Going pro is a big decision. We all three regularly mentor photographers making this move in their life — and we have some wisdom to offer to you if you’re considering hanging out your shingle as a professional photographer. Even if you have a photography business up and running, this episode will offer you ways to grow and expand your business practices and mindset.
Transcript
It's time to laugh, learn and take your photography to the
Jaz:next level with your favorite cowgirls with cameras, Cara,
Jaz:Kim, and Phyllis.
Kimberly Beer:Welcome to the cowgirls with cameras Podcast.
Kimberly Beer:I'm Kim Beer with Kim Beer photography and Be More
Kimberly Beer:Business.
Cara Taylor Swift:I'm Cara with Fast Horse photography.
Phyllis Burchett:And I'm Phyllis with Phyllis Burchette
Phyllis Burchett:photo. Hey guys, hey, everybody.
Kimberly Beer:Hey, before we get started this week, I want to
Kimberly Beer:tell the audience about our events and a couple of them that
Kimberly Beer:we have coming up that are really cool and that are filling
Kimberly Beer:up. So if you've been sitting on the fence, kind of thinking you
Kimberly Beer:might want to come to one of our events, it is the time to get
Kimberly Beer:yourself registered if you're going to come to one and 2023.
Kimberly Beer:So we have two fantastic experiences coming up. One of
Kimberly Beer:them is our cottonwood Guest Ranch, which had such rave
Kimberly Beer:reviews last year. This place is truly special. But lodging a
Kimberly Beer:special the people are special. And I'm going to say the
Kimberly Beer:photographic fodder, there is chef's kiss. I mean, you cannot
Kimberly Beer:ask for cooler dust cooler backgrounds, really good cowboys
Kimberly Beer:and cowgirls amazing opportunities to shoot herds of
Kimberly Beer:horses, and people doing Hellboy and cowgirl work as well as
Kimberly Beer:Western lifestyle stuff. I mean, this place is truly special. And
Kimberly Beer:this event is truly special. Because it is a place where
Kimberly Beer:we're going to do some intensive learning things. So if you've
Kimberly Beer:been seeking to really take your photography up to the next
Kimberly Beer:level, if you've been looking to expand your business, if you're
Kimberly Beer:feeling like you're stuck in your creativity, this is the
Kimberly Beer:workshop for you to come to, to get all of that growth moving in
Kimberly Beer:the right direction and to get unstuck from where you are,
Kimberly Beer:because we do so many cool things in this particular event
Kimberly Beer:to help you with all of that. So that's our cottonwood guest
Kimberly Beer:ranch adventure. It is at the end of August the 24th through
Kimberly Beer:the 29th. It's five days, five nights, and it's in wells
Kimberly Beer:Nevada, and you can find out more about it on cowgirls with
Kimberly Beer:cameras.com and just head to the events page and then click on
Kimberly Beer:cottonwood guest ranch experience. And trust me, it's
Kimberly Beer:worth your while to take a look just so you have a heads up. The
Kimberly Beer:way that this works is we do talk to all of the participants
Kimberly Beer:ahead of them registering completely for this event,
Kimberly Beer:because we want to make sure it's the absolute perfect fit
Kimberly Beer:for you. So don't be surprised when you click on the buttons if
Kimberly Beer:it asks you to go ahead and make an appointment. So please do
Kimberly Beer:because we can't hold your spot until we get an opportunity to
Kimberly Beer:speak with you. Trust me it's painless, it's easy and just
Kimberly Beer:click the button and follow the instructions and we're all good.
Kimberly Beer:The other thing we have going on this fall is a new event for us
Kimberly Beer:and it's the trappers Lake Lodge photography adventure. Now I'm
Kimberly Beer:going to tell you I have sampled this place and it is truly an
Kimberly Beer:adventure and it is some of the most breathtaking scenery you
Kimberly Beer:have ever seen in your life. We're hosted by a wonderful
Kimberly Beer:young photographer named caisson and caisson is amazing. She has
Kimberly Beer:planned so many cool things for us to go photograph. She has
Kimberly Beer:such deep knowledge of this area. It is truly a special
Kimberly Beer:place. And it is in the wilderness. It is beyond
Kimberly Beer:beautiful, I can't even begin to describe it in words, I suggest
Kimberly Beer:you head on over to the website and take a look at that this is
Kimberly Beer:an event where we're just going to shoot there's education
Kimberly Beer:available to you if you need it. But this is more of a relaxing
Kimberly Beer:sisterhood. Let's have a lot of fun shooting and really enjoy
Kimberly Beer:ourselves and get some amazing photography for portfolios or
Kimberly Beer:stock imagery or art. Anything that you are looking for. I'm
Kimberly Beer:going to tell you this place has to offer it. It is five days
Kimberly Beer:four nights from September 29 to October 3 It is near Meeker
Kimberly Beer:Colorado. I'm not gonna say it's in it because it's quite a few
Kimberly Beer:miles away from there. But it is beautiful and at the time of
Kimberly Beer:year that we're going to be there. This is peak color season
Kimberly Beer:in Colorado and I mean the Aspen's just simply light up the
Kimberly Beer:planet. So it'd be a really good place to come and join us for
Kimberly Beer:that particular adventure. So again cowgirls with cameras.com
Kimberly Beer:is a great place to find information on both of these
Kimberly Beer:events. All right, ladies, now that we've got that in the bag
Kimberly Beer:and have told people about what we're doing, I'm curious about
Kimberly Beer:what you guys have been up to in the last couple of weeks. Thank
Kimberly Beer:you for doing that Kim
Cara Taylor Swift:I'm super excited about some of those
Cara Taylor Swift:events, I'm glad we had an opportunity to share them. I
Cara Taylor Swift:have been doing a ton of deliveries this week, which has
Cara Taylor Swift:been difficult up until just a couple days ago because my truck
Cara Taylor Swift:has been broke down. So got my truck fixed. And now I've been
Cara Taylor Swift:delivering albums. It seems like it's I'm on like an album rush
Cara Taylor Swift:right now. So that's what I've been delivering is a bunch of
Cara Taylor Swift:photo albums to clients. I've had a couple of photo shoots, I
Cara Taylor Swift:had a really beautiful equestrian senior portrait shoot
Cara Taylor Swift:a couple of days ago, it was over at Princess Place Preserve,
Cara Taylor Swift:which you both have now been to from the horses on the beach
Cara Taylor Swift:workshop. So we shot over there, I was able to pull out my Godox
Cara Taylor Swift:lights, and just really lit up the beautiful big old oak trees.
