Next Brave Step Podcast

Join host Chelsy Weisz as we dive into the power of dreaming for personal growth, overcoming fears like failure and self-doubt, and mastering goal-setting with SMART Goals, OKRs, and BHAGs. Discover tools and community support for turning dreams into actionable steps, inspired by Chelsy's own experiences. Ideal for entrepreneurs and dreamers seeking to make their aspirations a reality. Takeaways Listen to your inner calling and follow your dreams, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.   Use goal-setting frameworks like SMART goals, OKRs, and BHAGs to create a clear roadmap for achieving your dreams.   Overcome obstacles such as fear of failure, self-doubt, analysis paralysis, and perfectionism by giving yourself grace and taking imperfect action.   Find a supportive community that can provide encouragement, accountability, and guidance on your journey towards your dreams. Show Notes for this episode: https://chelsyweisz.com/unlocking-potential-transform-dreams/  Join Podcast Insiders Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenextbravesteppodcast Join the Vision into Action Goal Setting Challenge: http://bit.ly/v2a2024  Chelsy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/ Next Brave Step Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nextbravesteppodcast Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business: https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index  

Ever wondered how other photographers are able to show up on Google? Today I'm sharing with you the 3 different ways that you can show up on Google. I discuss the importance of showing up on Google and what it can do for your business in terms of exposure and more clients. As well as the different steps and actions you can take today to begin working towards being on the first page.   Working on showing up on Google does take some time, I'll admit that, and at times it can feel a little cumbersome but eventually, you'll see the rewards of putting in the work and it'll all pay off.   Resources mentioned: Google My Business: https://www.google.com/business/ SEO Checklist for Photographers: https://chelsyweisz.com/blogging   Download the FREE resource to get started with blogging as a photographer https://chelsyweisz.com/blogging   Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

Are you too busy to get to everything on your to-do list? From shooting, editing, emailing clients, and keeping up with everything to keep your business running, let alone all of your personal life too, it feels like your workload is taking over. Honestly, it sounds like it might be a little too much. Today I want to share with you some ways you can decrease your workload, and I'm not saying take on fewer clients and cut your income in half.   It's time to raise your prices.   I know that sounds scary, so I'm discussing the three E's that will help you raise your rates to allow you to take on fewer clients and still make the same or if not more income!   Download the FREE resource to get started with blogging as a photographer https://chelsyweisz.com/blogging   Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

When you think about marketing your photography business, there are a few things that probably come to mind. You might think of social media, running ads, or maybe even something physical like a flyer or business card. Then there are things like radio, magazines, a website, and styled shoots. All of these forms of marketing can be categorized into two main types of marketing.   Today I'm breaking down these two main types of marketing and why you should choose things in both categories to work for you and your business both now and in the future.   In today's episode I discuss the: difference between short and long-term marketing pros and cons of both types power of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) reason why I love blogging impact blogging has on my business   Download the FREE resource to get started with blogging as a photographer https://chelsyweisz.com/blogging   Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

Do you find you get the majority of your photography bookings in the winter months? Over the years I've realized most of my amazing clients are booking their weddings in December and January time which means I need to get everything in order way before then! If you also are finding your photography business to be similar, then don't wait around until the end of the year to figure out your goals, and instead map them out before your big booking rush.   From updating your pricing, and refining your dream clients to defining what that dream 2023 income goal is going to be, these are the kinds of goals I'm mapping out in the fall rather than waiting around until the majority of my bookings are scheduled.   In today's episode I discuss: Why I set goals in the fall Why all photographers should set their goals in the fall How to prepare yourself for a big rush of bookings What my goal-setting process looks like How I quarterly refresh my goals   Resources mentioned: Power Sheets from Cultivate What Matters https://cultivatewhatmatters.com/collections/powersheets   Find out more about my coaching program https://chelsyweisz.com/coaching   Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

A lot has happened this year and I wanted to catch you up, and also talk to you about the podcast rebrand and the meaning behind it. Throughout my life, I've always put others first and rolled with the punches but I'm now putting myself and my kids first. From learning how to lay flooring and fix my toilet to working in my garden, starting fresh has been interesting. In today's I give you a little life update so you know where I've been and what's been happening behind the scenes.   Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

Today I'm joined by my business coach Makayla to discuss all things coaching, from how she got started as a coach, to when the best time is to hire a coach and all about the importance of having a coach that has also experienced being coached. I share when I knew it was the right time for me to hire a business coach and my experience with coaching. We discuss how a coach isn't there to give you something you don't have, a coach is there to take what you have and speed up the process.   Whether you're looking to find the right coach, wondering what the difference is between working with a coach one on one and going through a group program, or wondering how a coach really supports you in your business, this episode will answer all of those questions!   You can find this week's guest Makayla here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewholemak/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrsmakaylaervin   Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

Do you keep hearing people preaching that you need to get up at 5 am, do a workout, start your morning routine, and then get to work, maybe they suggest having set work hours every day? That the only way to succeed is to show up every single day at the exact same time and be perfectly consistent so you can be a successful entrepreneur. Today I want to let you know this doesn't have to be the way. This way doesn't work for a lot of people, and it's probably not working for you.   In today's episode I discuss: Hyper focusing and why it works for me Why I would beat myself up from taking rest How I wasted a lot of time trying to fit in a box that wasn't made for me Balancing working around kids How to set yourself up for success   Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

The Next Brave Step Podcast is a live-workshop style business and marketing podcast packed with actionable step-by-step tips that are helping thousands redefine success and chase bolder dreams. You can train with the experts on how to dig in, do the work, and give you the confidence to take the next brave step in your life and business.    Host Chelsy Weisz, brings you social media strategies, productivity tips, business hacks, authentic entrepreneurship truths, and inspirational stories that can help YOU design your dream business and life.    Over the past decade, Chelsy has become one of the leading wedding photographers in North Dakota & Kansas. Expanded her business to form an education hub for other photographers who want to book out their sessions, attract amazing clients, and grow a business that fits their current season of life. Grew her family to two sweet kids who know how to keep her on her toes. Got divorced, found out how strong and brave she really can be, and took control of where her life and business were actually going. She started fresh in her own home, started a cut flower garden, adopted a free-roaming bunny named Waffles, and is currently living her best crazy plant lady life   One thing that hasn't changed over the past decade though? My belief is that women can do anything we put our minds to—if we can just take the next brave step.   Your next brave step towards putting yourself out there & showing up as the photography pro you are starts today.    Connect with me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chelsyweisz/   Take a look at my website https://chelsyweisz.com/   Hand-crafted templates & resources to grow your photography business https://chelsyweisz.com/shop-index   If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review and help me share the message with more business owners who are ready to take their next brave step!

The early months of my business were tough, there were a lot of tears, both from me and my 6-month-old daughter. I was trying to find my place in the new roles of mom and wife, and I was barely keeping my head above water. My journey into motherhood came a little sooner than I had thought it would.  I was a sophomore in college when I found out I was pregnant.  My pregnancy brought my collegiate rodeo career to a sliding stop.  Skyler was born in August we got married in October and I took on my first paid clients in February.  ESCAPED LIFE RESPONSIBILITIES WITH WORK I'll be totally honest my business was almost a way for me to escape these new roles I had suddenly found myself in earlier than I had anticipated. For the first few months, I threw myself into work, figuring out my camera, learning how to build a website, going on shoots.  Thankfully Skyler was too young to realize her mom was pretty absent, but I'll be real, my marriage was being strained.   We didn't have outside daycare so I was leaning on my husband and my inlaws to watch Sky at the drop of a hat. Now I totally believe that both mom and dads can watch kids, it's not just mom's job but I was not being totally fair about things. Eventually, it all came to a head and I found myself crying on the bathroom floor feeling like I was going to have to give up my business to make things work with my family.   Sky loved playing with my reflectors when she was little I actually moved my desk onto the kitchen table so I could keep an eye on Skyler while I worked THINGS HAD TO CHANGE I knew things had to change, I had to figure out a way to run my business without my putting my relationships in jeopardy.  Now when we talk about work-life balance I don't think this looks like a perfectly symmetrically balance scale.  So what does this mean? WHAT DOES BALANCE ACTUALLY MEAN? If I place a 1 pound rock on one side of a scale, and 1 pound of feathers on the other they will weigh the same the scale is balanced right they both weigh 1 pound.  But if you look at the rock that is just one rock the feathers that is going to be a lot of feathers to weigh 1 pound.  So we might end up spending more time on one thing and less time on another one day, but that thing we spent less time doing might have an equal amount of weight. Now this can go either way with family and work.   Somedays I can spend endless hours doing a lot of little things in my business that takes a lot of time, and not spending as much time with my kids that day.  But when I sit down with my kids at the end of the day I get to choose how intentional I am with that time.  Am I sitting on my phone scrolling Instagram, or am I building forts, watching them ride horses, or playing in the sandbox with them.  Now I can also spend a ton of time with my kids and just a few very focused hours or even minutes on my business that can really move things forward. The goal is to make the time you have count.  As I got more experience under my belt I started to focus on families first.  I had read everywhere that it was important to niche down, and not to photograph everything and everyone. This helped me out a ton. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE – AKA CLIENT WORKFLOW When I focused on one type of client I was able to create a standard operating procedure. — see I learned something from business school before I dropped out.  So a standard operating procedure is a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out routine operations. Basically, once I had booked a few clients I could start to see a pattern, they would reach out I would send them my pricing, they hopefully would say yes we want to book I would send over the contract they would sign I could get paid and then show up and shoot the session.  Now your standard operating procedure or client workflow as I like to refer to it can be super simple or you can get fancy and add more things into it, like welcome packets, thank you gifts, reminder emails, whatever that workflow is get it all out on paper so you can see what needs to be done when. Once you get that all out on paper, look for things you can automate or streamline to keep things running quickly and simply. Basically, you want to look for things that take you a lot of time, or undivided attention. EMAIL TEMPLATES So last episode I chatted a little about email templates and you guessed it I'm going to chat about it again. I found that I was spending a lot of time on my computer emailing clients back and forth.  The worst part is I was retyping the same emails over and over while Skyler played on my office floor behind me.  When I was photographing families these are the email templates I used.  An inquiry email, that had my pricing and packages, links to my portfolio, and then I would ask if when they wanted to book their session for.  EMAIL REMINDERS I also created a reminder email. This went out about 24 hours before the session and let them know what to expect at the session.  When I photograph kids I really like to chat with the kids first to kinda warm them up before I pulled out this giant camera and pointed it in their face.  I realized that often parents felt like I was maybe wasting time getting started, and would often answer the questions I was asking the kids to break the ice.  So in this reminder email, I explained to them that I would take a few minutes, in the beginning, to warm the kid up to me, get to know them so that we could capture those real smiles moms loved.  set expectations This was really helpful because it let me set expectations for my clients, so I could meet them and hopefully exceed them!  I also would send an email right after the session to thank clients for a great session, and then I would let them know when they would get their images back.  Now this is outlined in my contracts, and we probably talked about it when they booked the session, but I was finding that clients would just be so excited to see sneak peeks, and to get their final galleries back.   follow up email after the session So this follow-up / thank you email outlined when sneak peeks would be up on the blog, and when and how they would get their digital images. This is how I would set expectations for clients.– now, here is a little secret– if you know it will take you 7 days to edit a wedding or session or whatever you are photographing, DO NOT tell your client they will be ready in 7 days. Always give yourself more time than you think it will take. –ALWAYS– first life happens kids get sick, you get sick the dog has to go to the vet, or you have to run to town for parts.  So you want to build yourself some padding on that timeline.   There is another reason you want to give a longer timeline.  If things go according to plan and it does only take you 7 days to finish editing, but you told your clients it would be 10 days, then you get to deliver your images early!  This is how you exceed your client's expectations.  By finding these spots that were taking up my time and energy and streamlining them I was able to take that time back and pour it into other areas of my life.  PRE DETERMINING MY SHOOTING DAYS AT THE START OF THE SEASON One of the best and scariest things I did next to find some work-life balance was to pre-schedule my shoot days. So what do I mean by prescheduling my shooting days.  I had to sit down and really understand that 1 I did not need to photograph sessions every night and 2 I didn't want to, I wanted to spend Sunday at home with my family, I didn't want to miss birthday parties because someone wanted me to shoot that day.  FAMILY FIRST So I sat down with my calendar and penciled in all our family events first.  Birthdays vacations, school holidays, all those things I was starting to miss out on when on the calendar first. Then I looked at that calendar, and my husband's work calendar and we lined up the dates that I could shoot.  Those are the dates I offered to clients who wanted to book.   Now, this was really scary at first.  What if clients could make those dates work, I'll never book anyone, These are all thoughts that raced through my head until I put this into practice. SUPPLY AND DEMAND So when someone wants to book with me I give them the first three dates I have set aside for shooting. I let them know if these don't work let me know and I can get you the next few dates later in my schedule.  This does a few things 1 it shows clients that you have your stuff together.  2 It makes you sound like you are in demand. – Think about it if you were scheduling surgery on and they said well when do you want to schedule it we are available every day, that kinda makes them sound like they don't have any clients– Why don't they have other patients? when you are having surgery, you want your doctors to have other patients too, you don't want to be the only one.  As moms our time is valuable, and we need to value it.  When we predetermine our shooting days we have time to line up sitters, or get things lined up for meals, or rides to practice. added bonus – confidently raised my prices This also helped me to raise my prices when it was time.  You see I was starting to book out pretty far in advance, there was definitely a demand for my service, there were only a limited number of sessions I was taking so this meant I could raise my prices with confidence! As photographers it's not always easy to be able to figure out ahead of time how much money you will make, but when you re determine your shooting days you have a better chance at figuring out that number.  Okay so we chatted about how we need to create a standard operating procedure or a client workflow, we also talked about how we can use email templates to save ourselves from re-typing the same emails over and over. We talked about predetermining our schedule so we can line up child care easier, and how that can help us to raise our prices, now it's time for the number one thing that helped me save more time, and create a killer client experience.   OUTSOURCING YOUR EDITING. Outsourcing your editing sounds so scary I know.  When I tell you to outsource your editing you probably are thinking, I'll lose control, the photos won't look like my work, or that is way to expensive. Hold your roll my friends lets break those down. WHAT THE PROCESS LOOKS LIKE Okay, let's talk about what it looks like first to outsource your editing. Imagine going home after a session and culling the images, then you send a lightroom catalog to your editor, and you get to take the next 4 days off. No endless nights staring at a computer, no more spending playtime with your kids removing telephone poles from backgrounds in photoshop. Four days later you get an email that images are done, you download them double-check that they look great and you then export images before uploading them to your client gallery.  Doesn't that sound amazing! But you're probably thinking but what about losing control, or it not looking like my work or the cost. WON'T I LOSE CONTROL? Okay, let's talk about it. Losing control If you're not editing it can feel like your losing control, but your not.  When you first start working with an editor, whether it's a big company like Photographers Edit or an independent editor like Jenny Dakota Photo Editor you sit down with them and explain your aesthetic, you show them your editing style, then they take some of your raw photos and duplicate your style, then you go through and critic it, let them know what needs to change, what you like what you don't like. communication is key! This takes some time. It takes communication, but it is so so so worth it in the long run.  I know it sounds scary, but you are in control of this, and by outsourcing your editing, you are taking back control over your time! The better you are at taking your time in this process, and communicating the better the outcome.  You will be able to ensure that every session or wedding you send off to edit looks exactly like your work.  SOUNDS EXPENSIVE Okay, let's talk about the cost.  Outsourcing your editing sounds like it would cost a lot of money, right? It does cost money, it's called the cost of doing business. Photo editors charge generally by the image. Most editors and companies are charging about 25 cents an image right now at the time of this recording.  The turnaround time will vary anywhere from 4 – 10 days.  If I'm shooting a session and I'm going to deliver let's say 65 images at 25 cents an image that's only $16.25 – now this is basic color correcting and using lightroom presets not complex photoshop retouching. Photoshop retouching will run about $2-3 an image so for things like newborn sessions that might cost a little more, but in my book, my time is way more valuable than 2-3$.  TRUST THE PROCESS Whenever you start working with an editor whether it's a private editor or a company expect it to take a little bit of time to get things straightened out.  Have some grace, it took you some time to figure out your editing style, and a few trials and errors to get that style to work with the way you shoot images.  Most companies and editors will have some type of trial run where you will upload images from they will edit them based on your style and then you will meet up after to discuss what looks good, and what needs to be tweaked. It is a process and it takes some time upfront but friend this is going to save you so much time down the road it is so so so worth it.  WORK-LIFE BALANCE IS NEVER AN EQUAL SCALE Like I said in the beginning, work-life balance is not going to look like equal amounts of time spend on your work and living life, it's going to ebb and flow back and forth on the amount of time. The key is to make sure that whatever time you are spending is time well spent. If you only have a few hours during nap time, or in between classes you want that time to be used well. So you can serve your clients well, and still enjoy your life.   If you want to still be in business 10 years from now it is so important to make sure that you are creating boundaries and systems that set you up for long-term success. Chelsy Weisz Alrighty my friend that is it for this episode, I will see you in the next one!  

