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The story of Improve Photography

Short Bio: Jim Harmer is the founder of Improve Photography. He is a well-known internet entrepreneur, and Youtube creator who has built up dozens of successful sites and attracted tens of millions of pageviews.  He is a co-owner of the entrepreneurship and internet business site IncomeSchool.com where he teaches others how to create successful online businesses.

Jim founded Improve Photography in 2010 and owned the site for nearly a decade.  From 2012 to 2016, he hosted the runaway success Improve Photography Podcast each week, and over 1 million photographers from around the world followed him on social media.  Jim has been ranked in the top 10 most popular photographers in the world.  His landscape and portrait photography work has been published in some of the world's largest publications.  Jim is a prolific blogger, running a network of passive income blogs in a variety of niches other than photography.

Here's a little from Jim on how the site was created…

In 2009, I graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho and then began law school in Florida.  All day long during law school, I read cases where the litigants were willing to ruin one another's lives for money, or I'd go to the courtroom when I worked at the prosecutor's office and pour over the disgusting details of criminal prosecutions.  I found that the only things that helped me see the good things in life were (1) my wife and kids, and (2) going out at night to do landscape photography.

This is my first published photo

I soon realized that photography was what made me HAPPY, so after graduating from law school and passing the bar, I gave up my career in law and chose to pursue photography full time.

I have been blessed to see so many people enjoy my photography.  My photos have been purchased by fine art buyers and businesses, and have been published by well known publishers such as Reader's Digest, Nikon USA, Time, as well as other magazines and newspapers.

I love all different kinds of photography, but I still consider myself a landscape photographer.  There's just nothing like waking up at 4AM to get in position for the morning light in the mountains.  At the same time, I do a lot with lighting and studio photography, and I enjoy that too.  Because I enjoy so many different types of photography, I haven't pigeon-holed this website into just landscape or just portrait photography.  I write about it all!

There are HUNDREDS of photography articles on ImprovePhotography.com, and I don't want you to miss out on my best bits if you're new, so I wrote this list of “The Best of ImprovePhotography.com“.

On a personal note….

I live in Star, Idaho, USA.  I have an AMAZINGLY supportive wife, Emily, and three children: Ruger (8 years old), and Cole (6 years), and Faith (1 year).  I distinctly remember telling Emily one night during law school that I was considering not practicing as an attorney, but instead continuing my work as a professional photographer.  I think a lot of people wouldn't have understood that, but as a testament to Emily's character, she supported me 100% and has made it all possible.  What a woman!

Aside from my photography, I love playing tennis, sneaking in a game of airsoft on Saturday mornings, renovating my house, and playing with my kids.

In 2019, Jim Harmer sold Improve Photography to a great new team who will take the site to a new level.

Photographers love Improve Photography

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