Struggling to protect your work and get more clients? In this episode, we chat with award winning travel photographer Nico Trinkhouse who shares his experiences turning a negative situation into a positive business venture.

Three Things You'll Learn

• How his personal journey with copyright led to a new business and a proven way for photographers to get paid when their images are used illegally.

• Why his unconventional approach to blogging has become his most effective marketing tool for finding and winning high value clients.

• How he discovered a business model that is far more profitable than the

On this week's episode, the hosts dive into the world of email marketing and how it can be a powerful tool for photographers to generate leads and grow their business. The conversation goes beyond simple newsletters, revealing how smart strategies can automate your marketing efforts and significantly boost your bottom line.

Three Things You'll Learn This Episode:

• How to Warm Up Leads Automatically: Discover the power of email automations and how to set up a series of emails that build a relationship with potential clients after they download a free resource from your website. You'll learn how to use these sequences to move people from a cold contact to a warm lead ready to book with you.
• The Secret to Retaining Clients: Find out how an automated email sequence can keep you in touch with past clients. By continuing to provide value after a photoshoot, you can increase customer loyalty, encourage repeat business, and sell additional services they might not know you offer.
• The Power of Tags and Triggers: Learn the simple but effective system of using tags and triggers within your email platform to segment your audience. This helps you send the right message to the right person, so you never look unprofessional by sending a promotional email to someone who's already bought from you.

If you like this episode you'll probably also like:

How to grow your mailing list

What to do with your mailing list

Want to get more photography clients through the door? This week, we're talking about how to turn Google Maps and Google Business into powerful tools for getting more leads and growing your business growth. Learn how to improve your local marketing and get found by the right people, all without spending a penny.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the name you've chosen for your photography business could be holding you back and what you can do about it to get more leads.

• The one thing you must do to get to the top of Google Maps and why reviews are absolutely vital for your marketing.

• How to craft your Google Business profile to get more clients, and why you should be posting on it regularly.

Are you a commercial photographer in the UK looking to take your business to the next level? You’re likely focused on your portfolio, marketing, and networking—and those are all crucial. But what if we told you there’s a single, powerful skill that can dramatically improve your client relationships, boost your likeability, and ultimately lead to more business?

In this episode, we chat with Colin D Smith, a true expert on the art of listening. While most of us think we’re good listeners, the reality is that very few people have truly mastered this skill. Colin explains why deep listening is so important, not just for personal connections, but specifically for professional success.

Colin breaks down how a few simple changes can make a huge difference:

• Build Trust & Likability: By asking open-ended questions like, “How do you feel about that?” or “What more do you want to say about that?”, you encourage clients to open up. This helps you build genuine trust and makes you more likable, which is essential for securing future work.

• Improve Client Relationships: When you're a better listener, your clients will also listen more closely to you. This creates a powerful, two-way street that ensures your clients feel heard and understood, making them feel confident they’ve chosen the right person for the job.

• Get More from Networking: Networking isn’t about pitching yourself; it’s about connecting. The better you listen, the faster you can build rapport and stand out in a crowded room.

Colin shares practical techniques to help you sharpen your skills:

• Be Present: Clear away distractions and go into conversations with a calm, settled mind. Don’t just hear what someone is saying; truly listen by observing their body language and letting them finish their thoughts.

• The Power of the Pause: After someone finishes speaking, wait a full three seconds before you respond. This simple pause prevents interruptions and gives you time to fully absorb what was said.

• Listen for the Little Things: Pay attention to phrases like, “I’ve never told this to someone before.” This shows they are trusting you with something personal and gives you a powerful opportunity to deepen the connection.

Don't let your communication skills hold you back. Deep listening can be learned, and it might just be the most valuable investment you make in your photography business.

Want to learn more? You can connect with Colin at:

• Website: dexteritysolutions.co.uk

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colindsmith1

• Email: [email protected]

  
  

This week, Marcus and Sam discuss the hotly debated topic of “Do you need a photography degree/qualification to be a commercial photographer” and what’s the alternative?