Restrictions are starting to lift, and brides who have held off on planning weddings are starting to come out of the woodwork.  21 and 22 are shaping up to be very busy for a lot of photographers including myself, which is super exciting, and a little nerve-wracking.  My inbox has been flooded with inquiries lately which I am super thankful for, and I hope yours is too!  With the sudden onslaught of inquiries and bookings, there are some key tools and resources I have been using every day to keep things running efficiently.  Today I'm sharing the top 5 tools and resources I'm using to keep everything streamlined, and efficient so I can keep in contact with potential clients, without leaving my kids on red while I do.  About halfway through January, I started seeing an increase in wedding client inquiries.  Brides were finding me through social media, referrals, and google searches. September 4th seems to be the date to book a wedding this year in my area!  As bookings begin to pick up I wanted to take a minute to share some of the tools and resources I'm leaning on heavily right now.  If you know me at all you know that I like efficiency.  I like when things run smoothly.   #1 EMAIL TEMPLATES The first thing on my list is email templates.  Now I have an episode coming up where I'm going over the email templates I use in my business, but for now here are the highlights.  When we talk about building personal brands it can sound a little counterintuitive to use canned responses or email templates. Email templates do a few things for your business and your sanity.  When you sit down and thoughtfully craft an email template, you are able to be intentional about the information you want to get across, as well as the voice you use when creating it.  Often when we are emailing clients back quickly and shooting from the hip by writing new emails every time we can leave out some of our personality, or important information.  by writing these email templates ahead of time you are able to be very intentional with your words, links you use, and the overall feel of your emails.  you don't need to sound like a robot in these emails.  Another thing to keep in mind is that you don't have to send the exact template to each client.  I like to think of my email templates as starting points, I almost always will add in things that make the emails more personal to each client.  I like for my emails to include helpful links to things brides might be wondering.  By gathering up these links ahead of time and having them pre-linked in a template, I save a ton of time, and I'm able to answer questions for brides often before they even start looking for the answer.  Email templates save a ton of time.  You are able to reply faster and have consistent experiences for your clients. MY MOST USE EMAIL TEMPLATES My first email template is what I call my lookbook email.  This is the email I send when someone reaches out wanting to know my pricing, and if I'm available on their wedding date.  This email is a bit on the longer side and includes a lot of information but it's all information that potential clients might need before deciding if they want to work with me.  my lookbook email This email includes a link to what I call my lookbook. I'll get into a bit more of what my look book is, in a minute, but basically, it has my portfolio, my pricing, and a few more things. Generally, people have filled out a form on my website asking for more information and want to see exact pricing.  On my website I don't share my full pricing, I do share a range of what the average client invests, which does a great job of prequalifying potential clients.  I like to keep that pricing link at the top of the email since that is the information they are asking about.  Next, I ask potential clients some questions about them as a couple, how wedding planning is going, and a few other questions that help me determine if we will be a good fit.  If you head back to episode 3 we talked about how we don't need to be the photographer for everyone. It's impossible to photograph every single person who wants photos taken even in a small town!   These questions help me to determine if this potential client is one of those clients I want to work with.   Wedding photography is a big deal, you work with a lot of people on the wedding day, the bride the groom, their friends, and family.  There is a lot of pressure to get things right.  I want to ensure I am the right person for the job, both for my client's sake, and my own sanity.  The final question is about my packages basically it asks them to choose between my two wedding day packages, so when they follow up I know what package they are interested in, and I can send over their proposal.  The next thing this lookbook email contains is a link to testimonials from past couples I've worked with.  Even though this is included in the lookbook, I link directly to that part of the lookbook.  This helps to establish my authority, and build trust that I know what I'm doing, and that they will be well taken care of throughout the entire wedding photography experience.  The end of my email links to Instagram and some of my Instagram story highlights that help them get to know me a little better.  pre wedding day email The email template I use the most is a pre-wedding day email this email goes out about 8 days before the wedding.  This email helps to calm some nerves and help the bride get excited and ready for the start of wedding day photos.  The first thing I photograph on a wedding day generally is the wedding details so things like the dress, flowers, invitations, jewelry, all of those fun details.   This email lists all of these things out so the bride knows what she needs to have ready when.  One of the things I include is to make sure that the bride has her bouquets delivered by the time I get there so we can photograph those beautiful flowers.  A lot of my brides get married on family farms instead of traditional wedding venues.  Because of this, I like to educate my brides on choosing a location to get ready in.  I explain that it helps to pick a room with windows and keep it clear of clutter.  This might mean having the bride's maids get dressed in a separate room so the room we are getting the bride dressed in is photo-ready.  I encourage my brides to forward this email to their maid of honor so she can help round up those details on the wedding day and help the bride pick a great room to get ready in.  delivery email The final email I use the most is my delivery email. This email includes the link to the couple's wedding photos.  It also gives instructions on how to download images ensuring that they back up their images, and lets them know how long I will keep images backed up.   I also chat a bit about how they can share images on social media.  I personally don't watermark my images because I don't want them to take away from the beauty of the images.  I ask my couples to tag me on social media whenever they share and let them know just how much this helps me to grow my business since I don't pay for advertising.  I love benign able to save time, and ensure each client is getting all the information they need in each email I send them.  This is why email templates are so vital to my business.  #2 MY LOOKBOOK So my lookbook is a page on my website, but you could also create a pdf with the same concept!  brides get to know me and my work My lookbook includes a bio about me and my business. My portfolio includes my wedding day photos, engagement photos, as well as some featured weddings.  I like to include a full wedding gallery so couples know exactly what to expect.  This shows everything including family formals and dancing shots.  It also lets them get a feel of my editing, including if they will get all images in color and black and white, or if it's just a select few in black and white.  The look book also includes my philosophy on wedding photography.  This includes why I include engagement sessions with each wedding package I book.  I also share love notes or testimonials from past clients. This helps to build trust, and brag on myself a bit. view pricing The next thing the lookbook includes is pricing.  Now I intentionally don't share the pricing at the very beginning.  I want them to see what is included first, I want them to see the photos, and I want them to read how great of an experience other couples have had with me before they see the pricing.  I do not want to work with lower-budget weddings.  I just don't want to be working every single weekend, so in order to create the income, and the lifestyle I want to live I need to book fewer higher-priced weddings.  Brides who are price shopping will look at the price first and then not ever even take the time to read through the rest of the information.  If brides take the time to read through all of the information first, and check out my portfolio, before getting to pricing, I know they are more likely to be my type of client, and book with me.  frequently asked questions The final part of my look book is a frequently asked question this is where I answer questions like how many images will I receive, do I travel for engagement sessions, and when clients will receive final images.  If I find that clients start asking some similar questions I always end up adding those questions to these frequently asked questions.  #3 HONEYBOOK AND TRELLO The next tool I'm using a ton is Honeybook and Trello I'm grouping these together because I do use them together for my client workflows. client communications So let's start with Honeybook.  Honeybook is a client management software or client relationship management software or CRM.  (I had to look up what CRM was the first few times I saw it on a blog post or in a Facebook group.!)  Honeybook is where I house things like contacts, timelines, emails back and forth with couples.  I also have questionnaires in Honeybook that I have brides fill out so I can keep all the information in one spot.   I use Zappier to connect Honeybook and Trello. track client workflows Trello is where I actually track each client's workflow. You can go back to episode 23  on April 9th, 2020 for a recap of client workflows. I love using Trell of for this because I can see all my client's progress from a glace in one spot.  While Honeybook does allow you do create tasks, it's a little clunky for me.   Plus the visual of Trello is awesome for my brain!  If you want to see exactly how I use Trello, you can watch my walk-through video at Trelloforphotography.com and you can find out how to get your hands on my exact workflow and Trello boards!  You will also learn exactly how I hook up Trello and honeybook inside trello for photography.  #4 ICALENDAR APP So iCalendar is not the iCal app that comes on your iPhone.  It's a $3.99 purchase, but it's the best calendar for your phone or iPad.   One of the things I love is you can set it to open to week view, month view or day view when you open the app.  I personally love the month view.  Now from the month view, you can actually see what appointments or meetings are scheduled.  Unlike the native ical app where it just shows you the little dots.  It syncs with google calendar, and you can sync your honeybook calendar with it.  I love that I can color code everything in the app too.  My husband works an 8 and 6-day schedule so being able to see what days he is working and what days are off from a glance is so handy for this busy momma.  I have used and wasted so much money on calendar apps in the past but this has been my tried and true for over 4 years now and I  recommend it to my mom friends all the time!  #5 WELCOME PACKET PACKING STATION I've got an episode planned in the future going over my welcome packet thanks to all the interest I had on a recent Instagram reel.  If you want to check that out you can find me on Instagram @chelsywiesz – I know my name is spelled super weird but it works. – though I'm still a little bummed I'll never find my name on a keychain!  Anyway, what do I mean by welcome packet packing station?  So basically I have a shelf in my office that houses all of the things that go into creating my welcome packets.  I have my welcome guides all printed out.  I have the cards that I use to write my brides a not on, I keep a stack of the flat boxes behind the shelf so I can fold them up.  I had the cutest little ring dishes made by a local potter and those are all stacked on the shelf.   I use stamps.com to print my shipping labels so I have my scale and my shipping labels on the shelf ready to go. I also keep a bag of crinkle paper i use for padding in the box there, and hte stickers that go on the outside of the box ready to go.   Having all of these things lined up means I'm not running around trying to track down all of the things.  I can get it all packaged up and walk it out to the mailbox in just a few minutes. Even though I don't shoot a high number of weddings each year I still want to make this an efficient system.  At the beginning of each year, I sit down and decide what I want to include in my welcome packets.  I then will order just enough supplies to fill welcome packets for the number of weddings I want to shoot that year.  Honestly, I tend to order 2-3 extra sets since sometimes I book brides well in advance.  Now the boxes did come in a big pack of 50 or 100 I can't remember off the top of my head.  I keep the extras in the attic and just bring down the number I need for that year. It was cheaper to order those in bulk and that is something I'm going to need no matter what. – plus I've used them for gift boxes too.  All of these tools help me to be efficient with this sudden increase of inquiries, and bookings, so I can deliver a great client experience to each client without pulling out my hair!  I'd love to hear how is your 2021 and 2022 seasons looking? Have you seen an increase in inquiries?  I'd love to hear from you!  If you are not already part of our Facebook group you can search for Wise Photographer Podcast Insiders on Facebook. That's it for today's episode catch ya in the next one!   

