Jonny Edward picked up his first camera at seven years old—a Polaroid, a gift from a family member who sensed he needed an anchor.

He put it down for years, drifted through twelve careers, and found himself in one of the darkest periods of his life before photography found him again. That camera, he says, saved his life.

Over the decade that followed, he photographed tens of thousands of people across the world, built one of Denver's most distinctive studio spaces at Atelier Alchimia, and taught at WPPI, Imaging USA, and The Portrait Masters.

The next step—a dedicated online education platform and community for portrait artists—had been on his mind for three years. The problem wasn't the content. It was that no platform could hold what he was building: a 4K VOD (video on demand) library, a searchable non-linear content structure, and a genuine community, all under the same roof, with a professional aesthetic, at a price that made sense.

Movement was the first platform that could.

Tell us about your business—who do you help, and what makes you passionate about what you do?

I'm Jonny Edward—editorial portrait photographer, art director, and creative educator based out of Denver, Colorado. Over the last decade I've photographed tens of thousands of people from all walks of life, taught at conferences like WPPI, Imaging USA, and The Portrait Masters, and built Atelier Alchimia.

Photography saved my life. That's not a figure of speech. I came back to it during one of the darkest periods of my life, and it gave me something I'd been searching for: purpose, connection, and a way to see the world again. That experience is a big part of why I'm so driven to share what I know. I loathe gatekeeping. I believe in open-source knowledge, sharing what you've learned and supporting others along the way.

The Creative Academy is the next chapter of that. It's an education platform built for portrait artists at every level—from those just finding their voice to working professionals looking to go deeper. I've been wanting to bring it to life for many moons, at least three or four years, but one of the biggest reasons I hadn't done it sooner was the technical consideration of finding the right backend for this. I had literally researched every single LMS and other potential platform out there, did free trials of all of them, and the problem was that none of them wound up being well suited.

"I've been wanting to bring an educational platform and app to life for at least three or four years. I had literally researched every single LMS and other potential platform out there. I did free trials of all of them, and the problem was that none of them wound up being well suited."

What problem were you facing before using Movement?

The backbone of my education platform is educational video content—and that content is being produced at 4K. I needed something that could create libraries that were searchable, indexable, and easily usable, but also support a very high quality of production value, because that is paramount to what I'm doing.

There were only a couple of platforms out there with VOD-style options, and to be completely honest they were exorbitantly expensive and didn't offer support for 4K. That was a big letdown, given that most of my members are going to be watching this content on devices that support 4K streaming.

The second thing I really needed was a community feature: interactive forums where I could stay connected to my member base and facilitate connection between those members. But for any of the platforms that had VOD libraries, the Netflix kind of style and vibe, none of them had any appreciable community features. A few had them as secondary add-ons, but they weren't aesthetic and they didn't seem very functional. Rather than adding value, they felt like they'd take away value—they just didn't match the overall feel and level of the VOD front end.

I also really wanted an app for the platform. I wanted my membership to be able to step away from browsers and into something more focused—and to stay engaged with push notifications. Some of the solutions I researched had that as an add-on, but we're talking about a lot of additional money for an app that doesn't have a lot of functionality. And then of course you're dealing with the Play Store, the App Store, the additional fees, the approval cycles, the headaches of updating the app. It was a lot.

"For any of the platforms that had VOD libraries, the Netflix style and vibe, none of them had any appreciable community features.

I also really wanted an app for the platform. I wanted my membership to be able to step away from browsers and into something more focused—and to stay engaged with push notifications."

What made you choose Movement over other platforms?

It was sort of by accident that I stumbled across Movement, and I am so happy and grateful that I found it—not only for the backend and the platform and the builder, but for the team that is actively supporting it.

Of all the different solutions I found, Movement has been the most responsive, the most kind and thoughtful, and the most helpful through the entire process. From before I onboarded to the point of actually bringing this app and platform to life. They've been joyful throughout the entire process, which was a really beautiful change of pace.