Cara Taylor Swift:And it's gorgeous, a gorgeous shoot had so much fun doing it.
Cara Taylor Swift:I'm still recovering from the ticks though my gosh, there's, I
Cara Taylor Swift:think I got in a nest of them or something. But it was just a
Cara Taylor Swift:beautiful shoot. I'm also working on I'm a little late, a
Cara Taylor Swift:little late this year, but I'm working on updating my artwork
Cara Taylor Swift:guide. A lot of the vendors that I really love to work with have
Cara Taylor Swift:done some product changes that I'm just really crazy about. So
Cara Taylor Swift:I'm updating pricing, updating what I'm offering my clients to
Cara Taylor Swift:just kind of reworking and kind of reconfiguring how that is
Cara Taylor Swift:laid out and the pricing structures. So I've been really
Cara Taylor Swift:busy this week on top of all the cowgirls with cameras stuff, so
Cara Taylor Swift:but it's I'm happy to see your faces. What about you, fellas?
Phyllis Burchett:Well, this time of year is just a lot of
Phyllis Burchett:office work. For me, I think I mentioned before I was signed by
Phyllis Burchett:a new publisher. So I'm trying to get artwork submissions,
Phyllis Burchett:organized for them, and then getting new work from my old
Phyllis Burchett:publisher, trying to get some other stuff done on an old
Phyllis Burchett:publisher that is no longer in business. So I'm switching those
Phyllis Burchett:images over to the new publisher. So that's extra work,
Phyllis Burchett:which is all good. I'm happy to have the work very happy, very
Phyllis Burchett:thankful. I'm also working on images from my website, update
Phyllis Burchett:that Denise over it Storm Lily Marketing is doing for me. And
Phyllis Burchett:she wants a bunch of old pictures of me, which is a
Phyllis Burchett:little worrisome pictures of when I used to show horses and
Phyllis Burchett:stuff. So that's kind of cool. And actually, it's kind of been
Phyllis Burchett:I don't know, it's just been kind of neat going back through
Phyllis Burchett:these old pictures of when I used to show horses and a lot of
Phyllis Burchett:travel like with my sister and stuff. And she wants pictures
Phyllis Burchett:from all that from when I very first started photography and
Phyllis Burchett:before so it's been very bittersweet, kind of a good
Phyllis Burchett:thing and a bad thing. Just looking back at old times,
Cara Taylor Swift:you're taking a walk down memory. So
Phyllis Burchett:I am taking a very, very long walk down memory
Phyllis Burchett:lane got some family stuff going on. My sister's still obviously
Phyllis Burchett:recuperating from her knee surgery, and I've been home
Phyllis Burchett:working or trying to help her some and then just it's been so
Phyllis Burchett:pretty here. It's of course it's raining today. But it's really
Phyllis Burchett:been in the seven days most days here and everything's blooming
Phyllis Burchett:and Spring has sprung Of course now it's going to be a cold snap
Phyllis Burchett:next week, which is what we do here in Georgia, we get hot and
Phyllis Burchett:then we get cold and then we get hot and then we get called again
Phyllis Burchett:for Easter. So but that's about it for me, Kim, what do you been
Phyllis Burchett:up to?
Kimberly Beer:I have been the networking queen, you have heard
Kimberly Beer:of the dancing queen? Well, I'm the networking queen. So I have
Kimberly Beer:an extended stretch when I'm not traveling. So I have been a few
Kimberly Beer:places this year so far. But it's it's been this time a year
Kimberly Beer:it's more at home kind of stuff. And I'm working on building some
Kimberly Beer:groups and stuff for my Gestalt business. And so I've been like
Kimberly Beer:super concentrated on that. However, it's funny to me that
Kimberly Beer:even in my other life, I run into so many photographers, they
Kimberly Beer:like end up in the same circles that I'm in. So I have had
Kimberly Beer:photographers in almost every class that I have taught around
Kimberly Beer:business in the last couple of weeks and it's been super
Kimberly Beer:fascinating to sit and talk with them about what we do as equine
Kimberly Beer:photographers and western lifestyle photographers because
Kimberly Beer:a lot of them have never experienced that and they find
Kimberly Beer:it really really awesome to hear about what we all do as cow
Kimberly Beer:girls with cameras versus being I guess just a person with a
Kimberly Beer:camera. So that's been a lot of fun so yeah, I've been I've been
Kimberly Beer:out promote my book I've been I don't know signing books and
Kimberly Beer:kissing babies and just talking to people about joint ventures
Kimberly Beer:and creating opportunities which is you know, as Cara is sitting
Kimberly Beer:there smiling so big and Phyllis too they know that that's me and
Kimberly Beer:my element right? That's me doing what I love
Cara Taylor Swift:talking I was Yes, exactly.
Cara Taylor Swift:I'm sitting here smiling because I'm like she's actually like
Cara Taylor Swift:it's such a chore but she loves every minute of it
Kimberly Beer:certainly is not well and you laugh at that but
Kimberly Beer:and I know people on this thing are gonna go oh my god, what is
Kimberly Beer:Kim doing now? But I'm also in this Hypnosis Training Course
Kimberly Beer:like I've taken uncut slate, deep dive six months, incredibly
Kimberly Beer:in depth Avenue to Learn hypnosis. And I have lots of
Kimberly Beer:ideas around that that I want to bring to our community here to
Kimberly Beer:help with creative blocks. And to help with getting resistances
Kimberly Beer:out for businesses. I have millions of ideas, which is
Kimberly Beer:another thing I'm never short of. But what's funny about it,
Kimberly Beer:and I'm terrified is when I started into this, like I went
Kimberly Beer:to these hypnosis and like training sessions, and I've been
Kimberly Beer:to hypnosis, and I came home and I told my son I said, I think I
Kimberly Beer:have found, like, the ideal career for me because basically
Kimberly Beer:what hypnosis is, is you talking people into a coma. So it's
Kimberly Beer:truly up my avenue to talk people into a coma. So natural
Kimberly Beer:talent for I do, it just comes really natural.
Phyllis Burchett:I was just sitting here thinking about that
Phyllis Burchett:you had asked me to be one of your guinea pigs for your
Phyllis Burchett:testing. And now when you tie coma now I'm a little bit
Phyllis Burchett:worried about what is she going to have me doing while I'm under
Phyllis Burchett:the influence?