This is the first ever episode of Shoot to the Top and we are sharing it with you as Marcus and Sam are taking a little summer break.

Marcus, no surprise, being an ex senior Lecturer in photography comes down in favour! But for reasons that may not be obvious. Sam asks probing questions and has an alarming stat of the Day.

This show is just perfect if you are trying to decide whether to spend your hard earned cash on going to university.

Kirsten Luts is a commercial portrait photographer on theoutskirts of London. He is also the host of the Camera Shake podcast. Kirsten uses podcasting and video (on YouTube) as a large part of his marketing.
The first thing to think about before starting a podcast or YouTube channel, you’ve go to think about why you are doing it. It could be getting more clients, or it could be a passion project. For Kirsten, it was to give him something creative to do during the COVID lockdowns when all his photography work had stopped. He says he learned a lot from some of the best photographers of our time.
Kirsten says that initially, he spent a lot of time and money on the podcast. It didn’t bring in money. But it has brought him a lot of opportunities, for example, speaking at photography shows. So the podcast has brought opportunities rather than directly making money. And those opportunities often lead to making money and to doing interesting things.  Consistency is important when making a podcast of videos. There is a whole show about consistency here .

Working with someone else is also very helpful. This canmotivate you and help you to be consistent. Kirsten started their podcast on YouTube as well as on Spotify and Apple. He says that his podcast was terrible at the start, but they learnt and got better, and it’s important, in any project, to make that start, and not wait for perfection. Kirtsen is amazed by the guests that he managed to get on the show. Before he started, he made a list of guests he would love to have, and he’s managed to have all of those guests on the show.
Marcus asks Kirtsen for tips if you are going to start a podcast or YouTube channel.  Kirsten says the first thing is to think about your audience and the topic. The topic has to be interesting and engaging for your target audience.
We move on to video, and Kirtsen says that if you are not offering clients video as part of your work a using it as part of your marketing, you will end up behind other photographers that are offering this. He thinks video is much more of a threat to a still photographer than AI is. It’s not a big jump to go from stills to video. Much of the technique is similar, such as lighting and exposure.
Speaking of video, Shoot to the Top is now on YouTube, and you can watch it here.

 Marcus says that Flash used to be challenging many years ago. But now life is much simpler. Sam asks about Chinese copy brands, but Marcus says that with modern lighting, the Chinese equipment isn’t a copy; they are the originators. Marcus is going to be talking about Godox lighting, which is sometimes known by a couple of other brand names. He is going to give anideal kit to have with you. Marcus says you want your lighting all to be the same brand; otherwise, your lights will not communicate with each other, so this is essential.

A handheld or on-camera mounted flash is what we are goingto talk about first. Sam digs out one of these from his cupboard. Marcus says these simple flashes are great and often five times cheaper than the camera brand flashes. Godox’s camera flash is called the V1. This is the basic start, and it goes onto the hot shoe of your camera. The next level up is to get aremote that goes onto your hot shoe. That allows you to put your flash where you want; it is no longer tied to the camera. Once you have a remote, all other flashes need to be the same brand to communicate with the remote.

The next thing needed is a main light. Marcus recommends that if you get one, then a Godox pro light, which is near the top of the range, is worth getting. The flash head is very large on the Godox pro range, which Marcus likes. The flash head is also diffuse, and the glass is diffuse, not clear. Marcus also says he recommends going for a high-power flash. The main reason is that the batteries are so good and have almost no time to recharge between shots. Marcus also says that some of these lights can also separate the light and battery, so the lighter light can be on a stand without the battery being on the stand too.
Finally, Marcus talks about a modifier. A modifier goes onto the light to modify it. Marcus says the best modifier to get is an umbrella.  Marcus doesn’t recommend the Godox umbrella.He recommends going for a more expensive umbrella. He says they last longer, and reflective material is better. He recommends getting an umbrella that is at least 1 metre across. There is also an alternative to an umbrella, which Marcus describes.

