SmugMug Development Lab

Celebrating World Intellectual Property Day: Building our common future with innovation and creativity.

My name is Smrithi Mohan, and I am the General Counsel of Awesome, the incredible company behind your favorites: SmugMug, Flickr, and This Week in Photo. As I sit down to write this blog article for World Intellectual Property Day, I find myself reflecting on the theme of this year’s celebration: “IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity.” Not sure what SDGs are? Neither are a lot of people! Which is why I think this year’s theme is so important, and why this subject is near and dear to me personally.

Sustainable development goals, or SDGs for short, are part of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the UN’s own words, this agreement “provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” At its heart are 17 SDGs around ending poverty and hunger, providing quality healthcare and education, and building sustainable growth and infrastructure.

At Awesome, the world’s best and brightest photography company, I find myself sitting squarely at the intersection of intellectual property and sustainable development—and innovation and creativity have played a pivotal role in getting me here. So, today, I’d like to reflect on how I got here, and what makes this such a special place to be.

The early years: Innovation starts at home.‍

From a young age, my parents instilled in me the ability to see the world through the lens of creativity, emphasizing how we could make a difference and improve people’s lives through innovation. My father, a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, is an inventor with numerous patents to his name, a published author, and a seasoned veteran in the telecom industry and academia. Meanwhile, my mother holds a master's degree in computer science and brought the spirit of innovation not only to her workplace but also to our home, shaping my brother's and my upbringing with the power of creativity.

This early foundation was pivotal in shaping my worldview. Though the concept of sustainable development goals did not exist at the time, when I visited remote villages and slums in parts of India as a child, my eyes were opened to poverty, hunger, and a lack of access to good health, well-being, and quality education. It was through this experiential education my parents gifted me with that I became acutely aware of the vast number of underprivileged children and orphans worldwide. This realization ignited a passion within me to leverage my privilege and resources to create positive change.

With the limited power I had during my high-school years, I founded an organization called Reach Out, where students fostered pen-pal relationships with orphans in underprivileged countries. During a time when the Internet was still in its infancy, I honed my skills in HTML and web design to create a website to showcase our organization's efforts and appeal for donations and partnerships. It was a way to extend our reach and bring something special to a child in a distant corner of the world who lacked the privileges we often took for granted. We fundraised to send care packages to these children, delivering food, clothing, books, and toys, particularly during holidays. What started as a small initiative blossomed into a movement as other high-school students from different schools joined in, spreading our efforts far and wide.

Finding Awesome: How like-minded partnerships can bring SDGs to life.

This profound lifelong passion to leverage my creative and innovative abilities, along with my dedication from a young age to volunteer and give back to the community, has guided me to this extraordinary company, whose values align so closely with my own and where I am genuinely honored to spearhead legal initiatives. Our mission at Awesome is building a better world through the power of photography. Through this creative medium, I am so grateful that we engage in vital missions that align with many SDGs, especially those around climate, sustainability, and environmental impact.

As proud partners with The Conservation Alliance, alongside esteemed organizations like Rivian, REI, and Patagonia (among many others), we are part of Mobilizing for Monuments—a coalition dedicated to protecting our public lands for the benefit of our economy, culture, and way of life. Last month, we leveraged our intellectual-property strength of copyright to create compelling photography and videography, immersing viewers in the essence of these landscapes as we showcased their magic in Washington, D.C. We joined forces with fellow advocates and engaged in meetings with key decision-makers, advocating for national-monument designations and expansions. These endeavors have the potential to safeguard more than three million acres of public lands, highlighting the transformative influence of photography and demonstrating the impactful application of intellectual property, creativity, and a shared commitment to continuously enhance our world and secure our future.

And that’s just in the past year! Looking further back, Awesome’s commitment to environmental sustainability is clear: In addition to being a Climate Pledge signatory, we are proud to have achieved Climate Neutral Certification, demonstrating our dedication to reducing our carbon footprint and combating climate change. The rigorous standards set forth by Change Climate, the managing body of Climate Neutral certification, helped us implement a range of innovative ways to measure, reduce, and offset our carbon emissions. And while we’re now certified, we’re far from done. We're committed to continually improving our sustainability practices to help build a greener, more sustainable future for all. 