Kimberly Beer:Well, I fully assure you that hypnosis is not
Kimberly Beer:what you've seen on TV and I cannot convince you to do
Kimberly Beer:anything that you would naturally be disappointed
Kimberly Beer:inclined to do. It is a little disappointing Cara, because
Kimberly Beer:dammit, I really wanted to send her to town to rob a bank and
Kimberly Beer:bring us back a lot of money so we could all buy new camera
Kimberly Beer:equipment.
Phyllis Burchett:Hey, speaking of that, Cara just did buy a new
Phyllis Burchett:camera equipment.
Kimberly Beer:She came to the dark side. Yes.
Phyllis Burchett:Congratulations, Cara.
Cara Taylor Swift:Thank you, it's arriving today. I'm super
Cara Taylor Swift:excited to test out my first mirrorless camera so I'll still
Cara Taylor Swift:be shooting with my go to 1DX Mark ii. I love that camera. So
Cara Taylor Swift:it isn't going anywhere. And I really love it for video. So
Cara Taylor Swift:it's definitely sticking around for video. And then I'm gonna
Cara Taylor Swift:give this R5 a try and see if I can enjoy it or not. Otherwise,
Cara Taylor Swift:I'm sending it right back.
Kimberly Beer:Oh my god, don't even say that. You're gonna love
Kimberly Beer:it so much. I tell you I'm sitting here thinking about it.
Kimberly Beer:Don't tell Ed this but it's like getting a new boyfriend. You
Kimberly Beer:know that new boyfriend feel when you're all in love and told
Kimberly Beer:that he can't wait to see them and think about them all the
Kimberly Beer:time. That's what the our five is for photographers. Yep.
Cara Taylor Swift:Well, I have to sign for it. So it might
Cara Taylor Swift:actually arrive while we're recording today. So I've got to
Cara Taylor Swift:keep keep an eye out for it. I thought it was coming yesterday,
Cara Taylor Swift:I misread the alerts. And I sat here in my office all day
Cara Taylor Swift:waiting for it to arrive. And it was supposed to arrive by 4:30.
Cara Taylor Swift:And I had to leave at 4:30. And it didn't come and so I was like
Cara Taylor Swift:man, I really missed it. I came home it wasn't sitting on the
Cara Taylor Swift:front porch just thinking randomly would be delivered and
Cara Taylor Swift:went back and looked at the email. And it was today. So I
Cara Taylor Swift:sent home all day yesterday waiting on it. And today's the
Cara Taylor Swift:actual delivery day. So I guess maybe I'm subliminally under the
Cara Taylor Swift:radar excited?
Kimberly Beer:Well, I think we'll excuse you if you have to
Kimberly Beer:get up and leave while we're doing this. So maybe you should
Kimberly Beer:go first and our chosen subject of the day, which is going from
Kimberly Beer:hobby to Pro. So that way if your camera arrives, Phyllis and
Kimberly Beer:I'll be talking
Cara Taylor Swift:Yeah, so we're talking about going from
Cara Taylor Swift:hobby to pro today. Kim normally does a really nice job of
Cara Taylor Swift:introducing the subject. So I will make an attempt at that. So
Cara Taylor Swift:we work with I mean, we come in contact with photographers every
Cara Taylor Swift:day that are making the decision to take their hobby to the next
Cara Taylor Swift:level and either form some type of business or try to monetize
Cara Taylor Swift:their hobby in some way. We've all been there. I mean, I
Cara Taylor Swift:started as a hobby photographer, Phyllis, you were a hobby
Cara Taylor Swift:photographer originally right and enthusiastic hobbyist, I
Cara Taylor Swift:think is how you described it to me at one point. Yes,
Cara Taylor Swift:absolutely. Yeah. And Kim, I don't I can't remember if you
Cara Taylor Swift:jumped right in and started making money or if you started
Cara Taylor Swift:as a hobby photographer, do you remember I
Kimberly Beer:was a hobby photographer cuz I was 13 and
Kimberly Beer:couldn't get quite figured out how to make money. But yeah, I
Kimberly Beer:dove into the making money part pretty quick.
Cara Taylor Swift:So our hope is to talk a little bit about
Cara Taylor Swift:some thought processes around that and give you guys some tips
Cara Taylor Swift:for anyone that's out there and they want to take their
Cara Taylor Swift:photography just to the next level they want to make it a
Cara Taylor Swift:business they want to try to monetize some element of their
Cara Taylor Swift:photography. I think in my two cents on this subject is that
Cara Taylor Swift:you have to start by considering how that relationship with
Cara Taylor Swift:photography is going to change if you have your hobby being
Cara Taylor Swift:photography and it was something that you do for fun, a stress
Cara Taylor Swift:reliever. I know for me photography started as a hobby,
Cara Taylor Swift:and I was shooting when I was doing domestic violence work. So
Cara Taylor Swift:I was doing really heavy domestic violence and sexual
Cara Taylor Swift:assault work and photography and getting the camera out was a way
Cara Taylor Swift:that I relieve stress. It was a way that I kind of just was able
Cara Taylor Swift:to shut all of that off. and go out and just kind of be one with
Cara Taylor Swift:the world around me and capture that. And when it was no longer
Cara Taylor Swift:my stress reliever, and was no longer something that I just did
Cara Taylor Swift:for fun, it really did take on a different role in my life. And
Cara Taylor Swift:it just isn't my hobby anymore. So I'm sure that you guys will
Cara Taylor Swift:have some things to add to that. But I do think that's a big
Cara Taylor Swift:piece of it. It's no longer one of the things you do for fun,
Cara Taylor Swift:it's now a responsibility, another responsibility. And I
Cara Taylor Swift:think people have to consider, you know, do you have the time
Cara Taylor Swift:do you have the grit, do you have the ability to develop a
Cara Taylor Swift:consistent photography product that will sell and build your
Cara Taylor Swift:photography brand, build a client photography, client base,
Cara Taylor Swift:all while working, potentially working your nine to five, your
Cara Taylor Swift:existing job, in my case, while being a parent, and all of the
Cara Taylor Swift:other responsibilities that come along, you know, with everyday
Cara Taylor Swift:life, so there's a balance there that happens. And my personal
