Portrait Session: The Photography Podcast for Portrait Photographers
42 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 133 ratingsPortrait Session is the premiere podcast for portrait photographers who want to learn lighting, posing, post-processing, how to build a business, and more!
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Episodes
Senior Portraiture - Making Your Client Experience a Top Priority
November 21, 2018 15:00 - 55 minutes - 51.2 MBThis is episode 6, of our season dedicated to talking about different specialties in portrait photography. In todays episode Erica and Connor sit down with Makenzie Hollar to discuss her incredible approach to senior rep programs and the challenges of senior portrait photography. Website: www.makenziephoto.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makenziephotography/ Instagram: @makenziephotography 3-4 sentence photography bio: Makenzie Photography is a wedding and senior portrait photogra...
Headshot Photography - Finding Creativity Within Restrictions S02 Ep - 05
October 23, 2018 12:00 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBThis is episode 5, of our season dedicated to talking about different specialties in portrait photography. In todays episode Erica and Connor sit down with Rafal Wegiel to discuss unique and artistic approaches to headshot photography. Website: https://www.rafalwegiel.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rafalwegielphotography/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rafalwegiel/ Other social: https://twitter.com/rafalwegiel http://www.youtube.com/c/RafalWegiel https://anchor.fm/rafal-weg...
Newborn Photography: A Specialty for Serious Business Owners
October 09, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBIn episode 4 of our season discussing various specialties in portrait photography, Erica and Connor sit down with Sharon McMahon, a total boss and dominating force in the world of newborn portraiture. Even listeners who think they are not interested in doing newborn work will find a wealth of incredible advice and information from this incredible business person and photographer. Sharon McMahon (pronounced McMann) has been a full time portrait photographer on the shores of Lake Superior fo...
Fashion Photography: A Practice in Teamwork S02 Ep - 03
September 18, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 68.4 MBThis is episode 3, of our season dedicated to talking about different specialties in portrait photography. In todays episode Erica and Connor sit down with Jonny Edward to discuss his experiences as a fashion photographer. Then, on sticking points, Connor sits down with Andy Bird to talk about building worth to meet his desired price point Interview with Jonny Edward Where to see Jonny’s Work Website: https://jonnyedward.com/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/jonnyedwardvisualstoryteller/ ...
Wedding Photography: The Portrait Photographer's Marathon
September 11, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 70 MBThis is episode 2, of our season dedicated to talking about different specialties in portrait photography. In todays episode Erica and Connor sit down with Seth from Seth and Beth Photography to discuss specializing in wedding photography as a career. Then, on sticking points, Connor sits down with Julie Richardson and talk about whether she should draw a line in the sand and specialize in just one of her two photographic passions. Website: www.sethandbeth.com Facebook: facebook.com/setha...
Let's Talk About Specialties in Portrait Photography - Season 2 Episode 1
September 04, 2018 14:00 - 46 minutes - 43.4 MBErica and Connor take an overview of the subject they are talking about throughout the second season of Portrait Session: The different specialties in portrait photography. This is just an overview of all the different types of photography a person interested in portrait photography can focus on and specialize in as they master their photography. We by no means feel we have compiled a total and complete list of potential specialties in photography in this list, but this list will be the ge...
Season 1 Wrap Up - Listener Q&A's About the Season - S01 Ep12
August 14, 2018 12:00 - 58 minutes - 54.1 MBErica and Connor spend the entirety of todays episode answering listener's additional questions that have come up throughout this season as well as tying up other loose ends from the season. We are both sincerely so thankful for all of the love and support you have shown us in transitioning back to our individual podcast feed and for following along with us as we develop a new format for the show. We will be back in a few short weeks with the start of Season 2 of the Portrait Session Pod...
Managing Life as You Transition to Your Job as a Photographer - S01 Ep11
August 07, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBIn todays episode Erica and Connor give you tips for managing life as you transition into your job as a portrait photographer. Then, on sticking points, Connor sits down with Frank Gallagher to discuss techniques for bringing out a person’s authentic personality in their portrait. Step 10 Finding Success: How to manage a transition to a job as a photographer You do not have to say yes to everything. Set boundaries. Set aside management/administrative time in your schedule Management too...
Additional Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business - S01 Ep 10
July 31, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBIn todays episode we talk about additional marketing strategies to help you grow your business. Then, on sticking points, Connor sits down with Pete Lagregor to discuss ways he can convert traffic coming to his website into actual bookings. Step 9 Developing additional marketing strategies Will you operate on word of mouth? If so, is there a way you can encourage that further? Referral programs Clear expectations for tagging/photo credit on social media Relationships with other business...
