More Than Photos

Most success stories are told years after the climb. When a photographer has already reached the pinnacle of their journey. This one is a little different.

Dalton & Breanna Upchurch are in the middle of a season that's changing the trajectory of their business, and we had a front-row seat to the last year of it.

When they joined our Mastermind, they were already making beautiful wedding films and running a good business. But they were also beginning to feel the weight of a demanding schedule, constant travel, and a business that wasn't quite supporting the life they wanted to build.

Over the next year, they began making some pretty significant changes. Raising their prices, moving into a higher-end market, pursuing new relationships and opportunities, and becoming more confident in the work they were already creating.

But what makes their story special isn't just the business growth. It's how deeply rooted they've remained in their family, their values, and their love for filmmaking.

In this conversation, we talk about the decisions that changed their direction, learning to trust your artistic voice, the role of mentorship and community, and why building a bigger business doesn't have to mean giving up the things that matter most.

And perhaps our favorite part...is that so much of what they've been working toward is still ahead of them.

We're getting to hear their story while it's still unfolding.

Themes

• Building a life-first business
• Moving upmarket without losing yourself
• The power of mentorship and borrowed belief
• Knowing yourself before knowing yourself as an artist
• The growth nobody can see yet
• Marriage, creativity, and building something together
• Falling in love with the pursuit

Links

Brad & Jen Mastermind: https://learn.bradandjen.com/mastermind-coaching
Apply for the Mastermind: https://learn.bradandjen.com/mastermind-application
Dalton & Breanna: https://daltonandbreanna.com/ & https://www.instagram.com/daltonandbreanna

Keywords

Wedding filmmaking, Dalton and Brianna Upchurch, More Than Photos podcast, Brad and Jen, Forma, wedding photography business, wedding videography business, moving upmarket, high-end wedding clients, luxury wedding filmmaking, raising wedding photography prices, wedding filmmaker mentorship, photography business coaching, wedding photography Mastermind, creative entrepreneurship, building a life-first business, work-life balance for photographers, artistic identity, creative confidence, personal growth, intentional business growth, pricing strategy, wedding industry relationships, sustainable wedding business, filmmaker burnout, building a business around family, creative direction, finding your artistic voice

You want to make better work.

So you save photographs. Study photographers you admire. Build mood boards. Buy the camera. Try on editing styles...

And somehow, you still feel stuck.

In this episode, Brad shares his own journey of trying to grow creatively, including the mentoring experiences that changed how he saw his work, 3 days in Brooklyn with Ritual Collective, and the realization that his creative voice wasn't something someone else could hand him.

This is an episode about inspiration, taste, mentorship, creative resistance, trusting your own work, and learning to hear the quiet voice that says: Go there.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — When wanting to grow keeps you stuck
02:40 — Inspiration vs. participating in your own creativity
04:41 — When successful work stops feeling like your work
07:00 — Looking for mentors to help me “see the ants”
09:09 — Three days in Brooklyn with Ritual Collective
11:31 — The good photographs I didn't actually need
13:31 — What if creative growth is about removing, not adding?
14:45 — Changing how I photograph to stay connected to myself
15:55 — Joel Bedford and “go to the balcony”
17:57 — Your creative voice whispers
19:28 — Arriving creatively uncluttered
20:19 — The man behind the glass door
22:43 — Did any of this actually fix the stuckness?
24:06 — The walking reveals the map

LINKS

More Than Photos episode w/ Joel & Justyna: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xYjmcfls4e1OoBG01u9qJ?si=6d81e69289ce4e17

Brad & Jen Education: https://learn.bradandjen.com/

Holger/Ritual Collective: https://ritualcollective.net/

KEYWORDS
creative voice, creative growth, photography inspiration, photographer creativity, finding your photography style, photography style, creative block, photographer burnout, photography mentorship, Ritual Collective, Holger Thoss, creative resistance, artistic voice, photography education, wedding photography, wedding photographer, photography inspiration, finding your style, developing your style, creative confidence, trusting your work, comparison, photographer mindset, artistic growth, making better photographs

There’s a strange place photographers can reach somewhere around the $6,000–$7,500 mark.

