Take It Personally

When I left my 9-5 job in 2018, I was a wedding photographer, and at one point I ventured into product photography.

I got connected with a brand called Little Sleepies and worked with them for a few years. They were my first official brand photography client, and I learned so much through that experience.

I think what really worked with this relationship was Little Sleepies and I were both new at the same time. This concept of connecting with new businesses is something I help my clients with who are looking to explore brand photography. Shooting for free or at discounted rates to get experience and build relationships is actually an unpopular opinion I have.

This episode shares my thoughts on that, my experience with Little Sleepies, and details for a live masterclass happening October 17th. Here are the episode highlights:

00:00 Masterclass Details

01:57 Transition from Wedding to Brand Photography

03:50 First Brand Photography Client: Little Sleepies

06:01 Lessons Learned from Little Sleepies

10:04 The Value of Free Shoots

14:35 Client-Centric Approach in Brand Photography

18:58 Final Thoughts

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I'm hosting a live masterclass, Three Secrets to Booking Brand Photography Clients, on October 17th at 12pm Central. Sign up here! (Replay available if signed up)

Full Show Notes

You still have time to sign up for my free training on Thursday with Zenfolio! Learn how to make 4-figures with mini sessions. Register here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/e03c3d64-de85-419c-909c-8fd8f07286d1@f53224c4-9d71-44c1-9fad-19b66d9d1121

This episode is part of my quiz series, where I tell you all about the four archetypes of brand photographers. You can go here to take the quiz, Are You Ready to Be a Brand Photographer, and I will tell you what your brand photographer archetype is!

This episode is diving into the fourth archetype, The Elite Brand Photographer. If you got this result in the quiz, keep listening to discover your best next step towards becoming a successful brand photographer.

Episode highlights:

01:31 Understanding the Elite Brand Photographer

01:59 Challenges and Solutions for Elite Brand Photographers

05:27 Scaling Your Business to Six Figures

06:42 Quiz and Private Podcast

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

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Quiz: Are You Ready to Be A Brand Photographer?

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Full Show Notes

This episode is part of my quiz series, where I tell you all about the four archetypes of brand photographers. You can go here to take the quiz, Are You Ready to Be a Brand Photographer, and I will tell you what your brand photographer archetype is!

This episode is diving into the third archetype, The Exclusive Brand Photographer. If you got this result in the quiz, keep listening to discover your best next step towards becoming a successful brand photographer.

Episode highlights:

01:46 Understanding the Exclusive Brand Photographer

02:39 Challenges and Strategies for Exclusive Brand Photographers

04:27 Marketing and Client Acquisition for Brand Photographers

05:49 Transitioning Skills from Wedding and Portrait Photography

06:08 Engage and Connect: Share Your Journey

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

Instagram

Website

LINKS:

Quiz: Are You Ready to Be A Brand Photographer?

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Full Show Notes

This episode is part of my quiz series, where I tell you all about the four archetypes of brand photographers. You can go here to take the quiz, Are You Ready to Be a Brand Photographer, and I will tell you what your brand photographer archetype is!

This episode is diving into the second archetype, The Dual Positioned Photographer. If you got this result in your quiz, keep listening to discover your best next step towards becoming a successful brand photographer.

01:08 Exploring Brand Photographer Archetypes

01:30 Understanding the Dual Positioned Brand Photographer

02:37 Key Considerations for Dual Positioned Photographers

03:41 Marketing Strategies for Brand Photography

04:21 Enhancing Client Experience

05:06 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

Instagram

Website

LINKS:

Quiz: Are You Ready to Be A Brand Photographer?

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Full Show Notes

This episode is part of my quiz series, where I tell you all about the four archetypes of brand photographers. You can go here to take the quiz, Are You Ready to Be a Brand Photographer, and I will tell you what your brand photographer archetype is!

This episode is diving into the first archetype, the Brand New Photographer. If you got this result from the quiz, keep listening to discover your best next step towards becoming a successful brand photographer.

Episode highlights:

01:27 The Brand New Photographer: Starting from Scratch

03:08 Building Your Portfolio and Client Base

05:26 Rewind Program

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

Instagram

Website

LINKS:

Quiz: Are You Ready to Be A Brand Photographer?

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Full Show Notes

One of the most common questions I get is, "Am I ready to be a brand photographer?" And this is actually a loaded question.

In my experience, there are four types of photographers who are interested in brand photography. To help you figure out where you stand and what steps you should take next, I created a quiz called "Are You Ready To Be a Brand Photographer?" 

In this episode, we'll dive into the quiz and these four brand photographer types. By taking the quiz, you'll discover your type and get a clear roadmap for what you should focus on to start charging four figures as a brand photographer.

In the next four episodes of the Take It Personally, we'll explore each brand photographer type in more depth, giving you actionable steps to become the go-to brand photographer in your area.

Take the quiz!

Welcome to today's episode, where I am going to rant about why I don't believe in imposter syndrome anymore.

There are a few reasons, which we'll get into, but specifically I believe that people are often using the phrase "imposter syndrome" incorrectly. What's typically behind that feeling is actually a lack of confidence because you are doing something new.

And that can be a good thing! Because you can work on building that confidence. Tune in to hear the rest of this discussion. 

Episode highlights:

01:18 Defining Imposter Syndrome

01:39 Imposter Syndrome in Minority Groups

02:30 Mislabeling Lack of Confidence as Imposter Syndrome

04:09 Building Confidence Through Practice

06:28 Personal Experiences and Overcoming Challenges

07:46 Practical Advice for Photographers

09:33 Embracing Lack of Confidence

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

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LINKS:

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Full show notes

I've been hearing from so many photographers lately that they feel bookings are slow right now. Their inquiries are down, and they're not booking as much as usual.

And while these seasons can be very challenging, I know from experience that sitting in your feelings is only helpful for so long. If you are needing to provide for your family, it's okay for it to feel discouraging, but you also can't just keep waiting around. Instead, you need to take action and do something about not booking as much business. That is what this episode is about.

I'm exploring reasons behind fewer bookings, mindset shifts to make, and key money-making strategies to implement to help with this season.

00:53 Personal Experience with Business Downturns

02:22 Mindset Shift: Don't Overthink Slow Bookings

03:45 Analyzing Past Data to Understand Trends

09:37 Immediate Actions to Boost Bookings

09:51 Money-Making Activities to Implement Now

14:35 Brand Building During Slow Seasons

17:55 Enhancing Client Experience

I know that it can feel really frustrating to be in a slow season. But what I want to remind you of is that it is truly just that - a season!

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

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LINKS:

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Full show notes

In this episode, the Maddie delves into the recent trend of photographers posting their editing queues on social media and argues why this practice is detrimental to their brand. The episode explores the reasons why photographers might choose to share their workload publicly and reveal the negative perceptions and impacts it can have on clients and potential customers. Tune in for a nuanced discussion on business branding and client management in the photography industry.

00:38 The Controversial Threads Post

01:58 The Trend of Sharing Editing Queues

03:13 Client Communication Issues

05:09 Poll Results and Client Perceptions

06:56 The Importance of Clear Communication

11:53 Effective Client Communication Strategies

15:34 Automating Client Communication

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

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Website

LINKS:

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Flodesk: My favorite email marketing platform. Get 50% off your subscription here or with the code MADDIE.

Full show notes