Your ideal client is someone who vibes with your tribe. It's one of those topics that we say yeah, yeah I know I should do that I kinda have it figured out but not really.  Or you are super afraid to get very specific on who you are looking to serve because the idea of leaving someone or some money out makes you sweat.  I am right there with ya!  It took me entirely way too long to actually sit down and grind out the nitty details on who my ideal client was.  If you are listening to this with a vague idea of who your ideal client is I'm here to help ya out!

Getting the word out about your new photography business can feel like a giant hurdle. There are so many places to share online: Facebook Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook Stories, Facebook groups, Instagram stories, Instagram reels, IG TV, Snapchat, TicTock, Twitter, LinkedIn, the list goes on.  Then add in adds on Facebook Instagram and Pinterest and it can get expensive fast.  This list is enough to make anyone's head spin! Today we are breaking this down, taking away the fear, and arming you with an action plan you can use week after week to show up on social media, to serve your audience, and cultivate the like know trust factor of your brand!  

Getting started with building a  website can feel totally overwhelming.  Choosing fonts, picking out colors, The way the design looks is super important, but the content it contains is where the magic happens. Whether you are hiring a designer or doing it yourself, there are things you need to think through before you even begin. Today we are chatting all about the 5 things you need to have on your photography website.  These could be individual pages or different sections of a one-page website.  No matter the formatting you go with, your photography website needs to contain these 5 things in order to book clients.  About me page  The about me page on a website is often overlooked.  It feels a little weird to write, almost like your bragging about yourself, your business should be all about your clients right, I mean it's their story you are sharing in photos. What does your story have to do with it?  In my opinion, your clients need to get to know you.  They have to trust you.  No matter what you are being hired to photograph for them, it has some significance to them.  They are letting you into a part of their lives that is so important that they want to capture the moment forever, so they can share with friends and family, and maybe even generations to come.  That's why your about me page on your website needs to be real. It needs to say something other than the fact that you love coffee, and you love photography.  You're about me page is your chance to show your heart, explain who you are and what the journey has looked like to get the point you are at now.   Share the Face Behind the camera.  Your about me page needs to have at least one photo of you on it.  Your clients want to see the face behind the camera. So book a headshot session for yourself or bust out the handy tripod and camera remote! If you haven't updated your about me page in a while, it's a good idea to look at it and see what you can add.  So what do you actually need to have on your about me page besides a photo of you?  Your about me page should introduce you to potential clients, let know who you are, where you are located, what you do, and why you do it.  You would be amazed at how many websites I have visited and couldn't find where the photographer was located.  So make sure you let them know where you are located or what areas you serve.  Your about me page is a place you can share a story with your reader that has both struggles and success. I mean, we are all humans here, right! You also want to tell clients what's in it for them. Explain clearly how working with you can help them achieve their desired goal.  And finally, every about me page needs a CTA or Call to Action. Your call to action is like an invitation for readers to dive deeper with you.  It could be as simple as Click here to book your session, check out some of my latest work, or sign up for my email newsletter.  You don't want your readers to get to the end of a page and wonder what or where to go next.   Portfolio  When you buy some home decor online, you want to look at the product photos first.  Make sure it fits your style and will look good in your home, right!  Well, the thing with portraits you can't show them what they are actually buying yet since you haven't photographed them yet.  That's why having your portfolio on your website is an absolute must.  Your portfolio shares your vision, the way you see the world.  It showcases your unique talents; in a way, words never could.   When it comes to selecting images for your portfolio, remember quality over quantity.  You don't need to show clients every single photo from every single session.  You don't even need to show every session.  The key with your portfolio is to show what you want to shoot more of.  And don't show what you don't want to shoot.  When you go to my site, you will see it's all about weddings.  I show engagement sessions and weddings, and that's it.  Does that mean I never photograph families or seniors? No, I will photograph a handful of those sessions a year, but that's not what I want to spend my time photographing, so I don't showcase those images.  Remember, your portfolio will attract and repel people, so make sure you choose images that attract the type of clients and sessions you want to shoot.   If you don't have images for the kind of sessions you want to be shooting, it might be time to plan a styled shoot or a portfolio building photoshoot.  Check back to episode 29, where we did a deep dive into everything that goes into planning, creating, and executing a styled shoot!  Pricing  Now onto pricing, the big one!  Pricing can be something we want to tiptoe around. Many creatives are afraid to ask for the sale, but this is a business, and businesses need to make money to survive, so we have to start asking for the sale!  There are two different ways to go about sharing your pricing on your website. You can share what your prices are for your sessions or packages right away, or you can give potential clients a range and have them contact you for complete pricing.  So why would you choose one over the other? It comes down to personal preference right now I have a range on my site.  I say most clients invest xx amount of dollars.  I use the word invest on purpose.  For me, and my ideal clients, photography is an investment.  I am on the higher side of photographers in the area.  I know I'm outside of some people's price range, and that's okay.  When clients reach out to me, I sent them my digital lookbook.  This is like a digital magazine that dives a little more into what working with me looks like.  It includes full pricing information on packages as well as add ons.  The other option is just simply to share on your website what your prices are. Make sure there is a button or a contact form right there, so clients know how to book you if you are within their budget and are ready to book you!  Reviews  On to reviews.  Reviews are super important. They show social proof.  So what is social proof? Have you ever gotten crazy excited about nabbing tickets for you and a friend to a sold-out concert that everyone has been talking about for weeks? Or how about the time you were able to get reservations for that new up and coming restaurant in town? You had a blast at the concert, and the food was great, but you also enjoyed the experience; it made you feel closer and more connected to your loved ones.  You shared something together besides if everyone else was lining up down the street for it up was bound to be good! This is precisely what marketing experts believe that social proof achieves  WHAT IS SOCIAL PROOF It's proof from other humans that you will enjoy or benefit from a service or experience—basically, its a fancy pants way of saying that we like things that people who we like, like. As humans, we are psychologically engineered to want to fit in. We want to be part of something bigger, part of a community, and that means doing what the community is doing.  Like eating at new and up and coming restaurants, or going to sold-out concerts, or getting there photos taking by you!  The more people like your ideal client like your business and rave about you, the easier it will be to attract more of the same type of people; it gives you the snowball effect. By using reviews as social proof, you can position your business as the new up and coming, sold out, so amazing thing that your ideal client just has to have. It shows that real people, just like them, have worked with you are thrilled with the way their session turned out.  Most people are more than happy to give you a great review, but they just don't think to do it.  This means you need to ask for it.  Make it part of your workflow. You could have an email scheduled to go out ten days after your final gallery is shared with the client.  Include a link to a questionnaire that prompts them on how they felt about their session. What their favorite part was, or who they are sharing their images with.   Another idea is to send a handwritten card thanking them for working with you and asking if they could take a moment to leave a review on your Facebook page.  I used this tactic for years, and it worked like a charm!  Call to Action or Contact page.  Now that you have showcased your work introduced yourself to your clients, and hooked them with some social proof, its time to get them on your calendar.  You need to have a very clear Call to Action.  It could be a contact form that says book now. You could choose to have a page that says check availability with a contact form.  You could have a link to your Honeybook calendar where they can choose one of your session dates right away.  How ever you choose to do it, it needs to be extremely clear where and what is needed next to get them officially booked.  If you don't have any sessions available, have them sign up for the waitlist.  Conclusion  There you have it the 5 things you absolutely need on your photography website to start booking clients.  Your website is your spot on the web.  It's where you get to completely control your clients' experience—no competing with tit tock videos or trying to beat an algorithm.  Your website is where you let clients in, showcase your work, and turn them into paid clients.   Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Wise Photographer Podcast.  If you are not already, I would love it if you can click the subscribe button, so you never miss an episode!  It makes a huge difference in our ranking and helps other people just like you find the show!  That's it for today. I'll see ya in the next episode!

Starting a photography business can be expensive when you really start to look at the cost of things like equipment, advertising, and education.  It's crazy how fast things can add up, $12 monthly subscription here, new lens there, oh, and you probably need some new props right.  Before you know it, you've spent more money then you made this month, which is not the point of a business right! We go into business to make money, not lose money, yet I often hear about photographers who are losing money on their business. That is no good, my friend!  In this episode, I'll share the top ways you can start a photography business on a budget, so you can feel savvy and confident that you are being responsible, and get your business up and running now!  We have all heard the phrase you have to spend money to make money.  While that is partially true, it doesn't mean you have to spend all your money! Today I'm sharing the top 5 categories where you can save money and share with you the things that have made the most bang for my buck as I started my photography business.  Learning So let's start with Learning. One of my favorite things about photography is there is so much to learn.  New techniques, best business practices, and ways of controlling light and your education inside the photography world are never truly finished.  You will always be growing and learning as a business owner and artist. That's a good thing in life if we are not growing, we are dying, and the same is true for your business.  Eventually, you are going to pay for your education.  That is where I spend the majority of the money I reinvest in my business these days. eventually you will invest By investing in online courses and workshops, you are saving yourself a lot of time.  Because all the information you are looking to learn is ready and waiting for you in one spot, instead of bootstrapping your education and piecing together things from places all over the web.  free education for photographer   However, there are some fantastic free education resources out there, it just takes some time and dedication to find them and squeezing all the excellent knowledge you can out.  First off if you haven't already subscribed to The Wise Photographer Podcast scoot over to your favorite podcasting platform and click that subscribe button The next place I suggest checking out is CreativeLive.  On CreativeLive you can watch classes live for free, and then you have the option of purchasing them to rewatch them after, over and over.  They also offer a monthly and annual pass that gains you access to over 15,000 online classes, which is a pretty amazing deal.   YouTube is another excellent spot to find information and tutorials on all types of content. My biggest advice for YouTube is if one video isn't making sense to you try the next, sometimes you might not get someone's teaching style, and that's okay; just move on to the next.   Where you will learn the most for free! However, the number one thing that is going to teach you the most and is absolutely free is practice.  Practice learning your camera. To be a photographer I truly believe you need to be able to shoot in manual.  Digital cameras are free to practice on too compared to film cameras since you don't need to pay to develop your film rolls. So practice away.  If you are just starting to learn manual, I created a free camera settings cheat sheet you can print off and take with you on your next practice shoot.  You can find it in the link below, or by heading to thewisephotographerpodcast.com  Equipment and props  When it comes to equipment, please understand that the top of the line cameras are something you work towards, not something you need from the get-go.  I personally shot my first two years of my business on a Nikon D5100  I learned everything I could about that camera.  Then I upgraded to a used Nikon D3s.  Purchasing used gear is a great way to work your way up. When I started shooting weddings, I didn't have two cameras.  Because the last thing you want to happen on a wedding day is for your camera to break or malfunction and not have some type of a backup camera, so I actually would rent a second camera body making sure to include that in the price of the wedding.  This let me try out different camera bodies to decide what I wanted to upgrade to.  I live in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota, so I used lensprotogo.com to rent gear.  sourcing props for your shoot When it comes to props, they can add up fast.  The first place I always look when I need some type of prop is my house.  Shopping your own home is a great way to save money on photography props.  A white sheet can be used as a diffuser for a window or used to bounce light. A white poster board also makes a great reflector and only costs a couple of bucks! Eventually, you will be able to reinvest in props for your business but always shop your house first!  Marketing + online presence  Alright, let's chat about marketing and your online presence.  When it comes to your website, I highly suggest using WordPress.  With WordPress, you will have the cost of your domain and hosting.  WordPress is the most used and trusted platform for blogging.  You can find WordPress site templates at almost any price point.  I use Showit for my site design, which integrates with WordPress. Showit is a great platform and is extremely easy to drag and drop to create beautiful websites, but it's pretty spendy right out of the gate.  email marketing When it comes to email marketing, my favorite company hands down is Flodesk.  Flodesk makes it incredibly easy to create branded emails on a budget.  They have a ton of pre-designed and pre-written emails to help get your creative juices flowing.  Their emails are easy to customize with your brand colors and fonts.  You can create workflows, welcome sequence, and so much more.  Flodesk is Best of all its all included in one flat fee of just $38 a month.  No getting penalized for growing your list or sending more emails. I've got something super exciting for you too, Flodesk is giving listeners of the wise photographer podcast 50% off their first year. Yep, you can get Flodesk for less than $20 a month with code WISEPHOTOGRAPHER.  Or You can head to the show notes below for a direct link! What's even better is you get to try Flodesk for free for 30 days.  You don't even need to put in a credit card!  Remember the code is WISEPHOTOGRAPHER to get 50% off after your free trial  Graphic Design tools on a budget Now that we have you looking like a professional email marketer, its time to make sure the rest of your graphics look just as swell! That's where my favorite and free design tool comes in! Canva.  If you haven't checked out Canva yet, you are missing out.  Canva has replaced photoshop when it comes to design work for me.  I can create graphics, Instagram quotes, marketing pieces for Facebook, pins for Pinterest, and my website all from Canva.  I love that it's all stored online so I can access all my designs and templates from any computer with internet access.  Leveraging social media Speaking of social media.  Social media is the number one spot to market your business for free!  You can use native scheduling tools inside Facebook to batch your work.  Just remember you don't have to be everywhere.  Pick one or two platforms and rock them.  Get consistent at showing up, and your audience will grow!  Eventually, you may want to invest in tools like Tailwind or Plann to get more strategic on your marketing plan, but when you are just starting out just focus on using the scheduling tools already built into the platform of your choice.  Gaining experience  When it comes to gaining experience and building your portfolio, personal projects are a great way to get started.  A personal project is something you are doing for yourself and your business; no one is paying you.  If you are looking at planning a styled shoot or portfolio building shoot head back to episode 29 where we walked through the process from start to finish.  Once you start booking clients  So business is starting to pick up, emails are coming in, and the phone is starting to ring.  Now it's time to start investing in things that will help your workflow and ensure you are providing your clients with a consistent and efficient experience.  The first thing I suggest investing in at this point is some type of client management software.  I personally use HoneyBook.  It's effortless to use and navigate.  It also looks great since you can customize your client portal to reflect you and your brand.  HoneyBook stores all your contract templates gives you the ability to send questionnaires to your clients, keeps all your emails, invoices, and notes in one place.  They have an easy to use app that even notifies you when you receive payments! Honeybook is giving listeners to The Wise Photographer Podcast 50% off just head to honeybookwithchelsy.com to receive your 50% off discount!  Legal Things Once you start getting people wanting to book a session with you, you will want to invest in contract templates.  ShopCreativeLaw.com is my go-to spot for all things legal.  You want to ensure you are keeping yourself and your clients protected legally; that is why it is so important to have every client sign a contract.  It's also going to make you look legit to your clients because you are!  Welcome Packet The final thing you will want to invest in is some type of welcome packet for your clients.  A welcome packet will clearly explain your policies, what your clients can do to prepare for their session, and what to expect during the session.  It also is a place to let them know how things will go down after the session. You can include things like what to wear tips and tricks, how you will chat with their kids for a bit to get them to warm up to you before you pull out a big camera and stick it in their face.   The goal of the welcome packet is to help prepare your session to work with you and answer any questions they might have before they even ask. A welcome packet can be as elaborate as you would like.  It's a great way to reaffirm your clients made a great decision by deciding to work with you.   digital welcome packets are a must and only cost is the first investment Welcome packets can be printed in a magazine. It can even be made up of multiple separate cards inside a nice folder. Or they can be digital.  To save money, I highly suggest going digital right away.  You can use Canva to create your own, or you can check out the welcome packet designs at ChelsyWeiszShop.com. The beauty in digital welcome packets is you can change things as often as you need. This means you can update images or change wording, and it won't cost you to reprint anything.  You can store your PDF on google drive or as an attachment to an email and just email it over as soon as your client has signed their contract and paid their deposit.   Once you start raising your pricing, you may want to consider going with a printed welcome packet or welcome magazine. But for now, there is no excuse not to do a digital one.  Wow, guys, that was a lot! It's easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to starting a photography business. There is so much to do.  That's why I created a simple little checklist with the 12 things you must have to start a photography business.  Grab your copy of the checklist, head to the show notes below. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. I hope you feel armed with some savvy tips on starting a photography business on a budget.  That's it, for now, I'll see you guys in the next episode! 

