Wisdom in the Tangents Photography Podcast

Dan is a wedding photographer based in Philadelphia, PA. He also hosts the Focused Photographer’s Podcast.

Today we're talking about how to identify toxic money relationships and how you can end yours today.

Sponsor: Táve

Receive an extended 60 day free trial of Táve at Lightdarkco.com/tave

Lesson from the book A Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins - Spend less than you earn, invest the rest, and end debt.

Always be a student of your clients. It doesn’t matter how much you think you know about them, approach them as a student to learn more about them.

Types of different Toxic Relationships with Money:

Money avoidance is where you want nothing to do with money. When it comes in, you want to get rid of it right away.

Your net worth equals your self worth. When you have money, you feel good about yourself, and when you don’t have it, your self esteem dwindles.

We often see riches with fancy cars, and expensive things, but we rarely see wealth as investments, retirement, and savings.

Healthy Money mindsets look different for everyone, but you should aim for these markers of a healthy mindset.

Set values and spend your money based on those values.

Have low to no debt

Save money to reach goals

Have an emergency fund or insurance.

Mentioned in the show:

A Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki

4 Hour work week - Tim Ferriss

Moka Pot - Espresso Coffee Maker

How to Live a Healthier More Happy Life - Billy Bauder

Profit First - Mike Michalowicz

Mr. Money Mustache

Catch App

Find Dan at

danielmoyerphotography.com

focusedphotographers.com

instagram.com/danielmoyerphoto

instagram.com/getfocusedphotographers

secretphotoclub.com

What Are We Loving?

What Dan is loving:

Showing up Rule- Creating a habit of showing up for 2 minutes

What John is loving:

Movie - Nobody (Trailer)

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

Sean is a Portland, Or based senior photographer. He coaches photographers on how to run the successful business they've dreamed of and how to market themselves well. And he is also the host of the Shoot for Success Photography Podcast.

Today we're talking about how to market for the client's journey.

Sponsor: Táve

Receive an extended 60 day free trial of Táve at Lightdarkco.com/tave

Focus on how to market yourself in order to create a sustainable job.

Look for what your differentiating factors that you offer than others in your industry do not. What makes you different. Take 3-5 of those factors and speak about those in your marketing.

What do you want to be known for? How can you effectively communicate that in your marketing?

When they don’t know what we know, they fill in the gaps with what they assume they’ll receive or with experiences from others. When you share about the client's experience, they will know what to expect and have a better view of the value you offer.

If you can incorporate your clients’ opinions into aspects of your brand, they will be more invested in your brand and more likely to refer you to others.

List everything you do before, during, and after a session. And look for client touch points in that process and create ways you can educated and market clients about those areas.

Find Sean at

seanbrownproductions.com

instagram.com/seanbrownproductions

Sean’s Senior Photography Academy

What Are We Loving?

What Sean is loving:

Watching March Madness with friends

What John is loving:

Movie - Windfall (Netflix)

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

Fred is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and business advisor. He co-founded the most successful dentist referral service in the country, 1-800-DENTIST. He has previously written two books on marketing, has dabbled in standup and improv comedy, acted in bad movies and excellent TV commercials.

His latest book, Superbold: from Under-confident to Charismatic in 90 days, is an Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller. He once beat Sir Richard Branson in chess and was also a question on Jeopardy. He is an avid cyclist, a below-average tennis player and an even worse golfer.

He currently resides in Los Angeles and he is my guest today to talk about how we can overcome shyness and become bold business owners.

The Light and Dark Photography Podcast is brought to you by Shipstation.

ShipStation a web-based shipping and packaging platform that makes shipping your products and prints so easy!

Get your free 30 day trial and make it 60 days by checking it out at lightdarkco.com/shipstation

Tell your team what you expect of them, because otherwise how will they know what you are expecting. When expectations are not set, people will default to the path of least resistance.

Bold people are never the ones who stop themselves. They wait for others to try and stop them. Underconfident people talk themselves out of what they want. “I’m not smart enough. People will think XX of me. I’m afraid I’m going to fail”

You are not generically Shy, sometimes you exhibit shy behavior and you can try to act on that behavior less often.

When meeting people you are interested in, pursue only the outcome of human connection. Don’t set high expectations for the conversation. Start there and you might get to what those high expectations might be after you make that initial connection.

