Advertise on podcast: Find Your Focus

Leah Jarrett, couple and newborn photographer from Saskatchewan, joins Logan in this episode to discuss boundaries with customers.  We often hear about the need for boundaries in our personal life, listen in and enjoy this tip filled episode about the need for boundaries in business in order to have better relationships with our clients. Leah shares a few tough situations we can find ourselves in and offers helpful ways to handle them with professional grace.   Show Links: https://www.instagram.com/lcj_photography/https://www.facebook.com/LCJPhotoshttp://lcjphotography.ca Show Takeaways:  Hear how being excited with your shoot will help you authentically show up for the client, creating a more comfortable customer experience.Learn how to set boundaries on how you want to be treated, creating mutual respect, healthy relationships, and setting expectations with clients. Discover why it is important to learn to listen to your gut, and intuition as a photographer.

Today Kirstie, a Dallas-based educator and equine photographer joins us and shares how she developed her marketing model and strategy, combining both methods in a unique hybrid to fit her lifestyle and personality.  Listeners can expect to hear valuable information about marketing, customer retention and pricing in a clear, applicable, and relatable way with this engaging episode. Show Links: https://kirstiemarie.com  https://www.kmplearn.com  Show Takeaways:  Be clear on the type of customer experience you want your clients to walk away with.  Assess how your talents, personality, and beliefs can help cultivate the desired client experience and build a successful business.  Listen for ideas to care for clients after the gallery is delivered to foster client relationships.

Today I’m talking to Tatiana Kiseleva, a wedding photographer based out of Long Island City, New York. We discuss how being an introverted photographer and how accepting her introversion as a strength has changed the way that she runs her photography sessions. We also discuss how being an extrovert, introvert, or ambivert will require a new perspective on how to use your personality to shape your client experience and sessions.  Show Links: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tatianakphotoInstagram https://www.instagram.com/tatianakphoto/ Show Takeaways:  You will learn how to use your personality and natural talents to enhance the way you shoot and interact with clientsDiscover ways to get comfortable with who you are and focus on what you do best to discover your ideal nicheUncover some of the benefits to trying out new types of photography while sticking to your area of expertise.  

Finding ways to differentiate yourself from other photographers can be tricky.  Stefanie Cole, a Connecticut family photographer, shares how she started a client wardrobe and the pros and cons to having one.  We also discuss how her pricing has changed due to her large wardrobe and how she’s optimized her website to help showcase the wardrobe closet for client sessions with less work for her.  Show Takeaways:  Learn how Stephanie shifted away from the industry norm to make her business stand apart.  The things you should consider when starting a client closetStart small with versatile pieces in style and sizingFocus on timeless neutrals; use color in less expensive accessoriesPurchase high quality name brand core pieces

Today our guest is Natasha Coyle, a wedding photographer and educator based out of Charleston, South Carolina. She shares her approach to using Instagram Reels and Tik Tok to market and grow her photography business, assist her in coaching photographers, and convert more followers into paying clients. Natasha started her photography business at age 34 and had to learn business and photography. She tripled her social media following in only a few months using short-form video.   Show Takeaways:  Find out how Nastasha leveraged TikTok videos to grow her following and turn  those followers into clientsLearn why video is the future of marketing, and how you can show up and serve your client through this mediumUnderstand the difference between copying someone else’s content and gaining inspiration from it

Today, I'm talking to Mike Glatzer, a portrait photographer who helps creatives and brands tell their story. Mike joins us to discuss why it’s okay to keep your full-time  job and do photography part-time. A full-time biomedical engineer and part-time photographer, he doesn't have any desire to quit his full-time job. (Yes, you read that correctly.) He shares how having a full-time job has affected his pricing as well as the things you may need to consider before going full-time. We also talk through some time management tips: everything from CRM and task management systems, to time-blocking and knowing your cost of goods.  Show Takeaways:  Why it’s okay to keep your full-time job and do photographyThings you should consider before going full-timeTips for working a full-time and part-time photography business

Photographs have the ability to tell stories, and our guests today, Kirsten Lewis and Tyler Wirken, have got their photography storytelling techniques down to a fine (or not-so-fine) art. The special bond between these two blossomed out of a mentorship program, and has changed their lives for the better, both personally and professionally. Tyler and Kirsten open up about the clarity that has come with age, why less is more when it comes to storytelling through photos, and the benefits of relinquishing control when you are shooting. Kirsten and Tyler both feel that their career paths are not set in stone, but they know that their ultimate goal is for their work to have a meaningful impact on society as a whole. A big focus area for both guests is “day in the life” sessions and they explain, in a very heartfelt way, why they feel there is so much value in doing shoots of this nature and why they always take photos that speak from their own hearts and personal perspectives. This episode will leave you itching to grab your camera and tell a story with it!

