121: Creating A Luxury Senior Photography Business with Kellie Llewellyn

Sabrina: On today’s episode of the shoot it straight podcast. I’m talking with my friend Kelly Llewellyn and we are talking all about having a senior photography business. That is an incredibly luxury experience. I have known Kelly for years and years, and I’ve seen her business grow into what it is today. And let me just tell you her story is.

Really, really inspiring the way she started her business, how she has leaned into this luxury experience with her seniors and what that looks like in her business. She also has the unique opportunity to travel with her seniors, which is just absolutely so cool and something that I am obsessed with. And today on the podcast, she is sharing all of this with us and more.

And I can’t wait for you to give it a listen. So let’s get started. Welcome to the shoot it straight podcast. I’m your host, Sabrina Gebhardt. Here, I will share an honest take on what it’s like to be a female creative entrepreneur while balancing business, motherhood, and life. Myself, along with my guests, will get vulnerable through honest conversations and relatable stories, because we’re willing to go there.

If you’re trying to find balance in this exciting place you’re in, Yet, willing to talk about the hard stuff to the shoot it straight podcast is here to share practical and tangible takeaways to help you shoot it straight.

Welcome back to the shoot it straight podcast. My friends today is the sixth week in a row where I am featuring the expertise of brand new educators, women that I am working with women that I love and adore. And just like I have said every single week so far, I’m so excited about this chat. Today, I am joined by my friend, Kelly Llewellyn, Kelly and I, like several other of the women I’ve talked to, we go way back.

We met at a retreat, I think seven years ago at this point. Um, and we’ve just really stayed in the same circle and been friends ever since. And then for the past two or three years, I have gotten to coach Kelly in different capacities. And. Through that process, I’ve gotten to know her even better, which has been really fun to not only get to know her, but see her business change and watch her achieve some pretty incredible goals that she’s kind of had on her bucket list forever.

And so I’m just her biggest fan, her biggest cheerleader. So before we dive in Kelly, will you tell the audience a little bit about yourself?

Kellie: Yes, I’m Kelly Llewellyn. I am a senior family couples, basically everything but wedding photographer. That’s the one thing I won’t touch. And I live in Williston, North Dakota with my husband and we have seven kids.

So I’m a busy mom.

Sabrina: Yeah, you are a very, very busy mom. Okay. My friend today, we are talking about creating a senior photography business that offers a really luxury experience. And I’m really excited to dive into this today. As you can imagine, I work with a lot of photographers over the years. I mean, it’s crazy because I tell people now, like I do the math and I’m like, I really have coached like, hundreds at this point, which is mind blowing to me.

Um, and so I see lots of different businesses and business models and women who are working different niches and things. And one of the things I love about being an entrepreneur and I tell women, I coach us all the time is that we can create our business to look like anything we want. Right. Kelly, you have always had such an interesting business because you really have one of the more elevated experiences of anybody I know, and I am obsessed with it, and especially when you consider the seniors that you work with, which is truly your bread and butter, I would say, and so that’s specifically what we’re going to dive into today.

So I want to start at the very, very beginning so the listeners can get to know you and your story a little bit more. When did you start your business and then how soon after that did you jump into

Kellie: the seniors? Um, my business started probably kind of when we met in like 2017 ish. And I think it was probably just the family that I’d been shooting had a senior and they’re like, Hey, how would you feel about this?

And then it just turned into the next scene you’re asking and the next thing you’re asking. And then, like you said, it kind of became my bread and butter. I don’t know that I expected that, but that’s just kind of where it shifted to.

Sabrina: Yeah, I love that. I, I guess I didn’t know that. And I also don’t know that I knew back when we met that that was close to the very beginning of your business because Your work was insane then.

So when we met at this retreat, one of the things we did as a group together was we did portfolio reviews. And so we got to see everybody’s work, which is always such a powerful, fun experience. And to see the different perspectives, uh, different artists have and what they, the different genres they go towards and their vibe and everything.

And I just, I still remember your work and how incredibly beautiful it was. I had no idea that was kind of near the beginning of your, your business. And I love that you. Like you photographed a family and then you were like, sure, I’ll give seniors a try. Why not? No big deal. Yeah. Do you, do you remember if you loved it right away or if it felt hard or weird for you?

Kellie: I think it was one of my best friends kids. So I loved that. Right. Yeah. You know, you bring that kind of into the shoot and it feels a little bit different. It was a stranger and my work probably reflected that. I probably took extra time and, you know, we, I probably felt more comfortable with them and vice versa.

So we could do things that, you know, maybe I wouldn’t have did with some complete stranger.

Sabrina: Yeah, that, I can see that. So, you know, that I have. teenager and she’ll be a senior next year. And I do not photograph seniors. I never have. And, but I have photographed her group of friends historically like for homecoming and for volleyball and Halloween parties and various things.

