The Pet Photographers Club Podcast Archives

Cris Skinner of The Journey Photos is a dog photographer based in the rugged and picturesque state of Alaska, USA. As a former United States Marine, she was inspired by Cooper, her medical alert service dog, to create two special photography series. These projects - ‘I Am Your Constant In The Chaos’ and ‘I am Your Calm in the Storm’ - are about honoring the incredible work of Service Dogs. Join us in this video Member Spotlight episode as we chat to Cris all about her business, her photography and her inspiration behind these incredible images.

LINKS:

Website: https://thejourneyphotos.com
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/thejourneyphotographybycris
https://www.facebook.com/TheJourneyPhotographybyCris

P.S. Early bird tickets are now available for the Pet Photographers Virtual Conference. Grab yours today and save $100!

What better way to inspire and motivate yourself than by listening to the goals and strategies of fellow pet photographers around the world?

Today I was joined by Danyel Rogers of Wag to My Heart Studio in Portland and Ina Jalil of Ina J Photography in Canberra for our quarterly Goal Trackers meeting.

From holiday mini sessions, to contacting old & existing clients, to finalising book projects - this 20 minute episode is packed with great ideas and I’m sure it will inspire you to set your own goals for our final three months of 2020 (woohoo!)

MY THREE GOALS:

- Finish filming the videos for the Productivity for Photographers Bootcamp
- Contact clients with unused session vouchers (assuming we have the okay to do photoshoots again in Melbourne by November!)
- Build the platform and systems required for the Virtual Pet Photographers Conference

P.S. the Daily Vlog Challenge that Danyel and I chat about during this episode is run by the brilliant Andrew Hellmich from PhotobizXposed. There’s another one coming up towards the end of the year - you can sign up here: https://photobizx.com/180/36 - I’l be participating too!

If you ever feel like you’re in a creative rut, or you have a photo series that you’d would love to evolve into something bigger, you’ll definitely want to tune into the season six finale - it’s a Medley episode!

Hear from seven different photographers, each with their own unique success stories and insights into Personal Photo Projects. We’ve combined interview highlights from our chats with Andrew Hellmich, Jack Jackson, Jennifer Zapatka, Diana Lundin, Erin Bonilla, Craig Bullock and JB Shepard for this inspiration-packed episode.

By the way - do you have a photo series that you’d love to share with the industry? We love using this platform as a way to shine a light on the beautiful work of pet photographers around the world - just fill in the Member Spotlight form online here: https://bit.ly/club-member-spotlight

WANT TO HEAR MORE? THE FULL EPISODES + LINKS TO EACH SERIES:

Andrew Hellmich: www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/0108
Jack Jackson: www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/0601
Jennifer Zapatka: www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/0607
Diana Lundin: www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/0611
Erin Bonilla: www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/0110
Craig Bullock: www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/0301
JB Shepard: www.thepetphotographersclub.com/podcast/0404

Have you ever wondered about the story behind photographers who turn personal projects into book deals? In this episode, LA pet photographer Diana Lundin shared the processes and experiences behind some of her most well-known photo series - including “Dogs vs Ice Cream” (published by Familius in August 2019) and her Dog Noir series.

Diana also shared some behind the scenes insight into the creation of specific images, so if you love hearing about the artistry and conceptual planning for creative pet photography, you’ll LOVE this episode.

This is a video episode - watch it online in the Member Zone.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

Website: www.dianalundin.com
Social Media: www.facebook.com/dianalundinpetphotography

Kirstie McConnell is an award winning Photographer, an internationally respected photography business coach, co-host of The Pet Photographers Club and passionate believer that givers get. She created her own website to ensure that those who land there, book a photoshoot, and she is now giving pet photographers around the world the opportunity to have their website built in this same way.

In today’s Expert Review, Kirstie dived into the website of club member, Judy Reinford from Judy Reinford Photographic Artist and is sharing her top ten tips for improving your own website.

(p.s. Are you keen to have an aspect of your business reviewed by an expert? You can apply in the Member Zone, or nominate a guest if you have someone you really want to learn from).

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

https://judyreinfordphotography.com/

Need help with your website? Check out Kirstie's option!: http://thepetphotographersclub.com/website-design

She’s got over 20 thousand followers and she’s just 20 years old. We couldn’t wait to catch up with Isabella Willmann, the Amateur Pet Photographer of the Year, to chat all things creativity, inspiration and instagram.

