PBX679: Melody MacDonald – How to Handle Difficult Photography Clients Without Losing Your Cool
Melody MacDonald of www.odymacphoto.com brings a background I don’t think I’ve ever featured on the podcast before. Before becoming a full-time photographer, she spent more than 20 years working as a 911 dispatcher. In that world, communication isn’t simply about being polite or saying the right thing. It’s about staying calm when someone else [...]
PBX678: Marcin Rafalowicz – How to Build a Custom ChatGPT for Your Photography Business
Marcin Rafalowicz of Pro Image Academy has been shooting for 17 years, mainly as a side gig. Although when that side business has taken you to New York Fashion Week, destination weddings, local television, The Guardian, Cosmo and plenty of unexpected places, it’s fair to say it became much more than a weekend hobby. [...]
PBX677: Mycah Bain – Building a Team, Buying Back Your Time and Growing to $340K
Mycah Bain of www.mycahbain.com is a photographer who's built something a lot of photographers talk about... but very few actually achieve. A photography business that doesn't rely on them doing everything. Over the past 15 years, she's built a studio in Minneapolis that includes weddings, seniors, branding, a team of photographers, streamlined systems and multiple [...]
PBX676: Joanna Kilgore – How to Build a Photography Business Anywhere
Joanna Kilgore of www.joannaleekilgore.com is a portrait photographer who’s done something most photographers would find terrifying… She’s rebuilt her business from scratch in completely new locations, more than once, and become known fast. Instead of relying on years of local history, an established client base, or a big advertising budget, Joanna has learned how [...]
PBX675: Kim Jongen – Turning Viral Dog Photos Into Wall Art, Stock Sales and Coaching
Kim Jongen of www.motherpuppers.nl first appeared on the podcast in episode 570 two years ago. Back then, she was only a couple of years into business, getting media attention and quickly becoming known as that cool dog photographer in the Netherlands. Today, she’s widely known as Holland’s favourite studio dog photographer. She was booked out, standing [...]
PBX674: Su Kaye – From $81k to $175k by Believing in the Photography Experience You Sell
Su Kaye of www.sukaye.com was recommended to me by long-time listener and premium member, Helen Spiegl… and after hearing what she had to say, I knew I had to reach out. Helen told me: Su is someone you should definitely speak to. She’s been in the industry for decades as a family and dog [...]
PBX673: North Sullivan – Building a $10M+ Portrait Studio Business
North Sullivan of www.thephotostudio.com.au has spent over 40 years behind the camera, shooting some of Australia’s largest advertising campaigns. These days, his focus is portrait photography — but what he’s built is far from a typical portrait business. We’re talking about a studio business with close to 80 staff, reported turnover upward of $10 [...]
PBX672: Alex Vita – Why Photographers Need to Be Picked by AI, Not Just Ranked by Google
Alex Vita of www.foregroundweb.com helps photographers turn their websites into enquiry machines. He’s worked on hundreds of photography websites across more than 25 countries — building them, auditing them, and showing exactly what’s working… and what’s costing photographers enquiries. I first interviewed Alex way back in episode 108, more than 10 years ago. Not long [...]
PBX671: Vincent Pugliese – Build a Photography Business That Creates Freedom, Not Just Income
Vincent Pugliese of www.members.totallifefreedom.com and www.theunconference.live is a former professional photographer who built a wedding photography business with his wife, Elizabeth… and in under four years, paid off all their debt, including their home. But that’s not the most interesting part. What’s interesting is they walked away from that business. Not because it failed. [...]
PBX670: Ryan Erickson – $315K from Mobile Pet Photography, Instagram Ads and Market Events
Ryan Erickson of www.fetchphototruck.com first appeared on the podcast back in episode 587. He’s a mobile, come-to-you dog photographer based in Colorado, USA, with a custom-built pet photography studio inside a towable trailer. That trailer allows him to photograph dogs and run same-day in-person sales sessions right outside his clients’ homes. When we last [...]
PBX669: Stacey Rolfe – 80% Returning Clients… Without Discounts or Sales Calls
Stacey Rolfe of www.staceyrolfephotography.com and www.toghub.com.au is one of those photographers who’s built a business that doesn’t just look good from the outside… it actually works. She’s a Sydney-based family photographer who photographed 131 families last year and generated over $300,000 across her different income streams. Roughly a third comes from photography, another third [...]
PBX668: Shawn Black – Boudoir Photography Business, Pricing & IPS Strategy
Shawn Black of www.coutureblack.com was introduced to me via an email from long-time member, Allana Taranto. She wrote... I had coffee yesterday with boudoir photographer Shawn Black. He and his wife also run the AIBP — Association of International Boudoir Photographers. I think he would be a great guest for the podcast — they are [...]
