Ina Jalil is the photographer behind Ina J Photography, a multiple six-figure pet photography business in Canberra, Australia. Since her first appearance on the podcast in 2022, she has photographed more than 1,000 dogs, grown annual revenue to around $305,000 and increased her average sale from roughly $600 to $2,800. In this interview, Ina shares how she transformed a disappointing book project—with 48 sessions and just over $20,000 in sales—into a second project that generated more than $72,000 from 26 sessions, with 25 of those clients purchasing. She also breaks down a Facebook campaign that turned a $689 ad spend into more than $33,000 in sales and explains why pre-shoot consultations, transparent pricing and better client qualification have become non-negotiable. We also explore how Ina uses AI as a virtual studio manager to review her consultation and sales calls, identify missed questions, build an objection bank, draft client emails and help improve her marketing. It’s an honest look at testing ideas, learning from campaigns that fail and building repeatable systems that allow a photographer to shoot fewer sessions while generating higher sales. The post 687: Ina Jalil – The Pre-Shoot Consultation That Raised Her Average Sale from $600 to $2,800 appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Megan Jones of Megan Michael Photography has built one of the most impressive photography businesses I’ve come across. Her studio has grown from $610,000 in revenue in 2023 to being on track for $3.5 million in 2026, with a team of 13 employees, three full-time photographers and the capacity to photograph up to 14 sessions a day. In this interview, Megan shares how she moved from $200 sessions to a luxury-volume photography model, why she replaced herself as the photographer, how her team generates and handles hundreds of leads each week, and why boudoir now accounts for around 80% of the business. We also go deep into her Santa photography, where she photographs around 175 clients a year, averages roughly $2,000 per session and sells personalised Christmas storybooks for $4,200. Megan also explains how she thinks about pricing, emotional sales, limited-edition campaigns, client experience and creating a studio that feels highly personal to the client while operating like a machine behind the scenes. If you’re interested in scaling a photography business, selling higher-value products or simply seeing what’s possible beyond the traditional owner-operator model, there’s plenty to think about in this one. The post 686: Megan Jones – How 25-Minute Santa Sessions Became a $300K+ Photography Business appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Ben McCoy is the founder of Good Life Portraits, a Perth-based portrait studio that has grown from Ben working out of the back of his car to a seven-person team, around 80 portrait sessions a month and a business tracking towards $2 million in annual revenue. In this interview, Ben breaks down the systems behind that growth, including how he generates leads, why getting prospects onto the phone is still critical, and the numbers he watches closely — around $17 per lead, roughly $105 to acquire a client and an average sale of about $2,400. We also get into his use of AI and Go High Level to nurture leads, answer client questions, book calls and reduce the workload on his team, plus why he believes the real challenge for photographers isn’t taking better photos — it’s building a business that can keep running and growing without the owner doing everything. It’s a particularly useful conversation for photographers who feel capped by their own time, are considering hiring, or want to understand what a genuinely systemised, high-volume portrait studio looks like behind the scenes. The post 685: Ben McCoy – The $17 Lead, $105 Booking and $2,400 Portrait Photography Sale appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Lucas Z is the founder of The Big Split and has spent more than a decade running a photography business in Aspen, Colorado. Despite having a successful business and good money coming in, Lucas found himself $25,000 in credit card debt, behind on taxes, with no real savings or assets — and at one point calculated he was spending 99.5% of everything he made. That experience led him to develop The Big Split, a simple way of handling irregular income by dividing money into clear buckets for business, tax, lifestyle and paying yourself first. In this interview, we talk about why photographers can be making good money and still feel broke, how irregular income creates the feast-or-famine cycle, the financial leaks that quietly drain a business, and the difference between simply earning more and actually keeping more. Lucas also shares how he cleared $25,000 in debt within five months, built more than $60,000 in savings in his first year using the system, and why the real problem for some photographers isn’t pricing or marketing at all — it’s what happens to the money after it arrives. If your income is inconsistent, your bank balance never seems to reflect how busy you are, or you’re earning well but still don’t feel financially secure, there’s plenty in this episode to think about. The post 684: Lucas Z – Why Photographers Making Good Money Still Have No Money appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Gabi Kline Leon is a pet and equine photographer who built her business around a very different idea — she doesn’t see herself as simply a photographer, but as a commissioned photo artist. That mindset has helped her build a low-volume, high-value business where clients regularly spend thousands, her average sale is around $6,000, and one client spent $50,000 across multiple sessions and finished artwork. In this interview, Gabi shares how she moved from Israel to the US after seeing another photographer make $62,000 in a month, landed a $5,000 first client, struggled through the early COVID years, and eventually built a business around premium pricing, in-home consultations, multiple sessions, printed products and simple pricing. We also get into the marketing side — including the magazine partnership that generated more than $100,000, the mini-session days that brought in over $10,000 a month, her views on SEO versus Google Business Profile, and why getting in front of real people still matters. There’s plenty here for photographers thinking about pricing, positioning, sales, client experience and how to create a business that relies on fewer, higher-value clients. The post 683: Gabi Kline Leon – How to Build a Photography Business Averaging $6,000 Per Client appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Myriam Ménard has built a 17-year wedding photography business around something many photographers are moving away from — real relationships, intentional curation and knowing exactly who she wants to work with. Based in Montreal and photographing weddings across Canada and Europe, Myriam charges up to $22,000 CAD for local weddings and starts at €12,000 for European destination weddings. Yet her approach to attracting those clients isn’t built around funnels, algorithms or constant posting. In this interview, Myriam shares why she’s investing more heavily in offline networking, how carefully curating your portfolio can shape the clients you attract, why she believes other people talking about your work will become increasingly important, and how clarity around who you are can influence everything from your pricing to the weddings you book. It’s a thoughtful conversation about premium positioning, creative identity, relationships and building a photography business that actually feels like you. The post 682: Myriam Ménard – The $20K Wedding Photographer Who Doesn’t Chase Marketing Trends appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Richard I’Anson has spent 40 years building a photography career that has taken him to more than 100 countries and all seven continents. In this interview, Richard shares how he went from shooting weddings and portraits to becoming one of Australia’s best-known travel photographers, why those early years were crucial to his success, how the stock photography market has changed, and why photography tours have become such an important part of his business today. We also talk about print sales, licensing, building a body of work, making money from travel photography, and what it really takes to stay in business for four decades while still loving the work. The post 681: Richard I’Anson – From Wedding Photographer to a 40-Year Travel Photography Career appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

AI-generated video has moved well beyond the strange hands, extra fingers and obviously fake imagery most photographers remember. In this interview, filmmaker and Warthog AI founder Brian Levin explains how businesses are now creating photorealistic video content without cameras, actors, large crews or traditional production budgets. Brian shares how AI is turning still photographs into convincing motion, why experienced photographers and filmmakers may have an advantage over people relying on prompts alone, and how these tools could open up entirely new products for portrait, family and commercial photographers. He also discusses the fear and resistance surrounding AI, the importance of keeping real artists involved in the creative process, and why photographers should understand what the technology can do before deciding whether to embrace or reject it. This is a fascinating look at how quickly video production is changing—and what that could mean for photographers who are prepared to experiment. The post 680: Brian Levin – Creating $500,000-Looking Videos for $5,000 appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Before becoming a full-time photographer, Melody Macdonald spent more than 20 years working as a 911 dispatcher, where staying calm, listening carefully and communicating clearly were essential. In this interview, Melody shares what photographers can learn from high-pressure emergency communication, especially when dealing with upset, disappointed or demanding clients. She explains why telling someone to “calm down” rarely works, how to pause before reacting, when it is better to pick up the phone, and why many client complaints are not really about the photography at all. You’ll also hear how clearer expectations, stronger boundaries and more direct communication can prevent difficult situations before they start. The post 679: Melody MacDonald – How to Handle Difficult Photography Clients Without Losing Your Cool appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Most photographers are using AI for culling, editing or the occasional social post. Marcin Rafalowicz believes they’re barely scratching the surface. In this interview, he explains how to build a custom ChatGPT trained on your voice, your business, your pricing, your clients and the work you want to be known for. The result is less generic content, faster marketing and an AI tool that becomes more useful the more you refine it. Marcin also shares how custom GPTs, website chatbots and voice-powered AI could change the way photographers create content, answer enquiries and run their businesses. The post 678: Marcin Rafalowicz – How to Build a Custom ChatGPT for Your Photography Business appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.