Take It Personally

In 2021, I made $1,500 in one day shooting mini sessions. And my very next thought was, “If I can make $1,500 in one day, what else is possible?” Fast forward a few years, and I've turned mini session days into $5,000, $7,000, and nearly $7,000 again while working fewer hours. But here's the thing: mini sessions can either be a strategic part of your photography business or a quick cash grab that...

A client once told me she loved her brand photos, but six months later, she hadn't used a single one. Not on her website, Instagram, email, nowhere. And it's kind of embarrassing to admit because she paid me good money, the photos were gorgeous, and she had a great experience. So what happened? I used to think that delivering a beautiful gallery meant my job was done. But if our clients aren't act...

A couple years ago, I treated myself to a boudoir session, and I'm still obsessed with the photos. But here's the thing: when I think back on that day, the first thing I remember isn't actually the photos. It's how I felt. I felt beautiful, taken care of, and like an absolute star. And that experience is why I still tell all my girlfriends they need to book a session with that photographer. Your b...

“I would love to do a brand session, but I don’t even know what we would shoot. I just sit at a computer all day.” If you’ve done brand photography for more than a week, you’ve probably heard some version of this. And if we’re being totally honest, you may have thought the same thing. What ARE we supposed to photograph when someone’s entire job lives on a laptop and inside their brain?? The answer...

Picture this: you finally get your first real brand inquiry. You’re so excited… and then you go to write the proposal and realize you don’t really have a starting point. So you open your wedding pricing guide and start shrinking things. Eight hours becomes three. 600 images becomes 60. You send it off, it looks professional, and then… silence. Or they come back asking, “Okay, but what if we only d...

Someone is going to sit down at her kitchen table in the next few months, make a list of everything she wants to do for her business in 2027, and realize she really needs new photos. Come January, she may start looking for a brand photographer. Are you ready for what happens when she finds you?? We’ve spent a lot of time talking about marketing lately, and for good reason. But you can’t pour marke...

A couple weeks ago on this very podcast, I said referrals are not a marketing strategy. And because nothing is ever black and white in my brain, the second I said it, I thought, “Well… they can be, though.” 😅 Here’s what I realized: referrals haven’t gone away. They’ve gone digital. “I’m going to send you her Instagram” is the new referral. Someone hears your name from a friend, past client, or b...

A first-class plane ticket totally changed my life. In May 2023, I was heading to Louisville to spend two days with my business coach when she told me to dress in “one-million-dollar business attire” and start imagining myself as Million Dollar Maddie. Naturally, I was annoyed. But I’m also nothing if not a bit of a rule follower, so I went with it. (And because I’m a Taurus who deeply values luxu...

If it takes you an hour or more to make one reel, I can tell you right now how that reel is going to do: badly. 😬 And I know that because I’ve watched it happen a few hundred times. Somewhere along the way, photographers got the idea that good content has to be complicated—and it’s making Instagram way harder than it needs to be. In this episode, we’re talking about why the content you’re spendin...

Getting started as a photographer can feel a little magical. Your friends and family book you, word starts to spread, and clients come in without you having to think too hard about marketing or positioning. But as your business grows, your prices increase, and you want to attract a more specific type of client, those early referrals may not fuel your business the way they once did. That doesn’t me...

You have invested in your craft. You’ve done the work. Your portfolio is strong. And somehow, it still feels like you’re the best-kept secret that nobody knows about. This is one of the most demoralizing places to be in business because the thing you can point to, your work, isn’t actually the thing that’s broken. At a certain point, the gap isn’t skill. It’s everything happening around the skill....

We have an epidemic on our hands… and it's not that photographers aren't posting enough. It's that we're so focused on creating the perfect Instagram aesthetic that we've accidentally made ourselves disappear. If you've ever waited to post until your hair looked better, your grid felt cohesive, or your caption was just right, this episode is for you. Today we're talking about why your dream client...