Beyond sustainability and climate, Awesome is also focused on other SDGs like gender equality and reduced inequalities, and our people team is constantly reevaluating our company policies to ensure we’re consistent in important programs like pay equity, family benefits, physical and mental healthcare, and work–life balance. We also go out of our way to showcase these principles outwardly, as when we participated in the #InspiringInclusion campaign for International Women’s Day, elevating the stories of remarkable women photographers across the globe. We’re actively building a culture that fosters inspiration, growth, and opportunity for all.

Intellectual property and our common future.

Now, you might be asking what all this has to do with intellectual property? Well, photographers are creators, and creators need the protections of intellectual-property policy to safeguard their art, their memories, and their livelihood. The longevity and sustainability of Awesome and its brands is absolutely essential to ensuring our customers’ photos are safe, now and long into the future. That’s why in addition to our work addressing key SDGs, we are also actively developing an innovation and intellectual-property program here at Awesome. This initiative will harness the value of innovation, intellectual property, design thinking, and creativity to benefit our colleagues, customers, partners, and the world at large. 

World Intellectual Property Day is a reminder to me that each of us must collectively think about and discuss how we can tackle the obstacles facing our world today. The little girl in me, whose eyes were opened to the stark contrast of privilege and disadvantage, and whose world expanded when her parents revealed the impact she could make by thinking beyond conventional boundaries, is overjoyed to be part of a company that encourages me to continue exploring, applying, and building upon the foundation I established during those formative years. 

Each step we take, both individually and collectively, brings us closer to solutions and makes the world a better place. Today is our reminder to keep applying our creativity and innovative power to continue developing intellectual property that serves the betterment of all. The more we do so, the more we can build a brighter, more equitable future for generations to come. Happy World Intellectual Property Day!

My name is Jill Valenzuela Schapiro, and I’m the Chief People Officer at Awesome, the company behind SmugMug, Flickr, and This Week in Photo. I’ve been with the company for thirteen years, growing from Recruiting Director to a C-level executive who oversees our entire people program. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’ve grown an immense amount, but today I’m truly tackling something scary: my first blog. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write, and I have *so* many things to say about this amazing company, but my inner critic often stops me from putting my voice and ideas into the universe. So, in honor of this year’s celebration of International Women’s Day, I’m choosing to step far outside my comfort zone and share part of my story as a woman of Awesome. 

I grew up with a career-oriented mother and saw work as a core part of identity from an early age. Despite this, it took a *lot* of trial and error to discover my own passion and drive, and I found that in tech recruiting—specifically, when one routine cold call led me to a family-owned photography start-up named SmugMug. 

If you’re reading this, chances are you know and love this company just as much as I do today. But at the time, I didn’t know them from a sea of start-ups, and I had three amazing years of recruiting to understand just how special this company was. When they offered me a dream job as their in-house Director of Recruiting, needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity.

As the first member of what was dubbed the “People Team,” I was given the opportunity to grow into a leader overseeing all facets of the employee experience. This was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. There was so much to do that the first few years felt like a blur, but I had established myself as a senior leader in the company, began building a people program from scratch, and for the first time in my life, I was passionate about my work. What I was doing felt important and challenging. I loved my job, and I had never been happier. Then I unexpectedly became pregnant. 

I need to be honest up front: Having kids was never something I planned for. In fact, I was terrified of being a mom. When I saw the positive pregnancy test, it felt like time froze, and I knew at that moment that, despite my fears and not feeling ready or equipped to be someone’s mother, I was going to have a baby. As my pregnancy progressed, I felt conflicted: While I was surrounded by people celebrating this momentous milestone in my life, I mostly felt anxious because, like many women, I wanted to have it all—a successful career *and* the ability to be a great mother. The societal pressure on women to achieve a perfect balance between work and family is immense, and, for me, it meant a lot of internal struggles and self-doubt. 

Although I knew the kind of company I worked for, and constantly boasted about our incredible work–life harmony and support systems, what I experienced as I entered this new phase of my life still amazes me. As a new parent I was able to take a generous parental leave that I even extended a bit when I realized I needed more time with my son. I created a flexible schedule that allowed me to have a productive work life and a present home life. I even pursued therapy to help me talk through my own conflicted feelings, all with the full and enthusiastic support of my company.

