Photo Fuel | The Vision, Art, and Business of Family Photography

This episode was originally published this time last year, but I'm bringing it back because the reminders are still just as relavent! It might still feel like summer, but fall is coming — and with it, the mix of excitement and overwhelm that hits every family photographer this time of year. 
I'm walking through the four pain points that tend to hold us hostage in the fall:
- overbooking and burnout
- marketing struggles
- chaos with your systems
- and creative blocks.
For each one, I'm sharing what's actually worked for me and for the photographers I've worked with, including session limits and waitlists, why marketing is serving instead of selling (and how to treat it like that), building email templates before you need them, and small ways to keep your creativity fresh when you're shooting back to back.
 
Find It Quickly:2:45  - Pain point 1: Overbooking and burnout10:45 - Pain point 2: Marketing and visibility struggles17:45 - Pain point 3: Lack of systems and organization21:30 - Pain point 4: Creative blocks26:00 - Closing pep talk
 
Mentioned in this Episode:PhotoFuel Retreat and Mastermind: leahoconnell.com/retreatFree resources: leahoconnell.com/learn
 
If you're loving a regular dose of Photo Fuel, please take a minute to leave a review and I'll send lots of virtual hugs your way! :-)

In case you're starting to think about fall (good for you!!!) and setting those fall mini session dates - listen to this first! Not villianizing them, but simply offering an alternative approach and something to think about before you sell your soul to fall mini sessions. Since this episode, I've offered mini sessions each summer as a test (because I don't like making assumptions and wanted to make sure this advice held up - spoiler, it does. At least for me.)Mentioned // 
QT albums: get 20% off your first order with code FUEL20 or a free studio sample – just reach out and mention Photo Fuel and they’ll get you hooked up with your album sample
The Big Picture Workbook: https://www.leahoconnell.com/bigpicture
Mentoring with Leah : https://leahoconnell.com/mentoring
Group Coaching Waitlist: https://www.leahoconnell.com/retreat
Mini sessions are a great way to get started, practice, and develop your skills. But at a certain point, you can decide if it’s something that’s really aligned with your business goals… or not. 
That’s what we’re digging into today – My 3 main arguments against doing fall mini sessions and a few ideas for how to supplement your business income or calendar instead. 
 
Connect with Leah: Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com/education
Instagram: https://instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo
 
 

What business owner doesn't want to get found through Google and AI search? Jamie Bugbee spent over 20 years as a dental hygienist before postpartum depression led her back to a camera and a way to come home to herself. And once she put herself fully into learning and tackling SEO for family photographers, she was able to grow her photography business by 400% and leave her day-job to go full-time.
Jamie is a Portland-based family, maternity, newborn, and brand photographer who now teaches photographers how to grow through their own websites. We talk about the practical side of getting found online without leaning on social media: on-page and off-page SEO for family photographers, backlinks and local citations, and how to blog in a way that's actually built to be found - not just written and forgotten. We also cover the tools Jamie uses to track what's working and what's not working, silent killers to your page speed and searchability that might be working against you, and more.
 
Find It Quickly:
2:20 - From dental hygienenist to photography5:00 - Picking up a camera again after having kids12:00 - The mentorship that finally clicked14:20 - The bones of modern SEO for family photographers21:00 - Blogging effectively 27:30 - Tools for tracking what's working and what's not30:15 - Jamie's Photo Fuel
 
Mentioned in this Episode:
Keywords Everywhere
White Spark,
Google Search Console
SEO Edge
Microsoft Clarity
Free Guide from Jamie: Luxury Client Journey
 
Connect with Jamie
Portland Oregon family photographer (Jamie's website)
Jamie's Instagram for photographers
The PhotograpHER Podcast:
The Booked Photographer (course)
Connect with Leah
Leah's website: https://www.leahoconnell.com
Leah's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo
Learn Page with free resources + stay connected : https://www.leahoconnell.com/learn
 
 

Becca Lueck has been photographing families in the Portland, Oregon area for 16 years, but she didn't find lifestyle photography until year seven. Once she did, everything changed. We talk about the before and after of learning to fall in love with the work you're doing, how it changes, and how to keep it interesting. 
Becca is the founder of Becca Jean Photography, a membership for family photographers, and a suite of courses covering everything from business systems to video. She's also been blogging and building her SEO for years, to the point where she can now publish a post and rank on the first page within days. In this episode, we talk about how she got there and how things look now. We also get into her video workflow — how she moves between photo and video inside a family session without losing momentum — and her honest take on where new photographers should put their energy. 
 