Starting a photography business can seem so overwhelming.  There are a million things to do and learn equipment and editing techniques to master. Then you step back and wonder if you’re even doing any of it right, or are you wasting time and money on things that don’t matter in the long run.  I get it I was there once.  It’s completely overwhelming! I got really hung up on making sure I was doing things right. While I did a lot right, I also got stuck in research mode and didn’t actually do anything to move my business forward. Have no fear, my friend today. I’m flipping back to my business’s early days and sharing the five things I got right when it came to starting my photography business. Tackle these things and you’ll up and running in no time, already checked some items off the list, way to go, keep up the good work!  Make It Legal When you first get your camera you want to Practice practice practice on your friends, your family, your dog, it’s what everyone does when they get a camera.  But there comes the point when you decide you are going to turn this into a business. You are going to exchange photos, whether digital or prints, for cash money! That’s awesome that’s amazing you are about to enter the world of entrepreneurship its fun, its exciting, its scary sometimes. But to make that transaction, ya gotta make it official with your state! That means legally creating your business.  I highly suggest getting your LLC, limited liability company, especially if you are going to be photographing people of any kind.   An LLC is set up to protect you. If heaven forbid something crazy were to happen, and you lost all the photos from a wedding, or someone got bit by a snake and died after you told them to stand in tall grass, and a client decided to sue you, they could only go after the business and not things like your house or other assets. For more information on LLCs and to learn what an article of organization is head to episode 18, where I sat down with Paige, the lead attorney at shop creative law .com oh and grab a pen because Paige shared so much in that episode you will want to take notes!  Each state is a little different on the paperwork required to create your LLC, but a quick search on google will get you started in the right direction. Don’t be afraid to call your state, too, with any questions you may have!  Thinking Through What You Want to be Known for Once you have your business all squared away with the state, its time to figure out precisely what you want to photograph, what you want to be known for photographing.  This is called finding your niche.  Your niche is basically a narrowing your focus.  You could be a newborn photographer, but you could niche down to a lifestyle newborn photographer who only shoots in clients’ homes.  You could be a wedding photographer who loves photographing tattooed brides, or maybe a beach destination wedding photographer. By narrowing in on your niche, you can be extremely specific of who your ideal client is.  When you really nail down who your ideal client is, you can stop screaming to the masses and speaking to the heart of the people you are here to serve with your talent and creativity.  I did a deep dive into finding your niche back in episode 2, but here are the basics to consider when you are trying to find your niche.  First, it’s okay to not know right off the bat what you want to specialize in.  I’m guessing you change your mind a few times, deciding on what you wanted to be when you grew between the time you were five and now. You may need to try a few things to figure out what you like and what you don’t like.  If you think weddings might be your thing, then second shoot some.  If you want to try food photography, try it.  Remember you don’t have to share every single image you take, you are allowed to try things make mistakes.  Once you find a subject you like to shoot, start to narrow in on how you can carve out your own niche in the market. When you get to identify your ideal client, you want to get crystal clear on who that person is and who they are not.  Then you have the opportunity to start gearing your marketing and branding to speak directly to them instead of screaming into the crowd, hoping anyone will hire you!  Curating your Portfolio  I started pulling out the best images from ever shoot I shot and uploading them to an online gallery title portfolio.  This did a few things for me.  First, it gave me a sudden confidence boost because I got to see all of my best work in one spot. I got to see how I was growing as an artist.  I was able to look back on images and see what I did right and where I could improve.  This was almost a way of tracking my progress.  Ya know when you start working out the tell you to take before and after photos. As human beings, we thrive on achieving goals. We get a nice little hit of dopamine, the happiness hormone when we achieve something. Research has proved time and time again that we are at our happiest when we are improving. By keeping all your portfolio images in one spot instead of scattered around, you are able to see that progress.   Another thing you can do is see if there is anything you want to add to your portfolio. Take a step back and see what is missing.  Do you always use the same two poses, maybe you need to focus on learning more poses to create a more diversified gallery for your clients?  When you take that step back and see something is missing, you have an opportunity to plan a portfolio building photoshoot.  These shoots are designed to help you learn and grow as an artist.  You can use them to brush off the dust at the beginning of a new season or practice a new technique if you are interested in learning more about how you can get strategic in planning and executing portfolio building photoshoots tune into episode 28!  USE A CLIENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE I started using a client management software, or CRM I started using one almost right out of the gate, and it made me feel and act like I had a legit business. Nearly a year ago, I switched companies and switched to Honeybook.  It took me a while to make the decision to change since I had so much data stored with my other provider, but Honeybook made it super simple!   Whatever client management system you decide to go with, it should be capable of these things at a minimum.   Store contact information Allow you to create a questionnaire for clients to fill out Keep all your emails back and forth in one spot Allow you to create and store email templates Allows clients to sign contracts and book online  Accept payment online Honeybook checks all of these boxes, plus it is super easy to customize with your branding colors and elements to provide your clients with a polished and professional look!  Honeybook has a special offer for listeners of The Wise Photographer Podcast.  You can get 50% off your first year of honeybook by going to honeybookwithchelsy.com  LEARN TO USE YOUR CAMERA TO ITS FULLEST POTENTIAL  Did you know I was in business for two years before I upgraded to a full-frame camera?  Yep!  I did invest in a couple of full-frame lenses before I upgraded my body, but I wanted to absolutely master my camera before I upgraded. This meant I had to learn how to shoot in manual mode.  You can not fully become a photographer of any kind if you can not master the basics of shooting in manual.   I use to take my camera and go for a walk around the house, making sure to go into different lighting situations.  I would go from dark to light and back again, practicing finding my settings quickly.  Now my camera is an extension of my hand almost.  I can set my settings before I even take a single test shot.  But it took a lot of practice to get to that point.  Don’t rely on auto ISO or aperture priority; make it a goal to learn how to shoot in full manual everywhere you go.  Get to know your camera like the back of your hand.  A camera is only as powerful as the person holding it. I promise when you finally figure it out and really understand how you can use your settings and manipulate them to take this idea for a photo and turn it into a real photo, you will be ecstatic.  It’s like unlocking this secret. It’s incredible and wonderful and gives you the ability to stretch yourself as an artist, so you can propel your business forward leaps and bounds!  You guys, that was so much fun taking a look back down memory lane to the early days in my business.  I didn’t do everything right, I made some mistakes, but these five things really set me up for long-term success.  They helped me get a jump on my business, and I hope these items will do the same for you!  If just started or you’re thinking about starting your own business, grab this free download the 12 things you need to start a photography business. You can get your copy by going to the show notes below.

You just booked one of your first clients. You pull up to your session only to find your clients are wearing miss-matched clothing with big logos. One of them is in bright neon pink, throwing some seriously scary color casts on everyone’s skin. You had been so excited about these images to be the face of your new photography business. While you are super excited to be getting real clients, it’s just not the dream session you had hoped for. I see you; I get it. I’ve been there too. What if I told you the secret to attracting dream clients is who look and dress a certain way was through curating your portfolio. Have you cringed too when editing photos of a client when they work neon pink and the color cast was blinding, yeah me too! After it happened a couple of times in a row I decided to plan and execute a portfolio building session to genuinely show my clients want I wanted them to wear for sessions.  The beauty in planning creative shoots or portfolio shoots is you get complete control over the aesthetic of the shoot.  The key to attracting your dream clients is showing your dream clients that you are the photographer for them, you have to show what you want to shoot. Your portfolio shows the world through your eyes. Your portfolio is what potential clients want to see before hiring you. Your photography shows your unique angle on the world around you. Nobody else can bring the same creativity to the table, because no one else has had the same experiences as you. Your portfolio is a chance to get others excited about your vision. Yes, you can tell someone what you do and explain how you do it, but your visual style will translate much better when seen rather than heard. Yet when making a name for yourself as a photographer, putting together a portfolio can be the last thing on your mind. It’s hard enough to find new clients, engage with existing ones, and connect with the photography community. All the while, working on your skills and learning new techniques. Yet, when armed with a portfolio, you can take ownership of your work, creative vision, and set your business up for success.  What if your images could look cohesive and polished even if you are just starting out? These tried and true steps to planning creative shoots will help you attract the right kind of clients from here on out. Regardless of if you shoot seniors, families, or couples, these 4 steps will help you plan, execute, and build a beautiful portfolio.   The beauty in planning creative shoots for portfolio shoots is you get complete control over the shoot’s aesthetic.  The key to attracting your dream clients is showing your dream clients that you are the photographer for them; you have to show what you want to shoot. SPENDING TIME FINDING THE VISION FOR YOUR SHOOT The biggest secret to planning and executing portfolio photoshoots is having a clear vision for your shoot. By spending the time getting clear on your vision you can ensure you are creating a shoot that will attract the right clients, speak to who you are as an artist, and ensure you can pull it all together the day of the shoot. The first place to start is choosing a theme or aesthetic for your session. You want to spend time on this step.  This is where you will begging to start visually attracting your ideal clients. You get to let your creativity flow. The sky is the limit when it comes to finding the vision for your shoot. Just make sure that it speaks to the ideal clients inside your niche. For more information on finding your niche head all the way back to episode 2!  Sunset bohemian or soft pastels or maybe edgy tattoos. Just be sure it speaks to your niche. I love to create a mood board for my portfolio shoots. A mood board helps to get everyone on the same page and helps me to clarify the look and feel I want for my shoot.  create a mood board I have a little treat for you!  I created an easy to use mood board template to help you plan out your portfolio shoot!  This simple tool is easy to use and is ready for you to drag and drop images into it so you can get this concept out of your head and onto paper.  Remember, this mood board is your guiding light as you plan and execute a portfolio shoot! Head to the show notes below to get your own mood board!  I love using Shay Cochrans Pinterest page as a starting point she and her team have created the most beautiful color boards to help you gain inspiration! You will find a link to her board in the show notes below! You want to really narrow in the look and feel of your shoot, something that will represent your brand and speak to your ideal client.  SOURCING OUTFITS & PROPS  Now that you have a great feel for how your shoot will look it’s time to pick out outfits. There are two ways of going about this, you can either give your clients the style board and have them craft outfits that fit your vision, or you can provide the outfits yourself and choose clients that fit the clothes you choose.  I personally love working with local boutiques to create outfits. In exchange for the use of their clothing for the shoot, they get images that they can use for their own social media or website. I will also write up a blog post that highlights their boutique, then make sure to tag them wherever I share images. It’s really a win-win.  Be sure to refer back to your mood board as you pickout or source outfits and props to help keep you on track.  CHOOSING A DATE AND TIME AND LOCATION Now you have a clear vision for your shoot; it’s time to choose a date, time, and location for your shoot. Finding a good location may mean finding a beautiful park, going downtown, or renting out a wedding venue on a weekday.  Remember to look back at your mood board to help determine the look and feel you want for your shoot! You may be able to work out a deal with a wedding venue if they are in need of promotional images for their website or marketing.  FINDING YOUR MODELS  Once you have your outfits figured out you can put out a model call.  You can head to your favorite social media platform. I generally suggest Facebook for something like this since its generally easier for people to tag friends and family they know who might be a good fit. You want to let people know you are doing a creative shoot and looking for models.  You want to be clear on what is expected, and what they will get in return.  If you are requiring them to bring their own outfits based on your mood board let them know upfront. I suggest creating an application using google survey. This is a great way to get all the information in one spot so you can choose the best candidate for the job. Remember you want to choose models that fit the vision you have for your shoot so be sure to refer back to your mood board.  COMPENSATING YOUR MODELS When it comes to compensating models, I personally provide models with 15-20 digital images that include printing authorization, delivered through an online gallery within 2 weeks of the session.  By wording it this way, people know how many images, what they can do with the images, and when they can expect to have them back from you.  LEGAL NOTES  One of the most important things you need to ensure when you choose your models is that they sign a model release.  My favorite place for photography contracts is Shop Creative Law .com You can head back to episode 18 to meet Paige, lead attorney and founder of shop creative law. The entire point of this shoot is to use it for marketing purposes. So your models need to allow you to do that.   BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR PORTFOLIO SHOOT YOU NEED Next, its time to execute your shoot before you go into the shoot have a clear plan of what you are wanting to capture.  Certain poses you want to do, ways you want to style things.  Remember, this is a shoot that is for your portfolio. You want to have a clear plan of what you expect from yourself. This might mean sketching out poses or layouts and having a shot list ready.  AFTER THE SHOOT  Make sure after the shoot; you remind your models how they are being compensated for their time. Remember often this is through digital images so remind them how many and when they can expect to get images back from you! Now it’s time to edit your images and start using them on your website, and social media. Let these images showcase your talent as a photographer, and help you to attract the right clients!  There you have it guys the biggest secret to planning and executing a portfolio shoot to help you attract the right clients for your brand. You now have the tools to go out there and use your creativity to establish your place in the photography industry. Make sure you download your free mood board to clearly see the vision of your shoot, and make it a reality!