SEO and Building an Organic Web Presence for Your Business - S01 Ep09
July 23, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 65.4 MBIn todays episode we talk about building an organic web presence to allow people to find your business on the web without you having to pay for advertising. This can be done through the channels of social media, google business/pages, and strengthened through your blogging capabilities on your website. Then, on sticking points, Connor sits down with Ken Breivik to discuss building the confidence to fearlessly price your business where it needs to be priced for sustainable longevity. Step 8...
Branding and Displaying Your Work - S01 Ep08
July 17, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 73 MBBranding and Displaying Your Work - S01 Ep08 In todays episode Erica and Connor talk about displaying your portfolio and tips for building the visual elements of your brand. Then, on sticking points, Connor sits down with Michael Pugh to give him some thoughts on intentional improvement as he learns more about photography as well as giving some advice as to where his money would be best spent to help him hone his skills. Branding and using visual elements to speak to potential consumers a...
Tailoring Your Ideal Client Experience - S01 Ep 07
July 10, 2018 14:00 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBIn this episode Erica and Connor discuss different considerations to make as you think through the way you would like your ideal client to move through their interactions with your business. This can range from being a high end full service photographer, or a speedy and efficient shoot and burn photographer. One way or the other, it is incredibly valuable to think of how you would like your client to interact in your business and start putting systems in to place to allow for a consistent de...
Setting Prices For Your Business - S01 Ep 06
July 03, 2018 12:00 - 58 minutes - 54.1 MBStart by learning what your pricing needs to be for you to have a sustainable business. Don’t let local markets influence this part too much. It is important to know at what point your business will be sustainable to know when you’re on the right track. Erica disagrees. You have to take local markets into account when pricing. You’ll struggle if price yourself at $10k a wedding in a market that has an average of $2k a wedding. Similarly, if you price yourself at $2k a wedding in a market t...
Portfolio Building and Culling the Right Way - S01 Ep05
June 26, 2018 12:00 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBIn this episode, Erica and Connor discuss the best practices for putting together and curating a strong and effective portfolio that will help you put your best foot forward. Then on Sticking Points, Connor sits down with Aaron Taylor to discuss the ways in which he can improve his sales and customer experience with his in person sales process. Don’t throw every session you’ve shot into your portfolio. That is fine to start with, but eventually you need to get choosy. Having a great body ...
Banking, Bookkeeping, and Accounting for your Photo Business - S01 Ep 04
June 19, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 66.2 MBErica and Connor discuss the things to consider in getting your business set up with a bank account and give our recommendations for things like bookkeeping software, business lines of credit, credit cards, and accounting. Then, on Sticking Points, Connor sits down with Evan Criscuolo to discuss the finer details of being in business as a fine art photographer and why that is a path he might want to consider. Season 1 Episode 4: Accounting & Finances Open a bank account for the business N...
Going Legit - Establishing Your Business as a Legal Entity - S01 Ep 03
June 12, 2018 12:00 - 58 minutes - 54.2 MBErica and Connor Discuss how to go about getting your business established as a legal entity with the state and federal government. Then on Sticking Points, Connor sits down with Nick Skog to talk about how he can bring order to the tasks he has to take care of with his photo business and discuss ways of feeling confidence in the value of your work. Some Helpful notes and resources SBA has a huge section of their website dedicated to launching your business. Covers most of what we’re talk...
Deciding What Kind of Portrait Business You Want - S 01 Ep 02
June 05, 2018 12:00 - 51 minutes - 47.9 MBErica and Connor discuss the factors that go into deciding what kind of portrait business you want to start and explain the importance of bringing focus to your business. There are many ways to take pictures of people for money, but what ways do you want to focus on? What kinds of photos do you like taking? What kind of market is there for this? Who would be your ideal clientele? Consider income bracket, age, gender, what they look like, how they dress, where they hang out, what they’re ...
The Steps You Should Take to Turn Your Hobby Into a Business
May 28, 2018 12:00 - 1 hour - 64.2 MBIn this Episode, Erica and Connor Discuss The changes coming to the podcast's format before having a conversation concerning the overall steps a person interested in taking their portrait photography hobby and turning it in to a business. General steps for turning your hobby into a business: Step 1 Ask: What kind of Portrait business do you want? Step 2 Establish a legal entity. Step 3 Accounting & Finances Step 4 Portfolio Building and culling Step 5 Pricing yourself Step 6 Business...
Takeaways From the Create Photography Retreat (LIVE) - EP 108
March 26, 2018 18:00 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBIn this episode, Erica and Connor discuss various takeaways they have from their time teaching at the Create Photography Retreat.