Over the years, Isabella has evolved her dog’s Instagram page into a photographic showcase and she had some great tips and insights for how you can grow your instagram, too.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

Isabella’s strategies for growing an Instagram following

Creating stunning self portraits

Making a photography idea come to life

VIDEO EPISODE:

This is a video episode - watch it online in the Member Zone.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

Furrygraphs Website

Isabella’s Instagram

When Sara Glawe won the 2020 International Pet Photographer of the Year Awards with an outstanding 3 out of 4 entries placing in the Top 25 Shortlists AND two images picked for the Judges’ Choice Awards, we couldn’t wait to chat with her and find out all about her story! We learned that Sara Glawe is a German pet photographer with a passion for colour harmony, and that she balances her thriving Arts with Heart business with a full time job. Tune into this episode of the Pet Photographers Club podcast to hear all about Sara’s tips for entering (and winning) the awards, how she taught herself about colour and so much more!

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

How Sara takes inspiration from her European city for her ‘City Dog Walks’ experiences

How to achieve colour harmony in pet photography

How Sara picked her winning images for the International Pet Photographer of the Year awards

IN THE EXTENDED EPISODE:

Sara Glawe shares more about her colour retouching process (check out the before/after edits of her winning “Grey dog” photograph) and how she balances full-time employment with running her successful photography business - listen to the extended episode or watch the video version in the Member Zone.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

Arts with Heart Photography -website
https://instagram.com/artswithheartphotography
www.facebook.com/saraglawe.fotografie

Jennifer Zapatka fell in love with photography as a high school student, developing black and white film in the darkroom. Over the years, she lost touch with the craft - until her first puppy, Oats, arrived on the scene. All of a sudden, all she wanted to do was photograph her adorable new furry friend - ‘With Love & Oats’ was born!

Now in her third year of business as a full-time pet photographer, Jennifer specialises in creating an exceptional client experience. We sat down to chat with her all about process, from planning to printing, the strategy behind her limited edition sessions and how she balances business with creativity through her passion project - ‘With Love & Dogs’.

THE HIGHLIGHTS:

Talk about organised! Jennifer completely set up her business - from price lists, to client guides, to studio management system - before she even opened her doors. This has allowed her to create a strong brand right from the get go.

The With Love & Oats Welcome Packet is filled with everything that Jennifer’s clients might need to know, and it comes in a beautifully designed 16-page guide (complete with doggo treats). She’s really thought of everything, and in this episode Jennifer gave us a sneak peek into her custom designed guide.

IN THE EXTENDED EPISODE:

Jennifer Zapatka shares her tips and strategies for creating profitable limited edition sessions and gives us a behind-the-scenes look into her passion project, With Love and Dogs. Listen to the extended episode or watch the video version in the Member Zone.

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

With Love & Oats - Website
With Love & Oats - Instagram
With Love & Oats - Facebook

What better way to inspire and motivate yourself than by listening to the goals and strategies of fellow pet photographers around the world?

Today I was joined by Danyel Rogers of Wag to My Heart Studio in Portland, Cris Skinner of The Journey Photography in Alaska and Carol Moorhead of Dog-Tog in Florida. We had our first ever Goal Trackers meeting and I loved hearing all about the plans of these three very different pet photographers.

From self-publishing books, to working on personal photo series, from transitioning to In-Person-Sales to introducing new packages - this 20 minute episode is packed with great ideas and I’m sure it will inspire you to set your own goals for the next two months.

MY THREE GOALS:

- Complete the Daily Vlog course with PhotobizX
- Host another online Pet Photography Challenge for my clients and community
- Launch the Tails of the World collaborative book (eep!)

Hands up if this is you . . .

- You know that you should be doing more video in your marketing. 🙋‍♀️

You might have halfheartedly attempted a few Instagram stories or maybe even a Facebook live, but you just feel so awkward talking to the camera. 🙋‍♀️

You keep hearing about how video marketing is the way forward. The all-powerful Algorithm loves video, potential clients connect with you via video, video advertising is so powerful - THE LIST GOES ON! But still, you keep putting it off because it’s also really overwhelming and you’re not really sure where to start? 🙋‍♀️

SAME!

That’s why we’ve brought photography marketing expert Andrew Hellmich back to the Pet Photographers Club show. Andrew has been successfully using video to grow and market his photography business for years, and he’s now teaching other photographers how to do the same with his Daily Vlog Challenge.

We were so impressed with everything that Andrew taught us in this episode that we both personally enrolled into his next challenge! Tune into Season 6, Episode 5 of the Pet Photographers Club to hear Andrew share some of his best Video Marketing tips - this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

TOP THREE TIPS:

- Upload to Youtube: this boosts your SEO AND saves your server

- Viewers respond to casual, helpful videos - don’t get hung up on the idea that everything needs to be perfect and professional

- Join (or set yourself) a video challenge that will encourage you to post frequently. Not only does this give you an ‘excuse’ to your audience for why you are posting videos, it will quickly build your confidence! We recommend Andrew’s Daily Vlog Challenge

IN THE EXTENDED EPISODE:

Andrew Hellmich dives into the power of replying to enquiries with video (and the logistics of how to do that) PLUS shares a great strategy for using video testimonials to build business relationships. Listen to the extended episode in the Member Zone.