Hot off the press! It’s another incredible episode of The Profitable Photographer Podcast!
Join our host, Master Photographer and Photography Business Coach, Luci Dumas, as she gabs with Branding and Website Designer Emily Foster about all things branding!
Not only is Emily a Branding and Website Designer, but, to our delight, she SPECIALIZES IN WORKING WITH PHOTOGRAPHERS! Too perfect! With 7 years of design experience and a background in event marketing, she loves everything related to photography and the wedding industry. (BONUS: She’s also a recent bride so she knows a thing or two about the current client-side of wedding photography.)
According to our guest, “branding is the visual voice of your business.” It is THE key to ensuring that your company’s message is getting out in the world and attracting those fabulous ideal clients along the way.
And guess what! Your brand should be effective, not just pretty! Tough stuff, we know, but Emily is here to help!
Here’s just a taste of Emily’s tips for branding:
Make sure your logo is scalable and easy to apply. Keep it simple! (And make sure it looks good both in color AND in black and white)
Figure out where your ideal clients are finding you. What questions are they asking?
Keep track of your audience. Using a CRM (customer relationship management) will help you organize who is who.
Listen now for the full gamut of Emily’s branding and design wisdom!
Today, our hostess and Mastercraftsman Photographer Luci Dumas sits down with Michael Mowbray, master photographer, author, teacher, IPC juror and entrepreneur. He is deeply involved in all aspects of the photography industry.
His DeForest, Wisconsin-based studio focuses on seniors, headshots, family, and commercial photography, while his MoLight brand of lighting equipment has quickly become a leading reseller of Godox flashes and MoLight’s own unique lighting products.
Michael is the author of the popular photography books Shoot to Thrill and The Speedlight Studio (Amherst Media).
Listen in as Michael discusses how he was able to thrive as a photographer and business owner amid the most uncertain of times, beginning with the establishment of his company on 9/11.
The photography biz ace also talks about the entrepreneurial spirit that has driven him from an early age, the importance of being capitalized, and how one can even tell whether or not owning a business is for them.
Finally, Michael speaks on the advantages of off-camera flash in improving the quality of natural light photography.
Key Topics:
Navigating turbulent economic times as a photography business owner (7:56)
Delegating tasks and knowing when to hire (13:33)
Michael’s thoughts on entrepreneurship (19:31)
Knowing whether or not entrepreneurship is for you (26:22)
Establishing your content pillars (29:41)
Why it’s important to be capitalized as an entrepreneur (35:09)
Justifying higher prices (40:17)
The advantages of off-camera flash (42:55)
How to ensure your photos don’t look “fake” when using off-camera flash (48:43)
How to use a light meter with off-camera flash (52:25)
“If you were going to a networking event in person, what would you do, how would you respond to people approaching you, what would you share with them? These are the exact same things that you would do on your Instagram profile.”
Today, our hostess and Mastercraftsman Photographer Luci Dumas sits down with María Oliva, Founder and CEO of SMS Media, a social media coaching business for wedding vendors based in the DC area. She is on a mission to change the way wedding vendors approach Instagram by helping them create sustainable and fun strategies!
Listen in as the digital marketing master shares how Instagram can become your go-to tool for attracting dream clients and why it’s important to niche down in order to maximize your ability to reach and start building relationships with those clients.
Referring to Instagram as “a free networking platform online,” Maria encourages any photographer looking to build a brand to be proactive in starting and continuing conversations, and to personally extend invitations to those who interact positively with their posts to join their community.
She continues on to offer a treasure trove of practical tips and strategies to grow your Instagram following and, ultimately, your client base. These include using hashtags effectively, creating posts based on your content pillars, finding opportunities to collaborate with local vendors, and visual branding best practices.
Key Topics:
Why Instagram is a great tool for attracting your dream clients (5:25)
Overcoming excuses that stop you from investing in your business (10:49)
How to build a community on Instagram (15:41)
Using hashtags effectively (23:45)
Establishing your content pillars (29:41)
Collaboration with vendors on Instagram (33:37)
Making money on Instagram (36:11)
Understanding the buyer’s journey (38:44)
Visual branding on how to provide value on Instagram (41:49)
“You’re going to need a telephone and you’re going to need to know how to use it. I could make a better living with my cellphone and nothing else, than having a great camera, and a computer where I only communicate via email and text and such.”
Today, our hostess, Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas shares her best tips and strategies to set up your photography business for massive success.
Just as photography is an art, Luci believes that selling is an art. Likewise, just as photography is a skill, selling is a skill. That means anyone with the passion and tenacity to succeed in this industry has the opportunity to learn the skills they need to improve both their photography and ability to sell their work.
Luci invites us to set the goal of becoming a full-service photographer. Strive to be able to create an experience for the client in which, from their first interaction with you to the last, you deliver not only what they want, but also what they didn’t know they wanted.
In fact, full-service photographers are not just photographers. They are designers. They are clothing consultants. They are makeup guides. By embracing your role as a salesperson, you are also your clients’ trusted advisor.
You don’t need to be the world’s greatest photographer. Just being the best full-service photographer you can be gives both you and your client immense joy. They become raving fans of you, and you learn how to be a better photographer and business owner.
Listen in as Luci shares her checklist of nine things every photographer needs to do when establishing their new business and the rewards that await, as well as her five steps to onboarding a new client.
Key Topics:
Photography and selling as an both art and skill (4:09)
Creating a long-term win-win relationship with your clients (10:26)
Addressing misconceptions around selling (13:50)
Nine things you need to get started in this business (21:57)
Three rewards of having a strong photography business (36:50)
“If you live life with intention, as if every day is a Saturday, it changes your perspective. It changes what you do, what you say, and how you live your life. Every day can be a Saturday with the right perspective and the right attitude.”
Today, our hostess, Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas sits down with Mitche Graf, a daddy of 3, bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, internationally renowned business speaker, nationally syndicated radio show host, and former All American Track & Field athlete.
The amazing Mitche has been a passionate serial entrepreneur for over 25 years, dangling his toes into the ponds of many intriguing industries along the way. From selling used bicycle parts out of his garage in the seventh grade to running four companies today, he has prided himself on knowing how to squeeze every drop of potential out of his endeavors.
Listen in as Mitche challenges business owners everywhere to find ways to charge more for your services by offering your clients even more value than you already do. In a similar vein, he speaks on the value of investing in your business sooner rather than later. He also offers advice on targeting your marketing toward your ideal client, and why you should never offer discounts.
The latter half of our conversation is all about lifestyle design, which is at the very center of everything Mitche teaches and does. He tells us, as entrepreneurs, to focus on the 5% of the activities that bring 95% of our results.
Key Topics:
What brought Mitche down his current path (3:28)
Overcoming excuses that stop you from investing in your business (7:44)
A big, exciting and maybe a little scary dream to have a successful, profitable and creative photography business doing exactly what you love for wonderful, grateful clients? Or do you want to bring your business to the next level of fun and profit.? If so, then this Podcast is for you.
For over 36 years, I have made a great living as portrait and wedding business, Luci Dumas Fine Photography, with no other source of income. No rich husband or lottery winnings, through the ups and downs of the industry and economy.
Now as a business coach with Insight Training for Photographers, I love love love to support photographers who want to do the same. This podcast is full of practical business info, and insights gained from my years in business, plus interviews with amazing people. My desire is to help you along on your joyful journey to success, however that looks to you.
