Dan Westergren of www.danwestergren.com and I were recently exchanging emails about his PhotoBizX premium membership.

It turns out he has a love of cycling, like I do, used to race and even spent time in South Australia from the USA while on assignment for wait for it… National Geographic!

My ears pricked when I read this and I poked a few more questions at Dan via email and he told me…

I'm a NatGeo and commercial Travel photographer, stuck at home trying to decide how to make money without getting on an airplane.

Right now, I'm putting my efforts towards commercial real estate/architectural things but honestly don't know what's going to work out. I keep listening to the podcasts about Facebook marketing for portraits etc. thinking maybe that's the way to go.

Another email exchange with more questions from me and he said…

For more than 20 years I was Director of Photography for National Geographic Traveler Magazine. I had an Editor who let me photograph a couple of stories a year, usually adventure type stories. I was lucky to photograph stories for the magazine such as Climbing Mt Blanc, The Matterhorn, and skiing to the North Pole.

Following that exchange, I invited him on for this recording and am glad I did!

Here’s some of what we cover:

• A look into Dan's career as a travel photographer


• How travel magazines work


• Conceptualizing storylines and the photos that go with each story


• Is Dan a real-life Water Mitty


• Dan's main role as a director of photography for NatGeo


• The difference between National Geographic Magazine and National Geographic Traveler


• Understanding the language of photography for travel magazines


• Dan's photo assignments


• Dan's thought process for capturing perfect travel photographs


• Camera gear Dan takes on an assignment


• How Dan found himself on unusual photography adventure trips


• How to determine what to shoot for a magazine story


• Successful photographers are hyper-aware of how they are framing their pictures


• People's heads in photos should not be the same size


• How Dan learned what types of photos magazines need


• How to create an interesting magazine layout


• The wide-angle disease and how to avoid it


• Dan's editing process


• Why Dan never deletes a photo


• A peek into the world of how stories get published in magazines


• How writers and photographers work together to come up with a travel story


• Do photographers have any say about what goes into the articles written by writers


• How Dan's commercial real estate photography business is doing


• Figuring out how to take photos without leaving home


• Finding unique opportunities to stand out from the competition


• What Dan will be doing in 12-months time, hopefully


• Dan's goal for his architecture photography business

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to read your feedback and comments. Was there something from this interview that struck a chord, inspired or motivated you?

Will you take any kind of action after hearing what Dan had to share?

The beauty of being a photo editor or a director of photography at National Geographic is that you're really shaping the magazine, you're not just finding pictures. – Dan Westergren

Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Dan or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below too.

Whenever I go to a place, I'm treating that destination as a background. I want to meet somebody who is there.