So, you know, maybe two or three times a year, I’ll photograph her and her friends intentionally, like bring out the big camera. We have a little mini session, you know, and she’s always loved it. And I’ve always loved it because it’s her friends. Right. And it feels easy and there’s no pressure, but that has already started to turn into the moms.

Now that the girls are all juniors, they’re like, are you going to do their senior photos next year? And so I’m having to really think about like, do I want to do that? Could I do that? Absolutely. Right. I mean, of course I could, I know these girls, like you just said, there’s not any awkwardness because I’ve already worked with them.

I know their personalities. And so it would probably be really fun. But it’s like, do I want to open that can of worms? I don’t know. Anyways, that’s a discussion for another day. So thinking specifically about like the senior business, you started out as a family photographer. Then you just slowly started saying yes to these families that had older kids.

They had seniors. What do you think some of the hardest lessons that you learned

Kellie: were when you were starting out with seniors? Definitely pricing that was a tough one for me because a senior session typically asks lasts a lot longer than a family session and to factor that in and then the edits are a lot of hand edits that you don’t really have to do with families because you’re Pulling in the emotion with that where the single person you see everything I think just trying to figure out how to price myself so that I’m making enough money, you know, to cover my business, but it’s hard to do because as you know, when you first start out, you charge nothing, right?

I don’t know. I took a ton of classes and what they said you should be charging like blew my mind and like taking the leap to start doing that. That was hard, but you have to as a business. Just have to,

Sabrina: yeah, the, the amount of work that you pour into your senior sessions. And I know because I know you and your business, and I know that that’s some of that is unique to you and the luxury aspect, which we’ll talk about, but a lot of that is just being a senior photographer, right?

Like you said, there’s more hand editing, the sessions take longer, there’s prep involved in all of this. And it’s just, it’s crazy. The amount of hours that you pour into things. And a lot of that stuff that cannot be automated, it’s stuff that it just. It takes that amount of time with every single person.

Did you kind of creep your prices up over time or was there kind of a point in which you were like, okay, I’ve got to flip the switch and make a huge increase all of a sudden. When

Kellie: I started out, I was the all inclusive, you know, you get all the digitals and I think I even had product with that as well.

But when I, when I did that, I was giving like anywhere from 90 to 120 pictures, which nobody needs that. Right. Nobody needs that. And then all the edits went with that and it was just, I was pouring so much time into it. And it took me a while, but, and I’m still, you know, tweaking my packages and trying to figure out what works best because I’m an over deliver.

I think, you know, a lot of photographers are. It’s hard to give somebody 10 digital files, right, if that’s what their package says. So it’s, yeah, I’m still working on it, but I would say it was definitely over time. I think I’ve been at the same, as you know, I’ve been at the same kind of pricing for the last, I don’t know, has it been three years?

It kind of just stuck there. And it seems to be working well. I have four, I guess I have four packages because the highest one is two days. So, and strangely, a lot of people pick that and it’s, you know, when you’re pricing things, what do they say, Sabrina, like make the top one, one that most people won’t purchase.

But people want those two seasons or you know,

Sabrina: yeah, yeah, the way yours is priced and part of that’s because and we’ll get into this, but you have unique offerings and for the listening audience again, Kelly’s been doing this for, you know, seven years now and she does have a luxury experience and so her prices are really high.

But her clients keep paying them because her work is stunning and the experience is so incredible and they want to work with her. So I love that, uh, that you just kind of got there over time. And I know the work that we’ve done in the last few years, you, like you said, you’ve been tweaking and modifying here and there, but pricing is hard.

It’s really hard. I also love that you said that you took some classes on that because If you’re going to really have one niche that’s your bread and butter, I think it’s so important that you are an expert at that niche. And I know you love education as much as I do, and you’re constantly bettering yourself.

I’m curious, do you remember a point in which you decided that you wanted to be this luxury, like that you wanted the experience to feel luxury? Have you always felt that way or was there a turning point at some point? And then what are some of the things that you changed about your business structure or the way that you work with clients?

To

Kellie: make it feel more luxury. I think I’ve always wanted that. I think you and I are similar in that way where we want our website to be the best, the best. We want our CRM to be the best of the best and not that you necessarily need that to run your business. It’s just our personalities. Like if something new and better is out, that’s what I’m going to do because it might be better for my customer.

You know, I’ve always been that way. And like you said, I love education. So. Whatever I can find to learn a little bit more, I’ll pull that into my business so that it’s a benefit to me and my clientele, I guess, but I feel like I’ve always been that way and every year maybe I’ll find something different.

Like, you know, right away, I didn’t do senior Sundays. Now that’s a big deal. And now not only that, they have like a place on my website and it’s just kind of every year, tweak it a little bit more to hopefully entice people, make them feel like really good. Cause that’s what you want for your senior that year, you know, to feel really good.

