Can you believe I’ve been part of this amazing community of talented and passionate photographers for over 41 incredible years?!
I started off with just a little bit of cash in my pocket and a whole lot of big dreams. I dabbled in everything under the sun to gain experience and figure out what truly made my heart sing.
After all those adventures behind the camera, I discovered my ultimate passions: weddings and children. Weddings quickly became my first niche. Not only was it a speedy way to get some cash flowing in, but it also opened doors to endless opportunities for growth and connections. Soon, I was renowned as one of San Diego’s top wedding photographers, making a full time living. 12 years, I dove into children’s photography. With rebranding from a wedding to a portrait photographer, I made my mark as the go-to children’s photographer.
Fast forward to today, and my journey has led me to my current passion: sharing my knowledge and insights through teaching and mentoring, culminating in this very podcast aimed at helping fellow photographers build profitable businesses. In this episode, we’re delving into the power of specialization, uncovering six compelling reasons why focusing on a specific niche can supercharge your photography career.
In this episode:
Listen in to unlock the power of specializing in a specific photography niche to boost your business and skyrocket your career!
Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:
Wedding days can be overwhelming, chaotic, and all over the place for both the couples and the photographer. But the good news is that we can help them be a more organized and fun day for everyone. Today is another solo episode of The Profitable Photographer Podcast, focused on one of my favorite topics, “Strategic Planning for Wedding Day Success”. What exactly does that mean? It means that today we get to dive into my years of experience as a wedding photographer…covering over 500 weddings. I pull out the pieces that will most help set you up for success on a wedding day.
And, if you want a hint about what we’re covering, let’s just say that a lot of it boils down to your couples trusting you as the Trusted Advisor. If you’re curious about how to plan for successful wedding photography, create lasting memories for your clients and set yourself up for additional sales after the wedding day, you’re in for a treat.
If you’ve listened to the podcast before, you know the best thing we can do for our clients is to provide finished products for them. One tip to keep in mind is that when people sit down and order printed images,, the ones that sell most are the more traditional photos.
How do you achieve that? Listen in as I share
How to craft packages and set price points to encourage post-wedding sales
The benefits of a first look
The importance of building client relationships
Planning the wedding day timeline for success
How to manage wedding day logistics
Avoiding common wedding day mistakes
I hope this episode gets your gears turning and helps you rethink your wedding day planning process with your couples! And don’t forget, you can go to lucidumascoaching.com to set up an opportunity to chat with me if you’re wondering what coaching would be like.
Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:
This week’s The Profitable Photographer Podcast guest is a photographer, educator, entrepreneur, and mentor. Please welcome the wonderfully inspiring Tashina Calhoun to The Profitable Photographer Podcast!
In the photography world, Tashina specializes in collaborating with business owners looking to focus on strong brand recognition with custom-branded photography and content creation tailored to their business needs.
Having transitioned from corporate America to a full-time entrepreneur, Tashina owns and operates multiple businesses, each earning five to six figures individually. She is also the founder of the nonprofit One Belief Organization, focusing on educating students, families, and communities on mental health and emotional intelligence.
Talk about an inspiring conversation!
Mental health is a topic that has been important in my life because of family members with challenges, and it was so heartwarming to hear of the amazing work that Tashina is doing in communities across the country to bring more awareness to this sensitive and important topic.
During our time together, I especially loved that Tashina dove into how business owners can focus more on their own mental health and emotional intelligence.
Listen in as Tashina shares with us:
why it’s important to set the tone in the space where you’ll be doing your session
the definition of emotional intelligence and what that means for your business
how to become aware of your own feelings and change a negative mindset
the best way to handle conflicts in your business
If you’ve been wondering how you can learn to be more perceptive of others’ feelings in your business or in front of your camera, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
And, don’t forget, you can watch my interview with Tashina on The Profitable Photographer Podcast Youtube channel. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
Inspired by Tashina’s interview and interested in connecting with her? You can find her in all of these wonderful places:
In this solo episode, Luci takes on the topic of how to handle the challenge of artists who want to have a profitable photography business.
Here are some tips on how to just say NO to being a starving artist.
See your photography as a product, learn to separate yourself from what you create emotionally. When you do this, your next step is to be skilled at sales and marketing and running a consistent business.
Don’t take rejection personally. It is about them and not you and your photographs
You are selling love, or success, or memories, not your soul. Focus on them. Serve them.
You are selling your time. To make a living you MUST charge enough and learn how to sell to compensate you for the time you could spend at a different job.
Good enough is all you need to be. They don’t need to be award-winning images. Awards don’t pay bills
You do need to be proficient and results need to be repeatable. Learn the basics of photography. Study lighting, learn how to pose people in a way that makes them look their best AND evoke natural expression. And have the right equipment and skill to make it happen.
Style. You don’t need to figure this out to make a great living. You need to know how to take photographs people want to pay for that also make you happy to create.
Of course, it is vital to have the passion to produce the best work we possibly can every time. As your work is continually better, success does become easier.
Photography Business Coach Luci Dumas’ Programs and Contact Info:
I think it’s safe to say that at some point we’ve all felt a little bit stuck…in our comfort zones, in our photography businesses, and in our lives. I know that I have. The person that helped me get over that “stuck” feeling? This week’s The Profitable Photographer Podcast guest and my long-time coach and friend, Ursula Mentjes. I couldn’t be more excited for you to meet her!
Ursula is a leading expert on success and business growth and a USA Today, bestselling author of UpLevel NOW. She is a business strategist and coach who works with entrepreneurs ( like me!) to double their monthly revenue in as little as 30 days while working less. Ursula is also a keynote speaker and certified as an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Coach through the NLP Institute of California. She specializes in helping her clients release the limiting beliefs and blocks that hold them back from their greatest success.
As self-employed business owners, it’s easy to stay stuck in our comfort zone. But staying where we are will never allow us to reach the goals we truly desire. Today, Ursula is here to teach us how to break through to the next level and get unstuck!
Listen in as the life-changing, entertaining Ursula shares with us
How to change limiting beliefs
steps to double your sales
How to get unstuck and leave your comfort zone
And if that weren’t enough on its own, Ursula is so graciously offering her amazing program as a gift to my community…, The Quantum Revenue Expansion Masterclass – just go to the link below https://www.ursulainc.co/quantum-revenue-expansion
Ursula’s final takeaway for us? It’s not too late to build the business of your dreams.
If you want to learn more from Ursula, you can find her here:
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.
