Dawn Heumann Photography

Yes, you have the eye, but do you have the social skills?

Directing goes far beyond creating amazing images or knowing how to light a set. Understanding the psychology that’s going on at the monitor is the way to get clients coming back every time.

There is a lot riding on every production, big or small. The client or agency at that monitor is carrying weight that has nothing to do with what you’re seeing through your lens. And even when everything looks great on set, that doesn’t mean someone isn’t quietly carrying a concern they haven’t voiced yet.

The move is to notice it. Then pull them in. Give them a window into your thinking, a place to land their opinion. Make them feel like they built this with you.

This is the invisible skill nobody talks about. And it might be the most important thing you do on set.

Clients and agency folks: what do you actually wish Photographer understood about what you’re carrying on?

I have a freebie that breaks down the three lanes of any production and how to read the monitor in my link in bio if you care to dive deeper.

To every mother who let me catch them instead of pose them:

There is something that happens when a mother stops performing for the camera and just... is. It takes trust. It takes a moment when everyone forgets to be aware of the lens.

Those are the images I live for.

But before we get there, I get to witness something most people never see. The invisible work it took to arrive. Children soothed, details managed, the whole room held and warmed before the first frame is even made. Mothers walk onto set and somehow do all of that and still show up fully for the lens and beyond. Connecting, engaging, making everyone around them feel at ease. That kind of strength isn’t always in the photograph, but it’s always in the room.

To the mothers in these frames and the creatives and producers behind them, thank you for giving me that. For letting me be in the room when you were just yourselves.

And to every mother today: I hope someone catches you too.

Having a creative production approach can win or lose you a job.

When there are a lot of unknowns, the budget inflates to cover all of them. That’s not padding, that’s just math. And instead of saying no to a big ask, sometimes you show the client what it actually costs, and then you show them another way in.

The leaner approach: a smaller crew goes out to the ranch for a real, BTS-style day. Capture the place, the light, the actual life of it. Then bring the full crew, talent, and food setup to a closer location for the tight lifestyle and product work. Edit the two together and you’ve got a complete story.

This particular job is a big agency with a big client, but the move scales. Smaller budget, smaller ask, same principle. Two approaches, two real numbers. Let them choose.

Lately I’ve been sitting with this tension.

I love what AI can do. I use it. It’s helpful in a lot of ways.
�But I also feel something else creeping in…

The creative process itself.
�The wandering. The not knowing. The working something out with your hands, your eye, your gut. The FLOW STATE.

That part matters to me more than the outcome. When I crerate with AI I have no connection to it. It’s just another thing in the world. It’s not something from me or of me.

And if we lose the process… what are we actually left with?

Not a hot take. Just something I’ve been thinking about in real time.

Curious where you land on this.
�Does AI support your creative flow… or interrupt it? Or a little of both?

Being on the other side of the camera is a vulnerable position.

I never forget that.

While filming a series of interviews lately, I heard how scared people were to share their stories on camera. And then, in the same breath, how lovely it felt to do it with me.

That moment really stayed with me.

Because it has very little to do with technicalities, and everything to do with how we show up as people.

The pace. The tone. The space we leave for someone to arrive as themselves.

It’s the part of the job I care about most. And I don’t take that trust lightly.

� �

Commercial productions involve far more people and departments than what you see on set. In this reel I’m only scratching the surface.

Marketing/client is much more than “money authority,” but in a 90-second reel there’s only so deep you can go. One thing I do want to say clearly: marketing and client teams often do an enormous amount of work long before production ever begins. They’re looking at consumer trends, market data, and brand positioning while working closely with creative teams to shape how an idea comes to life. By the time the photographer receives the brief, a lot of thinking and collaboration has already happened.

And of course, not every project follows the same structure. Some productions run through agencies, others are client-direct. The mix of titles and responsibilities can shift depending on the project.

I made a free PDF where I go much deeper into how this ecosystem works. I break down the different roles and titles inside the three main lanes of a campaign: marketing, creative, and production. I also talk about client-direct work and how that shifts the lanes and titles. Confusing, right?

And just for fun, I share the embarrassing story of what happened on that big job and how I learned the hard way to start paying much closer attention to those titles and departments.

If you’re curious to dive deeper and learn more about the people behind a production, you can grab the PDF through the link in my bio.

It’s not uncommon for my favorite moments to happen after I’ve already said “cut.”

While we’re paused. Waiting on feedback. Resetting. The talent turn off their acting minds and start interacting.

Whenever possible, I protect that space by continuing to shoot. Some of the most honest moments live there.

On a recent job I heard a term for keeping cameras rolling in those in-between beats. A term I hadn’t used before for something I’ve been doing for years.

DPs and gaffers, I’m curious how common this term is in your world. If you heard it, would you know what it means?

thank you

Most problems on set are not really about the problem.

They are about how we communicate when something is not working. A location falls apart. The needs change. In those moments, the order of conversations and the tone you bring to them matter more than the obstacle itself.

For me, direction is less about having the right answer and more about creating clarity in real time. That is the work and really clear communication is always the answer.

Usually the shot isn’t broken. I am just buried under the pressure, the list, the version of it that I decided on too early.

When that happens, I phone a friend. A trusted crew member who can see the frame without carrying the same weight. Collaboration is not a weakness. It is often the way forward.

Huge shout out to one of my greatest teachers for trusting me and for seeing value in what I had to offer, even when I was still such a greenhorn.

And to and so so many other crew members who are there with ideas and fixes when my brain is melting.

When the shot list keeps growing, it’s tempting to promise everything.

What I’ve learned is that clear, honest expectations protect the work and the people making it.

Under promising creates room to deliver well.
Over promising usually just creates pressure and chaos.

Clarity first. Care always.

When we get stuck, I step into the action. I do it with them.

It changes the energy. It turns direction into shared experience. It also shows me whether what I’m asking actually works or if something bigger picture needs to change.

That’s part of how I direct. It keeps the set moving and breaths life and vulnerability into sticky moments.