Sabrina: Yeah. So a lot of your luxury experience then is the client experience, right? It’s yeah. So it’s the, the prep, the handholding, the experience at the session itself, things that happen after the session. Do you want to expand on like what your senior Sundays are for the listeners that don’t know what

Kellie: that is?

Yeah, for sure. So I send out a questionnaire and it’s just very random. Like it could be what’s your favorite drink, what’s your favorite color, what’s your favorite smell, things they can answer really easily. I don’t want them to have to really think hard about it because then they won’t answer it. And once they’ve finished that and they don’t all do it, but I would say, I don’t know, 75 percent do.

I take that with their pictures and make a blog post about them. We talk about their day, what we know, what we did for their shoot. And then I, you know, sprinkle in all their answers and stuff. And that turns into a senior Sunday blog. But then also that day I do an Instagram post. I usually make a reel.

And then. We kind of do like a mini version of it on my website that just has the answers to the questions. And it’s just a, it’s also a cool place for other seniors to come and look at pictures because it’s such a variety, you know, or see what their friend did last year or whatever. But I think it makes me stand out a little bit more.

Because I don’t know anybody else that does that specifically in my area.

Sabrina: The genius of that is the social media part of it. I bet the kids are sharing because they’re like, Oh, it’s the spotlight on me. Right. And they’re sharing it to their socials. And then the blog post part of it is like the, I can imagine the moms are sharing it with like, they’re sharing it on their Facebook page or, or they’re sharing it maybe in an email to the grandparents.

Right. So not only are you making your seniors. Feel really good and feel celebrated, but you’re also marketing for yourself and you’re also pushing your website’s SEO because people are coming back to read it. I mean, it’s just so genius. I love it. It’s a lot of work though, huh? I mean, pulling that off is a lot.

And have you always done that part yourself?

Kellie: No. I mean, as you know, you know, I’ve taken, you’ve been my mentor for how many years and from you, I learned to, you know, delegate and outsource a lot of things. And so I have a VA that does almost all my blog posts, I would say. And then I have, well, now with AI, I don’t necessarily need.

You know, somebody to edit them. And I’m so picky that I can’t leave them as is anyways. I go through in every single one and change it to what I want. So I don’t think I need to be doing that, but I’m trying to think what else I outsource. Oh, I have Jaden now for marketing that just started. I have a personal assistant at home that comes and helps me with house stuff and or my things, whatever I need that week.

A lot of things, a lot of things I would have never even thought of if you had not been like, you should do this for your sanity, and then it’s growing, you know, oh, I would like them. My, my thoughts are go to the expert, go to somebody who can do it really well and pay them to do it, because by the time I’ve researched and figured out how to do it myself.

And it’s still not going to be as good as how they do it. Right. Cause there’s still the, so that’s something, a lesson that I’ve learned that has been super beneficial for me and my business.

Sabrina: Yeah. And for you, it’s, it’s, it has served you two different ways. Number one, it’s just taking stuff off your plate, right?

Like you said, it’s helping your sanity. It’s taking things off your brain. You’ve got seven kids, you’ve got a busy business, like you need to not be doing all those things, but it’s also freeing up hours. That you can serve your clients better so that you’re not dropping the ball so that you can do these extra things so that you can over communicate that you can spend extra time with them and do the hand edits and all these things that do offer the luxury experience.

Because trying to do all that and all of the things that you’ve outsourced, there’s literally not enough hours in the day. It doesn’t work, right?

Kellie: No, there, no, there’s no way I could, my business would never be what it is now without the extra help. There’s just no way. And that’s part of the luxury part of it too, I suppose, is like you said, have time to really focus on my clients when I’m with them.

Sabrina: Yeah. And honestly, I mean, this could open a whole can of worms, so maybe I’ll just say this and then we’ll change the subject. I kind of don’t think you can have a luxury business without outsourcing a lot of things. Like I, I don’t think it’s possible and, and I don’t just mean senior photographers. I mean, let’s, let’s fill in the blank with any genre of photographer and then we could go beyond that and say any type of entrepreneur.

I mean, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t want to offer this very high touch, incredible experience for your clients. Charge these premium rates and also wear every single hat in your business and, and at home. Like, it just, it doesn’t compute . You know, you, if you want that, you have to stop being scared of investing in outsourcing and support, and you have to go for it.

It’s either you have both or you have neither, you know? Yes.

Kellie: And you taught me way, way, way back when that. You don’t need to wait until you’re at this certain point of making a certain amount of money. You need to do it from the beginning because you can’t get to that point unless you have this help, which as you know, has been huge for my business.

Had I done that, I would not be where I am right now. There’s no way.

Sabrina: Yeah, it, there is a little bit of a leap of faith involved, you know, do you trust the future of your business? Do you trust that you’re going to make a wise investment? Do you trust yourself? Because. A lot of these outsourcing, getting support things, you’re, you’re taking the leap before you see the financial reward and trusting the process.