You know you want to grow. You want to shoot fewer weddings, make more per wedding, work with better-fit couples, and have more room to actually focus on the people and the photographs.

But every time you think about raising your prices, there’s a very reasonable reason not to.

In this episode, Brad breaks down 5 of the most common reasons photographers stay stuck around this invisible pricing ceiling and why accurately diagnosing the problem matters more than blindly raising your rates. He shares their own “yellow chair moment,” the outdated website that was still booking some of their best weddings, a healthier way to stair-step into higher prices, and why moving into the premium market can sometimes create more creative freedom instead of more pressure.

In this episode

• Why waiting for “better weddings” can keep you circling the same price point
• The danger of using other photographers’ prices to determine your own ceiling
• Why “fewer bookings” and “I’m scared I can’t deliver at $10k” are two different fears
• How to stair-step into higher prices without shocking your business
• Why $10k does not automatically mean ultra-luxury weddings and extreme pressure
• The premium “third way” between the market you’re in now and the luxury world you see online
• Why higher-end weddings can actually give photographers more creative freedom
• Why “just raise your prices” is incomplete advice
• How pricing, positioning, experience, confidence, and your offers need to grow together

Links

Purpose & Profit
https://learn.bradandjen.com/purpose-and-profit-course

The Mastermind
https://learn.bradandjen.com/mastermind-coaching

Brad & Jen resources + tools
https://learn.bradandjen.com/shop

Keywords

wedding photography pricing, $10k weddings, $7,500 wedding photographer, photography business, raise photography prices, premium wedding photographer, luxury wedding photography, wedding photography business coaching, photographer pricing strategy, wedding photographer pricing, premium market, photography positioning, photography sales, discovery calls, photography packages, higher-end weddings, wedding photography clients, creative business, Purpose and Profit, wedding photographer mastermind

A few years ago, Sav & Cam found themselves in a place a lot of photographers know well.

The business was working, but the work didn’t feel like where they wanted to stay. That realization started a pretty massive shift.

In this episode, we talk with Sav & Cam about what changed over the last few years, from the weddings they were photographing and the work they were making to the opportunities, relationships, and clients that followed.

But this isn’t really a conversation about “making it.”

It’s about giving yourself permission to want something different. Getting serious about your work. Learning to say no to opportunities that don’t fit where you’re going. And realizing that even when things are working, you might still need to stop and ask whether they’re taking you where you actually want to go.

We also get into creativity and taste, working together as a married photo + video team, their relationship with social media, the unexpected connections that changed their career, and why some of the photographers who appear to have “made it” are still figuring it out too.

THEMES
• Changing direction when your business is technically working
• Getting out of the box you’ve built around yourself
• Developing stronger taste and creative conviction
• Why better-fit work often requires saying no
• The invisible relationships and decisions behind growth
• Film, imperfection, and making photographs that feel honest
• Documentary photography and creating space for real moments
• Social media, attention, and protecting your creativity
• Working together as a married photo + video team
• Ambition, determination, and the myth of finally “arriving”

CHAPTERS
00:00 – Meet Sav & Cam
07:30 – Hawaii, home, and building a life together
15:00 – Working together as a married creative team
24:00 – Photography, filmmaking, and finding their roles
32:00 – The breaking point that started a bigger change
40:00 – Getting out of the box and believing something different was possible
48:00 – Film, creativity, taste, and making work that feels like you
57:00 – The unexpected relationships that changed their career
1:05:00 – Saying no, better-fit weddings, and protecting what you actually want
1:14:00 – Documentary photography and making room for real moments
1:22:00 – Social media, attention, and the wedding industry
1:30:00 – Ambition, success, and why nobody really “arrives”
1:38:00 – What Sav & Cam are questioning and chasing next

LINKS
Sav & Cam:
https://www.savandcam.com/

Purpose & Profit:
https://learn.bradandjen.com/purpose-and-profit-course

KEYWORDS

Sav and Cam, Sav & Cam, wedding photography, wedding photographer, wedding videography, wedding filmmaker, film photography, documentary wedding photography, creative growth, photography business, wedding photography business, photography career, destination wedding photographer, luxury wedding photography, photographer mindset, creative process, artistic voice, photography style, working with your spouse, husband and wife photography team, social media for photographers, photographer relationships, wedding industry

What makes a photograph last? Reni Maria has spent years thinking about that question, both through her own work as a documentary wedding photographer and as the founder of Counterpart Photos, a collective celebrating some of the most distinct voices in wedding photography today.