"Of all the different solutions I found, Movement has been the most responsive, the most kind and thoughtful, and the most helpful through the entire process."

What other types of platforms did you consider?

I looked at LMS platforms specifically meant for courses, but the problem is that they're structured for linear content—lesson one, lesson two, lesson three, lesson four. That's not what I'm doing.

I'm creating a library of videos in both short and long form that needed to be searchable and browsable, not sequential. I considered stuffing all those videos into a course and playing with custom CSS, but let's just say it would have been a very hackneyed solution. When I went about doing that, it just didn't feel like it spoke to the caliber of the brand I'm trying to represent for my membership.

"I looked at LMS platforms specifically meant for courses, but the problem is that they're structured for linear content … I'm creating a library of videos in both short and long form that needed to be searchable and browsable, not sequential."

What features or aspects of Movement have been most useful for your work?

Movement gives me the VOD (video on demand). I have my video on demand libraries, my different educational pillars laid out in a way that is aesthetic, fast, and user-friendly. I have community forums and chats for each one of those respective education pillars.

I also have a web-based app that is easily installed on Android, iOS, Mac, and PC without having to go through the hassle of putting things in the app store. All of my needs were met from the top down at a price point that beat every other solution out there.

I feel like I'm getting to have my cake and eat it too—every single one of my needs is there, and I'm not making any sacrifices.

"All of my needs were met from the top down at a price point that beat every other solution out there."

Would you recommend Movement to other educators and creators?

What's interesting is that Movement is somewhat niched toward health and wellness practitioners. With photography and visual storytelling, I'm outside of that niche—but the tools in place for those professionals carried over beautifully to what I'm doing as a creative educator.

I loathe gatekeeping. I believe in open-source knowledge: sharing what you know and supporting others along the way. Movement gets that. I can tell they genuinely want to see people succeed and they're dedicated to making that happen.

If you're considering Movement, I highly recommend it regardless of what you're doing as an educator, guru, coach, mentor, or creator. I'm one happy camper and I will be with Movement for a long time.

"If you're considering Movement, I highly recommend it regardless of what you're doing as an educator, guru, coach, mentor, or creator. I'm one happy camper and I will be with Movement for a long time."

For three years, Jonny had the vision. For four to six months, he had the content ready and nowhere worthy to put it. VOD platforms couldn't support 4K. LMS platforms forced everything into a linear structure that didn't match how he teaches. Community features were afterthoughts. And every solution that came close either charged a high premium for a limited app or sent him into the app store approval cycle he wanted nothing to do with.

He found Movement and within days of building, he knew the search was over.

What he has now is everything he'd been looking for: a searchable 4K video library organized by educational pillar, community forums and chats built into the same space, a web-based app his members can install on any device without needing an app store—and a team that has been responsive, kind, and genuinely invested from day one:

"The price point I'm paying for this caliber of backend and the support I'm receiving is almost unbelievable."

Check out the Creative Academy app or find Jonny Edward on his website or Instagram.

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Ready to build an education platform or app that actually holds your full vision?

If you're a photographer, artist, or creative educator who's been piecing together tools that weren't built for what you do, Movement gives you the VOD library, the community, and the branded app in one place. No app store approvals, no compromises to your content. And a team that's there when you need them.

What is Movement?

Movement is an all-in-one platform that helps coaches, educators, and community builders launch beautifully branded apps and memberships—without needing to be technical or piece together multiple tools.

Whether you're offering courses, events or programs, selling digital products, or hosting a community, Movement gives you everything you need in one place: content and video hosting, chats, events, directories, and more.

It’s designed to be intuitive for you and seamless for your audience—so you can focus on delivering value, not managing tech.

For coaches who are tired of stitching together tools like Kajabi, Squarespace, and Facebook Groups, Movement offers a simpler, more scalable way to grow your business and deepen client connection—all under your own brand.

Find out more or sign up for a free account here.