But I, you know, it’s happened to me time and time and time again, I know it’s happened to you. I mean, we see it over and over again. So anyways, that could be an entire podcast episode discussion on its own. I’m curious. I want to share part of your story that, that I’m like currently obsessed with a couple of years ago.

Okay. I finally saw you achieve something that you had always dreamed of. And it’s something that we have in common. You love to travel. And so do I, we both just have wanderlust in our blood. And you always said that you kind of had this dream of wanting to travel with your seniors and do senior photography around the country in these like epic locations.

And that has now become your reality. And it’s really kind of exploded for you, which is so cool that it not only aligns with your dream, but with your clientele that they have just latched onto it. It’s just amazing. So Kelly, I would love for you to tell me a little bit about what’s it like to travel with seniors for a session?

Like, how do you get them on board with this? And then how are those sessions different than just something,

Kellie: you know, locally? So how it started, I think it may be starting at the beginning might be the easiest, was my oldest was a senior and I thought, you know, I’m going to take her down to San Diego and we’re going to go to Joshua Tree and the Glamis sand dunes.

And like, I had this plan in my head and I’m like, I’m going to reach out to two of her friends where I know their moms like to travel and maybe they’d want to do this with us. And they were like, on board instantly. Like it was like, no second thoughts. And so from there, I started the planning. Um, I typically get an Airbnb now and let me say, I’ve been traveling.

Almost all these people are friends. We live in a smaller town. And so usually I feel comfortable with that. You know, like we’re friends, like we can do that. Our kids are friends. Like that’s not always going to be the case. And there’s ways to work around that, but I, and then the marketing, the marketing is huge and you need to market it as like an experience with your senior.

Like. It’s their last years. And as you, as a mom, you think about like, Oh, it’s the, really that’s their last year with me. And what kind of memories can I make with them? You know, that it’s going to be like a lifetime memory. And these travel sessions are really that because you get one on one with them.

And for me, like, you know, I was with seven kids. That’s not. You know, usually when we travel with all the kids with me, but having that one on one and just like hanging out with them and experience a new location together, it’s just like, it’s like a core memory, right? And it’s so, it turns into more than just the senior pictures, which I think is part of the selling point of it, or one of the biggest ones.

Because, yeah, they can get them here and they’re going to be beautiful here, but what if we went somewhere else and did them? And yeah, it’s been so cool.

Sabrina: And you’ve gone to some really cool places, but okay, here’s what I want the listeners to hear. When you said so far, it’s really been people that you’re friends with.

Listeners do not hear that and think that she is not charging luxury rates for this experience. Okay, no, she is charging high, high, high prices. Okay, so that just happens to be like the best of both worlds that it’s high prices, but also with friends, right? So she’s still extremely profitable with these, um, and really smart with, with how she’s doing that.

How many do you think you’ve done now? I mean, you’ve done. So many at this point.

Kellie: Well, this year alone, I started in April and I did one A one a month until October, and sometimes there was two seniors at a time, you know, doing it together. So whatever that would come to. I did New York City twice. I did Oregon twice.

I did Charleston. I did Colorado and I did Idaho. So I mean, yeah, that’s a lot. It’s really cool locations.

Sabrina: Have you started putting travel

Kellie: sessions on your calendar for next year? I have, I have Charleston in June so far. I’m super excited for that. I love that location. And then I’m hoping that in August, I’ll get some when I go to, um, Glacier again, and typically I do because everybody loves that location.

So when we do our family trip there, I set those dates out. I can usually take one, maybe two seniors over that, and I usually get that for sure. And I haven’t really pushed him a lot yet this year. I need to do that. It’s just, as you know, I’m in the thick of the busy season and right now I’m doing a lot of editing.

All the time or shooting.

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In addition to the vault and the Facebook group, you’ll get three new trainings or resources every single month. These include guest experts, live coaching calls. I really do pride myself in giving you just enough education every month to keep you growing and moving forward while not overwhelming you with content.

If you’re ready to join us, you can head over to sabrinagebhart. com backslash membership and enroll today. Now, back to the episode. Okay. I love hearing about all of the travel. I mean, it just so. The listeners know I have done travel with my kids solo and I’ve also taken those from family sessions where I’m traveling.

So you and I are doing something similar but different, right? I’m photographing families. You’re photographing seniors. It’s similar ish in nature. I can’t take nearly as many travel sessions per year as you do. These days, if I can get three or four in, I’m pretty much tapped out with my schedule. They fuel me creatively in a way that no other session does, just like the change in scenery and having to scout new locations and like really be on your A game to figure out like, okay, I’ve never photographed here before.