When your negative inner voice is telling you what people might think of you, ask yourself if that is factual. Is that certain?

When things don’t go as planned, ask yourself how this can become an opportunity. Instead of assuming people are going to think, direct the mishap into something relatable to connect with your audience.

The PRIDE method

Prepare Yourself

Relax

Insights into yourself

control the Dosage instead of going 0-100

Exercises of boldness

Try to smile at everyone you meet. When they don’t smile back at your, don’t take that negativity on.

Boldness is allowing yourself to step in and begin.

Find Fred at

fredjoyal.com

Get his book - SuperBold: From Under-confident to Charismatic in 90 Days

What Are We Loving?

What Fred is loving:

Themed Parties

What John is loving:

Books - Wayward Pines Trilogy by Blake Crouch

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

James and Jess Wittmayer are a husband a wife luxury wedding photography duo based out of Santa Barbara, CA. They are educators with a passion to help creatives and photographers thrive in life and in business.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you don’t know something. It’ll save you from years of doing things the wrong way, or with missing pieces.

You don’t need to do everything on your own. When you bring in others to help you, you allow yourself the space to serve your clients the best you can.

If you don’t know yourself well enough and how you’ll work with others, it’s virtually impossible to lead yourself anywhere.

Map out your client’s total experience from first touch point to the last connection. At 3-5 touch points with your clients along the journey, add some gifts, some added personal touches to elevate their experience and create a raving fan for your business.

Ideas without action are worthless.

Your clients deserve more than just a digital experience with their photos. Albums and prints will serve them far longer.

No doesn’t mean no, it means convince me. If your clients don’t want albums, then you probably haven’t educated them and shared the value in those albums.

People cannot buy what they do not exist.

Workshop on adding Albums to your packages - jamesandjess.com/lightanddark

This episode is sponsored by Freedom Edits.

Get 30% off your first order by going to lightdarkco.com/freedom

Find James and Jess at

jamesandjess.com

instagram.com/jessfairchild

instagram.com/jameswitty

Thrive Photography Conference

youtube.com/jamesandjess

What Are We Loving?

What James is loving:

House Plants and gardening

(John’s referral - Bloom and Grow Podcast)

What Jess is loving:

New Espresso Machine

What John is loving:

Tv Show - Fringe (Prime Video)

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

Angie is a wedding and proposal photographer based in Maui, Hawai’i. She runs a team of photographers at Engaged on Maui. Along with her business partner Dave Moss, she helps photographers run a kickass business so they can live the life they want to live through her educational business, Business as an Adventure.

Today we’re talking about how delegating will save your life, and she shares how to identify and work on those areas in your business and personal life that need delegating.

This episode is sponsored by Freedom Edits.

Get 30% off your first order by going to lightdarkco.com/freedom

If you believe that you are the only person who can do everything in your business, you are making a mistake.

What are the things that you Hate doing? These are the things that you can outsource and it will help your mental wellbeing.

The time you save by delegating is worth more than the money you spend to delegate that work out.

Set up automations through your CRM to save time and effort.

Ways you can delegate in your photography business:

Child Care

Planning and posting to Social Media

Editing

House Cleaning

Laundry

Blogs / Copywriting

Grocery Shopping

Meals (Doordash and Hello Fresh)

Photoshop and touch ups

Find Angie at

angelanelsonphoto.com

instagram.com/angelanelsonphoto

instagram.com/engagedonmaui

instagram.com/businessasanadventure

Business as an Adventure Facebook Group

What Are We Loving?

What Angie is loving:

Burrito Bowls

What John is loving:

TikTok Accounts

@leigh_mcnasty - Middle School Teacher

@_jen_hamilton - Will It Swaddle?

@alexfsands - 2020s Seinfeld



We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

Ryan is a former wedding photographer and current co-founder of photo and video editing service, Freedom Edits. They are based in the UK and provide editing services worldwide.

Today Ryan and I chat about how outsourcing can give you more freedom in your life to spend the time the way you want.

Ryan helped set up Freedom Edits to give people more freedom in their lives by providing a consistent and high quality editing service.

When looking into outsourcing editing, people often say “No one can edit like me.” And yes, that’s true. You can give the same photo to 10 different people and you’ll most likely get 10 different images back. Offering feedback on what matches your style and what does not, allows the editor to get as close as possible to what you’d edit.