Welcome back, my friend! How are you! I’ve missed you guys.  I know things kind of abruptly stopped for the wise photographer podcast, and I’m sorry for that.  But I had to take a step back for my mental health.  This spring, when COVID 19 hit, I suddenly had a lot on my plate. Between becoming a homeschool teacher overnight, moving our greenhouse online, calving, and helping our church navigate streaming online, I started to feel overwhelmed.   before COVID was a pandemic Then the first few cases of COVID hit our tiny community and sent me over the edge.  You see, back in February, I was diagnosed with PTSD.   In November of 2019 was the first time I had a good look at my PTSD.  My husband, Justin, had a routine cardiology appointment. During the appointment, they found a couple of glitches with his pacemaker. His regular cardiologist was out of town, so we saw his PA. She made some adjustments with the pacemaker, and we went home.  The following Monday, we got a call that his cardiologist wanted to see him next week.   it always began with a phone call like this You see, all of his surgeries started with a phone call like this; a phone call with not much news, just a message that we needed to go somewhere to get a better look at something.  We went into his appointment, holding our breath.  We were so thankful that it just ended up being an error with scheduling in all honesty.  We should have seen him in 6 months, but he thought we needed to see him sooner for some reason.  He double-checked the pacemaker and went over blood work; everything was a-okay!  It was time to get help But my mind and emotions couldn’t shake that panicked, worried feeling. I felt like I was spiraling downward on the inside, even though everyone was okay.  It took me weeks to pull myself back up.  So in February, when a trip to ear nose and throat for Justin’s nose bleeds did the same thing, I knew it was time to talk to my doctor.  That’s when I was officially diagnosed with PTSD.  We made some medication adjustments, and I started therapy.  I still wasn't prepared for spring 2020- no one was But even with all of the preparation in February, I was not ready for what the rest of spring 2020 would look like, and when COVID19 case numbers started to grow close to home, I began to panic.  At first, I tried to grind through and push out content and be everything for everyone.  While I did do a lot of good for many people, it started to take a toll on me.  So I decided to take a step back.  Luckily church services were beginning to start up again so I could take that off my plate.  My forced sabbatical - God knew I needed it The greenhouse actually closed two weeks earlier than usual because we sold out, and school came to a close.  But I still needed to take a minute to refocus myself.  And ya know what I’m so glad I did.  We got a camper this spring and have been out enjoying it.  We’ve camped all over the state this summer and gotten to spend a lot of time with our friends and family out on the lake. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time in my gardens. My veggie garden has taken off like wildfire!  This year I built raised flower beds and installed drip irrigation. It’s crazy how much this has upped my gardening game.  I also planted a small pollinator flowerbed next to the garden.  I wanted it for the garden, but a bonus I hadn’t planned on was all the flower arrangements I’ve gotten to have inside my house!   My garden has been my refuge this summer. Its the place you can find me after a long day of cleaning up the same mess ten times a day.  My garden is where I find myself humming hymns to myself as I weed or pick peas. It’s my daily getaway to help me refresh and refocus.  While photography will continue to be what we focus on here on the podcast, I’ve decided to start sharing a bit more about my garden, plant care, and tips for finding your own little space to refresh and refocus while you tend to your plants over on the blog. I’ll be sending out my email subscribers’ links to those posts too!  finding myself so I could begin to create again This little forced sabbatical has been so soothing for my mind and body, and soul. As July rolled around, I could feel that creative restlessness start to bubble up. I finally had the want and drive to begin creating again. So I’m easing back into my business.  I’m starting to plan out the rest of my 2020 podcast episodes and product launches.  And I’m excited for you to see it all unfold.  Starting next week, we will be back to our regularly scheduled episodes.   Though I haven’t been releasing episodes much this summer, I have kept up with my weekly emails.  It has been so beautiful to connect with listeners from around the world.  And it blows my mind when I see just how far this little podcast is reaching!  weekly chats have been one of my favorite parts of the week! I would love to invite you to join me for weekly chats inside your inbox.  I share a lot more personal updates, and exclusive tips and tricks I only share with my email subscribers, oh, and all the garden updates too!  We have a great line up of guests, but we are also looking for more guests to come on the show and share some tactical tips and tricks.  If you would like to be a guest or want to nominate someone, you can head to wise photographer podcast .com and fill out the nomination form at the bottom of the page! 

Join host Chelsy Weisz and Emily Davis of KiddieClicks Photography as they walk through marketing tips for preschool photographers, how to get your foot in the door with preschool directors, and build a relationship that creates repeat schools season after season.  Emily is also offering listeners an exclusive offer for 20% off her premiere preschool course where you will learn everything from lighting and backdrop choices to posing, marketing and so much more! Find out more at emilydaviseducation.com and use code: WISEPHOTOGRAPHER at check out.   Check out the show notes here! 

Researchers say that imposter syndrome has a tendency to affect women more often than men. Today I'm sitting down with Tiffany Eurich to share 5 way you can kick imposter syndrome to the curb!

Stephanie Thacker is the founder and CEO of Steadfast Bookkeeping Company. After seven years in small businesses and corporate, Stephanie started Steadfast Bookkeeping in 2011, because of her passion for helping business owners achieve their dreams. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs as well as running a few businesses herself, she realized that bookkeeper is just one of the many hats that business leaders wear today. Links for Stephanie www.steadfastbookkeeping.com https://www.facebook.com/steadfastbookkeeping/ Instagram - @steadfastbookkeepingco

Today we are chatting all about client workflows.  So what is a client workflow? I want to quickly break this down so you know exactly what it is I'm talking about today! For me when I talk about client workflow, it's a list of all the steps that you do to book your client, get them ready for their photoshoot, deliver your images, and what happens after that.   Listen in as I break down the essentials of a workflow and how they can change the process and easy for your business!  Sign up for the worksheet here! 

Today's guest is Nathan Holritz. Nathan is an entrepreneur based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Nathan photographed weddings for over a decade before becoming the founder and CEO of PhotographersEdit.com. He's also the host of the Boca podcast. In his free time, Nathan enjoys spending time with his two children, his family and his friends. He also enjoys reading, playing soccer and riding motorcycles. I reached out to Nathan to come on the show today for a few different reasons. A lot of my coaching clients have been looking at their businesses and really starting to break them down to see what's working and what's not working for them both as business owners but also as Moms. We've really been digging into finding what hangups or snags are keeping them from providing a great client experience, but also how their workflow is affecting their families. 

Hey, guys, this is a little bit of a different podcast then what we have been doing lately. Today I'm going to be chatting about recent events. But as a quick little PSA, if you are listening around little ones I would suggest popping in some headphones. While there is nothing graphic or explicit in today's episode I just want you to be aware that we are going to be chatting about the COVID 19 virus and its implications on our lives and communities, and I know in our household our first grader has been listening to a lot of this and its starting to take a toll on her, so we are being very diligent in how we talk about things lately, and the type of information we are broadcasting into our homes. I had another episode planned for this week originally, and we will get that back into the schedule soon, but I really felt like I needed to address everything going on in the world today.  I've really put off recording this episode for a few reasons. First off I know that I am extremely privileged. My family does not solely depend on my photography income. I am able to stay home with our kids without any real changes to our day to day lives. I know that there are a lot of photographers, out there who are not sure how they will pay rent next month.  And I don't have the answers. I don't feel very wise right now. I've had to remind myself that this is my first pandemic, and it's likely yours too! 

I was so excited to interview Erica, who is a Commercial Photographer! She launched her business seven short months ago, and she, like many creative businesses, are still trying to figure things out and put the pieces together. She started as a prop stylist, dominated the niche and now and it's her primary expertise. Taking the leap to branch on her own, her experiences, the opportunities that she has worked for and her vision of what makes a commercial photographer is a breath of fresh air. She is the real deal, and a woman many photographers should look up to, or any entrepreneur just starting out!

We as busy mamas and photographers have to wear a lot of hats. We are chauffeurs, personal shoppers, and chefs, bookkeepers, client relation specialists, editors, website designers, house cleaners, copywriters, stylists, lifeguards, we do all the things. It can feel like the only way to get everything done is to multitask it all. But here is the thing there really is no such thing as multitasking. What we are really doing is task switching. Task switching can look like a little reading, write a post, respond to some emails, scroll Instagram, then do it all over again. We are never really giving any one-task our full attention. This means it can take way longer to actually finish a task, and we are increasing the chance of errors by 50%. 

Today I'm sitting down with Paige Hulse. Paige is the founder and lead attorney at the creative law shop and online resource for contract templates and business tools for creative entrepreneurs. After working as a contract litigator by day and pursuing her creative outlet of calligraphy by night, Paige recognized the need for legally sound resources for the creative business owners and be in her own law firm. Page hosts law as well as the creative law shop back in 2017 now, Paige is thrilled to be able to support creatives around the world with the shop as well as her trademark and business law services through Paige Hulse law. I knew I wanted to bring a lawyer onto the podcast at some point and so when I was searching around, I'd found actually found the creative law shop about six months ago and there was a few things that I've really loved about the shop right off the bat. 