I don’t know what to do. I just, I’m obsessed. With them so much. Do you get the same like like creative fuel from these travel

Kellie: sessions? I do. I absolutely do I also am terrified when I do them because it feels like a wedding kind of right like I have this This couple of days maybe that I can work with it And if the weather’s bad I have to have a plan B and Typically you’re at a big enough place where you could find a really cool indoor location if you needed to and you know Just it’s about educating your client to be like hey Have to have a plan B.

I mean, we’re only here for this limited amount of time, and if the weather is bad, this is what we’re going to do. I’ve not ran into that, knock on wood, but, you know, that’s just a thought in the back of my head. And then also, you’ve probably learned this too, you have to give yourself extra time. You don’t know how far away the parking’s going to be.

You don’t know, like, if it’s going to be really busy, if it’s a, like, iconic location. There’s a lot of factors that you have to factor into it or if hiking, as you know, maybe it’s location we have to hike to and then they got to change when they get there. So that makes it different than a local session for sure.

Cause you know, when you’re shooting around town, you know exactly where you’re going to go, but you’re right. It feels the same, right? Like, okay, there’s the blue door. There’s only so much I can do with that blue door, right? Right. Right. Like somewhere totally cool. Like New York city. I mean. I can’t even there.

There’s no comparison.

Sabrina: Yeah, right. Yeah. Yeah. I, I do the same thing. I try and arrive at least a full day in advance and then I give myself, I like to give myself 48 hours per session I have there. So if I’m doing multiple families, I’m staying, I may be there a whole week because I want to have. Time to shift for weather.

If we need it, I want to have time to scout. Like, I don’t want to feel like I’m blowing in and blowing out. And like you said, it’s, it’s once in a lifetime, right? Like if it doesn’t work out while we’re there, then we’ve blown it. And so I want to make sure that my clients can have the best of the best. I like really pad my travel with extra time, which is probably excessive.

But again, I am bringing a kid with me each time. So we were just making a vacation out of it. It’s no big deal. I have loved hearing a little bit about the backstory of how your senior business came to be today and how it’s. turned into this really luxury experience. I know there are some listeners that are probably hearing this and thinking this will never work for me.

I could never charge high, high rates. I could never get my clients to travel with me. Um, I could never consider myself luxury. I don’t have the time or the hours to put into this. They’re, they’re thinking, you know, Oh, Kelly, beautiful business, but that’s not for me. Right. How would you encourage someone who’s thinking that way, thinking that they can’t create the same experience in their area?

Kellie: I think you could do it anywhere. You know, like you said, it really comes back to the client experience. You can make anything luxury, right? I mean, what is it they’re like the iPhone scenario where they talk about you could get any phone, but everybody wants the iPhone no matter what it costs, because that’s what they want.

And I think you need the confidence to show your clients that, that, you know, this is what they want. And this is the reasons why, you know, it’s marketing. And then I think you’re the same way. A lot of it’s word of mouth, a lot of referrals from friends, because If you make them feel good, I mean, they want other people to feel that way too, right?

And I think just like making your business the best that it can be, and whether that’s outsourcing, or you know, getting a new website, or helping, having someone come in and help you market, getting a coach, whatever it may be, you just need to take those steps, and you will, your business can turn into what you want it to be.

You just have to keep pushing it until it does.

Sabrina: And I, I love, especially, I mean, I love your business for so many reasons, but one of the things that I think is really spectacular and that I want the listeners really to hear is that you do not live in a major city. You live in a smaller ish area and you still command luxury rates and have this incredible experience and you travel.

And what’s so funny about Kelly traveling and loving to travel is that you live in such a small area that you have, there’s no direct flights for you anywhere. You have to connect through. So like traveling is not super easy or convenient for you and, and neither for your clients. And still. You’re able to have this business that is luxury, that is commanding high rates, that is traveling with your clients, despite this, the size of the town you are in, despite the inconvenience of traveling.

I mean, if Kelly can make it happen, so can you, that’s just what I want everybody to hear them say, you know, because you, you hear a lot of people say, oh, well, that’s for people that live in big cities. Okay. And that’s not the case. You can have this anywhere.

Kellie: Yeah. We don’t even have a target. That’s what I like to, when people are trying to understand, we don’t have a target.

And that, I think that just tells you what, you know, how small we are. I think, like you said, you could do it anywhere. It’s the quality of your work. It’s the way you make people feel it’s, you know, giving them the high end experience, whether it’s, you know, having your, Like when you’re giving them a product, cut your packaging, you know, it’s, it’s every little tiny bit of it.

And if you do that all the way around, that’s, you know, that’s what they’re getting and they know that.

Sabrina: I’m curious, this thought just came to me. So you said the travel photography specifically came about because your daughter was a senior, right? Yeah. But I’m wondering way back when you started to really lean into luxury and like really raising your rates and really kind of becoming the senior photographer in your area.