From a part-time hobbyist landscape photographer to a full-time professional wedding photographer, our guest on today’s show has a lot of valuable knowledge to share around transitioning, holding onto your passion, and finding your ideal clients. Ara has two branches of her wedding photography business; one which focuses on more traditional weddings and another which feeds her adventurous, outdoorsy spirit. In this episode you will hear about the importance of taking in all the feedback you receive, utilizing a specific marketing tone in order to attract the clients that you want, and the importance of staying true to yourself and being selective in the photos that you use to promote your business; if you don’t want to do baby shoots, don’t post baby photos! Ara also explains why it is so important to her to get close to the couples that she is going to be photographing, and the strategies that she makes use of to build these relationships. If you’re struggling to hone in on your niche or feel like you’ve lost your passion for your work, this episode will go a long way in helping you find them!

Today’s episode is about mistakes the mistakes all photographers are prone to make—and how to avoid them! We speak with Vanessa Renae about the start of her wedding photography business, her work as an educator, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. Our host, Logan Fahey, chimes in with some of her own early missteps. Listeners can expect teachable moments and relatable anecdotes that they can apply in their own lives and careers. You’ll hear practical advice about creating an actionable business plan, Hear practical business advice like the importance of having an actionable plan. Vanessa also explains why your mindset might be holding you back. Later, we hear about the nonlinear nature of business, not letting expectations get in the way of your next career steps, and why you shouldn’t be scared of specializing and offering niche services. Listeners can also expect special tips and insights on marketing and Instagram. For all this and more, tune in today! For full show notes click here. To get started with Shootproof for FREE click here.

Making the switch to studio photography can seem daunting after working with the ease and beauty of natural lighting, but as Jessica explains in today's conversation, it might not be as hard as you think. Jessica decided to dive into her passion for photography full-time after she became a mother, and she left her job as a school teacher and started humbly in a spare bedroom at home. When she made the big step to get a studio space and move into the world of studio shooting, Jessica was pleasantly surprised by how well she managed! There are obvious learning curves and hurdles in the process, but our guest insists that if you put in a little research and put aside your fears you can find a practice that really fits your dreams. In our conversation, we get into the technical side of Jessica's work, how she has been aiming to pare things down to the essential elements, and her love of human faces! Tune in to hear it all on how you can make the jump to the studio! 

In today’s social media landscape, authenticity is one of the most important elements when creating an online presence for your business. Our guest today excels at this and is here to share some of her many insights on the topic. During our conversation with Neyssa Lee, we speak about how growing up in foster care and being adopted impacted her passion for photography, and how she came to run her own business photographing moms with their newborn babies and children. She speaks openly and honestly about the pain of miscarriage and why it’s so important to share these experiences with her clients, many of whom have had similar experiences. Listeners can also hear all about how Nyessa started incorporating reels, despite her apprehension, to great effect! We discuss how reels can be used to highlight your personality, educate clients about your brand and authentically reflect who you are. Tune in to hear all about Neyssa’s tips, tricks, and warnings for incorporating reels into your business. 

Being featured as a photographer on the first page of Google is no easy feat, but Valerie Clark knows how to do it! Born out of the need to move around a lot because of her husband's job, Valerie became a self-taught SEO expert, and she joins us on the show today to share some of her top tips. We discuss the keywords you should be using, the free resources provided by Google which will help with your SEO, the importance of having a blog, and why you need to be planning your SEO a few months ahead if you are going to be moving to another state. Valerie also highlights some of the common mistakes made in SEO, and how you can avoid these. If you are interested in learning more about the extremely valuable tool of SEO after this episode, Valerie shares how you can join her one-on-one coaching program, which is launching in April!