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

Seasons of Business, Marketing with Intention, & Choosing Education Wisely with Sabrina Gebhardt

Sabrina Gebhardt is a long time photographer who’s made it her mission to coach family photographers through bettering themselves and building thriving photography businesses. Sabrina is doing all kinds of work in the education space for photographers right now, but she is also photographing families and has been for 14 years. In this episode, we talk about
-the ebb and flow of business and balance
-the art of hustling in a healthy way and keeping that big picture view of the whole year 
- the pitfalls of a scarcity mindset during slower seasons 
- and continuing education and choosing the container and coach wisely to suit your needs
 
Sabrina is an expert on this because she’s not only participated in all the types of education herself, but she now has created and runs opportunities from free guides, to online courses, to 1:1 mentoring, to small group support, and of course the Root to Rise Retreat and Mastermind. 
// connect with Sabrina // 
Website: https://www.sabrinagebhardt.com
Instagram: @sabrinagebhardtphotography
// connect with Leah // 
Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com
Instagram: @leahoconnell.photo
The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter
1:1 Mentoring: https://www.leahoconnell.com/mentoring
 

Beyond the discounts : Navigating Black Friday as a Family Photographer

Can Black Friday be about more than just superficial discounts? In today's episode, I'm talking through the complexities of Black Friday sales, especially for family photographers looking to maintain their artistic integrity and profitability. Rather than crafting a sale for your services, I want to propose some more creative thinking about how you might use this time of increased buyer attention to set yourself apart in a positive and productive way with 4 specific ideas to get you going (or walk away!).
We'll challenge the idea that slashing prices is the only way to engage customers and explore how taking cues from Trader Joe's stable pricing approach might be the game-changer your business needs.
// Join our private Facebook group to continue this engaging conversation and prepare for a successful, value-driven black Friday! // 
 
Links: 
Episode 12: Newsletters - what I learned from 1 year of The Firefly Letters 
1:1 Mentoring : leahoconnell.com/mentoring
Course + group coaching wait list : leahoconnell.com/group
Free download: Gift certificate template // https://www.leahoconnell.com/gifts
Advertising print materials: moo.com
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/photofuel/
 

A Pre-Shoot Pep Talk / Meditation (Recenter yourself for your best work)

This episode is airing originally in the fall, and because this podcast is specifically for family photographers, I’m assuming a lot of you are in your busiest part of the year. You’re travelling to a lot of shoots. Even if you don’t have a ton of work right now, every time you do go to a shoot, it feels especially important. If you are finding yourself in the dead center of tons of editing or in the car going back and forth to client’s homes, I want this episode to serve as a tool to recenter. 
 
Whenever you’re feeling swirly or like you’re running out the door from your own personal whirlwind and you just need something to help plug you back into your purpose, I hope you’ll play (or replay!) this episode and discover peace and potential that will rev you up to create a phenomenal experience for the families who’ve hired you. 
 
// connect with Leah //
Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com
Instagram: @leahoconnell.photo
Waitlist for the mastermind + retreat: https://www.leahoconnell.com/group
The Big Picture Workbook Freebie: https://www.leahoconnll.com/bigpicture
 
 

Why (and how) I Changed My Business Name

Have you ever known you needed to make a change for your business but felt scared about what it would cost you? 
Have you ever resisted taking risks or making investments or choices that you knew deep down were good choices but felt scary? 
That’s the backstory of this episode - why I knew it was time to change my business name and how I went about making the shift after 11 years of operating and creating content on the internet under a different name.
The history of my longstanding previous name (Firefly Photography)
The turning point for feeling the nudge to change it 
Making business personal on purpose
Simplifying branding by returning to the basics
Llogistics about changing a name and implications for things like SEO 
 
// Links discussed //
Group Coaching : leahoconnell.com/group
Free downloads: leahoconnell.com/learn
Fb group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/photofuel/
 

Get Discovered and Grow your Business in a New Place Using SEO with Melissa Arlena

SEO expert Melissa Arlena is on the show today with her experience and best practices for moving your photography business to a new city, establishing brand presence online with SEO, and ways you can set yourself up for success. 
 
We talk about things like:
 
How she excels and books as a photographer with a specific, repeatable look
Tips to transition your business between states
Tweaks to your keyword targeting
Changes to how google reads keyword differences
How do do keyword research and choose the best ones to get you “found”
Tips for how to understand what your target clients are looking for as topic starters for blog content
The purpose of local-specific blog posts for seo and client interest
Studying and understanding analytics
How long you can expect SEO work to take when moving to a new city
How we can utilize AI to better utilize our time and tools
The future of search behavior
 
This is a meaty episode - get your pens ready! 
 
// Connect with Melissa:  //
Website: https://pictureperfectrankings.com/
SEO facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pictureperfectrankings
On instagram: @pictureperfectrankings
 
// Connect with Leah // 
Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com
Instagram: @leahoconnell.photo
The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter
 
 

4 Simple Copy Tips to Elevate your Family Photography Website

Something that always comes up in the audits I do, in any mentoring call I’ve done in the last 2 years, and in conversations all the time with photographers is COPY - specifically, for your family photography website. In this episode, I have four simple copy tips for your family photography website that will take under an hour to tweak. Even though they're simple, they make such a huge difference in your ability to attract and hold the attention of your dream clients and move through your customer journey and into that contact form. 
 