Do you think that part of your client experience was created because you were a mom to teens? Like you were able to appreciate that or do you think that it’s not, it doesn’t go hand in hand? I’m just, I’m

Kellie: curious. I a hundred percent think it goes hand in hand. For sure. For sure it does. I think having kids that age, as you’re seeing now, you hang out with their friends, you get to know them through the sports that they’re in, and they’re in the families, and no, I think 100 percent they went hand in hand with each other, for sure.

Sabrina: Potentially, for someone who is getting into seniors or working with seniors and wanting to take it to the next level, if they don’t have kids that are that age, how do you think they can get around that? Is it investing in education? Is it having coffee with moms of teenagers and picking their brains?

Like how can they get exposed to what those, that specific audience

Kellie: wants and needs? I would say definitely education. I mean, As you know, you’ve created one of the best communities for photographers out there. I’ve met some of my best friends through that and just bouncing ideas off of them and some of them are actually senior photographers and they’re walking the same road I am being able to talk to them, see what workshops they’re going to see what education they’ve taken and you know how it’s helped their business.

That’s a huge part. Another thing would be like, if you didn’t have like a senior like I did, I’d get do model calls. I would find a girl that you’re like, Oh man, I, she’s so cute. I’d love to her vibe. Everything is perfect. Do a model call and do some shoots with her. I mean, get your pictures out there, get people talking about it.

That’s what I would do. And actually, as you know, when it’s like a monocle, you can be as creative as you want. You don’t feel like you’re sometimes I feel like when you’re getting paid, you feel like in your mind, they want a certain thing and you need to stick to this cookie cutter thing. But when it’s like, when it’s a model call, it’s like, this is for me, I’m going to do whatever I want.

And that’s usually your best work hands down every time.

Sabrina: Oh, always. And that is always my best work. Hands down. Every time. For sure. For sure. I definitely want to leave our listeners with some practical advice. I love to have practical, actionable steps for listeners. So for someone who has a senior photography business, they’re already photographing seniors, but they do want to take it to the next level and start to create and lean into that luxury side.

What are one to two things that you think they should start to focus on or add to go from just a generic senior photographer to a more luxury one?

Kellie: I would say for sure pricing. I think everybody should do a deep dive into that and figure out how much they may need to make to sustain the lifestyle they want to live.

It’s eye opening, as you know, and then I would say posing, especially for seniors, is very important. I would, that would be something I’d really focus on and then finding your community. I can’t say that enough. I just can’t. I don’t think people understand how lonely photography can be and that if you don’t have your people to talk to, it just feels very, you feel very isolated and am I making the right decisions?

And I mean, those would be my things that I would recommend people to do. And I think. You’d, you’d figure it out pretty quickly.

Sabrina: Yeah. The, the community thing is interesting because it’s one of those things that on paper, it doesn’t seem like something you need. Cause you’re like, okay, but how does that, how is that going to make me more money?

How is that going to better my posing? How is that going to affect my client experience? Like a lot of times business owners are like, what investments can I make to get an immediate return? Right? Like to immediately a tangible, okay, I invest this and this is what I’m going to get. And community. doesn’t really fit anything, but for women who have their, their photography besties and their business community, they know that it’s invaluable and they would never give it up.

But how do you like, how do you explain that to somebody who doesn’t have it? that it’s actually so necessary. You know, I find it so hard to tell people, okay, but you don’t know what you’re missing until you have

Kellie: it. You know, what do you think? Well, I think especially because like our community is people all over the U S that helps a ton.

I mean, you have your local photographers and your friends with them, but At the same time, you’re competitors, right? And even, even, and I’m open with, I mean, if they ask me a question, I will hands down tell them whatever they want to hear. But at the same time, it’s just different than talking to somebody in New Orleans and, you know, getting their feedback.

You’re right, it’s hard to explain the community. But can you imagine if you had a best friend that you talked to every day and, and then changed the scenario 100 percent and you had nobody to talk to every day? How, you know, different that would feel and how much that would change your business? I, you’re right.

It’s hard to explain it, but it is, it’s like,

Sabrina: it’s like, it keeps you sane. You know what I mean? It’s, it makes you not question every single thing constantly and get stuck in this mind game of indecision. And am I doing everything wrong? And should I just shut down my business and I’m a failure, right?

It’s, it’s, it’s just support that again, I can’t say this enough. You don’t, if you don’t have it, you don’t know what you’re missing. And the reason people say it is invaluable over and over and over again is because it’s true. So friends, if you don’t have your community, please find them. Okay. So for the listener who isn’t currently photographing seniors, and they’ve always wanted to dip their toes in, where do you encourage them to get started?

Kellie: If I was ground zero, I would look for a workshop or like, um, senior master class personally, just because when you go to those, you do several shoots, you could get your portfolio going just from that alone. You’re going to meet photographers in all different stages of their business. And it’s really.

helpful to talk to somebody that’s a few years ahead of you versus also talking to someone that’s the same as you, you learn totally different things from them. That’s where I would start is, and if you can’t go somewhere to do that, there’s a lot of online classes you can take. You don’t necessarily have to go somewhere, but it’s really helpful for your portfolio and meeting other people.