Most photographers wait until they feel ready to raise their prices, but unfortunately, ready is just not something that shows up. Readiness is not the signal that it's time for a price increase. But there are real signals you can watch for that clue you in to when that price hike you've been putting off is actually overdue. This is the conversation nobody really wants to have, and I'll be honest,...

"Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." I call BS on that. Business is work! Business is hard, and if it were easy, everyone would have one. I need you to hold some nuance with me today, because two things can be true: you can love your business AND you shouldn't rely on it to fill you up all the time. Chasing fun in your business is sabotaging your growth. That's what we're g...

I just wrapped up a launch with a 12% conversion rate, and I'm gonna tell you all about it. I don't typically take you behind the scenes of my business quite like this, but today I am, because this is the stuff I spend most of my time on now (the education side of my business). And this launch was my best one yet. In this episode, I'm breaking down the two big tests I ran with this launch of Behin...

The month of July can feel a little... slow. And every year I watch photographers absolutely panic about that. 😅 But slow doesn't have to mean scary. In fact, when you handle it intentionally, a slow season can end up being one of the most valuable parts of your entire year. In this episode, I'm sharing exactly how I use slower months like July (and December) to rest, reset, and build a stronger...

At the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy... brand photography is truly my dream. I genuinely can't imagine doing anything else. But here's the thing: there are a lot of parts of building a profitable brand photography business that nobody really talks about. In this episode, I'm sharing the lessons I wish someone would've told me sooner. Because being a talented photographer and running a profita...

Before I started shooting brand photography, I had this really idealistic picture in my mind of what it could look like. Beautiful sessions, incredible clients, and helping businesses grow. And while all of that is true... nobody tells you that creating beautiful photos and running a profitable brand photography business are two completely different skills. In this episode, we're talking about eve...

What if I told you your brand photos can be genuinely beautiful, stunning photos that you're proud of... and still completely fail your client? I know. That's a rough open. 😅 But it's also one of the biggest mistakes I see photographers make. Because pretty photos aren't actually what clients are buying. They're buying outcomes and transformation. And when a gallery is full of beautiful images th...

If you've ever had a potential client tell you, “I don't even know what we would shoot,” because they sit at a computer all day, this episode is for you. It's also for the photographers who secretly aren't sure what they'd do with a lawyer, accountant, banker, or coach on their calendar. The truth is, these are some of the most overlooked brand photography clients out there, and they often need br...

What if I told you that the reason a client chooses you over another photographer has nothing to do with your portfolio, and everything to do with the questions you ask? In this episode, we're diving into one of the most underrated tools in your brand photography business: the discovery call. Most photographers treat it like a quick formality before booking, but I see it as one of the most powerfu...

Everybody wants to talk about how to get more clients. Hi, same. But what if your biggest growth lever actually isn’t your marketing? What if the thing you’re overlooking is what happens after someone books you? In this episode, I’m talking about why your client experience might actually be your best marketing strategy — and why the clients currently in front of your lens are probably the reason y...

AI is getting better. Like…a lot better. If you’ve been side-eyeing AI headshots lately wondering what this means for photographers, you’re definitely not alone. In this episode, I’m sharing why I don’t actually think photographers are losing to AI - I think they’re losing to boring marketing. Here’s the thing: if all you’re selling is a gallery of images, yes, that’s going to become easier to rep...

Getting ghosted by potential clients? I’m here to tell you what you likely don’t want to hear: it’s (probably) not your pricing. 👀 In this episode, I’m breaking down why photographers immediately blame their rates when inquiries go cold, and why the real issue is usually hiding somewhere in your process instead. From slow inquiry responses to confusing proposals to discovery calls with zero direc...

Picture this: You just got an inquiry from a brand photography client you are so excited to work with. You spend 45 minutes building a custom proposal...tweaking image counts, session length, adding options, and you hit send feeling good. And then? Silence. Or worse, they come back asking what they can remove to make it cheaper. Here’s the thing: it’s not your pricing. It’s how you’re pricing. In...