Cara Taylor Swift:experience, it was a balance that it was a struggle, because
Cara Taylor Swift:I was going from this one extreme work experience, and
Cara Taylor Swift:then taking my hobby, to something that was originally
Cara Taylor Swift:something that was for stress relief, and then making it into,
Cara Taylor Swift:you know, into a new responsibility for myself. And
Cara Taylor Swift:then the next piece of that was, are you ready to monetize your
Cara Taylor Swift:photography. So I think one of the things I learned real quick
Cara Taylor Swift:is that people loved my photography and my work when it
Cara Taylor Swift:was free. They loved it. I mean, I would get all the kudos. And
Cara Taylor Swift:people would tell me how great my work was. And they would bend
Cara Taylor Swift:over backwards to let me come out and shoot their horses for
Cara Taylor Swift:free and, and let me photograph their families for free. But
Cara Taylor Swift:things change when you suddenly have to when they have to pay
Cara Taylor Swift:you. So you know, being aware that that is going to be a
Cara Taylor Swift:shift. And that you may have to realize that those people that
Cara Taylor Swift:loved your photography, when it was free are probably not your
Cara Taylor Swift:client, if they're not willing to pay you. So I think as new
Cara Taylor Swift:photographers, or someone wanting to jump into the
Cara Taylor Swift:business you need to spend before hanging your shingle, you
Cara Taylor Swift:need to spend a little time researching your competitors
Cara Taylor Swift:actually look at your existing target market, I spoke to
Cara Taylor Swift:someone the other day, and we were on the phone and we were
Cara Taylor Swift:chatting, and she said I don't think that there's anyone else
Cara Taylor Swift:in my area doing horse photography. And without even
Cara Taylor Swift:Googling, I was able to list three different photographers in
Cara Taylor Swift:her general area that I just happen to know that are in the
Cara Taylor Swift:business. And so I just said, you know, I think you should
Cara Taylor Swift:spend just a little time just researching who's already
Cara Taylor Swift:they're already doing the work already in your market,
Cara Taylor Swift:determining if there's a need, and I will never be someone to
Cara Taylor Swift:say there's not room for you, because there probably is room
Cara Taylor Swift:for you. But you have to figure out what makes you different.
Cara Taylor Swift:And how you're going to be able to stand out in a crowd of
Cara Taylor Swift:professionals that are already established and already in that
Cara Taylor Swift:market. So spend a little time figuring how many photographers
Cara Taylor Swift:are already in your area and how you're different. And like I
Cara Taylor Swift:said other photographers, there does not mean that there isn't
Cara Taylor Swift:room for you, you have to figure out why you're different. And
Cara Taylor Swift:then I think the next step that is often overlooked,
Cara Taylor Swift:photographers will jump right into their business, but then
Cara Taylor Swift:they and then they do a lot of backpedaling is get straight on
Cara Taylor Swift:the legal stuff. And we do have an episode coming up on this
Cara Taylor Swift:topic where we're going to go through some of that. But you
Cara Taylor Swift:need to understand your legal business structure, you need to
Cara Taylor Swift:get your contracts in place, you need to get your insurance, you
Cara Taylor Swift:need to understand your tax benefits and liabilities, you
Cara Taylor Swift:need to spend the time doing that work. And I'm going to say
Cara Taylor Swift:do it when you're getting started before you get started,
Cara Taylor Swift:figure all of that out. So you don't have to deal with the
Cara Taylor Swift:aftermath and the mistakes when you're already a year down the
Cara Taylor Swift:line and you're sitting down and you're trying to figure out how
Cara Taylor Swift:to do your taxes. It's a mess, take it from someone who's been
Cara Taylor Swift:there, it's a mess. And then the last little piece of that is Do
Cara Taylor Swift:you know the existing channels to access your target audience?
Cara Taylor Swift:So you know, how do you plan on? How are you going to reach out
Cara Taylor Swift:to people that you want to have be your clients, people
Cara Taylor Swift:automatically think website social media, and I would
Cara Taylor Swift:challenge you to think beyond that. And I like to talk about
Cara Taylor Swift:what I call boots on the ground marketing, but it's really just
Cara Taylor Swift:networking, you know, where are you going to get your
Cara Taylor Swift:information out into the world and start thinking about what
Cara Taylor Swift:your options are? And are you connected, I'm sure that each of
Cara Taylor Swift:us can agree that we've met with photographers that want to get
Cara Taylor Swift:going, they want to take their hobby, but they have no
Cara Taylor Swift:connections in the equine world yet. So they've got some work to
Cara Taylor Swift:do to establish where those channels are and where they
Cara Taylor Swift:exist and how they can access them. So that's my two cents.
Cara Taylor Swift:The last little piece of that is get help find a mentor, find
Cara Taylor Swift:someone that's been there that's done it that's walked that path
Cara Taylor Swift:and can help guide you. It's going to save you so much in the
Cara Taylor Swift:end in terms of the struggle, the mistakes that are made,
Cara Taylor Swift:hopefully they can help head off some of that and kind of smooth
Cara Taylor Swift:that path for you a little bit more and save you the time and
Cara Taylor Swift:struggle that a lot of folks go through when they first get
Cara Taylor Swift:started. Fellas, I know you have a lot of nuts and bolts to Add
Cara Taylor Swift:here why don't you jump in?
Phyllis Burchett:Wow all good advice Cara I appreciate
Phyllis Burchett:everything you just said and ditto on every bit of it, it's
Phyllis Burchett:all good advice. My first thing I'm just gonna bring out seven
Phyllis Burchett:interesting or very, very good points for people that are
Phyllis Burchett:thinking about going pro or are already there is first off know
Phyllis Burchett:your technique and your niche that would be number one for me.