We are 8 weeks into the new year. By now the surge of energy and hype of the new year has worn off, and it's possible you feel like you're barely keeping your head above water.  Friend, it is okay to feel the way you do, because here is the thing at some point during your entrepreneurial journey you might feel tired, you might feel overwhelmed and stretched too thin like you're trying to find that light at the end of a tunnel. You know if something doesn't fundamentally change in your business, you will have to go back to that windowless office with a boss you hate. Sometimes all it takes is a little guidance from someone a few steps ahead to get you on the right track, and that my friend is why I'm offering one on one coaching. STRATEGY CALL THE BLOG WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE

I'm really excited for today's guest. Ashlyn Carter is a conversion copywriter and marketing strategist specializing in wedding & creative industries. She traded Fortune 500 clients in corporate marketing to bring in more than seven-figures in her business writing for creatives like Jenna Kutcher, Beth Kirby of Local Milk, Julie Solomon, Katelyn James, Hilary Rushford, Lara Casey/Cultivate What Matters, and more. Her launch funnels have generated upwards of $500 thousand in revenue for clients. She's been a contributing educator with Creative Live, ConvertKit, and HoneyBook, and has been featured in Southern Living, Style Me Pretty, and more. Ashlyn lives in Atlanta and convinces her husband (and baby boy) to go with her to grab margs and tacos weekly. I wanted to invite Ashlyn on the show today to talk about why words matter.  Ashlyn has such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to how we can use words but more specifically stories on our websites, and in our marketing to help us to connect with and book our dream clients.  If we can't articulate what it is about our service and experience that sets us apart from the rest of the photographers then we are forced to compete for clients only on price.  THE BLOG WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE

Wedding photographers are some of the strongest, smartest, and most creative people I know.  Wedding photography is not for the faint of heart. Weddings are long days, where you are on your feet all day.  You carry a lot of weight on your shoulders. Quite literally with all your gear, but also the weight of responsibility that comes with weddings. There are no do-overs, things don't get canceled for rain, and lighting is definitely going to change throughout the day. Shooting weddings is extremely hard on your body too I mean they call it a “wedding hangover” for a reason.  Every muscle in your body screams at you to stay in bed.  So why do we do it?  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE

I have so much respect for Shay as an entrepreneur, as a photographer and as a mom and wife. She has been so honest about what her journey has looked like to grow her business and finding this balance between being a wife and a mom to two beautiful daughters. Today, we are talking about her journey to find this balance, what it's has looked like and she is also sharing some of her best tips for other photographers to do the same. Shay has built a business just her in her dark guest bedroom to be in a skyrise office with a team of half a dozen members, still functioning in essentially two days a week of work, 16 hours of work. She believes you can work, and your business can flourish within boundaries even seemingly intense, very limiting boundaries. She's seen it and she's lived it.   WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

So let's start with the basics, what is a model release?  A model release is a document that is signed by the subject (your clients) of a photograph, giving you the photographer permission to use the images taken of him or her. It is a legal document between the subject and the owner of the photograph (which is you, the photographer) in which the subject gives their permission for you to use the images for your marketing, website, blog, etc. So why do we need a model release?  By having a model release in place, you are protecting yourself from legal action being taken against you for the use of the images you take of another person. A model release will protect the photographer as well as the person being photographed by stating where and how the images may be used. Without a model release, we could be infringing on your clients' privacy rights by showcasing their photos- even if it's just on Instagram or Facebook.  So how do you ensure you are covered?  The easiest way to ensure you are covered is to have the model release built into the contract that your client signs when booking their session. If you are in need of a full contract, I highly suggest checking out the Paige Hules Creative Law Shop and shopcreativelaw.com. I love how Paige breaks things down to be understood!   I use Honeybook to house all my contracts and client communications. I love that I can create contact templates that will auto-populate names, addresses, phone numbers, and packages into the contracts, which I can easily send over to clients to sign electronically.  There are certain times when you may need to have someone sign a model release after the photograph is taken this, for instance. Paige gives an example if you decide to publish a photo of the bridal party, but you haven't had those bridesmaids sign anything saying they consent. Model releases are essential in the case of a stylized shoot where the primary purpose of the session is to create marketing and branding images. The creative law shop offers a complete stylized shoot contract that has the model release built-in!   Another critical thing to note is that you need to obtain a model release every time you photograph a client. So even if it is a repeat client, you legally need to have a new model release.  There you have it the short and sweet of model releases! If you haven't already joined our Facebook group, I would love for you to join us search Wise Photographer Podcast Insiders on Facebook or head to the link in the show notes! That's it for now. I'll see you next week! 

Your website is your online store, its where people can learn more about you, see your vibe, check out your work, and connect for more information. I absolutely love web design; I think I was a website designer in another lifetime, if this photography thing didn't work out for me, I would have totally gone into that!   If social media is the introduction or the invitation, your website is the party! You have complete control of your user's experience, and there are so many fancy things you can do! With all the fancy bells and whistles you can have on a website, there are five must-have aspects that NEED to be on your website as a photographer, and today we are chatting all about them!  The most important page on your website is often overlooked by photographers. It is the about me page.  This is one of the most viewed pages on my website. This is where clients get to know me; my family learns about Justin's heart valve surgeries and how it changed me as a person. It sums up all the work you just did in episode 11, where we dug into creating a personal brand.  This is where you get to be creative with your words- which is something photographers can struggle with at times but is so important. Another option is to create a video! The Hollis Co has a great video that showcases their company values!    Jenna Kutcher uses a Madlib style about me page, and Marie Forleo's about me page showcases where she is now, but also know where she started!  Whatever you do, please, for the love of all things holy, do not write- I've had a camera in my hand since I can remember, and I love coffee.  The next thing that should be up on your site as a photographer is your portfolio.  My portfolio gets updated about once a year. However, in my early years, I was updating it almost after every shoot! Here is the thing about your portfolio. You don't have to show every photo you have ever taken. You don't even have to showcase every session or wedding you have photographed. Get picky when it comes to choosing images for your portfolio showcase what you want to shoot, and nothing else. If you want only to photograph weddings, then do not have family reunions sweet 16s and newborn photos in your portfolio.   One of the best things I did last year added an extra step to my client workflows before I closed their project. I got this idea from Katelyn James. I would go through their gallery in cloudspot and download any images that I thought I might want to add to my portfolio when I updated it in the fall. Then I created a collection inside cloudspot called 2019 portfolio. Then I uploaded the images I had just picked and saved them there. This does a few things. 1- it makes it wayyy easier to update my portfolio in the fall, and 2. I have all of my best work in one spot that I can pull for images on social media, or for blog posts!!  The next thing you need to have on your website is client testimonials.  I call these love notes on my site, but this is where you are going to show social proof. Think about it, would you pay $3000 for something without reading the reviews? I know I wouldn't!  So how do you get these reviews? Ask your clients! If you did your job right and provided an amazing experience and beautiful images, your clients will be more then likely to leave you a review! I now have this automated to go out in an email a little over a month after the wedding!   This way, I have testimonials coming in, and I don't even have to think about it!  I also suggest that you include your client's photo next to their testimonial. This helps to establish a little more trust!  The next thing you need on your website is a link to your blog! We talked all about blogging in episode 10. You want to make sure clients can find it! You could even have a section where you highlighted some of your help content. If you're not sure what I'm talking about when I say help content check out episode 10, where I broke down the three types of content and how to choose your blogging categories!  The final thing you want to include on your website is a contact form! I have my contact form linked to my client management software Honeybook. This form collects all the information I need from couples right away, like their names, email address, wedding date, and location, how they heard about me and asks them a fundamental question.  Tell me about your wedding, what are you looking for in your photographer? This will let me see where they are in the planning process and helps me see if they are a good fit. A bride who replies with a one-liner might not be the best fit.   I love that honeybook automatically pulls this information and alerts me when someone has inquired. This also means I can start the booking process right away, even on my phone!  These are non-negotiable things that you need to have on your website as a photographer.   WISE PHOTOGRAPEHR FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

It seems like someone is opening a photography business around every corner. With the affordability of digital cameras, and allure of a fun, creative outlet you can make money from, its easy to say the market feels oversaturated. On the surface level, each photographer isn't all that different, we all have access to the same equipment, with the right amount of funds we have access to the same training, and resources. But there is one thing that can't be duplicated, and that is the YOU factor. YouR=r personality; your likes dislike, experiences are what set you apart as a photographer. Everything you have done, seen, and experienced in life are what makeup you! Those are the reasons people love you or hate you! Today we are going to take a look at how you can harness the power of personal branding to help you stand out in the sea of other photographers. So when you think of a typical brand, you might think it includes a logo, some colors, and a font. When I say Mcdonalds, Nike, or apple, I bet you see their logos flash across your mind! These brands have millions and millions of dollars to plaster their logo all over everything from cups, billboards, commercials, Facebook ads, and more! I don't know about you but I don't have millions of dollars to plaster my logo everywhere. Also, if I had millions of dollars, I would have a second home somewhere warm for the winter! So what other option do we have to build client awareness and loyalty? I want to introduce you to personal branding. Personal branding is taking who you are as a person and infusing it into every part of your business. Today on the Wise photographer Podcast, we are chatting all about creating and building a personal brand! So what is a personal brand? I want to give you some examples of personal brands, both inside and outside the photography industry. First off, one of my favorites -Chip and Joanna Gaines. These two have created a freaking empire based on their personal brand. Chip and Joanna first entered the national scene when they stared as the hosts of the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper. Now they are not the first people to have a show where they fixed up a house. Yeah, every house is a little different, but the process is the same gut, design, install, reveal, repeat. Why did Fixer-upper take off like wildfire? We got to know Chip, and Jojo thought the process. We got to meet their kids, see their chickens. We got to see Chip's goofy side when he ate a cockroach while showing a gross house. We saw how in love they are with each other, learned their family values, and fell in love with shiplap along the way. They have now quit the show, launched a magazine, wrote multiple books, have rug lines, a product like at target, their own online store, and completely transformed the city of Waco, Texas with the market at the silos, Silos baking co. Magnolia Table, and The Little Shop on Bosque. People are flocking to Waco; I'm trying to convince my husband to take a drive there while we are in San Antonio next month! But here is the deal this Magnolia empire had a little bit of a rough start. Head back to the first couple of episodes of Fixer upper. You will see Joanna with this dark makeup on and clothes that feel too formal for her. You will see Chip in a collard shirt trying not to crack jokes while he's talking to the cameras. Jenna Kutcher also has a super amazing personal brand! She is known for her laid back beachy style, her relationship with her husband, and love for mac and cheese. A personal brand is a connection to an individual. It's when our clients can put a face to a business and build a connection and relationship with the person behind the camera. So how do we start? So I want to give you a little exercise. Grab a paper and number it 1-30 I want you to hit pause and come up with a list of 30 things about you- this list could include things you are passionate about, stories from your past, surprising things about you, funny quirks that make you the person you are, things you like, things you don't like, your thoughts about travel, jobs you've had, hobbies you have, or roles you have in life. Here are some things on my list I'm married; I'm a mom, my family farms and ranches, former rodeo queen, I only wear black socks, the flavor of bubble gum makes me sick, I love black and white, I have 4 fiddle leaf fig trees, I love yoga, I moved around a lot as a kid, I love modern farmhouse look, my husband has had 3 heart valve replacement surgeries, we have a greenhouse in our back yard, I'm more of an old dog person. My faith is really important to me, I've had a miscarriage, Hit pause and make your list! Ok, so all of these things make up you; these are things that other people will either have in common with you or find interesting if they don't. Each one of these items is a little touchpoint with people. The first step is to start seeing how you can weave these things into your branding and marketing. This could look like sharing a funny story about how I was a kid I was starting to get car sick but just told my parents that my head was really hurting while we were driving along the winding highway through the rocky mountains. My mom gave me some bubble gum Tylenol, which I later threw up all over the car two miles down the road, and now I can not stand the smell of bubble gum! Or sharing photos of my fiddle leaf fig trees as they grow, and giving tips for caring for these picky plants! You now have an entire month of things to talk about on social media! On your list, you are going to have some things that are worthy of a blog post while other things might just be something that makes an appearance on Instagram stories every once in a while, and some things might fall in the middle and be great content for an Instagram post or Facebook post. If your feeling super fancy take some markers and color code the topics you want to share on stories, posts and on your blog. Once you do this for a month, repeat this same list again next month with the same 30 topics. After two months, take a look at which of the touchpoints have had the most interaction. So what does interaction look like, it could be likes, it could be comments, DMs, people talking to you about in person! A few things will sort themself to the top of the list. Hopefully, you will have about 3-5 items that got more traction than the rest. This list of 3-5 are things you want to strengthen and start to highlight across your website, your social media, and your visual branding. These are the pillars that you are building your personal brand around. Some of my pillars are my husband's heart surgeries, my love for plants, and especially my fiddle leaf fig trees, being a farm wife, and my kids. But chelsy, what does your husband's heart surgeries have to do with your wedding photography business? Our journey has made me appreciate and value what I do so much more. I care about photographing couples who are committing to standing by each other's side through all life will throw at them. I'm charged with documenting the day they make that promise, the day the step into the unknown hand in hand. It's something I hold sacrad and sharing that story and how it's changed me is going to attract couples who have the same values. That one seems to fit well right but what do plants have to do with wedding photography? Here is the thing I get it that not everyone who keeps up with the growth of my fiddle leaf fig trees is going to be getting married any time soon. Maybe they are already married. But I bet the odds are pretty high that they know someone who is getting married, and guess who is going to be top of mind when someone asks them if they know any wedding photographers. They are going to tell their friend you need to check out Chelsy, she has these cute kids, her husband just went through these major surgeries, and she has this giant fiddle leaf fig tree that I'm obsessed with!! The best thing about a personal brand is you can't be copied. Sure some other photographer could copy your logo, your brand colors, but they haveing had the experiences, the struggles, the likes, and dislikes that make up your personal brand. Your personal brand is what is going to let you stand out in the sea of photographers to attract the right clients. Alright, guys what did you think? You have a list of 30 things to share on social media and on your blog right now! So if your in the middle of your slow season like I am, you have no excuse to show up! I would love to hear what you included on your list of 30! Do you hate bubble gum too? Hope over the Wise Photographers Facebook group and share your list or get some ideas on what to include on your own! WISE PHOTOGRAPEHR FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

You might already have a blog alongside your website, or you are considering getting one. We have all heard that we should have a blog. But here is the thing about a blog, if it's not updated frequently it can send our potential clients the message that we are no longer in business! So besides that, why is blogging so important as a photographer? Photography is a service and a personal one at that. Your clients are letting you into their lives, and trusting you with some pretty big moments. The more you can give them a reason to feel comfortable with hiring you, the better. Blogging is a great tool to build that trust with prospective clients. It also lets those prospective clients see your most recent work, and can help to educate them about your photography style, and process! Consistently blogging will also boost your SEO- that's a fancy term for search engine optimization - basically blogging is going to help filter you to the top of the list when someone is looking for a photographer in their area! So today, we will be going over how to create a system for creating great content that is going to get you in front of the right clients! WISE PHOTOGRAPEHR FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