Outsourcing editing is like building a relationship, the more you put into it, the better it gets.

Unless the problem is nipped in the bud, then you’ll continue to have the same problem.

Keep a notepad or notes app on your phone, and write down everything that you do for your work. Then once a month, go through and mark the things you don’t like doing. Once you have those marked, you’ll know what things are best to outsource to someone else.

Video Recording Software: Lume

Get a discounted rate on Editing from Freedom Edits by emailing [email protected]

or go to

Sponsor: Táve

Receive an extended 60 day free trial of Táve at Lightdarkco.com/tave

Find Ryan at

freedomedits.com

instagram.com/freedomedits

instagram.com/ryanwelchweddings

What Are We Loving?

What Ryan is loving:

Tv Show - Euphoria (HBOmax)

What John is loving:

Movie - Fractured (Hulu)

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

Erica and Jon Hayes are a husband a wife branding photography duo based out of Phoenix, AZ. They work with big brands, small brands, and personal brands by creating brand content that represents them and their ideal clients well.

When planning for a branding session, you need to know not only your client (the brand) but also your client’s client. By identifying their ideal client, you can then create photos that will resonate with them and bring more value to Your client.

In order to take pictures that will sell for your branding clients, you need to understand what common misconceptions their potential clients have about their brand.

Preparing for your branding session by understanding the brand, their goals for the photos, how they will be used, and creating a shot list will make the shoot much smoother and streamlined. Not to mention, positioning yourself as a professional.

Having a shot list set before the session will allow you to step completely into the creative space instead of constantly thinking about the next shot.

Entrepreneurship is rollercoaster. The only ones who get hurt are the ones that try to get off the ride. The ups and downs of business can be scary, but if you hold on and push forward during the ride down, the odds are you’ll be going up another hill soon.

Sponsor: Táve

Receive an extended 60 day free trial of Táve at Lightdarkco.com/tave

Find Erica and Jon at

ericaandjon.com

instagram.com/ericaandjon

Planning and Styling Course - Get 30% off at ericaandjon.com/lightdark

What Are We Loving?

What Jon is loving:

New Espresso Machine

What Erica is loving:

Books - Awakening Wonder by Sally Clarkson

What John is loving:

Tv Show - Ozark Season 4 (Netflix)

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

Tanya is a wedding and destination photographer based out of Santa Monica, CA. She's also part of the team behind Elevate Photo Awards. In episode #78 she and the Elevate team joined me to talk about elevating our client experience. Definitely another great conversation to queue up after this one.

Today Tanya and I talk about how to navigate parenthood, business ownership, and how we've learned a lot about each aspect of life from the other.

We often find our identity in the stage of life we’re in. Business owner, life partner, parent. Our attributes can show up mirrored in our children and this can show you areas you might need to re-learn in your own life.

Parenthood definitely helps prime you for the controlled ciaos of a wedding day with make-up running behind, family members not arriving on time, and all the other factors that might pop up on a wedding day. You are better equipped to roll with it in a calm manner.

You have to be present in each area of your time. During family time, be present with them and don’t try and fit work in during family time. And during your work time, know that you may be missing time with your family, but the designated time you will have during family time will be much more meaningful.

Learn from other parents and business owners who have been through what you’re currently going through. Their puzzle piece won’t always fit your puzzle exactly, but you can at least learn some aspects from them and implement them into your life.

Ask yourself and/or your partner what you want life to look like, create healthy habits to creating the life that you want, and automate your life as much as you can. Those area great ways to balance your life and continue to build a more sustainable setting.

This episode is sponsored by Freedom Edits.

Get 30% off your first order by going to lightdarkco.com/freedom

Find Tanya at

paradastudio.com

instagram.com/paradastudio

What Are We Loving?

What Tanya is loving:

Books - Atomic Habits by (James Clear)

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by (Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter)

To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage, and the Modern Dilemma by (Molly Millwood)

What John is loving:

Books - Built to Belong by (Natalie Franke)

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

John shares 5 things that would have been amazing to know in his first 5 years of business.

Sponsor: Táve

Receive an extended 60 day free trial of Táve at Lightdarkco.com/tave

Number 1. I am not my ideal client.