Phyllis Burchett:Number two, of course would be to know your market understand
Phyllis Burchett:the needs and wants of your potential customers or potential
Phyllis Burchett:clients that you want to work with understand the day to day
Phyllis Burchett:life of a full time pro, it's number three. Number four, and
Phyllis Burchett:this is a real big one is build portfolio. If you don't have a
Phyllis Burchett:portfolio in place before you even start your professional
Phyllis Burchett:career, then you're way behind. Number five, as Cara said,
Phyllis Burchett:mentioned, client contracts and pricing, number six insurance
Phyllis Burchett:and business licenses. And number seven, which probably
Phyllis Burchett:should be a little bit higher up is have the proper gear. So I'm
Phyllis Burchett:just gonna go a little bit into each one of these are a little
Phyllis Burchett:bit more is when regards to finding your niche, have a set
Phyllis Burchett:genre that will help you solidify your brand and allow
Phyllis Burchett:you to focus on your energy on developing your own style, and
Phyllis Burchett:marketing to the right audience that you're wanting to gear your
Phyllis Burchett:photography business to. And like Cara did I think it's
Phyllis Burchett:really cool how you might even want to consider incorporating
Phyllis Burchett:your niche into your brand name, which I think is cool the way
Phyllis Burchett:Cara has Fast Horse Photography and her name instead of like me
Phyllis Burchett:who has Phyllis Burchette Photo. But I think that's cool is
Phyllis Burchett:thinking about trying to put that in your niche into your
Phyllis Burchett:brand name. Number two, build your portfolio. Gosh, without a
Phyllis Burchett:portfolio, no one's going to know what you can do. So before
Phyllis Burchett:you try to turn your hobby into a business is important to build
Phyllis Burchett:your portfolio and start working on images that reflect your
Phyllis Burchett:style of shoots that you want to do on a regular basis. A great
Phyllis Burchett:way to do this is by signing up to go to events to workshops,
Phyllis Burchett:tours, like ours. For instance, there's so many great places to
Phyllis Burchett:go shoot, finding things to do and go shoot in whatever niche
Phyllis Burchett:that you've chosen, be sure to focus on that your portfolio
Phyllis Burchett:will be one of your main selling points. So make sure you put
Phyllis Burchett:your best images and the style you specialize in. And I can't
Phyllis Burchett:emphasize this enough. It's funny how some people will I
Phyllis Burchett:know the other two, I get this a lot. Do you ever take a bad
Phyllis Burchett:photo? Well, of course we do. We just don't let people see them.
Phyllis Burchett:So yes, that's very important. As always put your best work out
Phyllis Burchett:there for people to see engage some subjects to help you set up
Phyllis Burchett:shots if you have to. I mean, you can there's if you have
Phyllis Burchett:friends, you don't already have them in your existing portfolio,
Phyllis Burchett:make sure that you have all the equipment, you need to create a
Phyllis Burchett:portfolio of images that will truly showcase your talent. So
Phyllis Burchett:and you can do this you can grab friends, I mean and set up photo
Phyllis Burchett:shoots on your own. But building that portfolio is really key to
Phyllis Burchett:your business.
Cara Taylor Swift:We actually did a whole episode on that
Cara Taylor Swift:subject on using models and putting models to work for your
Cara Taylor Swift:business. So that's such a good point, fellas.
Phyllis Burchett:Yeah, yeah, we did. I forgot about that. Good
Phyllis Burchett:point. Thanks. This is something that I'm really especially on
Phyllis Burchett:your website, I think it's really important to always tell
Phyllis Burchett:people where you're located as well. And along in that same
Phyllis Burchett:line is include your prices there's nothing more
Phyllis Burchett:unprofessional than a photographer that doesn't have a
Phyllis Burchett:price list. If you're going to jump in from being a hobby to a
Phyllis Burchett:business, make sure to list your prices and clearly outline what
Phyllis Burchett:is included in your various packages. If you're going to
Phyllis Burchett:have packages Cara is a great one to work with. If you're
Phyllis Burchett:going to be a portrait photographer in respect to in
Phyllis Burchett:person sales, I highly recommend talking to her and doing a
Phyllis Burchett:mentorship with her. If you're jumping in the professional
Phyllis Burchett:pool, take the time to work out the cost for your services and
Phyllis Burchett:ensure that you're on par with other photographers in your
Phyllis Burchett:nation in your local area. Be sure to create some marketing
Phyllis Burchett:and branding materials if you haven't already done so you'll
Phyllis Burchett:of course need a business name some other you'll need logo a
Phyllis Burchett:business card, digital flyer maybe to kick start your
Phyllis Burchett:business. It's a really good idea to set up a website of
Phyllis Burchett:course and as well. I think having social media presence is
Phyllis Burchett:big too. It certainly has helped my business grow in leaps and
Phyllis Burchett:bounds. That way your clients can review your portfolio and
Phyllis Burchett:services at any time. They can go to your website or they can
Phyllis Burchett:check out your social media pages. This is a perfect way for
Phyllis Burchett:customers to review some visual marketing before they need to
Phyllis Burchett:contact you. But be sure that your email is listed somewhere.
Phyllis Burchett:Don't depend on social media to be your way to correspond with
Phyllis Burchett:potential clients or old clients. Find a way to generate
Phyllis Burchett:leads and consider freelance work. Whether you advertise on
Phyllis Burchett:Google or Facebook, or do job boards for people looking for
Phyllis Burchett:it. Photographer equine photographers dotnet is a great
Phyllis Burchett:place for that as well. You'll need to do something to find the
Phyllis Burchett:work as it won't. It won't just magically come your way A
Phyllis Burchett:although we like to think it will, but you have to put some
Phyllis Burchett:effort into it waiting for work to come in when your photography
Phyllis Burchett:is just a hobby can be fine. But when it comes to your full time
Phyllis Burchett:business, it's vital for you to ensure you have regular
Phyllis Burchett:inquiries and work coming in, especially if you're depending
Phyllis Burchett:on that income for your day to day expenses. If not, you can of
Phyllis Burchett:course end up with some serious cashflow issues. Consider
Phyllis Burchett:approaching local clubs, schools, art galleries events, I
Phyllis Burchett:don't know if you want to I personally did enough weddings
Phyllis Burchett:that I found out I didn't want to shoot weddings anymore. But
Phyllis Burchett:some people do that a little bit on the side at first just to
Phyllis Burchett:boost their income. But find out what's happening in your local
Phyllis Burchett:area and maybe go to those and maybe hand out some marketing
Phyllis Burchett:material. I think when you're starting out too is put your
Phyllis Burchett:hand up for as much work as you can, and set up a range of
Phyllis Burchett:different options for lead generation and options for any
Phyllis Burchett:kind of photography work that that you can find that will be
Phyllis Burchett:in your genre. When you're starting out your phone's not
Phyllis Burchett:going to ring much. But it's always good to have other
Phyllis Burchett:options. Of course, when the time is required to build up
Phyllis Burchett:your sales and meet your cashflow needs. One way to do
Phyllis Burchett:this, of course, is by getting referrals and testimonials from
Phyllis Burchett:either clients or even people that you've done, maybe some
Phyllis Burchett:free work for actually, if you do a job at no charge, treat
Phyllis Burchett:that like it's a paid job and have that client or have that
Phyllis Burchett:person that you did the shoot with actually go through the
Phyllis Burchett:whole process of of setting up an appointment and going through
Phyllis Burchett:the whole process. And then ask them for a referral or a
Phyllis Burchett:testimonial afterwards. I know for me when I was doing client
Phyllis Burchett:work, that was my best advertising was my past clients.
