle of the Digital Age, but print has a ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Give Me Mood Over Perfection
“I don’t want to hit print until it’s perfect.”
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this statement, I could buy a mid-level Toyota Camry. I might ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Do, Don’t Watch
“I don’t have time to read.”
I hear this at least once a week, typically when someone sees me reading and decides to let me know that even though they ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: From Capturing Moments to Telling Stories
There is poetry to good street photography. Single frames hold the same power as a single syllable of a strong poem or haiku. Nothing extra or extraneous holds the ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Let’s Talk About Soul
Many of us dream of making creative work our full-time pursuit. But the reality is that most of us creators aren't doing it professionally, and what if that’s actually ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: How to Grow Without Losing Your Soul
Last weekend, I drove south to work on my ongoing New Mexico project. What project, you ask? Well, that’s a bit complicated.
The origins of this project date back to ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Lessons from Antarctica—Simplifying for Success
A year ago, I was headed to Antarctica.
The trip became a reality when a photographer friend arranged for me to gain passage on a ship headed south. Before this ...
Inspiration
Creative Advice: Being a photographer wherever you find yourself
In this new series, we will be featuring creative advice from different members of the Blurb community. This post comes from professional photographer Dan Milnor, Blurb's Creative Ambassador. While ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Start Marketing Your Book Now
The marketing of your book begins the moment you decide you have a story to tell. At that very moment. Not the next day or the week after. Not ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Your One-Hour Bookmaking Challenge
If you are passionate about creativity, you’ve probably heard someone say, “You should make a book,” and “It’s so easy.”
Although it can be relatively easy to make a book ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: AI and the Creative Self
As we creep toward the latter stages of 2024, you would be hard-pressed to find a more poignant topic than artificial intelligence. AI has already begun to permeate our ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: The Art of Zine Making
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson once said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” If Thompson had been writing about publications, he would have been referring to the ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: How to handle critique
During my college years, I spent hours upon hours in the library stacks looking through back issues of photography magazines from Europe, Asia, the United States, and elsewhere. Because ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: How to sell your book
One of the most challenging questions I face at Blurb is, “Well, I finally finished my book. Now how do I sell it?” This tops the list in a ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Lessons from an Expedition
On January 12, 2024, I returned from an expedition to Antarctica. Before I can break down the lessons learned from this little adventure, there is something else that needs ...
Events & News
Paris Photo 2023
Editor’s note: Dan Milnor, Blurb’s creative evangelist, spent a week in Paris at some of the world’s most premier photo and book events. This is what he learned.
It has ...
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Hit the Books with Dan Milnor: Creative Journals
“Are you going to make your journal available for purchase?”
I’ve been hearing this question quite frequently over the past few days after making a post about my latest Blurb ...