Janneke Storm is a young Australian photographer with two distinct looks to her work in two different genres that are simply clashing. In this interview, Janneke shares what she's doing and how she's aiming to to do both wedding and fashion photography as a business while building both brands simultaneously.

I didn't use the introduction for Janneke that I planned. I felt it may have come off totally wrong but it's something I shared with her in the interview, here it is:

I think this may be the toughest introduction I've had to make since starting the podcast over 100 episodes ago.

Today's guest is Queensland based fashion and wedding photographer, Janneke Storm. Born in South Africa, Janneke has been living on the Sunshine Coast for the last 7 years and says she's never been more happy – living her dream by having the best job in the world.

Here's where it gets tough for me.

I love some of her work, but some, I just don't get. It's not a dislike. It's different, it challenges me and it leaves me wondering what I'm missing, what I'm not seeing. I'm not sure if it's me or the photography.

We cover that, plus plenty more in this episode.

Here’s some more of what we cover:

  • Networking and meeting people to get your name out there
  • Giving away free shoots to get known and build a reputation as a photographer
  • The changes Janneke made to her approach in business to get things rolling
  • The importance of doing things properly and being serious about business
  • Why you need to stop treating your photography business as a hobby if you want to succeed
  • Surviving with 20 wedding booking in a year
  • Pricing
  • Starting out in the world of fashion photography
  • Janneke gets her income mainly from wedding photography while shooting a lot of fashion
  • The difference in approach to shooting Fashion vs Wedding photography
  • Why Janneke purposely shoots her fashion and wedding photography differently
  • Creating separate brands for her 2 separate styles of photography
  • Why you can't judge a photographers personality by their fashion photography
  • Why Janneke is not afraid to push away prospective clients
  • The importance of booking clients who want you and your style and not who they want you to be
  • Why it's never about the business or the money for Janneke
  • “I don't want to shoot soul-destroying weddings”
  • The best way to learn fashion photography
  • Using Instagram to look for inspiration to learn new photography styles
  • Why you should be teaming up, networking and collaborating with Instagram users who are not too famous
  • The importance of being open to do things differently
  • How to connect with collaborators for your photo-shoots
  • The huge benefits of having a photography mentor
  • What Janneke does to get her photos published in blogs and magazines and why

Janneke Storm Photography Podcast

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this episode where you can hear lots more content from where we dive deeper into some of the earlier topics plus some new ones that I pushed hard for that include:

  • Word of mouth as a powerful strategy to advertise your business
  • How Janneke finds her clients, what's working for her right now
  • Why Janneke wants things to happen organically with her photography and business growth
  • What Janneke does to help people find her website
  • Does having a unique name or brand for your business help
  • The best thing that Janneke has done for her business since starting
  • What Janneke is doing to keep getting better at business and photography
  • Janneke's workflow
  • Building a new brand and the process involved

Janneke Storm Photography Podcast

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know what your biggest takeaway is – what is the one thing that you’d like to implement or learnt from what was shared? Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.

No amount of money for me could pay me to shoot something that I don't want to be shooting

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Janneke or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them below.

If you’d like an easy way to show Janneke your thanks, and support for the show at the same time, click the link to create a tweet and automatically show you’re listening: https://photobizx.com/tweet

Janneke Storm Photography Podcast

AIPP Workshop… The Sauce

I mentioned last week that I'll be leading a couple of discussion forums at the upcoming 2 day AIPP workshop in the Blue Mountains on March 23rd.

Unfortunately, due to a date change, I won't be part of what will be a terrific workshop.

The photographers presenting include:
David Oliver: Portraits
Dan O’Day: Weddings
Nadine Saacks: Travel
Natalie Howe: Babies and children
Over two days you will learn from and be inspired by your selected photographer as they take you through their entire business and creative workflow including: how they generate and convert leads, an on-location live shoot, a walkthrough of their post processing techniques, and production and delivery of final products.

Janneke Storm Photography Podcast

Are you a NEW listener?

Ive been trialing a new marketing idea for the podcast with hand written letters to wedding and portrait photographers in Seattle, Phoenix, Sacramento, Tacoma, Salt Lake and Denver areas. I'd love if you are the recipients of one of my letters to let me know you're now listening to the show.

Simply shoot me an email at andrew@photobizx.com to say hi, I'd love to hear from you.

Joey Wright Swimsuit Model Photography Workshop

I interviewed swimsuit photographer, Joey Wright in episode 52 of the podcast when his career was really starting to kick off. Joey has been working super hard and going from strength to strength in his business and his photography is simply spot on.

Joey will be running a swimwear workshop in May 2015 in the Bahamas! If you've ever wanted to learn or refine your skills as a swimwear or model photographer, this course would be a perfect fit.

More details can be found here: http://www.joeywrightworkshops.com
Janneke Storm Photography Podcast

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Janneke Storm's Website

Janneke Storm on Facebook

Janneke Storm on Twitter

Janneke Storm on Instagram

Janneke Storm on Pinterest

Janneke Storm's Wedding Portfolio

Janneke Storm's Destination Wedding: Las Vegas

No Undergarments

Sticks and Stones

Oyster Magazine on Instagram

IMG Models on Instagram

Chadwick Models on Instagram

Dally's Models on Instagram

TAFE – online and face to face adult learning

Julian Beattie

Kat Williams Rock n Roll Bride Blog

Raw Digital and Film Lab Podcast

Jasmine Dowling

Eske

VSCO

Follow Andrew on Instagram – http://instagram.com/andrew_hellmich

Equipment

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Janneke Storm Photography Podcast

Thank you!

Thank you again for listening to the show and thanks Janneke for being an awesome guest!

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks and speak soon

Andrew