I definitely used to be my ideal client when I first began, charging $500 for an 8 hour wedding or $50 for an hour portrait session. That was the budget that 24 year old John would have had to hire to someone.

As your style and client experience evolves with you, your ideal client does too. The experience you provide for a luxury wedding client is much different than what you’d provide for a lower budget craigslist couple.

Continuing to market to myself (who I thought my client was) I was undervaluing my services and it held my prices, my portfolio, and my growth back until I realized that I was not my ideal client.

Number 2. Serve your clients. Don’t sell to your clients.

Full episode on this in Episode #47 (listen here)

Trying to sell and upsell once they’ve booked felt sleezy to me and I didn’t like it, so I rarely sold.

Instead of talking about all the things I can do for them (selling), I began to talk about their pain points, how they can overcome them, and how I can help as their photographer.

Allowing them to see the value they place on my service and booking them, instead of telling them what value they should place on my services and selling to them.

Number 3. Outsourcing

Know that the people who specialize in the areas you plan to outsource are actually really amazing at those services and probably really love doing it.

When I outsourced my editing, it was hard at first, but now they do such an amazing job and I have full trust in them to match my editing style well.

Number 4. Be humble and open to learn

When I realized I didn’t have to learn it all myself in a hands-on way, trial and error, but instead I could learn from someone else’s trails and errors, that opened myself up to a fast track of learning and growth in my business.

Don’t be afraid to ask what you may think are “dumb” questions. They aren’t. And the sooner you ask, the sooner you’ll learn and grow as a person and business owner.

Number 5. Set up automations

I have certain emails set up to automatically send at specific points in the client journey. Certain tasks that pop up after the previous is completed, and contracts, invoices and reminders that automatically are sent to my clients.

My CRM, Tave, is a huge part of those automations. I highly recommend you get a CRM (client relationship manager) to manage your clients, set up automations, and give you more time back in your hands.

Here is a link to receive an extended 60 day free trial of Táve to see if you like it. Lightdarkco.com/tave

Find John at

allheartphoto.com

instagram.com/allheartphoto

allheartphoto.com/education

What am I loving?

Movie - Mother/Android (Hulu)

We record each episode LIVE in our Facebook group and we would love to connect with you there. You can join at Light + Dark Photography Podcast Group on Facebook.

Follow us at

www.instagram.com/lightdarkco

www.instagram.com/allheartphoto

Ashley Holstein is a wedding and family photographer based out of Nashville, Tennessee with a very wholistic and lifetime-focused approach to her client's photography experience.

Today she's sharing with us some of the aspects of how she cultivates an amazing experience for her clients and how pricing your services is more than just figuring out your cost of doing business.

This episode is sponsored by Freedom Edits.

Get 30% off your first order by going to lightdarkco.com/freedom

You should always give options to your clients to allow them to easily say yes. Offer the things that you value and have passion for. This allows people to feel the passion behind what you are offering and gives them a greater value received when they hire you.

Sometimes we focus on the amount we want to charge for our services without looking at the wholistic view of your life. Family, Time off, Vacations, 9-5 Job, Kids, Spouse, all the things that make up the time in our days.

As your clientele changes to those with more money, they are also going to have different needs and different pain points in the client journey.

A great way to exceed your client’s expectations is gift giving. Ash talks about the gifts she brings to family sessions and also the gifts for wedding clients. Think of an experience that you would want and that matches your brand, and then share it with them.

Think about what would make your client comfortable and ready to say “yes" and then share that on social media, showcase that on your website and have client testimonials.

There is a big difference between price gouging and up-charging everything,

Set up your pricing structure to allow for an “easy yes” from your clients. Breaking up the payments and services will help reduce sticker shock.

Don’t limit your clients by assuming they would say “no” to your prices and services.

There is room at the table for you, so raise your prices.

Look at your local market and see what people are spending on your services.

Then look at how much do you need to be sustainable, and then how much profit you need to make the salary you desire.

Find Ash at

ashleyholstein.com

instagram.com/ashleyholstein

Course on Offering Prints - Promo Code

What Are We Loving?

What Ash is loving:

Book - Time Magazine Book on Photojournalism

TV Show - Station 11 ( HBOmax )

What John is loving:

TV Show - The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (Netflix)