In this conversation, we talk about learning to notice, trusting your instincts, finding your own way of seeing, and why Reni isn’t necessarily looking for beautiful photographs. She’s looking for photographs that surprise her.

We also explore what weddings look like when you stop trying to manufacture moments, why Reni believes fewer photographs can sometimes tell a better story, and the responsibility we have as photographers to decide which images deserve to survive.

Reni takes us inside the thinking behind Counterpart, including why she places contemporary wedding photography alongside photographs from Magnum archives and generations past. It opens up a much bigger conversation about weddings as historical documents and the role our photographs may play long after the trends, clothes, and aesthetics of today have passed.

And ultimately, we come back to the photographer. Who are you? What do you notice? What photographs actually feel like you? Because as Reni says, “People should book you for how you see the world. Not because you take beautiful photographs.”

THEMES

Artistic voice and originality
Documentary wedding photography
The art of noticing
Trusting your instincts
Curation and editing
Fewer, stronger photographs
Counterpart Photos
Wedding photography as history
Timelessness vs. trends
Finding yourself in your photographs
Creating work beyond Instagram

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Meeting Reni and the life behind her photography
06:28 – Photography as a practice of noticing
13:52 – Culture, travel, and letting weddings surprise you
18:30 – Recognizing meaning instead of manufacturing it
22:51 – Finding a way of photographing that feels like you
27:21 – How Reni recognizes distinct photographic voices
33:50 – The story behind Counterpart Photos
43:19 – Why fewer photographs may matter more
48:05 – You are the photographer AND the editor
55:18 – Getting booked for how you see the world
58:15 – Wedding photography in the larger frame of history
01:02:42 – What actually makes a photograph timeless?
01:06:46 – How to find yourself in your own photographs

Connect with Reni
Website: https://www.renimaria.com
Counterpart Photos: https://www.counterpartphotos.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renimariaphotos
Counterpart Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/counterpartphotos/

Connect with Brad & Jen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradandjen/
Education: https://www.instagram.com/bradandjeneducation/

KEYWORDS

Counterpart Photos, wedding photography, documentary wedding photography, wedding photographer, artistic voice, photography curation, timeless photography, photography inspiration, wedding photography trends, documentary photography, editing, photography portfolio, creative growth, photography mentorship, wedding photography history, photographer creativity

There’s a frustrating point in business where things are working, but it starts to feel like there’s nowhere obvious left to go.

You’re making good work. You’ve raised your prices. You’ve built a reputation. But you’re still being compared to the same photographers, competing for the same couples, and wondering how much further your market will let you go.

In this episode, we’re talking about what happens when we hit that ceiling, and why getting beyond it may require us to question some of the expectations we’ve learned to follow.

We talk about the fear of doing something differently when the business is already working, why being easy to compare can eventually limit our growth, and how some of the photographers we admire most built permission to work differently over time.

Because we can’t become meaningfully different while making sure we never do anything differently. At some point, differentiation has to feel like something.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Why being different can feel so personal
02:30 What hitting a ceiling actually feels like
04:53 Why success can make us afraid to experiment
07:20 “I want to grow, but I’m afraid to stop doing what everyone else does”
09:28 Sneak peeks and the fear of breaking expectations
11:47 If we do it differently, we have to bring people with us
13:00 How great photographers earn permission to break the rules
15:20 Why risk often comes before permission
17:23 The other risk we rarely think about
18:32 Which risk are we actually more afraid of?
20:32 The greener pastures might already be in your market

READY TO BREAK THROUGH YOUR OWN CEILING?

We currently have one spot available inside our Mastermind.