 
Find It Quickly:3:30 - Getting started7:00 - Mini sessions and slow early growth12:00 - Discovering lifestyle photography in 201720:00 - Client prep: email sequences other tools27:00 - Styling guidance and client closets30:00 - Adding video inside a family session37:00 - SEO over Instagram41:00 - Becca's membership44:00 - Photo fuel: in-person events
 
 
Mentioned in this Episode:Becca's Membership: https://courses.beccajeanphotography.com/p/family-photography-collective
Style and Select: https://styleandselect.com/
Becca's CRM: https://17hats.com/
How Becca edits film: Adobe Premiere Pro
How Becca edits photo: Imagin AI
Tristin Tracy: @tristentracy_photography
 
Connect with Becca: Education: https://beccajeanphotography.com/education
Instagram: @beccajeanphotography Connect with Leah:PhotoFuel Retreat and Mastermind: leahoconnell.com/retreatFree resources: leahoconnell.com/learn
 

You're halfway into a session, things are flowing, and then — nothing. The energy drops, your brain goes blank, and you're thinking - WHAT NOW. 
This is the final part of the four-part in-home family photography series, and I'm giving you eight specific moves to pull out when a session stalls or you need to jolt yourself in to a new perspective. 
Stay to the end for a preview of what's coming this summer!
Find It Quickly:2:56  - 1: Three focal ranges 4:37  - 2: Shoot through something nearby5:34  - 3: Doorways6:41  - 4: Invite music7:55  - 5: Invite play9:00  - 6: Look for the moment, not the space10:57 - 7: Use furniture in non-conventional ways11:38 - 8: Let the mess be the story13:10 - Recap 13:43 - Series wrap-up + how to get the field guide 14:52 - What to expect next on the podcast
Mentioned in this Episode:In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguidePhoto Fuel Retreat and Mastermind: leahoconnell.com/retreat

In Part 1, we prepped. In Part 2, we got the ball rolling. This episode is all about how to open your dang eyeballs, guide with your heart, and sink into a session that is less pose and more honest family gold. If you often leave sessions feeling like you checked the boxes but you never really GOT anywhere emotional, this is your next-level. 
I originally learned the concept of "elements of family story" from Brooke Schultz, and Story Filters are my evolution of that over the last 5 years. They're themes you carry into a session like a scavenger hunt — lenses for seeing what's actually in front of you rather than hunting for your next pose. I'm sharing what they are, how they work in practice, and a two-step process for developing your own. It's the thing that made the difference between galleries that are fine and work that actually means something.
 
Find It Quickly:1:49  - Introducing Story Filters (your personal in-shoot scavenger hunt)3:37  - Story filter examples5:06  - Filters in action: how they change the way you see and direct7:52  - Why filters matter: seeing people not subjects9:28  - Direction vs. documentary: finding the middle ground10:51 - How to develop your own filters14:09 - Series recap + next episode preview15:03 - How to get the Field Guide for all these tips in writing to reference for your next shoot 
Mentioned in this Episode:In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguideEpisode 72: Part 1 — The Walkthrough Video: https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/Episode 73: Part 2 — The First 10 Minutes: https://leahoconnell.com/in-home-family-photography-series-part-2-the-first-10-minutes/
Also listen to: Episode 59 with Brooke Schultz: https://leahoconnell.com/episode-59-messy-action-the-artful-pivot-and-creating-from-the-inside-out-with-brooke-schultz/

You've done your prep. You've watched the walkthrough video. You knock on the door - now what? The first 10 minutes of an in-home session do more than most photographers realize. They're where trust gets built in person, the tone is set, and where you either make it feel like an experience or a performance.
I'm walking through five things that shift the energy in those opening minutes and two things I'm careful not to do in a session to help get it rolling on a good foot. 
This is Part 2 of a four-part May series on practical in-home family photography tips. The guiding principles and recommendations for each episode can be found in the companion resource for free called : The In-Home Session Field Guide. You'll find swipe copy, pep talk language, and go-to moves for every stage of the session. 
Find It Quickly:
2:30 - Why the first 10 minutes matter more than you think5:00 - Tip 1 - hospitality 10:30 - Tip 2: Kid level13:00 - Tip 3: Notice the good15:30 - Tip 4: The loop17:30 - Tip 5: The pep talk21:00 - Transitional shooting before direction22:30 - What not to do
Mentioned in this Episode:In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-field-guideEpisode 72: Part 1 — The Walkthrough Video - https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/Episode with Rachel Larsen Weaver: https://leahoconnell.com/an-interview-with-rachel-larsen-weaver-on-pursuing-the-love-of-art-business-and-people-photo-fuel-podcast-episode-13/

