The Podcast for Pet Photographers
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S14E14 | This is what success in the UK looks like as a pet photographer
Today’s guest is a videographer turned pet photographer after documenting his mum's senior dog for the last 6 months of her life. Fast forward to today, his website is ranking page one of Google in the highly competitive London market, and his layered marketing approach converts super well thanks to a refined enquiry process. I’m talking about Alex Class and if you want to know what building a successful business looks like- tune in!
S14E13 | Embracing AI for personal creativity
Often we see this super creative work of other photographers and feel somewhat inferior.. or at least I do anyway! So it’s hard to imagine that someone who really thinks outside the box, could have ever been convinced by an art professor that they were not creative enough to be a photographer.
That is the unfortunate reality for Carol Arscott who gave up photography in college for that very reason. Years later she came back to it and not only is she a full time pet photographer being paid for her work, I would argue that sh’e s at the forefront in terms of creativity as she embraces AI to bring her artist vision to life.
S14E12 | Financial planning: what we need to know as professional pet photographers
I never quite understood the exact role of a financial planner. I mean, I have an accountant? Don't they basically cover the same thing? Do I also need to pay another finance person? In today's show, that question, among many others were answered.
And look, I know finances aren't usually a crowd favourite topic among us creatives, but I did get an amazing guest on the show today who knows exactly how it is for us as creatives to deal with everything in terms of accounting, financial planning, and then also the psychology around money.
S14E11 | The international Pet Photographer of the Year Awards- what’s new under the new hosts, Unleashed Education
The International Pet Photographer of the Year Awards is the biggest of its kind! It was hosted by us here at The Pet Photographers Club until last year, and it's now under new management with Unleashed Education as the host.
They've introduced a few changes which will ensure the competition can continue into the future and so this week I had Craig and Charlotte join me to answer all your questions!
S14E10 | Turn your website into a high-ranking, conversion machine with Jeff Brown
Jeff Brown started his photography career in the defence force which gave him many opportunities. One of which was photographing the queen which of course he used as part of his branding message on his website when he ran his own studio. Today he spends his time helping other photographers grow their business.
In today’s episode, we dive deep into branding and websites, and if you are a premium member Jeff gave some really practical advice in the second half to help you improve your website conversion, and stay at the top of Google!
S14E09 | Show, don’t tell when it comes to injecting personality into your website copy
You’ve heard it a thousand times before.. “add personality to your website” but.. What does that even mean other than saying “Hey I’m your wine-loving pet photographer?”.. Well today’s interview with Austrian based elopement photographer and copywriter extraordinaire, Mariah Wall has got you covered.
S14E08 | Co-hosting a super-charged event for a $6k mini-session day
Do you always here that one of the best marketing avenues is to attend dog-friendly events to get in front of the right audience.. But, there aren’t any around you.. Or not enough? Then tune in to today’s episode to hear how our guest created her own dog day out, and it wasn’t even as overwhelming as that sounds!
S14E07 | This is what a million dollar studio looks like
You are in for a real treat with today's episode- John runs not one, but two studios, and over the last couple of years has focused his marketing to become known as an expert pet photographer, despite offering other genres and today, 70% of his million dollar revenue comes from pet photography!
It is a not-to-be-missed, long interview so pop your headphones in, take your dog for a stroll and be prepared to stop to jot down notes.
S14E06 | Insights into the world of horse photography
If the horse world intrigues you.. But you’re not quite sure about offering equine portraits, do not miss this episode with two of the world's most respected equine photographers, Emily Hancock and Hannah Freeland of Training Barn.
We discussed if and how a pet photographer can also offer horse photography but then we went well and truly beyond that. We chatted about marketing and why shooting competitions was the opposite of helpful for Hannah trying to book equine portraits. We chatted safety and horse behavior.
And then in the members half of this interview Emily gave us an insight into the world of creating and selling art in the traditional sense. She also shared her experience working with a marketing firm for both her portraits and her fine art work, as well as how she sells her fine art work to interior designers.
Hannah shared exactly how she books great clients through referrals, and why clients would fly her to the other side of the world and pay £30k+ for portraits.
Hear all about it in this weeks episode!
S14E05 | From global brand management to commercial pet photography
How would you like to have repeat clients, purchasing only digitals, coming back to you multiple times per year? That’s what your calendar can look like as a commercial pet photographer.
Today’s guest, Rowan Williams has a background in high level marketing and brand management- and today uses that knowledge to successfully offer commercial pet photography.
She shared what that entails including creating briefs and pricing structures plus in the members extended episode we covered charging for dog models, the impact of Reels and Tik Tok and of course- marketing!
Hear all about it in this weeks episode!
S14E04 | LinkedIn for pet photographers
Todays guest is Chris Miller, one half of the husband-wife team behind MIL Pet Photography in the UK. He photographs 30 clients a year as his version of semi retirement and in todays episode he shared why it’s worth setting up LinkedIn for your pet photography, and finding a couple of minutes a day to dedicate to the platform.
Hear all about it in this weeks episode!
S14E03 | European clients want product too, and they’ll pay for them!
Today’s guest, Mareike Konrad was one of Europe’s first, if not the first, professional pet photographer. She started her business 12 years ago doing what most of you are doing today- selling digital only packages at unsustainable prices. She quickly realized that in order to put food on her table, something had to change. After reaching out to newborn photographers around the world to learn what worked for them, she introduced albums, wall art and other products too- and when she did- her clients thanked her!
Hear all about it in this weeks episode!
S14E02 | Running a profitable part-time pet photography business while working full time
Hanako Soncini is sure to inspire. She is Swiss, living in Canada, working full time as a teacher and on top of that, shooting for 30 paying clients a year- mostly only in the Summer break! She spends winter working on her marketing plan and has no intention of ever going full time! Hear all about it in this weeks episode!
S14E01 | Booking clients all over Europe who choose YOU instead of a cheaper local photographer
If you are feeling like you’re stuck in an echo-chamber of information today’s guest is sure to show you a different way. I’m chatting with german photographer Anika Lauer.
She started off as a wedding photographer, then transitioned into pets and opened a studio space which she shares with a newborn photographer, even though she is now combining shooting with travel and often has clients out of town or even out of Germany!
If your ears perked up at travel.. You will love the strategy that Anika used to get her first few “international” clients, and it’s something you can do right now!
S14 bonus | Photographers are three times more likely to experience mental illness
Did you know that photographers are three times more likely to experience mental illness than the general population?
We’re kickstarting Season 14, and the podcast for 2023 with a conversation around this very important topic with Jessica McGovern from That Tog Spot who not only shares her own experiences, but has also extensively researched Mental Health and the impact on photographers.
Tune in as we break down the three biggest factors and what can be done