Today is January first, and that means goal-setting is on everyone's mind!! while I don't think there is really anything super special about January first. You can start a goal at any time, so if you are listening to this some time in the middle of the year, that is totally fine; all of this will still apply no matter the time of year! So this February I am finally getting my farming and ranching husband off the ranch, and we are taking a trip to San Antonio, the only reason he is going there is so we can go to the Stock Show! - baby steps, guys! Anyway, the first thing the travel site I was using asked me was where an I flying from, and where do I want to go? This is the same with goals we need to figure out where we want to go, and where we are starting. I'm going to walk you through a little exercise quick, so hit pause right fast and grab a notebook or open up the notes app on your phone- or Evernote if you're a cool kid! Okay, so the first thing I want you to do is to imagine the way you want your life to look like when your 80 years old or maybe 100!  What impacts have you had on those closest to you?  How would your kids or spouse describe you in your obituary?   What impacts did you have on your community?  Was there a cause you were really involved with how did you make others feel? Okay, what impacts did you leave on the world?  What are those big scary awesome things you did to leave the world a little bit better? How does your body feel at 80? Are you in shape, are you healthy? Okay, now, where did you travel in your lifetime? What does your work look like?    Don't stop to think about what your writing; just keep filling that page with all the things you did, people you loved, and the impact you had. Okay, now we see where we want to go, and where we are at currently, its time to set some goals to move us in the right direction.  WISE PHOTOGRAPEHR FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

Today I'm interviewing Myrna of Myrna Loy photography. Myrna is a military spouse currently located in Guam. Though the first time I met Myrna was when her family was based in Los Vegas. Myrna is an exceptionally talented photographer who photographs families maternity and boudoir. Myrna is a dear friend of mine! I'm so excited for her to be one of my first interviews. Today we are talking about steps to take when relocating your photography business. Myrna is also launching a new online course with the step by step guide she has used as she moved her family and business across the globe! All of the information for this course can be found in the show notes below! Now without further ado, here is our interview!  What are some things you did before you move that help out with the transition?   I think the biggest thing I did was market and location research. I did a lot of that on social media as well as google. I researched who was here, what kind of styles other photographers had.  While researching, you can get a good idea for the locations you will roughly be photographing since other photographers will be sharing images. I was also looking to see if I needed any special permits. Las Vegas required tons of permits, so that was something I was looking into as well.  I also started using hashtags that all centered around Guam.  You mentioned reaching out to other photographers, how did you go about that? When I lived in Vegas, there was a huge Facebook group for photographers, so I searched for one in Guam and found a group. I posted in the group that I would be moving there. Some reached out in a friendly way, and those people have now become great friends!  They already know the laws and permits and tax laws. Of course, you need to take tax advice you get from someone with a grain of salt, but it was beneficial to reach out to other photographers.  How far out from your move do you start looking at advertising in your new location?  So when we moved here, we had about a 6-month warning. The first thing I did was get started on SEO, so whenever I blogged a post, I would use Guam Photographer in my keywords. I made sure to note somewhere that I wasn't there yet, but I would be there around this timeframe.  Then for social media, I changed all my hashtags from las vegas to Guam.  What are some first steps that you took when you first arrive at your new location? The first step was to scout what location I would want to shoot and then start setting up creative shoots so I can get that scenery into my portfolio, and social media.  WISE PHOTOGRAPEHR FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

Get the most out of your offseason as a photographer. This list of 11 things to work on will have your photography business running like the well-oiled machine it could be! Don't just shut the door for the down season use it wisely! WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

A brand and a business sound pretty similar but in all reality, they are really different. A business is offering a product or service and delivering it. A business is only able to stand apart and compete on price. a brand has a personality, has interests, things that make it stand apart, it evolves over time, it grows just like we as individuals grow. Today we are chatting about what a brand is, and how we as photographers can work at building a brand instead of just a business. what is a brand trying to find a good definition for a brand is hard. It's hard because it encompasses a lot. Originally the word brand was used by rangers in the late 1880s when they would physically brand animals to identify them.    So I live on a farm and ranch myself.  For years we only used ear tags on our cows and calves to identify them.  When calves are born we tag one year with their calf tag.  This has the same number as their mom's cow tag.  For the heifers, we kept they would get their own cow tag in the other ear.    If you have never seen an ear tag is a rubber tag that is pierced through the ear just like we would wear earrings. This system works pretty good for a few years, but over the years the tags get worn down, and you can't read the numbers after a few years. Sometimes cows will rip out their ear tags if they get caught on something, or stepped on.     About two years ago we started freeze branding our heifers.  We raise black Angus so by freeze branding the heifers they now have a white letter and number that is all their own.  It won't fade over the years, and it is easy to see from across the pen.     We use brands to identify each cow individually, but may ranches have their own unique brand that use to represent their ranch.  This makes it harder for someone to steal your animals and pass them off as theirs at the sale barn. Cattle wrestling sounds like something out of the 1800s but I ensure you it still happens today!    Each ranch has it's own reputation, as the ranch is passed down from generation to generation that reputation will change.  Each generation will have its own spin on how they conduct business, what bloodlines they decide to integrate into the heard, and the final product it produces. All of that will go into how people feel about the brand.    While we won't be physically branding our clients or customers we do want to create that reputation, perception, and feeling that people have when they think about our businesses.    Much like a ranches brand reputation and preception is going to evolve over time so should ours.  This gives us the ability to pivot.  Businesses who are able to pivot are the ones who are able to keep the doors open. So what does pivoting look like?   A pivot usually occurs when a company makes a fundamental change to their business after determining (usually through market research) that their product isn't meeting the needs of their intended market.   WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/

Show Notes Instagram Website   Facebook Insiders Group   Trello for Photography One of the most frequently asked questions I get from new photographers is how do I book more clients? I always ask what their client experience looks like.  If you can create a client experience that wows your clients, they are going to become walking talking billboards ready to sing your name each and every time someone they know is looking for a photographer.     We all know word of mouth advertising is one of the best forms of advertising but how do you start to get people talking?  The answer is your client experience, give them an experience they can't help but talk about.    What is a Client Experience? So what exactly is client experience, or a client workflow?  A client experience is a step by step journey each client will take with you from booking to session prep, to the session, and finally your final product delivery.     There is one key to this process that is so simple yet often the MOST overlooked and that is the simple concept of under-promising and over-delivering.    Under Promising Over Delivering So where are some areas where photographers can under-promise and over-deliver?  The first would be on turn around time when it comes to images. If you know it is going to take 2 weeks for you to edit images and get them uploaded into your online gallery and sent over then you should tell them it will take longer than that.   Just because it should only take you 2 weeks does not mean that it will every time.  Kids get sick, you get sick. Life can happen and suddenly you could be passed that two-week mark.  By building in a week or two buffer you are giving yourself some room to breathe if something comes up.  But if all goes to plan you look like a hero for getting images back to your client faster than expected.    Another area photographers can under promise and over deliver is on the number of images. If you generally produce 50 images during a family session or an engagement session, then only promise 35-40.  This does a few things. It is over-delivering on the promise, but it can also make clients feel a little extra special, and give them a bit of a confidence boost.  Welcome Packets Welcome packets are one of the easiest ways to start the client experience off on the right foot.  A welcome packet can be printed for more of a high end feel, or you can even design a simple pdf that you email over. Inside your welcome packet you can send tips on what to wear, and how they can prepare for their session.    For weddings, you could include planning tips for brides, sample timelines, or a list of top vendors in your area.  My bridal guide includes the pros and cons of doing a first look, as well as educating my brides on sunset photos.    The point of the welcome packet is to provide all the information clients will need to have a successful portrait experience. Answer questions before they even ask them and it also validates their decision to choose you as a photographer right away.  With wedding photography, clients are often booking you pretty far in advance and putting down a pretty big deposit.  Getting a printed welcome packet in the mail shortly after cutting a check can help build your client's confidence in you, and gives them a reason to talk about you to others.     So should you do a printed or a digital welcome packet? I think this depends on your price points.  If you are on the higher end I would definitely suggest printed. If you are on the lower end I think digital is totally fine!  I have found that printed material does tend to get read more than just an emailed PDF.   Communication Communication between you and your client is also part of the overall experience.  After each and every session I shoot about an hour after I will send my clients a quick text.  This text is short and just thanks them for choosing me as their photographer, tells them how much fun I had at the shoot, and how I can't wait for them to see their final images!     After the wedding, I send out an email that congratulated them on their first day of marriage, and thanks them again.  I remind them that their blog post will be up on Wednesday and that they can expect their full gallery within 4-6 weeks. I know that this will take me far less time, but it sets the expectation so that I can exceed it.    Client Gifts The next part of the client experience I want to talk about is client gifts. Client gifts are such a fun way to show off your personality, and brand, and surprise and delight clients. Client gifts don't need to be super fancy or expensive.  Even a handwritten thank you, card counts, and will only cost a few dollars between the card and the stamp.  Client gifts are fun, but they need to be purposeful.  I send out a client gift each time after my clients have spent money with me for a few different reasons. One it validates their choice and builds anticipation, but two each gift also serves as a trigger for my clients to talk about me.     Consider Cost   The Biggest thing I want to stress when it comes to client gifts is that you figure out the cost and make sure you are taking that into account when you are setting your prices.    The next thing about client gifts is making sure that they are on-brand for you.  As a wedding photographer, my clients are young and have just moved in with each other. My brand is a pretty modern farmhouse I love all things chip and Joanna from HGTV's show fixer upper.  When clients book with me I send out their bridal guide, as well as a candle from Chip and Joanna's store magnolia.  I also include a small heart-shaped ring dish, and a handwritten card. I have a small ring dish next to my kitchen sink, and next to my bed to keep my wedding right safe while I'm cleaning or when I'm sleeping. Client gifts are fun and nice, but they need to serve a purpose, otherwise they are just taking away from your bottom line.    When designing your client experience, you want to make sure you map out what needs to happen at each step along the way and be sure to account for the cost if any for those steps.  Remember to track your packaging costs, shipping, and any other supplies.    If you are trying to come up with ideas for client gifts check out teak and twine .com they have beautiful creative gift boxes that they will ship directly to your clients for you.  It's also a great spot to get ideas for gift boxes you could put together yourself!    Don't Run The Risk While client gifts are great and can certainly help you up to your prices. The biggest part of the client experience is under-promising and over-delivering.  I have talked to so many people who have worked with other photographers who told them photos would be ready in a few weeks. But in reality, it took months to get them back.  The thing is if the photographer had told them it would be a few months from the get-go they probably wouldn't have batted an eye at it. But now the expectation they had wasn't met.  This conversation usually ends with “ I like this photographer, she does good work but I probably won't go back again.”    That is not something we want our clients to be saying to themselves or to anyone else.  Instead, we want them to be blown away by their experience ready to book again, and getting all their friends on board too!    Homework So here is your homework sit down this week and map out each step your client will go through with you.  When will you send reminder emails, when will you send a welcome packet?  When can they expect images back, when do you actually plan to have images back?    I'd love to hear how you are under-promising and over-delivering in your business. Join our Wise Photographer's Facebook Group and join in on the conversation.  

