The Podcast for Pet Photographers
Listen free below, or join the Club for access to extended episodes
S15E12 | This is how to start a profitable pet photography business with Diane Gollowitzer
It’s been just over a year since today’s guest launched her pet photography business. She spent 2022 learning all about business and hit the ground running in 2023. She’s proof that actioning what you learn is the only way to meet your goals. Tune in to today’s episode to hear all about the marketing strategies that worked and didn’t, to get this pet photography business off the ground for England-based photographer, Diane Gollowitzer of Dogs in Focus Photography.
If you are looking to see who has recently walked the path you’ve just stepped onto- today’s episode is for you.
S15E04 | Just three years in business and consistently booking her calendar with $2800 sales averages
Today’s guest started her business just before the Pandemic. She utilised the time through Covid to lay strong foundations for her business and hit the ground running when the world opened back up again. She uses direct marketing with giveaways to book clients year round and from those strategies has an average sale of around $2800 and her highest sale to date is $16k! Remember that she’s been in business just a few years! I’m talking about Marie Wulfram, tune in to hear how she achieves all of this.
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!
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!
S13E09 | Insurance for pet photographers
Today’s interview topic might not excite you- but it certainly is a useful one! We’re talking insurance. I learned from personal experience the importance of a good insurance policy, you’ll hear all about that and how luck was on my side in the interview!
Other than my story, you’ll learn what means what in your policy and about the application for accepting risk so that you can make sure all your business activities are actually covered. And for the members tuning into the second half you’ll learn the difference between all the policy types you may want to consider and why.
S13E08 | How to sell products to your clients, and get the ego boost that comes with it!
Are you selling digital only but would love to sell more product? Or perhaps you offer product but you find you can’t sell it? In today’s episode I chatted all about selling product with Maggie Robinson. We also covered the impact of booking a shoot for yourself, how her background in sales helps her in photography and the benefit of IPS that no one likes to mention- the ego boost!
And if you’re a member you’ll hear Maggie share her entire client process in the second half, including the questions she asks on the phone, when she shares her prices and how, how she starts her sales appointments and leads that into a top package sale, and a few key lines that she uses too plus so much more!
S13E07 | How we can do better by the dogs we photograph!
Are you guilty of seeing a particular dog pose or expression on Instagram and wanting to capture it too, before really stopping to think if that was a nice experience for the dog or not? Today’s episode might make you uncomfortable but I challenge you to take a listen and then keep in mind all that you hear during this episode, for your future photoshoots. Personally, I’ll be trying to help my clients recognise stress in their dogs by pointing out when their dog is happy. That’s my big takeaway from this interview!
S13E06 | Understand your community in order to market successfully, create product desire and book often
As pet photographers we are always looking for ways to give our clients a reason to stop saying “I’ll book that shoot.. One day”.. And instead, book now. Indian pet photographer, Prathima of Pawparazzi Pet Photography looked deep into the values of her culture to find a way to do just that - and it’s something that’s right in front of us and can easily be introduced around the world.
And if you’re not yet a member, you’re certainly going to want to join to hear the members-only extended episode of this interview. We chatted about making gift certificates profitable, creating desire for wall art, and what to offer if that doesn’t work! PLUS we chatted all about offering shoots outside of your local area, and how you can incentivise your clients to do the marketing for you in a way that’s simpler than you might think!
S13E05 | Improve your cash flow with a subscription offering
Does it feel like every business around you is somehow switching to a subscription model, except us pet photographers? All our software, education, even our own dogs food can be purchased on subscription.
How would you like to jump on board this trend and improve your cash-flow too? Today’s guest took inspiration from another photographer to launch an offering to do just that with a Monthly Print Club. Tune in to hear all about it.
In the extended member-only episode you’ll hear all the details around pricing and workload, plus a conversation around the turning point for Cassie’s business which is sure to encourage those of you who are in the early stage of your business.
S13E04 | Take control of your work-life balance by implementing these systems
Do you feel like you’re always chasing your tail? Like there’s always a huge to-do list and you just can’t get on top of it? You know you need a better system but implementing it is a whole other to-do list?
If that all sounds familiar, tune in for today’s episode with Kim Hamblin where she shares actionable advice as we break down all the systems that can help you free up more time in your business.
S13E03 | Your questions to a printing lab answered
Do you know who knows which products truly sell the best? Or if you as a print-based photographer are genuinely busy or not? Your lab.
They have unique insights into our industry and in this episode we has Patricia Won of GTA Imaging share the answers to questions like, how do I calibrate my monitor?”, “how do I make hanging prints easier for my clients?”, “how do I offer unique products?” or “what can I add onto wall art orders?”.
S13E02 | Building a mobile pet photography studio
Have you considered leasing or purchasing a commercial space to open a studio but always find the cost prohibitive, or the location is just never right? Beth Alexander found the same problem and so she decided to come up with a creative solution- a mobile studio which she had built from the ground up for a fraction of the price of a storefront!
S12E09 | Top 5 tips for evolving from hobbyist to professional pet photographer
Most of us start out as pet photographers because we love animals, and we love taking photos. We combine these two passions into a hobby, and at some point, that hobby becomes a source of income. Accepting payment for something that you truly enjoy is a strange concept in this modern world. Even once we start doing business orientated tasks, it can be hard to forget that this all started as a hobby.
If that sounds familiar, tune in to this weeks episode as Kirstie shares her top 5 tips to help you evolve from a hobbyist to a professional pet photographer!
Update | What's new at The Pet Photographers Club
Like everything good in life.. we’ve grown! The podcast that Caitlin and I started in 2018 as a tiny passion project has since grown into so much more. The Pet Photographers Club is now a thriving community which hosts the awards, events, an active membership, delivers courses and more! With all this growth, we thought we better let you know what The Club is all about!
S11E06 | How to start a pet photography business that’ll last
I remember exactly how I felt when starting my business. It was completely overwhelming. I just wanted someone to give me a checklist and say “here, do this” so today, I’m doing exactly that and sharing my 5 steps to creating a sustainable pet photography business.
S10E01 | What to do when your mini sessions don't fill.. combining other skills with your pet photography and setting up a pet photography business with profit in mind
We kicked off Season 10 with a Goal Trackers call. Goal Trackers are a member perk- a way to get to know other pet photographers, discuss your current goals and get some feedback from others. This quarters I was joined by Ina, Angela and Suzy.
S8E05 | How Caitlin Hodges Launched Her Studio at the Age of 20
At the age of just 20 years old - and in the midst of a global pandemic - Caitlin Hodges transformed an industrial unit into a professional pet photography studio and launched to a fully booked calendar of excited clients.
Want to know just how she did it? Tune into today’s interview with this talented photographer, as Kirstie and Caitlin learn all about her journey. Don’t miss out on the special extended version of this episode too, as Caitlin Hodges shared all the juicy details of studio launch special, pricing and using Facebook groups to grow your business.
S8E03 | What our expert panel would do to kick start their business if moving location or changing genres..
Join part of an Expert Panel discussion during The Conference to catch the big launch campaign Mark Rossetto would do if starting his business again.. and then be asked the tough questions about it by the other panelists!
S7E02 | Photographing Service Dogs with Cris Skinner
Cris Skinner of The Journey Photos is a dog photographer based in the rugged and picturesque state of Alaska, USA. As a former United States Marine, she was inspired by Cooper, her medical alert service dog, to create two special photography series. These projects - ‘I Am Your Constant In The Chaos’ and ‘I am Your Calm in the Storm’ - are about honoring the incredible work of Service Dogs. Join us in this video Member Spotlight episode as we chat to Cris all about her business, her photography and her inspiration behind these incredible images.