Importantly, it wasn’t just the policies in place, but the compassion I experienced in the day to day that blew me away. On one occasion, my son, dressed in full Batman attire, appeared behind me on camera during an executive Zoom call. Naturally, I felt flustered and panicked that I was disrupting our work—but just then, our CEO Don MacAskill exclaimed, “It’s Batman!” and encouraged my son to come closer so everyone could say hello to the caped crusader. He was greeted with genuine enthusiasm and laughter, and my fears were immediately calmed. These moments, and so many others like them, have allowed me to continue unapologetically prioritizing my family and well-being while pursuing my career. 

I recognize that not every company operates like Awesome. But that’s why I take my role here all the more seriously. As a woman and an executive, I carry an enormous amount of privilege, and I want to use that to ensure we’re creating equitable experiences for all the women who work here, today and into the future. Today, that looks like braving my fears and writing a blog—sharing my story and elevating the stories of other amazing women I work with. But in the big picture, it’s a team effort, every day.

I am fortunate to work with a world-class People Team. They are fiercely committed,  hard working, and deeply empathetic. Together, we have continued to raise the bar every year on what it means to be a people-first organization. As a team, we’ve worked hard to define career levels and promotion processes. We provide coaching for our managers to ensure career-growth opportunities are accessible throughout the entire organization. We’re focused on taking an already generous parental-leave policy and evolving it, to include structured planning before and after that leave so our newly returning parents can better manage this momentous time in their lives. And we’ve grown our employee benefits to encompass mental health, too, offering company-sponsored therapy and coaching sessions to our entire employee population. 

In celebration of this year's International Women’s Day, I am so proud to represent this company as one of its leaders, and to share the stories of other amazing women I work with. I feel a tremendous amount of gratitude as I look around at the people I’m fortunate to work beside. Together, we support each other, challenge each other, and build an equitable, inclusive environment where women can thrive. I am humbled and honored to be on this journey and look forward to the future we continue building together.

Like many creatives who found themselves behind a camera, Jay Ford grew up around a family who loved photography. Where his dad began by filming home videos, Jay continued by filming anything his friends and family would allow: parties, football games, sorority videos, and more. He used his camera as a way to express his voice and, through it, amplify the voices of others. We had a chance to speak with Jay and get a bit more insight into his work. Watch our latest SmugMug Film with him below, and read on to learn more about him in his own words.

How would you describe what you do?‍

I feel I’m a visual creator more than a photographer or videographer. I use my camera to create something that resonates with me first and then, hopefully, other people like it from that. I look for life and the emotion that creates that life—whether it’s the trees moving or the culture I’m in—and I try to capture the raw emotion that comes out of it.

What wakes me up every day is challenging myself to do something different than normal. Every night I look through other people’s photos and videos, then use that to curate what I want and challenge myself to do something new.

When looking at other’s work for inspiration, are you trying to pick apart techniques or are you drawing from their creativity?‍

A little bit of everything. I try to see how they achieved what they did, looking at the cameras they used, the scenes they got, the why behind their choices, the type of story they’re trying to tell. And I watch things repeatedly to get those answers.

For example, the show Euphoria is good, but the cinematography was amazing. Whoever the cinematographer was is the most creative genius I’ve ever experienced. The use of colors, imagery, and everything was crazy to see. And that’s something I want to implement in my work to be more creative.

At first people asked me, “Why do you have a camera?” After I started posting the photos, they started asking me, “Oh, where’s your camera?”

How did your photography interest evolve into a focus on portraits and filmmaking?‍

When I went to college, I had only raw abilities. But I always had a camera with me and would take it to parties. I used to record people at the parties as well as other stuff in college, such as basketball games and football games. When I started posting those images online, I began gaining momentum. At first people asked me, “Why do you have a camera?” After I started posting the photos, they started asking me, “Oh, where’s your camera?”

Once I started getting that momentum, I kept going with it. It not only made me happy, it made other people happy, too. And that’s what I love about photography: you get to make people happy and make them feel more beautiful than they thought they were.

What photography project has been the most meaningful to you so far and why?‍

The Black Lives Matter movement has probably been the most meaningful thing I’ve gone through so far. Because I didn’t go out there to make money. I didn’t go to the protest to chase clout. I went there because I felt it was my true calling to document history in the making. With everything going on in the world, I felt if that movement didn’t happen, much change wouldn’t have come. For me to document that whole process was part of the history: to take pictures of the emotion — the reactions of people dealing with these injustices.

