Oh my gosh, I learned so much in this episode, and I absolutely loved this conversation all about pets and the pet photography business. My guest, Lisa Francescon, is such an amazing teacher and a wonderful photographer with a huge heart for animals.
Based in the Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities, Lisa has been photographing families and children since 2004, and in 2016 she found her true passion — pet portraiture. Her clients now mostly have fur and whiskers, and she creates timeless, classical portraits of pets, service dogs, and therapy animals. Lisa also gives back to her community by partnering with shelters and rescues to raise funds and help more pets find their forever homes.
Here are some of the key topics we covered:
Alleviating client fears and educating pet parents
Setting up a calm, comfortable experience for pets in the studio
Establishing a clear session workflow
Creating in-person sales with albums and wall art
Simple, effective marketing strategies for pet photography
Lisa’s parting advice is to be yourself, have faith in your journey, and let your love of pets shine through your work.
Free Gift: Email Lisa for a free PDF of her pet photography workflow.
Thanks again for listening to The Profitable Photographer with Luci Dumas! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share it with a friend, and visit lucidumascoaching.com for more inspiration and coaching resources for photographers ready to grow a thriving, profitable business.
Connect with Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas:
New episodes drop every week — make sure to subscribe so you never miss an inspiring guest or a powerful solo episode designed to help you grow your photography business.
This week on The Profitable Photographer, I had a fun and inspiring conversation with Angela Lawson, an international award-winning pet photographer with 28 years of experience. For the past 15 years, she’s focused exclusively on animals of all shapes and sizes—from dogs and cats to reptiles and pocket pets.
She has also earned her Accredited Professional of Animal Imagery from the International Society of Animal Photographers and has taken the PPA judges’ training
Angela shares how understanding animal behavior and breed traits has been essential to her success, and how she brings compassion and purpose to every session.
One of her most meaningful offerings is her Legacy Sessions, created for senior or terminally ill pets. These sessions capture the deep bond between pets and their people and result in lasting keepsakes like albums and wall portraits.
Her sadness that she doesn’t have nice portraits of a beloved pet that passed over the rainbow bridge motivated her to start, and teach, this specialty.
She breaks down some of the things to know before one of these special sessions.
How to gently navigate emotional sessions and support grieving clients
Why it’s important to research each animal before photographing them
How Angela uses local groups and The Tilly Project to market Legacy Sessions
Tips for intentional business building and meaningful client relationships
Whether you’re already photographing pets or thinking about it, Angela’s insights will help you connect more deeply with clients and create work that truly matters.
New episodes drop every week — make sure to subscribe so you never miss an inspiring guest or a powerful solo episode designed to help you grow your photography business.
Hey everyone! I hope you loved Judy Reinford’s amazing interview in part one as much as I did. She shared so much wisdom and inspiration about photographing horses. Now, we’re back with part two of this fantastic conversation, and I can’t wait for you to dive in.
Who is Judy Reinford?
So, who is Judy Reinford? Well, she’s an award-winning photographer and a total rockstar when it comes to turning animal photos into stunning works of art. She’s a PPA Mastercraftsman, Master Artist, and Certified Professional Photographer (CPP). With a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Judy’s passion and talent have earned her loads of awards, like the PPA IPC 2024 Gold Medal and four-time Grand Imaging Award (GIA) nominations. Plus, she’s been named PPA International Diamond Photographer of the Year. You’ve got to check out her incredible images, including digital mixed media paintings and fairytale composites of pets and horses. They’re just magical!
Judy travels all over the country, teaching photographers how to capture the heart and soul of animals in their photos. She’s super dedicated to supporting local zoos and rescues through her work. One thing she loves is helping others embrace artificial intelligence (AI) in their creative toolbox. And get this – in every class she teaches, using the same basic images, each student’s work ends up totally unique. It’s so cool to see everyone’s creativity shine!
Key Points to Listen For
Here are some awesome things to listen for in this episode:
1 Her “spice rack” – Programs like KREA, Magnifique, Leonardo, and Topaz.
2 Places to access AI – Tools like Photoshop, Midjourney, and Firefly.
3 Basic “how-to” tips on replacing backgrounds.
4 The ease of restoring old photographs.
Judy Reinford’s passion for animal photography and her deep expertise make her such an amazing resource for any photographer looking to step up their game. Enjoy part two, where Judy reveals how Photoshop and AI can take your photographic art to the next level.
Thank you so much, Judy, for a conversation that was both inspiring and packed with practical advice.
In this episode of The Profitable Photographer, I am sharing some thoughts and strategies around money. Not the inner game or blocks or prosperity issues but some of the nuts and bolts about being in business.
You can listen on all the podcast platforms as well as my other 229 episodes or kick back and watch on the “You Tubes”. www.lucidumascoaching.com is a great place to check out what I am up to and offer.
Some of my tips include
1. Cash and income you might need to get started
2. How to set up 3 accounts in your business to help you stay profitable and not get caught cash poor at tax time
3. My perspective on paying for or sharing household responsibilities out of the family budget
Thanks in advance for following me here and podcast platforms.
Hugs! Luci
Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:
It’s safe to say that today’s guest is just as passionate about sales as I am. And, he is no stranger to the photography industry. Jai Long is an award-winning wedding photographer, creative business coach, host of the “Make Your Break” Podcast, serial entrepreneur, and the leader of a heart-filled, worldwide community of photographers. He even has his own course, Six Figure Business Map, where he helps photographers set and achieve “unrealistic” goals and overcome self-limiting beliefs. That was not a typo…he did say unrealistic and be sure to listen for his explanation.
Even though sales can have a negative connotation, Jay is clear that selling is an art and a gift to clients.. He shares with us that his perspective came from how he was raised. He knew, even as a child, that the only way to grow out of his existing circumstances was by selling. And, the older he got, the bigger his sales became.
Listen in as Jay and I discuss:
-The fear of rejection and success in regards to selling
-The need for courage to step out of your comfort zone
-3 must-haves for good sales
-How selling is a service.
To help you grow more confident in your own sales, you can even download a free copy of Jai’s Scripts for Sales Objections on his website, jailong.co.
Interested in learning more from Jai? Here’s where you can connect with him:
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.