If you're working on improving your process for in-home family photography or adding home as a location this year, this series is for you! This first episode is one of four that kicks off a short, practical series on in-home family photography, starting with the one thing I do before every session to walk in feeling prepared.
This is the biggest asset to preparing for an in home shoot - without requiring a consult call, zoom meeting, or in-person scouting trip: the walkthrough video. I share how I ask for it about two weeks before an in-home session and what I'm looking for when I watch it. I also cover what to do when clients don't send a video, and why the goal of all this prep isn't a rigid plan but a confident, settled mindset before you even knock on the door.
 
 
Find It Quickly:1:30 - The two traps in in-home sessions3:00 - The mental shift required 4:30 - Asking for the walkthrough video7:00 - When they don't send it 8:30 - What to look for : Light, Life, and Layers framework12:30 - The real win, regardless of how it's executed in the end14:30 - Part 2 preview + The In-Home Session Field Guide
Mentioned in this Episode:In-Home Session Field Guide: leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguide >>Episode 69: Stop Posing, Start Playing >> 
Episode 55: Set the Table - how to stop expecting your clients to perform for youFree resources: leahoconnell.com/learn >>CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: @leahoconnell.photo

A few weeks out from the first PhotoFuel Retreat and Mastermind, this episode is the honest debrief — what I got right, what surprised me, what I'd do differently, and one big decision I made about the future of the program.
Regular reflection is tool I use often in my photography business so I want to model what that looks like and how it can lead to purposeful alignment. If you're curious about the inner workings of crafting something new, I hope this episode models what it looks like to be in development rather than just seeing the end result. 
 
Find It Quickly:0:00 - Free resources at leahoconnell.com/learn1:15 - Intro3:00 - What I got right8:30 - Why the in-between moments were king12:30 - What I'm changing for the next round 16:30 - The biggest reason I think it worked21:30 - The surprising tax I wasn't expecting24:30 - A big decision about future rounds
Mentioned in this Episode:PhotoFuel Retreat: leahoconnell.com/retreat Episode 68: Why I Started a Retreat for Family Photographers 

Have you ever wondered what working with a mentor actually looks and feels like over time?
Lydia Fine is back as our first-ever returning guest. She's a purposely part-time photographer with a full-time marketing career and two kids, and over the past few years she and I have worked together across just about every format. In this episode, she breaks down exactly what that journey has looked like: the doubts going in, the breakthrough that changed how she thought about her business, the numbers, and what it's meant for her life outside the business.
We also get into the harder questions — when someone is actually ready for mentoring, how to choose the right person, and what you have to be willing to bring to it. Lydia now mentors other photographers herself, specifically around systems and marketing strategies for part-time photographers, so her perspective comes from sitting on both sides of the table.
 
Find It Quickly:2:30 - Where Lydia started: lack of confidence, scared to raise prices, feeling alone in decision-making7:00 - The first doubt: was mentoring worth the cost if she was just making $15k a year?9:00 - The 2024 breakthrough: you don't have to compete on photos alone15:00 - How she helped me form my Voxer coaching package around making micro decisions and the in-between moments21:00 - "Like a therapist for my business"26:00 - The numbers: revenue doubled, then grew another 50%30:00 - From $300 sessions to $1,025 to $1,850 (and her first $2k+ booking)33:00 - When is someone ready for mentoring?38:00 - How to choose the right mentor — and what to avoid43:00 - Intentional rest, boundaries, and how support has helped her be a more present parent
Mentioned in this Episode:PhotoFuel Retreat & Mastermind: www.leahoconnell.com/retreat1:1 Mentoring: leahoconnell.com/educationIlluminate Courses: illuminateclasses.com
Connect with Lydia:Photography Instagram: @lydia_apolloandivyEducation Instagram: lydiafine_forphotographersMentoring with Lydia: https://www.apolloandivy.com/for-photographers/photography-business-mentor/