This week Brad & Jen sit down with Austin Trenholm, a wedding photographer of nearly two decades and the co-founder of Good Light Presets. Between shooting weddings across the country and building editing tools with his business partner Cody, Austin has had a rare front row seat to how thousands of photographers edit, the trends they chase, and the styles they grow into.
That vantage point makes him the perfect person to untangle a question every photographer wrestles with: what is style, how do you actually develop it, and what is the difference between borrowing a look and building a voice? Austin's throughline is that YOU are the differentiator. We are all shopping at the same retailers, using the same gear and the same presets, so style is less about the ingredients than how you combine them.
What starts as a talk about editing turns into decisiveness, boundaries, creative burnout, and the freedom to experiment without blowing up your business.
We also explore:
- Why you, not your gear or your presets
- Editing like a home chef
- From a camera at fourteen to nearly twenty years behind the lens
- How Goodlight started
- Why your voice, not one rigid style, is the thing that should stay consistent
- The "I could never wear that" story we tell ourselves, and how to drop it
- A simple reference-card trick to commit to a look and stop second guessing
- Why boredom and monotony cause burnout as much as overwork
- Chasing timelessness while working in an industry built on trends
- Why no AI culling: your voice lives in choosing every frame yourself
Connect with Austin
Website: https://www.trenholmphoto.com/
Instagram: @trenholmphoto
Good Light Presets: https://goodlightpresets.com/ @goodlightpresets
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Chapters
(00:00) Welcome and why style is a lot like fashion
(04:52) A camera at fourteen and a summer in New Mexico
(08:12) How Good Light Presets started
(10:42) Editing like a home chef
(13:01) Why your voice, not one style, should stay consistent
(15:33) To find a style, try on every style
(21:23) A reference-card trick to commit and stop second guessing
(26:06) Decisiveness, film cameras, and a cohesive voice
(31:44) Stop worrying about your voice and just work
(34:58) Boundaries, creativity, and leaving the 50mm at home
(37:46) Burnout, boredom, and keeping it fun for twenty years
(42:31) Is it the gear? The onion and the sharp knife
(50:32) Chasing timelessness in a trend-driven industry
(58:57) Where the industry is heading and the swing back to pretty
(01:05:37) How do you know when you are growing?
(01:15:02) Developing a voice: cull your own work and know what you love
Keywords: wedding photography, photography editing, presets, developing your style, finding your voice, Lightroom, film aesthetic, creative burnout, photographer mindset, decisiveness, wedding photography trends, Goodlight Presets, photographer education