Phyllis Burchett:Potential clients often do use testimonials when they're trying
Phyllis Burchett:to make a decision about whether or not to book a photographer.
Phyllis Burchett:So make sure to ask previous clients or of course, those that
Phyllis Burchett:were happy with your work to write a short testimonial that
Phyllis Burchett:can include your portfolio, your social media, and your website.
Phyllis Burchett:Another thing too, I think that's been really helpful for
Phyllis Burchett:me to build my businesses, the email system, send out an email
Phyllis Burchett:with a questionnaire to create these and use them in your
Phyllis Burchett:marketing. Thanks Survey Monkey is one that does that. So don't
Phyllis Burchett:be scared. I mean, I know. I know, for me when I was going, I
Phyllis Burchett:kind of felt the same way. Cara did because the hobby part of it
Phyllis Burchett:was what I did for fun but and I'm back to that now at first it
Phyllis Burchett:was scary trying to think about having to make a living and
Phyllis Burchett:depend on this income to you know, to pay the bills and pay
Phyllis Burchett:my mortgage and all that with and at first, it was very nerve
Phyllis Burchett:racking having to worry about that. But now I'm back to really
Phyllis Burchett:enjoying photography and sharing my passion for photography with
Phyllis Burchett:others. So I hope that if you're considering this, that you'll
Phyllis Burchett:take all these into consideration before you jump
Phyllis Burchett:into the professional pool.
Cara Taylor Swift:Well, I'm gonna interrupt real quick
Cara Taylor Swift:because I really loved what you said about like in the
Cara Taylor Swift:beginning, the early days, you may not have a lot of clients.
Cara Taylor Swift:But that doesn't mean that you can't be like still busy and
Cara Taylor Swift:working on your business and working in your business. And
Cara Taylor Swift:one of the things I knew I needed to do early on was I
Cara Taylor Swift:needed content, and I needed connections. And so I did a ton
Cara Taylor Swift:of just going out and shooting and I was doing it weekly, so
Cara Taylor Swift:that I needed that visual content, I needed it for my
Cara Taylor Swift:website, I needed the practice, I needed it for my social media
Cara Taylor Swift:channels. And through all of those. That part you mentioned
Cara Taylor Swift:about the referrals and testimonials, I put those people
Cara Taylor Swift:through my process. And I made that part of shooting doing the
Cara Taylor Swift:work for free. And I'm putting that in quotations because even
Cara Taylor Swift:though I didn't get paid money at the time, I was getting paid
Cara Taylor Swift:and other really valuable things, which were the
Cara Taylor Swift:testimonials, the referrals, I asked him to do a certain number
Cara Taylor Swift:of social posts, that sort of thing. So that's really huge.
Cara Taylor Swift:And Kim, I know you want to jump in here, so I'll shut up now.
Cara Taylor Swift:But thanks for letting me jump in Phyllis, because that was
Cara Taylor Swift:such a that just really triggered such an important
Cara Taylor Swift:thought in my brain. So thanks. You're welcome.
Kimberly Beer:So for those of you who out there who are
Kimberly Beer:considering going pro, and I know you may have been sitting
Kimberly Beer:there for a little while thinking I really want to be a
Kimberly Beer:professional photographer. But I don't know if I'm going to be
Kimberly Beer:ready. I don't know if I'm ready, I may need to do this, I
Kimberly Beer:may need to do that. You're ready. I mean, honestly, to be
Kimberly Beer:straight honest with you, you're never going to be fully ready
Kimberly Beer:for this. Because you don't know what you don't know friend. And
Kimberly Beer:until you dive in, you're not going to figure those parts out.
Kimberly Beer:So as you sit there listening to this, and I think Cara and
Kimberly Beer:Phyllis have given you some outstanding advice for that. And
Kimberly Beer:if it gets you excited, and now you've taken notes and you're
Kimberly Beer:ready think oh gosh, I've learned another step in this.
Kimberly Beer:But I don't know if I'm completely ready to do this. I
Kimberly Beer:may not know everything about my camera or everything about how
Kimberly Beer:to pose a horse or everything about how to pose humans. You're
Kimberly Beer:not going to know at all. All three of us learn something new
Kimberly Beer:Every single time we work with a client, every single time we go
Kimberly Beer:out to shoot, it's always going to be a learning and expansive
Kimberly Beer:experience. And business is something you're going to have
Kimberly Beer:to experience. You can read about it, you can do all your
Kimberly Beer:bed books and studying, you can interview people, you can do all
Kimberly Beer:kinds of things. But until you get out there and get your hands
Kimberly Beer:in it, you're not going to learn how to navigate it. So you are
Kimberly Beer:ready. I had a person in one of my classes yesterday, who was
Kimberly Beer:not anything near photography, it was a food business
Kimberly Beer:conference, I was talking to people who own restaurants and
Kimberly Beer:food trucks and one lady had software and another guy was
Kimberly Beer:doing a kitchen competition. I mean, it was a really hodgepodge
Kimberly Beer:of rooms, but everybody had food in common with each other. And I
Kimberly Beer:did have a comment from somebody this is I just don't know, if
Kimberly Beer:I'm ready to launch my business. And I'm like, You're never going
Kimberly Beer:to be ready, you just got to pull the trigger and go. And
Kimberly Beer:when I say that was, you know, how do you actually move in this
Kimberly Beer:day, it's not like when you become a professional
Kimberly Beer:photographer, that all of the sudden, you know, you like go
Kimberly Beer:by, you may. But most of us don't do it this way, like go
Kimberly Beer:get a studio and have a place to go to work every day. And all of
Kimberly Beer:those kinds of things. You're talking to three photographers
Kimberly Beer:I'm in my home care is in her home, Phyllis is in her home.
