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Justin Mott

Justin Mott

@askmott

Justin Mott is an award-winning documentary, editorial and commercial photographer of American origin (Rhode Island) who has lived in Vietnam for almost two decades. With a professional career spanning more than 20 years, he is widely recognized for having carried out more than 100 assignments for The New York Times in Southeast Asia, in addition to collaborating with world-renowned media such as National Geographic, TIME, BBC and The Wall Street Journal. His career also includes a prominent television role as resident photographer and judge on the History Channel's Photo Face-Off program.


Through his educational platform and YouTube channel, AskMOTT, Justin is dedicated to teaching photography from a perspective based on real-world professional experience. Their focus is not on quick tricks or presets, but on helping photographers of all levels develop clarity, intention, and solid habits in their workflow. In addition to his business and teaching work, he is a strong advocate for wildlife conservation, leading long-term projects such as Kindred Guardians, where he documents the efforts of people dedicated to animal and environmental protection.

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Latest video

1

Photography Ethics: I Knew Better and Shot Anyway

Published: Oct 29, 2026 · Duration: 8 min 33 sec · 7.4K views

A critical reflection on photojournalism and travel photography ethics, examining the conflict between editorial assignments and animal welfare.
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Previous videos

19

How to Choose Photos for Your Photography Portfolio

Published: Oct 25, 2026 · Duration: 13 min 14 sec · 3.9K views

Learn how to edit a photography portfolio, select stronger images, and sequence photographs into a story. In this AskMott photography portfolio review, I break down my final 15-image edit of Jason Hooper’s project about musician Brooklyn. A good photograph doesn’t automatically belong in your portfolio.

Natural Light is Enough

Published: Oct 18, 2026 · Duration: 11 min 25 sec · 6.2K views

Natural light hotel photography from a real InterContinental commercial shoot in Yokohama, Japan. Learn how I approach commercial lifestyle photography through light, shadows, scouting, and storytelling. Looking at the photograph that opens this video, you might immediately want to add some light to the model’s face.

Ghost Photographer: Five Minutes to Get the Shot

Published: Oct 11, 2026 · Duration: 11 min · 3.9K views

Ghost photography means shooting commercial stills alongside a video crew when video comes first. Here are seven photography tips for delivering the client’s photographs, working around the crew, and getting hired again. Sometimes you get five minutes to photograph a scene the video team has spent an hour setting up.

Why Street Photographers Keep Taking the Same Photos

Published: Oct 4, 2026 · Duration: 9 min 10 sec · 15K views

How reliable street photography habits quietly become clichés, and how to break the repetition and develop a more original visual voice.

What Bad Street Photography Is Teaching You

Published: Sep 27, 2026 · Duration: 7 min 34 sec · 14K views

Bad street photography can teach you the wrong lessons, especially when respected photographers and camera brands present it as great work. Here’s how to improve your street photography through stronger image selection, honest critique, and visual storytelling. I take plenty of bad photographs.

The Most Overrated Things in Photography

Published: Sep 17, 2026 · Duration: 8 min 2 sec · 7.4K views

Why new gear, contests, followers, photo tours and exotic travel do not make anyone a better photographer, and what actually improves the work.

7 Habits of Exceptional Photographers

Published: Sep 13, 2026 · Duration: 11 min 35 sec · 8.8K views

What makes an exceptional photographer? These seven photography habits separate talented photographers from professionals clients trust and hire again. Good photographs matter.

The French Bag Brand Every Leica Photographer Should Know

Published: Sep 3, 2026 · Duration: 8 min 50 sec · 6K views

Bleu de Chauffe Zoom travel bag review after real-world trips through Japan and the United States. A working photographer tests this French leather carry-on for client shoots, long flights, and everyday travel. I’m not a total gear person, but I do love bags.

10 Things Photographers Should Do Between Shoots

Published: Aug 30, 2026 · Duration: 12 min 43 sec · 6.1K views

What should professional photographers do between shoots? These 10 photography business habits can help you find more work, improve your portfolio, market yourself better, and build a more sustainable photography career. Being a professional photographer involves a lot more than taking photographs.

Brutally Honest Photography Advice for Amateurs and Pros

Published: Aug 22, 2026 · Duration: 9 min 22 sec · 8.3K views

Honest advice for amateurs and professionals after more than twenty years in the industry: improving the work, avoiding gear acquisition, pricing and building a sustainable career.

One Hour, One Leica, One Photo Story in Vietnam

Published: Aug 11, 2026 · Duration: 6 min 38 sec · 6.8K views

A street photography and documentary storytelling session on a Leica M11, shot in one hour in Hanoi, showing the real process when conditions are far from perfect.

The Portrait Technique I Use When Everything Goes Wrong

Published: Jul 23, 2026 · Duration: 9 min 20 sec · 6.9K views

Some of my favorite portraits have been made with nothing more than a window. I've relied on this simple technique while photographing New York Times assignments, NGO stories, and commercial campaigns around the world. It works because it strips away distractions and forces you to focus on what actually matters: light, composition, and your subject.

The Photography Career Advice Nobody Gives You

Published: Jul 9, 2026 · Duration: 9 min 46 sec · 2.1K views

Fifteen years ago, editorial assignments made up about 75% of my income. Today it's around 5%, and I'm not sad about it. I spent years risking my safety for $250 a day, and when things went south for me in one country, a publication I'd given 15 years to didn't have my back.

Dispatches: Moments Are Earned, Not Taken | Northern Vietnam EP. 14

Published: Jul 5, 2026 · Duration: 8 min 58 sec · 1K views

Somewhere in the mountains of northern Vietnam, a young mother let me spend an afternoon in her home. She was part of a massive development project, and my job was to make sure the people at the heart of it didn't get lost in the paperwork. Eleven years later, I'm pulling this assignment out of the archive and telling you how it actually went.

How I Carry a Full Leica Kit Without a Camera Bag

Published: Jul 2, 2026 · Duration: 6 min 13 sec · 3.4K views

How to carry a full Leica kit without a camera bag, using leather pouches tested on a trip to South Korea.

The Leica SL3-P Changed My Mind... Maybe.

Published: Jun 25, 2026 · Duration: 14 min 45 sec · 16K views

A working photojournalist's honest take on the Leica SL3-P after a few days shooting in Vietnam, weighing whether it earns a place back in paid work.

The Only Camera Bag I Decided to Keep This Year

Published: Jun 21, 2026 · Duration: 7 min 9 sec · 4.9K views

A review of the Wotancraft Pilot Series bag he decided to keep this year, and why it earned a place in his working kit despite his initial doubts.

AI Hasn't Made Me Better. It Gave Me Time To Shoot.

Published: Jun 17, 2026 · Duration: 11 min 28 sec · 2.6K views

Most photographers think using AI means faking a frame or letting a machine retouch your work. After nearly 20 years and over 100 assignments for the New York Times, I can tell you the truth nobody mentions: photography was never the hard part. It's everything around it.

Dispatches: Over-Monking It | Laos — New York Times Assignment EP. 1

Published: Jun 12, 2026 · Duration: 7 min 23 sec · 1.8K views

Over a decade ago I was wedged into a packed minivan somewhere in Laos with a few thousand dollars worth of gear on my lap, on assignment for the New York Times. One foot in photojournalism. The other foot getting pulled toward commercial work that paid a lot better.

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