To get the Shoot to the Top Podcast in your inbox every week, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Jay Garrido is a Mozambican photographer. He studied film inCape Town. However, the film industry in Mozambique is not very developed, so he turned to photography. He started with weddings but transitioned to magazine work and now wants to return to his creative roots. While in Cape Town, there was a diverse mix of people from various cultures.

Marcus asks about photography in Africa. Jay talks about photographer Mario Macilau.  He grew up in a poor neighbourhood. By chance, he got his hands on a camera that was donated to him because his photos were so good. He is now a top photographer. Jay says there is a lot of culture to present through photography. He says the market is growing exponentially. There is a school of photography in Cape Town where lots of experimental photography and he got to see lots of their work while in Cape Town.
Jay says the commercial market in Mozambique is also growing. He had an opportunity to work with a high-level Portuguese magazine. He felt working with them forced him to level up his work. After that, he worked with Indico for 5years, which is the magazine of the Mozambican airline. This meant he didn’t just work for the magazine but also with the businesses advertising in the magazine. This helped him move into commercial photography. He says the commercial market is growing rapidly, as it is in many other African countrieslike Angola and Nigeria.
Jay is sure that good photographers coming to Mozambique with their style would make a lot of money. Jay says that the photographers who do their own look are well ahead of everyone else and can pick who they work with. Jay has also worked for agencies here in Mozambique, both in photography and video work. He wants to eventually become a director of photography once the film industry starts to develop. He has managed to spend time shadowing a Portuguese director of photography.
Jay has got a lot of work from word of mouth. His work with the magazine meant he met a lot of people in business. He has also found that wedding work has led to commercial work due to the people he has met at the weddings, who liked his work.
Jay and Marcus also discuss weddings in Mozambique. Mozambique has some stunning beaches and five-star resorts, which are amazing for weddings. Marcus likes the sound of Mozambique and wonders if he should move out to join Jay and Sam.

The podcast is now on YouTube, and you can see our YouTube channel here.

You can reach out to Jay on Instagram here

To get the Shoot to the Top Podcast in your inbox every week, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And to join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shoot to the Top Facebook group here.⁠⁠⁠

Nick Gregan has been doing photography for thirty years and is a headshot photographer. Nick thinks working in a niche works well and helps build your business. For twenty years, Nick specialised in actors starting in their careers, so he worked in a niche within a niche. He says that with the camera technology, lots of people are entering the headshot market without necessarily having the relevant skills.
Nick says headshots are something everyone can do, in terms of it’s a picture of the head and shoulders. But the subtle differences between taking headshots for different people with different roles make a big difference. Marcus asks how you differentiate those images. Nick says initially he needs to get to know the client and needs to know how the client wants to be seen. Nick says the thing he also does is give people options, so he might take some images people don’t expect but might like.
Nick says acting headshots are really important; they can make the difference between getting auditions and good roles and not being noticed. He says he has helped many actors come to him when they are not getting auditions. He takes their headshot, and then they start to get auditions and roles.
Nick explains that the first image people see of you makes a big difference to the way people see you. They will form an impression of you based on that message.So your LinkedIn profile image will make a big difference in how people see you and what they think about you. Nick says the LinkedIn profile photography market is growing as people are becoming more aware of this.
Sam asks about his business model in terms of pricing and volume. Nick says he used to do ten or twelve people a week. However, he decided to put his prices up. So he photographs fewer people, but charges more for it. His ideal session is about 2 hours with an actor or an hour for a corporate headshot. Nick uses a technique called rapid rapport to quickly build a rapport with the client. The conversation starts as a conversation between him and the client, but it moves on to what is effectively a conversation between the client and the person viewing the photograph. Sometimes he does photographs for celebrities, and he has to work on these very quickly and build rapport within a minute or two. He also uses scenarios with clients to help them get into the right move and pose.  