PBX667: Johl Dunn – Marketing Isn’t the Problem With Your Photography Business
Johl Dunn of www.johldunn.com will be familiar if you’ve been listening for a while. He’s been on the show before… and so have many of his clients. He’s featured in our predictions episodes and delivered training on pricing, lead generation, and mindset. But more importantly… He’s someone who consistently challenges photographers to think differently [...]
PBX666: Tracy Goodwin – Why Your Voice Is Costing You Clients (And You Don’t Even Know It)
Tracy Goodwin of www.captivatetheroom.com is a voice expert, coach, author, and podcaster who’s spent nearly 30 years studying how we use our voice… and what really happens when the pressure is on. She believes your voice is the most powerful — and most underutilised — asset you have in your business. And that it’s [...]
PBX665: Art Streiber – Why Clients Trust Him With Million-Dollar Shoots
Art Streiber of www.artstreiber.com is someone whose work you’ve almost definitely seen… even if you didn’t realise it. He’s a Los Angeles–based photographer who’s worked with names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, and Brad Pitt — with his images regularly featured in Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter. But what interests me isn’t just [...]
PBX664: Heike Delmore – Turning “Just a Headshot” into $5K Branding Photography Sales
Heike Delmore of www.heikedelmore.com is a personal-branding photographer and photography-business mentor based in Canada. She reached out saying she had some fresh, practical ideas photographers could implement immediately — not theory, but what’s actually working in her business right now. And how identity-driven branding — for both photographers and their clients — can help [...]
PBX663: Blair deLaubenfels – What 10,000 Wedding Galleries Reveal About Why You’re Not Getting Booked
Blair deLaubenfels of www.worldsbestweddingphotos.com and www.artlifeandbusiness.com is the former co-owner of Junebug Weddings. The founder and editor-in-chief of World's Best Wedding Photos. She’s written over 2,000 bios, created content for hundreds of photography websites, and is a regular speaker at some of the biggest industry events. But what really stands out… She’s personally curated [...]
PBX662: Martin Cheung – He Shoots 50 Weddings a Year… But Not How You Think
Martin Cheung of www.martincphotography.co.uk describes himself as a better business person than a photographer. And if that’s true — we’re in for one hell of a business-focused interview… because his photography is seriously good. Based in Nottingham in the UK, Martin is one of the most respected documentary-style wedding photographers in his market. Since [...]
PBX661: Emma Wise – How AI Is Changing How Couples Choose Wedding Photographers
Emma Wise of www.wedlii.com.au is the founder of Wedlii — Australia’s first AI wedding planner. In an email exchange before this interview, Emma told me something that immediately grabbed my attention: AI is already changing how couples find and choose wedding photographers — and if you don’t understand it early, you risk getting left [...]
PBX660: Drew Forsyth – From Small Portrait Jobs to High-Profile Commercial Photography Clients
What does it really take to move from smaller portrait jobs to high-profile commercial clients? In this interview, Drew Forsyth shares the mindset shifts, pricing lessons, and relationship skills that helped him make that transition — plus why he believes his biggest competition isn’t other photographers, but being forgotten.
PBX659: Rebecca Schmidt – From $34k to a $3M Boudoir Photography Business in Just 3 Years
Rebecca Schmidt of www.boudoirbyrebeccalynn.com recently joined the PhotoBizX Membership, and we got chatting on Messenger, where she mentioned she runs a high-volume boudoir photography studio in Washington State, USA. Naturally, I asked the obvious follow-up question… when you say high volume, do you mean a few sessions a week? Her reply stopped me in [...]
PBX658: Jo Lyons – $2,500 Average Sales from a Rural Pet Photography Studio
Jo Lyons of www.jolyonsphotography.com is someone I could have asked to be interviewed 10 times over. Each year, I've seen her taking steps in her business via the PhotoBizX Premium Members' Group, but it was a recent video of her beautiful studio and property that had me sending off my request. In 2018, she was [...]
PBX657: Jo Menneer – From $800 to $2,250 Average Sale in Her Photography Business (Without Working Weekends)
Jo Menneer of www.divinedivas.co.uk was first interviewed on PhotoBizX seven years ago — in person — inside her stunning studio in Bath, UK. And when I say stunning, I mean a converted Methodist church, complete with its own private (and revered) car park. It really is as incredible as it sounds. Back then, the [...]
PBX656: Julie Comfort – Design a Client Experience People Can’t Stop Talking About
Julie Comfort of www.theexperientialwedding.com is a wedding photographer turned experience designer. If, like me, you're asking yourself what an experience designer is... I read it’s someone to help you design a client journey that turns every interaction (from inquiry to delivery) into a memorable, relationship-building touchpoint. It should be applicable to photographers of all genres [...]