It’s worth the money. It is a huge investment. What you get back in your business. It’s just as much if not more. So it’s, and it’s hard to explain that to somebody when they’re looking at a price take of what, you know, four or 6, 000 to them to be like, Oh, you know, I can’t do that. But truly don’t you agree, Sabrina, like what you get back in your business.

Oh yeah. Those

Sabrina: in person type workshops where you’re getting to photograph, you’re getting to learn the ins and outs. They have a high price tag for a reason and it’s because they will fast track you through everything. They fast track you through neat, like building your portfolio. They fast track you through posing mistakes.

They fast track you through editing. They fast track you through pricing. Yes, you can learn all of that independently for free on YouTube and it will take you forever and you’ll make a thousand mistakes. Or you could make the investment, go to one of these things and learn it all in a weekend. Plus make friends, you know, you and I are huge.

Believers in this type of experience, obviously, like I’ve never been to a senior specific one, nor have I hosted a senior specific one, but it’s the same, whether you’re a family, senior newborn fill in the blank with whatever genre you want, they’re incredibly impactful. So that’s a great suggestion for, for getting started.

Because who doesn’t want just the fast track? Who doesn’t want to just dive in and be great at something?

Kellie: You know, like you said, it can be like crazy things. Like what CRM are you using? And they’ll say why you should use this one. And so you don’t go to the wrong one. You know, I mean, things like that, that you don’t even think of.

Sabrina: Yeah. And I think that type of experience that immersive in person experience, you really do dollar for dollar, get your investment back real fast. I mean, really, really fast. I tell, I’ve told the story on the podcast. A hundred times probably at this point, but the very first time I invested in a weekend immersive experience like that was terrifying because it was so expensive and I had never made that kind of investment before.

And that’s also the black and white line in my business. When you look back 10 years ago, there was a very distinct before and after in my editing and my client experience and my pricing and my revenue and my profit. And everything. And I got my investment back probably within 60 days of, you know, pulling the trigger and going to the event, which is incredible.

I mean, who, who doesn’t want that? So I love that suggestion to find a workshop, um, and attend that for beginners. That’s awesome. Um, if you’ve been listening and you are interested in, uh, seniors, or you’re interested in having a luxury business or potentially traveling, Kelly has two different free guides that you may want to grab.

I will have them both linked in the show notes. One of them is focused on senior posing, and the other one is about preparing for a travel session. So Kelly, do you want to tell us briefly about each

Kellie: of those? Yeah. The posing one I just put in there, like, different poses for boys and girls. Sometimes you get like, you feel like you do the same things over and over again.

And I just put in there ones that are really easy and easy to do with seniors, like movement ones and different poses. And I think there’s like. I don’t know if there’s like seven girls and seven boys ones, but it’s always nice to see that. And then I show several pictures of each just to see a little bit of variation in them.

And so that’s one of them. The second one is my travel freebie. And it talks about the apps and things I use when I go on a location because as you know, when you’re in the mountains, the sun on the sunsets, it’s not the same because you have a huge mountain to factor in. So I have the apps that I use that tell me where the light’s going to be at certain times of the day.

the ones I use to see like where to park or if there’s pictures of a location or people’s little like tidbits about like, Hey, this place is really busy, but this place is right nearby. And this is what the locals do. Things like that.

Sabrina: Yeah. Which that, so obviously both of these resources are fantastic. I mean, anytime you can get your hands on somebody’s.

So if you want to take a look at this posing guide and see some different examples, especially for those of you who are beginning with seniors. I mean, this is something you want in your back pocket for sure, while you get used to working with them, and you can have some poses with you at all times. But the travel guide is real cool because that’s not just specific to seniors, right?

This is something that if you’re going to travel with families or commercial work, brands, anything, if you are going to a location in which you have never been and or never photographed, This guide has some really cool tips and tricks inside to kind of how you prepare, which I think is just crazy valuable.

So I will have both of those linked in the show notes so the listeners can grab. But Kelly, we’re at the end of this episode and I always like to end with some just kind of fun questions so the audience can get to know you a little bit better. So the first one is what is your current favorite guilty pleasure?

Kellie: Uh, my current one is I just met with a stylist and she like got my outfits for the fall and I don’t know why, but that just makes me so happy and I learned that at a retreat at one of your retreats. It was, we were talking and I’m like, you’re doing what? And yeah.

Sabrina: Yeah. So that’s so fun because currently at time of recording listeners, I am, I have just started working with a stylist and I was going to hire the one that Kelly and the retreat conversation was around, but I wanted somebody locally.

And so I found a girl that’s local and we have just started the process. And let me tell you, Kelly, you haven’t heard this yet. Last week we had like our kickoff call, which is where she revealed like the mood board and like the vibe and all of this. And then on Friday was step two, which was her closet detox.