Connect on Instagram Complete Show Notes Trello for Photography As photographers, we have the blessing of being able to work from home for 90% of our job.  This sounds like an amazing concept, we get to start our day whenever we want, yoga pants are always acceptable, and no makeup is required. You get to be home with your kids to watch them grow and make memories! You can travel if you want, and have complete control right!  There is an overwhelming sense of freedom as if you could accomplish almost anything. The flexibility of being a photographer and deciding your own schedule is extremely appealing. However, just like moving out of your parents' home, reality soon kicks in and you suddenly realize what you've got yourself into. First, it dawns on you that the lack of accountability (i.e., not having a boss telling you what to do) means that you're going to have to make sure you're motivated to do the work. As well as missing your boss (yes, it's possible), it's likely at times that you could miss a buzzing, social office environment. Although it might sound appealing to work in your pajamas, it could make it difficult to switch ‘work mode' on. Don't get me wrong there are so many amazing things about being able to work from home, but it's important to recognize that working from home does not necessarily mean an easy ride. Today I'm sharing the best tips I've found to be more productive when working from home.  Being productive at home sounds like it should be easy, and it might be the first few weeks, but if we don't create boundaries, and routines to keep us going we can end up being sidetracked, and constantly running in circles chasing our own tail not actually accomplishing anything that moves the needle. Get the House in Order The first step to getting my house in order was to declutter. Whether you work in a home office, kitchen or living room, if there's “stuff” around that reminds you of your household chores, your eyes will go there and you'll get distracted.  The recently popular Marie Kondo Netflix series had everyone and their sister jumping on the declutter bandwagon. I think this is a really great method if you can spend 4-5 days deep-diving into your entire house. If you don't have the time to set aside to complete that method I definitely suggest checking out the book Decluttering at the Speed of Life- Winning the Never-Ending Battle with Stuff. By Dana K White. Dana is a blogger over at the blog called A Slob Comes Clean. Com Dana's other book How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind is great too! I'll link both in the show notes below! Having less stuff around my house meant that I could clean up faster. Having less stuff meant that there were fewer things to distract me from work reminding me of the never-ending list of household chores and projects.  Try creating cleaning themes for each day. Here are my tasks for each day!  Monday- floors  Tuesday- Grocery store and errands  Wednesdays- Laundry Day  Thursday - Dusting, and Glass  Friday- Bathroom Create non-negotiable daily tasks Do the dishes every day Sweep the kitchen and vacuum the entryway rug  Create a space all your own Creating a home office has many benefits. Having a home office can help to reduce distractions from the rest of the house. It can also be a source of creativity for you.  I recently converted our spare bedroom into my home office.  I've got clean white walls, black sticky notes, warm wood tones, and tons and tons of plants! I' don't think I mentioned yet that somehow I have turned into the crazy plant lady. My new home office is a space for me to close the door, get work done, store all my photography gear, complete with a battery charging station! It's also just across the hall from my son Grayson's room which means I can hear him when he wakes up from his nap. I love having space I can store all my gear, and when I walk into it I know it's time to get work done. There is also a financial benefit to having a home office. The IRS offers a tax deduction for those who use a portion of their home specifically for business purposes. Plus, having a home office is quite a bit cheaper than leasing an office or co-working space on a monthly basis.  Get ready for the day! It can be so tempting to think working from home means sitting around in pajamas with the television on in the background. Not true! Just like in an office setting, you have to set yourself up for success when working from home. Get ready as you would if you were going into the office. The number one thing that has increased my productivity at work, and made me a better mama, is to start a morning routine. I'll be sharing all about morning routines on an upcoming episode so be on the lookout for that, but I want to share some ways you can craft the perfect morning routine for yourself.  Decide what areas of life you want to focus on each morning  Brainstorm action items for each life area Determine what time you need to wake up  Prepare the night before — pick a workout video, lay out clothes, program your coffee pot,  Wake up without hitting snooze — so hard the first few mornings, but as you start to see and feel how much better a morning routine can make you feel it gets easier!   Set your Schedule.  No matter if you work from home sporadically, a few days a week or all the time, you'll need to plan out your daily schedule. Establish your start time, midday break periods and what time you'll clock out for the day. I use the program Trello to plan out my daily tasks both for work and life each day. I actually created a course which is a sponsor for this episode   Trello for photography is an online course that walks you through how I use Trello as a photographer you can find out more at TrelloforPhotography.com.  I use Trello to track my day to day tasks, I have a board for all my wedding clients where I keep track of my workflow to ensure each client is getting the best possible client experience I can offer, and duplicate over and over! Wedding photography is often a long process with couples booking months to a year in advance, it can be so easy for things to fall through the cracks if you're not tracking things efficiently!  Take a Break Even if we are engaged and enjoying our work we can still feel fried from too much stress and too many hours on the job.  Burnout in one area of life can easily scorch other areas as well.  In Brendon Burchard's book High-Performance Habits he shares that burnout is often just a feeling of fatigue, and that has a simple fix.  If we can give ourselves a short mental and physical refresh or reset each hour we can dramatically improve how we feel.  He notes on to share that our brains need more downtime than we think, to process information, recover and deal with life, so we can be more productive.  He suggests taking intermittent breaks throughout the day. If you want to feel more energized, creative, and effective at work and still leave work with enough oomph for the life part the ideal breakpoint is to stop your work and give your mind and body a break every forty-five to sixty minutes.   Shut off Notifications Now that we have eliminated the household distractions, decided on what is going to work on, and set a timer to take a break, it's time to make sure we are using that block of work time efficiently. Say you're sitting down to edit a session and your phone dings with a notification that you were tagged in a post on Instagram. Well, of course, you have to go check it out!  Next thing you know the timer to take a break is going off and you haven't edited a single photo because you got sucked down the Instagram hole.  My next tip for staying productive is to turn off notifications on everything.  Our phones and apps are designed to keep us on them. Each time we hear the pin to ding on our phones our brain gets a hit of dopamine much like a slot machine does in order to keep someone gambling for hours on end. Companies like Facebook and Instagram need you to stay on their platforms so that they can show their investors how much growth and active users they are getting every day! There is nothing wrong with surfing Facebook or Instagram, but you want to make sure you are doing it at the times you are setting aside to do it, not whenever the app things you should be on it. To shut off notifications head to the settings in your phone and click on notifications, you will be amazed at just how many apps are trying to get your attention every day! You can do the same for the computer as well!  Log Off for the Day One of the most important aspects of a healthy work-from-home routine is creating boundaries. And one of the most important yet often overlooked is Logging off for the day—and not just from your laptop. This is where having a physical home office can be handy where you can literally shut the door on work for the day.  Have a last-minute idea come up after office hours? Jot it down, but come back to it tomorrow. Just because you have access to work anytime doesn't mean you should be logged in 24/7. Allow yourself to have downtime to create a work-life balance—we all need it, no matter where we are working.

Connect online! WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/ Sponsor for this episode: http://trelloforphotography.com  Complete Show Notes- http://chelsyweiszphotography.com/eipsode3/ It might not be something other people talk about but I guarantee I'm not the only one to have these thoughts floating around my head, or maybe I am, in that case, this episode is for me to listen to the next time I find myself falling down the comparison and envy spiral. While social media can be an amazing tool for growing our businesses, connecting with friends and family and discovering new things, it also gives us a million opportunities to feel like we don't measure up each day.   ​To help get to the bottom of these feelings as photographers I want to challenge you to ask yourself some of the following questions.  ​Why is this really bugging me? ​Do I actually want to be doing what this person is doing and ALL that goes with it.  ​If this is something I do actually want to do or achieve one day, how can I start taking steps to move towards this? Tips for combating comparison and envy.  #1 Start your day off with some gratitude.  Take out a notebook or a piece of paper and jot down 5 things you are grateful for. I love doing this first thing in the morning so I can start my day off with a thankful heart.  It doesn't need to be life-changing things you write down, it could be someone held the door for you, or you enjoyed the conversation you had with your kids at the dinner table last night.  The point is if you start writing these gratitude moments down, you're going to start looking for these moments throughout the day and focus on them.   #2 Curate Your Feed I actually debated about adding this to the list. Like I said if we are just trying to avoid something it's only going to fester in our hearts, but I don't think we need to torture ourselves while we work our way through it.  When curating your feed you want to be mindful of who you are following and why.  Try to pare down to only those accounts which you find useful or inspirational. You've seen the travel commercials where they are talking about not hate liking someone's trip pics don't hate follow someone's feed either.   #3 focus on your own goals!  So what I mean by this is having clearly defined goals that we are constantly moving towards. If we don't have clearly set goals for our business and for our lives then it's so easy to fall into the trap of wanting to chase after what everyone else is doing.  #4 step back for some perspective.   God really made me take a big step back during my husband's battle with infection and heart surgeries which you can listen to in episode one if you haven't already.  Basically I had to put growing my business on hold for almost 3 years while my husband battled infections after 3 heart valve replacements while I was pregnant with our second child. I had a lot of time to sit and think while we drove 16 hours each way to Rochester MN, for surgeries and appointments. My outlook on life and my work shifted so dramatically!  My advice is to take a step back and remember what is actually important in life.  You don't need to go through something life-altering to understand this, but you do have to make a decision to actually take the step back and evaluate where you are and what matters to you in the long run.  #5 Make yourself say something nice.  When you hear your inner mean girl coming out, make yourself say 3 nice things about the person or situation instead.   This one is hard sometimes for sure! I'll be the first to admit that! We can be so conditioned to tear someone else down when we are unhappy with where we are and when we do tear someone else down it doesn't do anyone any good.  #6 don't focus on the numbers  It can be so depressing to see your Instagram numbers or facebook numbers when compared to others.  Remember there are so many ways to generate false numbers ( comment pods, giveaway loops, bots, fake accounts) it's not a fair or accurate comparison.  There you have it, friends, I hope you found this episode helpful I would love to connect with you online you can find me on Instagram @ChelsyWeisz  We will be releasing new episodes every Wednesday so be sure and subscribe so you don't miss an episode.   Also if you enjoyed these first few episodes it would mean so much to me if you can leave a rating and review, that really helps us to be found by more busy photographers like yourself.   If you have any topics you would like for us to cover you can visit our website and fill out our contact form, also if you are interested in being a guest on the show please reach out as well, we have such a great line up of guests that will be joining us in the next few months, and we would love to chat with you as well!  Thank you so much for tuning in I will see you in the next episode!

Find us on WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/ Sponsor for this episode: http://trelloforphotography.com  When we are just starting it's so exciting to shoot anyone and everything we can get in front of our camera Think it's necessary to shoot a little bit of everything when you are starting to find what your niche is and where our passion lies. How will you know if you are a magic baby whisperer if you never try your hand at newborns?  Finding my own photography niche I realized pretty quick out of the gate that if I tried to do it all good, I would never be really great at anything.  My first adventure in finding my niche was family photography.  This is where I really developed my shooting and editing style. In the long run, though, it wasn't where my heart really was, so I tried my hand at senior photography.  I went to workshops, I started renting a studio. I offered full hair and makeup services alongside my sessions. I loved my seniors, but scheduling all of that was a nightmare, and I hated how hard the girls were on themselves at times, and it was starting to take a toll on me.  I photographed a few weddings at some pretty low prices right away and learned so much jumping right in.  It wasn't until my 5th or 6th wedding that I found my stride! Y'all I freaking love wedding photography.  I love being part of the planning process and helping to craft timelines that have hidden little pockets of downtime that allow my clients to get to sit back and enjoy the day.  I love running into my couples at other weddings that will happen a lot in our small community. It's always so much fun to catch up and hear how life is going for them!  And then my husband got sick. God's hands were undoubtedly all over that situation in so many ways, but one thing I am so grateful for is the fact that all of his surgeries took place in the winter.  Not many people are getting married up here in North Dakota in the middle of January when the weather can be -60 with the windchill. During that time, I watched as our own wedding vows were put to the test, in sickness, and in health.  Going through our two-year struggle with Justin's heart surgeries and infections gave me a renewed love and appreciation for my work as a wedding photographer.  I was blessed with the honor of photographing two people as they stood before God, their family, and friends vowing to stand side by side through it all, it was beautiful but also scary, because we have no idea what will lie ahead of us.  Your partner could be diagnosed with cancer; you could struggle with infertility; you could lose a child, or have multiple bad years in farming.  But with all the downs, there will be ups celebrating buying the first house, getting a new puppy, lazy Sunday afternoons around the house. My charge as a wedding photographer is to document the day this adventure starts.  It took me a while to find my calling and to narrow my niche, but it has helped me to build a business that is more profitable, more enjoyable, and more impactful than I ever imagined! I sincerely hope that every photographer can narrow in on what they are called to do, and who they are supposed to be serving!  What is a niche Webster's dictionary defines a niche as only offering a product or service that appeals to a small, specialized section of the population. When it comes to photography, you are choosing one type of subject you enjoy photographing and going all in.  ADVANTAGES OF NICHING DOWN  Raise prices - more money less time Increased efficiency  Clear Marketing through branding and copy! HOW TO NICHE DOWN I hope I have at least piqued your interest about starting to niche down on the types of sessions you offer now it's time to begin the process of figuring out what you want your niche to be Like I said before, I really do think you need to shoot a little bit of everything in that first year, to get a good feel for what you like and what you don't, what type of shoot gets you the most excited, what comes more natural to you?   I've created a worksheet to help you work through finding your niche. This worksheet walks you through the questions  What have you photographed already? Which session types were your favorite? Determining what you can I eliminate right away? Deciding if there a market for it in my area? And how Can you get even more specific? You will be amazed at just how far down you can niche.  Let's say I decide I want to be a family photographer. Still, some of my favorite sessions have been with families on their family ranches, producing images that showcase their love for their family, and for the land that has been passed down for generations.  Can you see how my marketing messages could be used to attract ranch families who believe in preserving the western lifestyle while repealing others?  It's time to start removing everything else.   My first piece of advice in niching down is to only show what you want to shoot. This means if you are specializing in weddings, you need to remove everything else from your portfolio. So head over to facebook and remove any albums or images showcasing families of newborns.  The same goes for Instagram. On Instagram, you can archive or delete posts.  Turning Away Work Do family sessions get you so excited? Awesome!  When someone inquires about shooting their wedding, that means you're going to have to refer them on to someone who specializes in weddings.  It can be hard to do that! I get it! My best piece of advice here is to try to come at this with an abundance mindset. That means that there is more than enough for everyone. Even in my own tiny town, we have about 1500 people. I would have to shoot four sessions a day 365 days a year to photograph everyone in our town.  There are more than enough people wanting photo sessions out there. That doesn't mean I don't feel a pang of envy when I see other photographers picking up work I am capable of doing. But just because I am capable doesn't mean it's something I actually want to photograph, and I have to stop and ask myself why I am feeling envious sometimes! Stepping outside your Box It doesn't mean you can't shoot anything outside your niche. Sometimes it's fun to step outside your box every now and again.  Maybe your sister just had a new baby, or you offer family sessions to just your past wedding clients, the key is to just not advertise these things. I actually just photographed a newborn session for some dear friends of ours as a baby gift. I mean secretly, it was a great excuse to snuggle the newest member of our gang and get my baby fix. It was also a good reminder for me that I do not have the patience to photograph newborns. After the session, instead of posting the sneak peeks to Facebook or Instagram, I shared them with the family and let them post them to social. Benefits of niching down include  The ability to Raise your prices Help with creating clear marketing messages that attract your ideal clients  Create the time to become more efficient

Everything I've read about starting a podcast advises against starting off with an episode telling your whole life story, but with a story like ours, I felt you should hear it.    This is the story of how heart surgeries made me a better wife, mom, and photographer. This is the story that has led me to start this podcast!  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER FB COMMUNITY //  https://www.facebook.com/groups/wisephotographerpodcast/  WISE PHOTOGRAPHER IG// https://www.instagram.com/wisephotographerpodcast/ WISE PHOTOGRAPHER WEBSITE// http://wisephotographerpodcast.com/