Kimberly Beer:Cara has probably the most organized space. I don't know
Kimberly Beer:I've been to Phyllis his house. But I know of Cara is she's got
Kimberly Beer:the most dedicated space where clients come in and out my
Kimberly Beer:photography clients, I don't think I've ever seen the inside
Kimberly Beer:of my office except on Zoom. So you're typically going to be
Kimberly Beer:working in your house, which is going to be if you've come from
Kimberly Beer:a world of where you get an hourly salary, or where you have
Kimberly Beer:a day job, where you go somewhere to work, working from
Kimberly Beer:home is a whole challenge in and of itself. And I'm going to give
Kimberly Beer:you a couple of tips there. One, how successful your business is,
Kimberly Beer:is a direct result of how often you show up for your business.
Kimberly Beer:So you do have to show up. And I know Cara, Phyllis both hinted
Kimberly Beer:at that to say calm even when you don't have clients be out
Kimberly Beer:there shooting using your camera building your skills. Yes, I
Kimberly Beer:totally agree with that. But even when it's a rainy day, and
Kimberly Beer:you wished you had a client, even if you can go ahead and get
Kimberly Beer:dressed. And I say in the beginning, once you're advanced,
Kimberly Beer:and you're a senior photographer, you can come to
Kimberly Beer:zoom meetings with your pajama pants on. But until then get up
Kimberly Beer:get a dress like you could go do your job. Like if somebody
Kimberly Beer:called in that moment and said I want to go have a meeting with
Kimberly Beer:you about doing my photography, that you wouldn't have to go
Kimberly Beer:change your clothes and put your makeup on or do your hair or
Kimberly Beer:whatever it is that you do. And that you could just get up and
Kimberly Beer:walk out and meet them. There is a psychological little tick in
Kimberly Beer:there that when you get up, you get dressed, you are official,
Kimberly Beer:you show up to your desk or your studio. And you really have a
Kimberly Beer:dedicated place to work that is for work that you have a door on
Kimberly Beer:the room where you can shut it and tell the other people who
Kimberly Beer:live in your home that you are working. Now your work in that
Kimberly Beer:space may not all be photography, it's gonna be the
Kimberly Beer:things that these two ladies mentioned, it may be writing a
Kimberly Beer:blog post, it may be doing your social media, it may be putting
Kimberly Beer:together your portfolio, it may be looking up that competitive
Kimberly Beer:research, it may be a million other things that you have to
Kimberly Beer:show up for your business, because that's the way
Kimberly Beer:professionals walk through the world. That's one of the
Kimberly Beer:differences between a hobbyist and a professional photographer,
Kimberly Beer:is a professional photographer shows up and works on their
Kimberly Beer:business, not just in their business. Along those same
Kimberly Beer:lines. You really need to start embodying who a professional
Kimberly Beer:photographer is, even when you're not quite there yet.
Kimberly Beer:start presenting yourself to people as a professional
Kimberly Beer:photographer. Don't caveat when people say what you do, you
Kimberly Beer:don't say what do you do? Well, I'm a photographer. I don't give
Kimberly Beer:them a lot of extra information. Like I just bought my camera a
Kimberly Beer:couple of years ago and I feel like I've gotten really good at
Kimberly Beer:using it. And I'm going to start charging people money here
Kimberly Beer:pretty soon for doing my photography because I'm moving
Kimberly Beer:over to being a professional photographer. No, no, no, no,
Kimberly Beer:no, you are a professional photographer. The minute you
Kimberly Beer:flip that switch in your brain, you know what? I'm going to
Kimberly Beer:anoint you as an official professional photographer. So
Kimberly Beer:show up as one when somebody asks you what you do. I'm a
Kimberly Beer:professional photographer I work with whatever happens to be your
Kimberly Beer:niche. Make sure you embody that professional photographer, even
Kimberly Beer:if you're not sure about what you're doing fake it till you
Kimberly Beer:have a complete under standing above it, that is the way you're
Kimberly Beer:going to learn how to embody yourself as you're moving
Kimberly Beer:forward as a professional photographer, adopt it as really
Kimberly Beer:who you are part of who you are, at least you don't have to tie
Kimberly Beer:your entire identity to your business in photography. But
Kimberly Beer:definitely, when you're showing up as a photographer show up as
Kimberly Beer:a professional photographer, not a hobbyist, Cara and Phyllis
Kimberly Beer:both mentioned competition, and to look at the competition in
Kimberly Beer:your area and understand where you fit into that niche and how
Kimberly Beer:to kind of look at it. I think that all three of us as
Kimberly Beer:professional photographers have utilized our niches very well.
Kimberly Beer:So in other words, the people that we work with, there's a
Kimberly Beer:definite brand to who we are, and there's a definite audience
Kimberly Beer:to who we have as our clientele. I'm gonna tell you, that did not
Kimberly Beer:happen overnight. I didn't wake up one morning and decide that
Kimberly Beer:my career was going to be built around reining horses, and I
Kimberly Beer:have a second niche around people who partner with horses
Kimberly Beer:and healing modalities. I didn't wake up and say those are my
Kimberly Beer:niches. What I did was found that I was magnetized into those
Kimberly Beer:things. And over a few years, I developed a portfolio around
Kimberly Beer:that. Now Phyllis, more mindfully did this. I know
Kimberly Beer:because I've had this conversation with her, where she
Kimberly Beer:started to make her Instagram account, which is a booming
Kimberly Beer:success, very focused on Western imagery. So she very mindfully
Kimberly Beer:focused in on it, I kind of blindly tripped over what I was
Kimberly Beer:going to have for my niche. I've never talked to care about kind
Kimberly Beer:of how she settled on what she was doing in her area. But I
Kimberly Beer:think it's an important thing to know that there's many roads to
Kimberly Beer:get here. And if you don't immediately know in this minute,
Kimberly Beer:what you're going to do as a professional photographer, what
Kimberly Beer:your brand is, what your style is exactly what your niche is,
Kimberly Beer:don't sweat that, don't sweat it, it's a small stuff, you will
Kimberly Beer:figure it out, be mindful about it and start focusing in on it
Kimberly Beer:because you will be more successful. When you're
Kimberly Beer:targeting a specific group of people than a broad group of
Kimberly Beer:people. I always tell my marketing clients, when you're
Kimberly Beer:marketing to everybody, nobody will hear you. But when you
Kimberly Beer:start marketing to a specific group, they will hear you loud