5 Ways to Improve Your Portraits in 30 Days - EP 107
February 26, 2018 19:00 - 28 minutes - 26 MBErica & Connor share their best suggestions to help you improve your portraits in the next 30 days. Familiarize yourself with your gear. It is easy to get bogged down with GAS, but it is important to realize that the best gear you can use is the stuff you have right now. Don’t allow yourself to pine after a new camera body if you don’t know the strengths and limitations your current gear. Set up portfolio shoots. Everyone has a busy schedule, so there is no need to add a certain amount o...
GOALS! - EP 106
December 27, 2017 19:00 - 38 minutes - 35 MBErica and Connor reflect on their 2017 goals and share their goals for 2018. Erica 2017 Reflections Taking time for myself, not overbooking - success! Creating epic multiple exposures - failure! Book 5 weddings at my highest collection - success! Connor 2017 Reflections Become a full time photographer - Success!? Focus more on Commercial Clients - failure/success? Sell tickets to workshops - Success! Connor 2018 Goals Outsource some of my work Get published in at least 4 publicati...
Listener Q&A - EP 105
November 28, 2017 19:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBErica & Connor answer questions from the Improve Photography Podcast Facebook group. Andrea De Anda Hi Erica, I'm moving from the Central Coast to the Bay area, What tips or advice would you give a wedding photographer like me to start/transfer my business to another city ??? Justin Zaffarese How much can a professional photographer expect to earn ? I know that is a bit like asking how long a piece of string is ,but, it’s just seldom discussed. I don't ever hear pro's mentioning how much t...
Real Talk - Strobe & Speedlight Modifiers - EP 104
October 24, 2017 18:00 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBErica and Connor talk about their preferred light modifiers in a variety of photographic situations. What is your Overall favorite modifier and why? Do you have a specific brand you love? Favorite Modifier to go out on a location with?
Pre-Production Tips for Styled Shoots - EP 103
September 26, 2017 18:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBErica & Connor talk about their recent experiences producing styled shoots and major campaigns, and share their tips for successful shoots. Erica’s most recent production Hanga 55 unique photos and videos Production manager and photographer Connor’s most recent styled shoot Styled Shoot for Course Composite Starting work on a series of personal projects to push myself to incorporate more and more into my productions. Will likely blog about it. Why is Pre-production important? Is it r...
Using Video as a Form of Marketing - EP 102
August 28, 2017 18:00 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBErica and Connor talk with Michael Sasser about the value of adding video as a marketing tool along with his tips on how to do so to maximize its effects. Michael Sasser is owner of Boudoir by Sasser, a popular boudoir photography company based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional photographer for 10 years and a professional videographer for 6 years. He uses the same cinematography in his portrait business as he did for weddings around the world. He currently teaches The Boudoir Video...
Advice to Our Younger Photography Selves - EP 101
July 24, 2017 18:00 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBConnor and Erica share their advice for new portrait photographers. We discuss the things we would tell ourselves as we just started out knowing what we know now. Get out and shoot, but shoot with specific goals in mind. If it doesn’t look the way you want it out of camera, you’re not going to get it that way in Post. Look at other photographers for inspiration and study, but DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO THEM!! College can be helpful for many people, but it is by NO means the only way to...
Tips and Tricks for Posing Women - EP 100
June 26, 2017 18:00 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBErica and Connor share their tips and tricks for posing women. For more in depth advice for posing women, be sure to check out Erica’s training video on Improve Photography Plus! Focus on curves Work from the bottom up for a basic pose Angle Foot placement Knees Weight in back hip Arms/elbows Hands Neck/shoulders Chin Using things to hide imperfections Arms Depth of field Light and shadows
The Biggest Mistakes Photographers Make - EP 98
May 10, 2017 15:00 - 32 minutes - 36.7 MBCommon mistakes we commonly see include things such as placing their light way to far from their subjects, placing their lighting to low compared to the subject, fumbling with gear and post processing blunders
Things to take care of before your busy season hits - EP 97
April 18, 2017 18:00 - 38 minutes - 53.3 MBConnor and Nick discuss changing out batteries, cleaning sensors, camera maintenance and other good practices for the best upkeep on their camera.
Proper white balance and calibration - EP 96
April 11, 2017 17:05 - 37 minutes - 51.1 MBConnor and Sandy discuss proper techniques and reasoning behind proper white balance and calibration.
