In this episode of Photography Business Exposed, it's Israel Smith answering the questions and opening up about an incredible journey in his photography business to date.

When preparing for each episode of the podcast, I like to write out a bit of an intro and today was no different until I had a call from Israel about his upcoming interview last week.

Here is my original intro:

I'm rapt to have Israel from Israel Smith Photographers on the podcast today.

To many photographers, it seemed Israel made a meteoric rise through the ranks and quickly became established as a photographer to take note of. 

The business of Sydney portrait photography

Israel made a conscious decision to do less weddings and focus on portraits – it was a lifestyle and business decision.

I'm pretty sure this rise through the ranks had a lot to do with his photography skills, his very optimistic outlook on EVERYTHING, his involvement in the AIPP and a willingness to mix it with the “Big Boys of Town” right from the start. I also know he has a very supportive and super encouraging wife in Belinda and whenever you see Israel, he is sporting his ever present big smile.

Another reason for me chasing Israel up for this interview was because he made the transition or leap from wedding photogrpahy to portrait photography part way through his already successful career.

In this episode we'll find out the secret to his success, the reason for his transition and how he did it with a mortgage, family and a lifestyle that would be the envy of any up and coming photogrpher.

The follow up call from Israel was a bit of a shock to me

First off, he had to reschedule as things had gone to “s%$t” at the studio and he really needed to be focusing on the issues at hand for a couple of days. No problem, we'll reschedule.

Then came the email where Israel mentions that he understands what I'm really after for the interview – the real truth about running a wedding and portrait photography business today. That said, he decided to scrap the “warm and fuzzy” – everything is going great guns and business couldn't be better rubbish that many people in businesses seem to spew out on auto pilot.

It was the next brief conversation before the interview that I knew this was going to be an interview not to be missed by ANY photographer. Israel agreed to tell his real story and open up about a bunch of things that he's been dealing with through his business, family and personal journey to where he is today and the direction he'll be taking his business and family in the future.

In the interview we cover:

  • Quitting a great paying Full Time Job to eating Baked Beans
  • The grand plan to start and grow a monster of a photography business
  • The fast rise through the ranks and how Israel did it
  • What part did the AIPP play?
  • Bringing Belinda (Israel's wife) into the business and now having no “safety net” income
  • Business growth, staff and shoots galore
  • The transition from wedding to portrait photography studio
  • What role business coaches played in the business
  • Israel cracks and no longer wants to know about the business
  • Staff photographers leave the business
  • Israel is diagnosed with depression and isn't coping
  • Scaling the business back
  • Losing sight of the lifestyle and letting the dream go
  • Rebuilding, planning and a new adventure
No matter which stage of your career you are in, I am in no doubt that we can all learn something from Israel's story and the part that drove that home the most was hearing of Belinda's fear after seeing a police car parked near their home not long after Israel's depression diagnosis.

Items mentioned in this podcast:

Sydney portrait photographer Israel Smith

Israel, Belinda and their gorgeous kids – a great reason to focus on lifestyle over work.

Israel's website – http://israelsmith.com

Israel on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/isphotographers

Israel on Twitter – https://twitter.com/israelpsmith

Drop Box – the application that Israel uses to transfer files between his photo retoucher and back (free up to a limit).

Beyond Blue – the website dedicated to depression.

The E Myth by Michael Gerber

The AIPP – Australian Institute of Professional Photographers

Amanda Palmer – musician that raised over 1.2 million dollars on Kickstarter

Did you enjoy this podcast or have a question for Israel?

I hope you get as much enjoyment form this interview as I had recording it. If you do have a comment, a story of your own or a question for Israel, get involved and leave a comment below – I'd love your feedback or point of view.

As usual, with every guest, I twist their arm for an extra piece of information to be shared with the premium members of this site and Israel sure came through with the goods today. He reveals a step by step solution to getting portrait clients through the door… week after week. He has been employing this strategy for over three years and after some refining (which he shares) he can now estimate pretty closely what he need to do to fill his booking availability with each promotion. Awesome stuff – don't miss it – go premium.

That's it for this week – have fun in your business and make sure you action at least something you heard today in your business. It's the little things you do today that you will be thankful you started tomorrow.

Speak soon

Andrew