And then we go shopping this coming week, um, to kind of start to fill in the gap, but are you ready for this? So we went through my closet and she was like, okay, how much like, How much control do I get? And I was like, oh no, I’m hiring you. You have all control. You have all control. And so she’s taking into consideration my, my body shape, my age, my personality, my colors, all the things.

And We got rid of every single thing that doesn’t fit, is too old, hasn’t been worn, wasn’t flattering, fill in the blank, okay? If it wasn’t something that I needed going forward for this season or any season, it was gone. I, remind me to text you a photo of before and after photo. Seventeen trash bags of clothes to donation.

How long did that take you? Um, it was almost four hours. And we went, literally she brought a hanging rack and we took out all the tops first and we went through every single piece, every single item. And then we went through dresses, then we went through sweaters, then we went through pants. We even looked at outerwear.

I mean, literally everything. And. Like 80 percent of my closet is gone. It looks like a ghost town. There’s nothing in there to the point, literally Kelly, to the point. The funny thing is most of what’s left is not seasonally appropriate. It’s like summer. And when we left, I told her, I said, okay, this was on Friday.

And I said, I’m going shopping tomorrow with my daughter to get a couple of things immediately. I said, but like, what do I wear today? And what do I wear tomorrow? Like she had to like put together an outfit for me because I did. Oh my gosh. I’m going to text you a picture. So, um, a stylist. I love that. I’m currently on that journey as well.

But I told her, I said, I’ve hired you and I’m committed to the process. Like we’re doing it. So it’s kind of crazy. Kelly, what is the next vacation that you have planned?

Kellie: The next vacation is we’re going to have for spring break. We’re going to Florida, going to new Smyrna. And staying for a week. Um, typically, you know, at Christmas we go to Florida, but my kids wanted a traditional Christmas this year where I cook for two days.

Okay. So that’s what we’ll be doing, . Okay.

Sabrina: Okay. Lucky you. . But that’s fun. That’s fun that they wanna be home and I love that. I mean, I love that your kids want that. That’s gonna be amazing. Okay. I’m curious, what is something that you have up your sleeve for either later this year or next year in 2025?

Kellie: Mentorship is going to be my next big thing. I feel like I have enough knowledge and information that I could share with somebody else to make their business stronger. And I’m excited about that because as you know, I value education. Like it’s like, okay, we’re at maybe a tiny bit below travel, but for my business, travel and education are like the two biggest things that I spend money on.

And I wouldn’t want to have my business if I couldn’t do both.

Sabrina: Yeah,

Kellie: I don’t know that everybody feels that way, but I think you do. Yeah,

Sabrina: I love that. And you do have so much knowledge to give. I’m so I’m really excited for you to dive into this. I know that the listeners. Not only are you so educated, but you have so much experience and you have honed your craft so well.

You’ve just achieved some pretty incredible things. And all of that says that you are ready to be a mentor yourself. And so I’m really excited for you to dive into that and for the women that you’re going to get to coach. So that’s exciting. Um, okay, last thing, what is a business tool or a hack that you are loving right

Kellie: now?

Well, I think everybody, but I love chat GPT or Jasper or anything that’s AI to help just. I mean, it works for everything. It’s crazy. And then I guess the other one would be hiring Jaden, although just literally at the very beginning of it, but I know that yours, your, all your stuff is amazing. And so. I’m just going to jump on that train and hopefully do.

Sabrina: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For the listeners, Jayden is our content strategist and I have been working with her at gosh, at time of air, almost the entire year at this point. And she has been a game changer and I will not let her go. And she has made my life so easy in so many ways. And she was just sending me a voice memo the other day.

Yeah. And we were just talking about how well she’s learned my voice and, you know, working together with anybody that you kind of onboard onto your team, there’s trial and error, right? Like you work out the kinks and all of this, but especially when somebody is writing for you and learning your voice and how not only like your voice, but like your personality and how you share things and your stories and all of that.

And now that we’ve been working together almost a year, it is. So fine tuned, um, which has just been so fun, um, and so incredible. So I’m really excited for you to get started with her because she’s. So talented. So good at what she does. Um, listeners, I will link her in the show notes as well for you. Um, Kelly, that’s it for today.

This has been such a good chat. Thank you for your time and your expertise. And I can’t wait to get the feedback on this episode. I know it’s going to be incredible, but thanks for being here. And that’s it for today, my friends. We’ll see you next time. Thanks so much for listening to the Shoot at Straight podcast.

You can find all the full show notes and details from today’s episode@sabrinagehart.com slash podcast. Come find me and connect over on the gram at Sabrina Gehart Photography. If you’re loving the podcast, I’d be honored if you hit that subscribe button and leave me a review. Until next time, my friends shoot it straight.