PS Facebook Group Q&A - EP 95
March 30, 2017 17:22 - 35 minutes - 49.2 MBErica and Connor discuss some of the questions that have been asked in the Portrait Session Facebook group recently. Martina Vaughn Villarreal Hello friends, I got my first request to photograph a wedding out of state. I live in Austin and the wedding is in Seattle. I am wondering, what should be included in my travel fees? I was thinking of just charging for my plane ticket only. Thoughts, or recommendations? Thank you so much! Boden Eanes I enjoy listening to all the "IP" podcasts/videos...
Advertising on Facebook - EP 94
March 23, 2017 17:29 - 43 minutes - 59.3 MBThe value of advertising on social media, especially for portrait photographers Common misconceptions or myths surrounding social media advertising 1-2 takeaways that listeners can do RIGHT NOW to improve their social media marketing Listener Questions: Peter Foote Slideshows vs std ad vs actual dorky video of me? Best way to target wedding couples? Brian Pex Does paying for the BOOST feature that they offer really work? I did it once for a test and got many likes on an image but whethe...
Live at the Improve Photography Retreat - EP 93
March 17, 2017 17:36 - 35 minutes - 49.2 MBErica, Connor, Nick, and Jeff answer questions from Portrait Sessions at the Improve Photography Retreat. They discuss the importance of a good accountant, best practices for taxes, and much more.
Shooting headshots like a pro - EP 92
February 24, 2017 18:53 - 34 minutes - 47.8 MBPreferred lighting set ups Jessica Charron I'd be curious how you determine the best light setup. Headshots are used for all different types of businesses and website. I don't think it's too tricky to figure out bright and airy or dark and dramatic. But I'd like more info in the before the shoot stage I guess. Do you send questions to your client, do you have a consultation, do you just do the same set up for every headshot? Morayo Sayles Hi Erica, I would love to discuss your take on Natu...
Defining your style - EP 91
February 03, 2017 19:04 - 35 minutes - 48.3 MBWhat is a photography style? How do I identify my own style? How do I develop my own style? Where can I source inspiration for my style? What styles am I drawn to?
Connor tackles listener questions - EP 90
January 26, 2017 19:37 - 42 minutes - 58.2 MBWhat is banding and how do I deal with it? What are best practices for lifestyle photos in low light situations? What educational resources do you recommend for advanced photographers? What are some other uses for your portrait lenses? What factors do you consider when choosing which lens to shoot with?
Lessons learned from 2016 - EP 88
December 28, 2016 19:47 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBEpisode 88: Erica, Nick, and Connor talk about their most valuable lessons learned 0f 2016 and their goals for 2017. Be sure to join us in the Portrait Session Facebook group to share your goals and lessons learned! Connor: Top 5: Always have a backup plan It is easy to say Yes to things. Learn when to say no. It is okay to not be in control of every aspect of your work. Teaching is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Keep an open mind to new experiences. Creative goal: I wa...
Growing your business - EP 86
December 07, 2016 19:55 - 27 minutes - 37.9 MBWe all love small portrait sessions: Families, seniors, headshots Benefits to this kind of session: You get to be creative You get to know your clients You build personal relationships with people that appreciate your talent as an individual You are an artist Drawbacks to this kind of session: You constantly have to find new clients You have to explain the value of what you are doing Often times clients will have quite limited budgets To do this full time you have to be constantly ...
10 things to do to improve your portraits - EP 84
November 15, 2016 20:10 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBShoot in raw Learn off camera flash Read Picture Perfect Posing Learn to walk the line between creative and tasteful editing Understand white balance Learn to “see” light.. And milk it for what it is worth Mentor with Erica Kay Get inspired, look at the works of others Watch Connor’s High End Retouching Video on IP+ Never stop learning and finding that “new thing”
Q&A with Connor & Nick - EP 83
November 07, 2016 20:15 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MB-All about off camera flash portraits: what modifiers to use, how to balance flash and ambient light, how to backlight, etc.? -How do I build my portfolio to portray high end opportunities? -Which website builder should I use for my new website? -How do you prepare for a photo shoot?
Listener Q&A with Erica & Connor - EP 82
October 25, 2016 19:25 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBJesse Park What is your favorite Lens setup for shooting outdoor portraits? Andrew Block Two questions, I do a lot of volunteer photography in my kids classrooms. I use a magspheer and point it to the ceiling generally (or bounce on a wall). But, these are class rooms with ugly lighting so there are kids with nice white, and then background with a lovely yellowish tint. How do you handle? CTO? Second flash in a corner (seems kind of impossible)? Second question, do you guys ever do family s...
Nick and Connor live in Maui - EP 81
October 18, 2016 19:29 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MB-What gear do we travel with? -What bags do we use? -How do we book sessions in other locations? -How to use island weather to your advantage when photographing.