Kimberly Beer:and clear. So that's the reason why you want to develop that
Kimberly Beer:niche. But you may take a little bit of time, and I want to give
Kimberly Beer:you some allowance to be able to do that. Also understand
Kimberly Beer:competition is a good thing. If there are a bunch of Equine
Kimberly Beer:photographers in your area, chances are there's a bunch of
Kimberly Beer:horses. So there's a lot of opportunity, when you see that
Kimberly Beer:when you see other photographers, knowing where you
Kimberly Beer:fit in, as Cara gave you that advice is absolutely key because
Kimberly Beer:it gives you a place to position yourself among the pack. Think
Kimberly Beer:of it like a herd of horses, there's always a hierarchy,
Kimberly Beer:everybody has a position, nobody's getting kicked out of
Kimberly Beer:the herd. But they all have a function within that herd. So
Kimberly Beer:make sure you know where your function is within the herd of
Kimberly Beer:photographers that are in your specific area. The last little
Kimberly Beer:thing I want to talk about is the part of photography. And
Kimberly Beer:being a professional photographer, that was probably
Kimberly Beer:one of the hardest parts for me. And it's a part that nobody
Kimberly Beer:really tells you it's like is that you are going to have a lot
Kimberly Beer:of people giving you creative direction. When you're a
Kimberly Beer:hobbyist, you get to make all of the decisions about your
Kimberly Beer:photography, you get to make the decisions about how you show up
Kimberly Beer:what you shoot, how you're going to go about shooting that when
Kimberly Beer:you start shooting for other people, especially if you're
Kimberly Beer:doing work like I do, which is commercial photography, you have
Kimberly Beer:a lot of other people with creative visions, and specific
Kimberly Beer:ideas that now you have to modify your vision for in order
Kimberly Beer:to create that for them. That can be a blow on your
Kimberly Beer:creativity, it becomes difficult because now you have to be
Kimberly Beer:creative on demand by somebody else's expectations. And those
Kimberly Beer:other people are going to critique you. So it's a very
Kimberly Beer:difficult thing to navigate and I think both ladies recommended
Kimberly Beer:that you have a mentor or that you get some somebody to help
Kimberly Beer:you. Having a another photographer is photographer is
Kimberly Beer:one of these rare industries where there's actually like a
Kimberly Beer:whole mentoring sort of system among photographers, not all
Kimberly Beer:business people have that. But I think it's important to have
Kimberly Beer:another photographer to help mentor you through some of that,
Kimberly Beer:because you can get disheartened really, really quickly. So first
Kimberly Beer:of all, no, it's not you. It's not you. It's not your work. It
Kimberly Beer:is just a hard transition to make. And it's one that's what
Kimberly Beer:worthy of making because I'm going to tell you something as a
Kimberly Beer:secret about it, it's going to make you a better photographer.
Kimberly Beer:And it's going to make you a better business person. But it
Kimberly Beer:can be a little rough. So be gentle with yourself and get
Kimberly Beer:someone to kind of help you through those things. We did an
Kimberly Beer:episode just I think it's the last episode we did on
Kimberly Beer:creativity. If you're struggling with that, go listen to that
Kimberly Beer:episode, that's a good place to get some help. But understand
Kimberly Beer:that you are going to have a lot of bosses, there is going to be
Kimberly Beer:a lot of what feels like critique, but it's really people
Kimberly Beer:just expressing themselves. So it's an important thing that you
Kimberly Beer:hang in there, and just learn how to work through that
Kimberly Beer:particular situation. I think that's my two cents on this
Kimberly Beer:subject. I hope that's added a level and depth to what we
Kimberly Beer:talked about with this. Because I think it's just so important
Kimberly Beer:that we keep bringing new photographers in with the right
Kimberly Beer:mindset. And with enough support so that they're able to be
Kimberly Beer:successful, and not get discouraged. I hate to think of
Kimberly Beer:all the people that have hit the barriers, going from hobby to
Kimberly Beer:pro and just gave up because it didn't feel like it was
Kimberly Beer:possible. It's completely possible. It's very doable. And
Kimberly Beer:we're here to support you through this podcast through our
Kimberly Beer:website through our events. This is one of the things that we all
Kimberly Beer:three have a big passion about
Cara Taylor Swift:beautifully said Kim beautifully said ditto
Cara Taylor Swift:to all that yeah, no, that was just so perfect. Okay, so we
Cara Taylor Swift:would love to have you guys join us sometime soon at one of our
Cara Taylor Swift:events, so head over to cowgirls with cameras.com hit our events
Cara Taylor Swift:tab and find the experience that is right for you. If you have
Cara Taylor Swift:any questions you can reach out to us anytime we are on social
Cara Taylor Swift:media at cowgirls with cameras on Instagram and Facebook. So
Cara Taylor Swift:many great things are happening over on our social media
Cara Taylor Swift:channels right now. I am doing my best to make sure that you
Cara Taylor Swift:are getting some of the just the best resources from Phyllis and
Cara Taylor Swift:Kim as they pulled them out. And just really good engaging
Cara Taylor Swift:content over there. We've got some really amazing
Cara Taylor Swift:photographers that are engaging regularly. So definitely join us
Cara Taylor Swift:over there as well. And I haven't forgotten about the CW
Cara Taylor Swift:see photo challenge. Thank you to everyone who has been
Cara Taylor Swift:participating with that in that on Instagram, to this week's
Cara Taylor Swift:challenge is sunrises and sunsets are sunrise and sunset.
Cara Taylor Swift:So we would love to see your sunrise and sunset images. Go
Cara Taylor Swift:ahead and post them and use #CWCphotochallenge. And when I
Cara Taylor Swift:go in and look for those, I'm happy to share them and share
Cara Taylor Swift:your photography with our audience. So we hope you guys
Cara Taylor Swift:are having a good day and you're out there shooting
Phyllis Burchett:and kudos to you Cara on doing an amazing job
Phyllis Burchett:with our social media.
Kimberly Beer:Yes ma'am. Yes ma'am.
Cara Taylor Swift:It's hit or miss. It's hit or miss. Thank
Cara Taylor Swift:you. All right. Well, everyone we hope you enjoyed this episode
Cara Taylor Swift:and we will see you next time.
Jaz:Thanks for listening to this episode of cowgirls with
Jaz:cameras. Don't let the laughter and learning stop here. Join our
Jaz:community on social media. And be sure to visit our website for
Jaz:more opportunities to fulfill your photography goals head to
Jaz:cowgirls with cameras.com That's cowgirls with cameras.com See