I feel it’s my duty to show it in a positive light because the news and certain media only show the negative. People are dealing with this emotionally. They’re upset, and I wanted to show that in a beautiful way. That meant a lot to me. And I want to do more.

During the protest, how did you remain focused on capturing the moments and not losing yourself in them?‍

At first I definitely got lost in them. I couldn’t focus. There was so much going on: people around me, damage that was happening, the police shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, and my friends getting hurt. It was tough. But as we kept going, we were able to show the emotions of the crowd and how it kept swaying. That’s when I started to lock in and adjust to what was going on.

Obviously, you want to be with the crowd, but you’re here to show what’s going on. Once I refocused myself, I was able to capture that. A lot of people love the images I got because it showed a different side of what the media was showing. I knew people had to see what I was capturing because I didn’t see it on the news — what I was seeing then, in the moment.

…as long as you have a camera and you’re ready, you can have a shot.

You mentioned tear gas and rubber bullets. What precautions did you take to keep yourself and your gear safe so these images could be seen afterward?‍

A little bit of street smarts. I wanted to be on the front line, but I didn’t want to be stupid. When there’s violence going on, you learn to take a step back. You can’t dive into it as much as you want because you don’t know what will happen. But I took precautions for the tear gas: wore heavier clothes, put a bandana around my nose, wore glasses. I also had a good lens that allowed me to get close enough without going too deep. I was worried about a rubber bullet hitting my lens and cracking it, so when the rubber bullets were happening, I was running. That was my precaution there.

Were you able to share any of the images with folks amid all that chaos?‍

Yeah. A lot of people saw I was taking pictures and they got my Instagram. When I shared a video of the protest later, it went viral. Once it got shared, a lot of people reached out to say, “Hey, that was me. Can you send me that video?” So they were able to find me and then the images I’d taken from that day. That was powerful.

Do you shoot everything manually?‍

I usually do. But at the protest, I didn’t. A lot of the time then, I shot auto because you never know what situation you’re going to be in. There was so much running going on, it was also tough to try to nail the perfect shot. That was a big thing I learned: you don’t always have to have the perfect shot to get the best shot. The photo could be a little blurry. It could be a little overexposed or underexposed. But as long as you have a camera and you’re ready, you can have a shot.

What have you learned from your experience that you’ve carried forward to other shoots?‍

In order to grow, you’re going to need help. Whether you’re a landscape photographer, a commercial photographer, a family photographer, or anything else, you’re going to need help getting your photos out to the world. You’re going to need to help doing big production shoots. You’re going to need help running the business. As much as you want to do everything yourself, it doesn’t make sense. I was being selfish in the beginning by not wanting help. But now I’m growing as a person, and as a business owner, and help is what’s needed—help is what’s welcomed.

Once you’re at your shoot, what are you looking for in terms of light and framing your shots?‍

I always like to shoot at the same time of day outdoors: blue hour and golden hour. When it comes to framing, there’s really no plan. It kind of comes to me naturally depending on what the background is and where the sun is. Do you want it backlit? Do you want to get a close-up shot? Do you want to get details and emotion? I don’t like people posing or looking at the camera much, so I like movement. I like the actual smiles and not posed smiles. It comes to me as I go.

How do you go about keeping your photos safe?‍

I have seven hard drives because I shoot so much. I have a passion-project hard drive, a business hard drive, and a personal hard drive. Then I have three backups for each one of those. So when I do a shoot, I immediately back it up to my big hard drives.

When I first started out, I didn’t have a process. I used to shoot, put everything on my computer, and edit from there. Then, the first wedding I ever did, I ended up losing all the photos for it because I put everything on the computer and it wasn’t ready for all that. The computer crashed, and I lost all the files. I lost everything. Once I saw the bride’s reaction, I told myself, this can never happen again. That led to me being a bit overkill about my hard drives and storage.

Do you have any advice for those looking to pursue a similar path?‍

Just go out there and do it. Don’t listen to anybody who has no clue what your dream is. If you really want to pursue something, find those individuals who have done it before and reach out to them to figure out how they did it. Because if they did it, you can do it.

What about advice for capturing the image?‍

Go with your heart. Don’t go off trends. Don’t go off what other people like. Go off what you like. The best part about going off what you like is that it tells a story. Your story.

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Find Jay online:
Portfolio
Flickr
Twitter
Instagram

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