We talk about things like: 
The ‘fluff test’
What you “about” page is really for 
How to use the magic combination of personal vision, your favorite images, and customer feedback to write your website
Better calls to action
Logistic and design quick tips to support your copy and make sure people actually read it
// Links discussed //
Right track audits: https://www.leahoconnell.com/righttrack
Episode 10 - Website Work: https://leahoconnell.com/ep-10-website-work/
Episode 20- 6 ways to Nurture your Family Photography Clients https://leahoconnell.com/ep-20-6-ways-to-nurture-your-family-photography-clients/
The Big-Picture Workbook: https://www.leahoconnell.com/bigpicture
 

6 Unique Ways to Nurture Your Family Photography Clients

You may have heard the concept that keeping a client is always easier than booking a new one - and there's a reason for that! Nurturing your existing family photography clients means making them feel seen and heard beyond the session itself. When you can find unexpected or particularly thoughtful ways to do that, you capitalize on the opportunity to not just build relationship, but to foster relationship that will continue to snowball. 
The statistics from current research about nurturing lead generation and conversion are pretty staggering. This is a piece that can't be ignored, but nurturing your family photography clients is actually a really fun way to market and a beautiful way to run a business. 
In this episode, I'm sharing 6 things I've done or currently do to nurture family clients and ways you can integrate these or similar ideas into your client nurturing strategy, too - whether you have 2 or 200 of them! 
 
// Links mentioned // 
Moo: (postcards for birthdays) https://www.moo.com
Sprout Studio: (client galleries) https://www.trysproutstudio.com/?via=leahPhoto Fuel Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/photofuel/
Flodesk: https://flodesk.com/c/O75MQU
The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter
Free Audio Training on Posing tips for endless variety (and access to my photographer specific email list) - https://www.leahoconnell.com/posing
Interest list for group coaching + retreat: https://www.leahoconnell.com/group
Right track audits : https://www.leahoconnell.com/righttrack
Article on Lead and Client Nurturing Statistics
 

Back to School Reboot | Business Q&A

I asked my private facebook community what's got them stuck in business and what problems they're mulling through right now and the responses were so wide. Sometimes just talking through a problem and getting new perspective is the push we need to reimagine and tackle it so in this episode, I'm addressing 4 questions from the group with my take. Sometimes my opinions are counter-cultural to industry standard, but I'm giving it to you straight.
We're talking about issues like:
How to develop a newsletter people want to read
Addressing a crisis of style (documentary vs lifestyle, how to get people to book a different style, etc.) 
How to integrate portfolio building into existing sessions
Social media’s role in marketing as a new photographer and how to book and/or grow without it
Whether to include pricing on your website or not
... and all kinds of other nuggets along the way.
 
If you want to be a part of the FB community and conversations like this along with tons of free video content and training, come join us!
 
// Links //
Ep 12: What I learned from 1 year of the Firefly Letters
Ep 5 : 6 shifts that helped me grow my family photography business
Ep: 7: Marketing, Privacy, and Social Media with Morgan Miles 
My newsletter: The Firefly Letters
Newsletter for photographers - leahoconnell.com/posing or leahoconnell.com/walkthrough
Photo Fuel Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/photofuel/
Group Coaching and Retreat Interest List: https://www.leahoconnell.com/group
 
// Thank you to the photographers who contributed questions for this episode! //
Susannah Raye Photography
Kari of  Mack, Micah, and Olly Photography
Debbie Camba Photography
Sadie Peterson Photography
 

The benefits of being an introverted photographer, switching careers, shooting multiple genres, and more with Caitlin Alohilani Photography

Our guest today is Caitlin of Caitlin Alohilani Photography. Caitlin is a family, wedding, and branding photographer based in Los Angeles, California. She was born and raised on the island of Oahu in Hawai’i, and credits much of her photographic eye, approach, and values to her upbringing in the islands and the eternal “aloha spirit.” 
In this episode touch on: 
How she made the leap to full time photography out of her OT career
How her fearlessness and enthusiasm for the craft early on was a superpower
The ways our alternate work paths play into our art and thinking about how broad skills assist this niche career
The connection between a therapeutic relationship and the work we do as photographers in connecting with our clients
The differences and strengths of introverts as photographers and business owners 
How intuition and emotionally regulating people plays a nuanced role in the success of a shoot
The blending of a brand through multiple genres
What Caitlin learned about business and marketing for photography from her own recent wedding /
We also talk about the strengths of being an introvert and she gives some really incredible insight into what it’s like to grow a personal brand as an introverted personality 
 Caitlin recently got married and at the end, she shares some really helpful tips about what she learned from being on the other side of that experience and her insights are things that resonate with all of us! 
// Connect with Caitlin //
https://www.caitlinalohilani.com
https://www.instagram.com/caitlinalohilaniphoto
https://www.instagram.com/caitlinalohilanifamilies
 
// Links discussed //
Do Less - Kate Northrup
Oura Ring 
3 Tips for Endless Posing Variety in Family Sessions
Gallery Walkthrough video 
Group Coaching waitlist
 

4 Tips for How to Shoot in Any Home (In-Home Photography Series Part 3)

I asked in a group once what was everyone’s favorite thing about in-home sessions and someone responded with something like - I know this is shallow, but I only like them if they’re  a well decorated home, have interesting architecture, or have great light - otherwise not so much. 
 
The truth is that even when you’re showing your best and favorite work, you may get hired by people who you don’t vibe with. They might have homes that are not your "aesthetic" or are "boring" or "tough." So what happens then? How do you still given them the same vibes that your brand is known for, the same quality images, no matter what? 
 
In this episode, I’m sharing 4 tips to take with you on your in-home sessions to create inspiration and feel inspired even in an uninspiring space.
 
We touch on: 
Why it’s important to be able to shoot in diverse environments, even when they’re not your favorite.
How to find the golden nuggets
Ideas for using the outdoors spaces you have available at home
How to creativity utilize your angles
/// Links mentioned in this episode ///
Images from the home renovation session : https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo/ 
Episode with Rachel Larsen Weaver 
 
Mentoring with Leah: https://www.leahoconnell.com/mentoring
Group Coaching Info and Wait list: https://www.leahoconnell.com/group