Sam asks Nick how to convey his value. He says his images do, his website does, and his blogs do. Nick works hard on SEO, keeping his website at the top of Google Search. He doesn’t have an online booking system, so people talk to him before booking. He uses this opportunity to show he is an expert. He pitched himself as an artisan and an expert who gives a luxury service. He sends these messages out on LinkedIn, Google My Business and on his website. On his website, he has a lot of location-specific pages that generate work for him. For example, “Headshot photographer Wimbledon”.
Nick is working on a book for photographers. Marcus asks if Nick can give us some tips for creating the perfect headshot.
1. Look at the light. Don’t just set it up as standard, look at it for subtle adjustments.

2. Get to know your client. Essentially, you need to let your client know that you are an expert and are confident.

3. Capture the person's personality. Make sure they are showing emotion.

You can reach out to Nick on ⁠⁠LinkedIn here⁠⁠

Or⁠ ⁠⁠find his website here⁠.⁠⁠

To get the Shoot to the Top Podcast in your inbox every week, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And to join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Shoot to the Top Facebook group head here.⁠⁠⁠

Stefanie has been a professional photographers for twenty years in the St.Albans area. Her focus is now 100% on commercial photography.
Stefanie says it’s important to think about what motivates people to get photos. What are the triggers that make people want a photograph? This could be an event for a family, it could be being asked for a headshot as a business leader.
Stefanie says it’s very important to make it very easy for people to work with you. For example if someone wants a corporate headshot she already has a blog ready that answers many of the questions they might ask about headshots.
A few weeks ago Stefanie was working with a school on their marketing. She said the women at the school was convinced that she only did school photography as she had such a great landing page for school photography. Having specialised landing pages for areas you work in makes life simple for the lead which helps to convert them. Stefanie also ensures she responds to lead very quickly.
Stefanie also wants to engage the local community as she wants to work locally. For example last year she went on a local Mum’s Facebook group and said she wanted to help those with a LinkedIn profile photo that they were embarrassed about. She offered a free headshot for three people who were happy with their before and after shots being shared publicly. She got a lot of queries and then worked out who she wanted to work with using various criteria, including making sure they were very different. So the posts on the Facebook group created abuzz. She then started sharing what she did on LinkedIn. She did some posts asking people to help people choose their new headshot and gave a few options. This got lots of engagement as so many people saw the post and so many people were willing to chip and and comment on which headshot should be used.  This process has also been working on the triggers helping people realise they do need a headshot.

Corporate photography UK is a Facebook group that Stephanie helps to run along with Martin Hobby (see our show with Martin here). Elise Marks setup the group. The group is about supporting each other and is Uk based. The group is also used for referrals, so for example if Stefanie does a photoshoot in London and the same company needs a photoshoot in Manchester, she would use the group to find someone to refer that work to. Stefanie says it’s vital that your website is excellent as it needs to appeal to photographers looking to refer work. Also she says she won’t refer work to photographers who don’t have a good website, even if she knows they are excellent, as she wants to ensure the person she is referring gets the right impression.

Marcus asks about Stefanie’s use of artificial light. She says she uses artificial light nearly all the time. As she is a portrait photographer then light on the face needs to be right and an artificial light is essential for this.
Stefanie’s advice for anyone moving to corporate photography is first of all to learn off camera flash. Understanding and creating light is a big differentiator between professional photographers and those shooting on phones.  This skills means that during the day you may need to change your setup as the sun moves and comes in and out of clouds.

Marcus asks about dealing with people and getting them comfortable. Stefanie says you need to work with your own personality or it won’t work. Stefanie says she is quiet, calm person. So she doesn’t work in a high energy way, which others might if this is their personality. It is important to also understand where the person is coming from who is having their photograph taking and having empathy with them. This is related to our past show on listening.

You can reach out to Stephanie on LinkedIn here

Or ⁠find her website here⁠.

To get the Shoot to the Top Podcast in your inbox every week, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

And to join the ⁠⁠⁠Shoot to the Top Facebook group head here.⁠