If you’re ready to raise your rates, create more demand for your work, and build a business that feels more like you instead of following someone else’s blueprint, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply Here: https://learn.bradandjen.com/mastermind-coaching

KEYWORDS

wedding photography business, photography business, wedding photographer pricing, market ceiling, photography pricing, creative differentiation, standing out as a photographer, wedding photography marketing, creative business, photography competition, raising photography prices, luxury wedding photographer, photographer mindset, photography coaching, wedding photographer mastermind

What does it actually look like to raise three kids, homeschool, run a business, work from home, and still have a life?

We’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look at what’s worked for us, what hasn’t, and what we’ve learned after nearly 10 years of parenting while running our business.

We talk childcare, routines, quiet time, Sunday planning, outsourcing, marriage, decision fatigue, and why we’ve stopped looking for the schedule that will finally “figure it all out.”

Chapters:

00:00 Recording from the Trader Joe’s parking lot
02:11 The biggest lesson: flexibility
07:02 What we thought parenting + business would look like
09:26 Can you actually “do it all?”
14:11 Why there’s no perfect schedule
16:38 Creating rhythms that reduce decisions
21:00 Our Sunday meeting + defining a successful week
25:31 Boundaries between work and family
26:15 How we use childcare
27:51 How we divide work when the kids are home
30:16 Outsourcing inside the business
31:40 Why we hired a family assistant
34:00 Protecting your marriage while working together
35:03 Extra grace required
39:47 Good doesn’t always mean right
42:09 Building the family you actually want
43:00 You’re not alone in figuring this out

Connect with us:

Instagram: @bradandjeneducation @bradandjen
learn.bradandjen.com

Keywords:

working parents, working from home with kids, work life balance, parenting and business, homeschooling, homeschool parents, entrepreneur parents, working mom, family business, childcare, family routines, time management, marriage and business, family rhythms, raising kids, creative entrepreneur

This week Brad & Jen sit down with Austin Trenholm, a wedding photographer of nearly two decades and the co-founder of Good Light Presets. Between shooting weddings across the country and building editing tools with his business partner Cody, Austin has had a rare front row seat to how thousands of photographers edit, the trends they chase, and the styles they grow into.

That vantage point makes him the perfect person to untangle a question every photographer wrestles with: what is style, how do you actually develop it, and what is the difference between borrowing a look and building a voice? Austin's throughline is that YOU are the differentiator. We are all shopping at the same retailers, using the same gear and the same presets, so style is less about the ingredients than how you combine them.

What starts as a talk about editing turns into decisiveness, boundaries, creative burnout, and the freedom to experiment without blowing up your business.

We also explore:

• Why you, not your gear or your presets
• Editing like a home chef
• From a camera at fourteen to nearly twenty years behind the lens
• How Goodlight started
• Why your voice, not one rigid style, is the thing that should stay consistent
• The "I could never wear that" story we tell ourselves, and how to drop it
• A simple reference-card trick to commit to a look and stop second guessing
• Why boredom and monotony cause burnout as much as overwork
• Chasing timelessness while working in an industry built on trends
• Why no AI culling: your voice lives in choosing every frame yourself

Connect with Austin
Website: https://www.trenholmphoto.com/
Instagram: @trenholmphoto
Good Light Presets: https://goodlightpresets.com/ @goodlightpresets

Connect with Us
Join Purpose & Profit – A Roadmap to 10k Weddings
Apply for the Mastermind Program - High level 1:1 creative coaching & community.

Chapters
(00:00) Welcome and why style is a lot like fashion
(04:52) A camera at fourteen and a summer in New Mexico
(08:12) How Good Light Presets started
(10:42) Editing like a home chef
(13:01) Why your voice, not one style, should stay consistent
(15:33) To find a style, try on every style
(21:23) A reference-card trick to commit and stop second guessing
(26:06) Decisiveness, film cameras, and a cohesive voice
(31:44) Stop worrying about your voice and just work
(34:58) Boundaries, creativity, and leaving the 50mm at home
(37:46) Burnout, boredom, and keeping it fun for twenty years
(42:31) Is it the gear? The onion and the sharp knife
(50:32) Chasing timelessness in a trend-driven industry
(58:57) Where the industry is heading and the swing back to pretty
(01:05:37) How do you know when you are growing?
(01:15:02) Developing a voice: cull your own work and know what you love

Keywords: wedding photography, photography editing, presets, developing your style, finding your voice, Lightroom, film aesthetic, creative burnout, photographer mindset, decisiveness, wedding photography trends, Goodlight Presets, photographer education

What if the biggest opportunities in your business don't come because you're finally "ready"… but because you've spent years preparing before they ever arrived?

This week we're joined by Kellie and Caitlin of Fulton Events for one of our favorite conversations to date. On the surface, it's the story of three years that changed everything. But underneath, it's a conversation about believing in a future before anyone else can see it.

About making decisions before there's proof they'll pay off. About saying "yes" when the opportunity feels just a little bigger than you're ready for.

Over the course of just 3 years—while raising three young kids—they transformed their business through intentional relationships, strategic investments, countless uncomfortable decisions, and a willingness to build the business they wanted long before they actually needed it.

If you've ever wondered whether the work you're doing today is actually leading somewhere… this conversation is a reminder that growth rarely looks dramatic while you're living it.

It looks like showing up.

Again.
And again.
And again.

00:00 – Meet Kellie & Caitlin of Fulton Events
04:15 – Building belief before there was proof
11:42 – Why three years changed everything
20:31 – Preparing for the business you want
29:18 – Saying yes before you're ready
37:40 – Relationships that change your trajectory
46:52 – Every next level starts with one step
55:26 – The unseen work behind extraordinary growth
1:05:14 – Advice for creatives chasing their next chapter

• Building the business before you need it
• Belief before proof
• Strategic business growth
• Making bold decisions
• Preparing for opportunity
• Relationship marketing
• Reputation and referrals
• Leadership and team building
• Entrepreneurship
• Creative business
• Wedding industry
• Fulton Events

Business growth, entrepreneurship, creative business, wedding planner, Fulton Events, business strategy, leadership, relationships, networking, mindset, entrepreneurship podcast, photographer education, business development, creative entrepreneur, premium clients, business mindset, reputation, marketing, long-term growth, intentional business.

This week's episode is a little different. Brad & Jen are recording from the road instead of their usual studio, but the conversation couldn't wait.

If you've ever stared at a new inquiry wondering, "Do I send pricing? Do I email first? Do I schedule a call?" this episode is for you.

What starts as a conversation about discovery calls quickly becomes something much bigger. Why are photographers becoming more efficient, yet feeling less connected? Why do couples ghost? And what if the problem isn't your pricing at all?

Brad & Jen unpack one of the biggest mindset shifts they've seen transform photographers inside Purpose & Profit and the Mastermind.

You'll learn why leading with connection instead of efficiency changes the way couples experience your brand, why discovery calls are about serving rather than selling, and how one simple shift can change your confidence, your bookings, and the way you show up as a business owner.

• Why photographers unintentionally make booking harder after an inquiry

• The real reason couples ghost (and why it usually isn't your pricing)

• Why you're asking couples to judge your worth before they've experienced your value

• How AI and automation are increasing the value of genuine human connection

• Why discovery calls are about service, not sales

• The four ways every discovery call pays you, whether you book the wedding or not

• How curiosity replaces defensiveness and changes the entire pricing conversation

• Why premium businesses are built by leading conversations, not sending information

00:00 The $5,000 inquiry that sparked this conversation

02:00 Why photographers focus on the wrong questions

05:00 The real reason couples ghost

08:00 Why human connection is becoming more valuable

10:00 Discovery calls are about serving, not selling

15:00 The four paychecks of every discovery call

20:30 A real story about making an impact without booking the wedding

24:30 The mindset shift that changes pricing conversations

29:00 Becoming the kind of business owner people trust

32:00 One challenge for your next inquiry

Purpose & Profit

Ready to build a business that attracts better-fit couples, increases your confidence, and gives you a clear path forward https://learn.bradandjen.com/purpose-and-profit-course

wedding photography, wedding photographer, photography business, discovery calls, inquiry process, booking more weddings, sales for photographers, photography pricing, client experience, wedding inquiries, photography marketing, premium wedding photographer, business mindset, human connection, photography education, Purpose & Profit, Brad and Jen