In this week’s episode of Photo Fuel, I sit down with Annemie Tonken—photographer, educator, and host of the This Can’t Be That Hard podcast—for a thoughtful, no-fluff conversation about what it really takes to run a sustainable photography business in a changing world. This conversation goes beyond productivity hacks or pricing formulas, because while all those logistics are so important, they are secondary to the heart and brains of your business. So today we’re talking about things like how h...
May 19, 2025•46 min•Season 2Ep. 52
We’re now over 50 episodes into the Photo Fuel Podcast, and I’m coming to you from the messy middle with some real talk. In this episode, I’m sharing a big update on the future of the podcast and why I’m choosing to step back from weekly episodes—for now. If you’ve been tuning in regularly, you know I’m all about sustainable business practices and aligning your creative work with your actual life. In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of my own quarter-end reflection around creating educ...
Apr 14, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 51
One of the biggest questions that comes up for clients when preparing for their session is "what do I wear?" As the photographer, it's good service to help them with that! But that doesn't mean you have to become a full-on stylist, stock a client closet, or put them in a cookie cutter formula of "what looks good." Of course, full styling is an option that serves some photographers and clients very well! It's all about your goals and the type of images you're marketing. But if you want to empower...
Apr 07, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Extended family sessions can feel like a whole different ballgame compared to standard family shoots—more people, more potential, and more opinions! In this episode, I’m sharing why I actually love extended family sessions and how you can approach them with confidence and creativity. We’ll cover: Why photographing at home makes a difference and how to make it work My philosophy on pricing extended family sessions Balancing posed portraits with candid, natural moments Navigating group dynamics, i...
Mar 31, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Creating a standout brand and an unforgettable client experience is key to building a thriving photography business, and Christine has mastered both. In this episode, she shares how her bold, playful branding attracts her dream clients and how she ensures stress-free, enjoyable sessions through thoughtful preparation and communication. From detailed prep guides to surprise gifts and heartfelt follow-ups, Christine’s client experience strategies go the extra mile. In this episode she gives us all...
Mar 24, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 48
🎉 Happy One-Year Anniversary to Photo Fuel! 🎉 This week marks a full year since I launched this podcast, and I want to celebrate with a special Q&A episode! I asked my email list to send in their biggest questions—about photography, business, motherhood, and more—and wow, you guys delivered. In this candid, coffee-chat-style episode, I’m answering: 📸 How to handle tricky toddlers in family sessions 🎤 Behind the scenes of the Reset Conference 💡 My biggest accomplishment in business 📱 Ho...
Mar 17, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Around Black Friday last year, I made a big decision to switch my CRM from Sprout Studio to HoneyBook—a huge move after nearly five years with the same CRM. One of my big goals for Q1 was managing this migration myself, and in this episode, I’m sharing how it’s going so far. I’ll walk you through: ✨ Why I decided to make the switch (and why this isn’t a Sprout Studio takedown!!!) ✨ My top three favorite things about HoneyBook as a newbie user ✨ What made the transition challenging and what I’m s...
Mar 10, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 46
The client booking call—also known as a discovery call or inquiry call—is one of the most debated steps in the photography client experience. Some photographers swear by it as a way to increase bookings and build trust, while others feel it creates unnecessary barriers. So, do you really need to require a phone call before a client books? In this episode, we’re breaking down: - The pros of booking calls, including stronger client connections, simplified planning, and a high-touch experience. - T...
Mar 03, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Your client experience is more than just delivering a beautiful gallery—it’s the foundation of a thriving, relationship-driven photography business. In this episode, we break down the four key stages of client experience: Attracting, Nurturing, Serving, and Continued Connection. A solid client experience isn't necessarily about extreme high touch details or expensive gifts (it can be, but it doesn't have to - nor do those always make sense!). Whether you're starting from scratch or looking for w...
Feb 24, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 44
What happens when you have to rebuild your photography business in a brand-new location? How do you create an intentional client experience that blends your own skills and capacity with your market needs? In this episode, guest Natasha Sewell helps us explore the challenges and strategies of moving a photography business while maintaining (and improving) your client experience. Pivots can be scary and hard, but Natasha shares first hand experience with making it work, and growing even more passi...
Feb 17, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 43
In this episode, I'm tackling a controversial topic: shooting for free. When is it worth it, and how can it benefit your growth as a family photographer? I’ll share three instances where free shoots are a great move, plus, I’ll offer tips for handling free sessions with professionalism, creativity, and control (despite the free price tag). Whether you're just starting out or years into your photography career, this episode will inspire you to rethink the value of generosity and creativity. // LI...
Feb 10, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 42
This week, I'm addressing a question from the Photo Fuel Facebook group about pricing around the common concern - how do I “convey the value.” In this episode, we'll address how to structure a package so it feels good in your gut and your wallet, what to include in it and what to leave behind. I’m going to give you 3 main points to consider when thinking about your package structure and setting your pricing, no matter where you are in business. If pricing is giving you a headache and you feel to...
Feb 03, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 41
In this episode, we’re diving back into my pricing journey and picking up where we left off in Part I. Over the past decade, I’ve experimented with session structures (IPS, virtual, print credits, collections - you name it), along with team fluctuation, revised brand vision, and big mindset shifts. From beginning to scale a team, to navigating 2020, to restructuring again - and navigating having three babies through all of it - I have finally found alignment in pricing and this episode is packed...
Jan 27, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Here it is - THE PRICING TALK. Since I believe storytelling is one of the best avenues of learning, I'm broaching this with simply my experience - which, let's be honest, after 10+ years in business I've seen and tried just about everything. I'm talking —$50 sessions with CDs in plastic sleeves, IPS out of my tiny starter Hawaii apartment, every combination of session fee + collection model imaginable, and eventually moving to an all-inclusive digital model with print credit and a la carte sales...
Jan 20, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 39
In this episode, I'm kicking off a series on pricing and workflow with a short and sweet entry point around setting your mindset for this kind of work. Pricing tends to bring up a lot of fear and questioning and imposter syndrome and I believe this one question - why not? - is the key to getting out of your own way and staying dedicated to curiosity, trial and error, and building the business you're excited to run. // LINKS MENTIONED // The big picture workbook: https://www.leahoconnell.com/bigp...
Jan 13, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Happy new year and welcome to Q1 where it’s known in the family photography world as kindof a dead zone for bookings and shoots. For wedding photographers, this it usually the start of a busy season of bookings, but in our world I’ve noticed that no matter how I slice it, things tend to slow way down. If you’ve listened to the last few episodes, you’ve probably noticed it’s been heavy on the reflections and questions so I thought maybe it was time to give you a few answers. Today I'm sharing a b...
Jan 06, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Wait, this is a family photography podcast - why are you talking about journaling? Writing and photography are so intertwined - they are both practices centered around noticing. I think the best thing you can do to become more tuned-in and capable of noticing is to record and reflect, so whether that’s with a camera or a pencil, the goal is the same. Presence, depth, understanding, processing. The purpose of journaling it to build a habit of noticing, capturing, and valuing the small, mundane mo...
Dec 30, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 36
As you’re taking some time over the next month to think big and set goals and get down to business on your business, I want propose a temporary pause to think past your gut reactions about what you “need” to do and how you’re going to “get back on the horse.” Not every question is going to pull a thread for you, but the right questions just might lead you down a path of discovery that you’ve been waiting for. These 3 questions I’m going to pose to you today come straight from my Big Picture Work...
Dec 23, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 35
As we're approaching the end of the year, maybe you're looking for a good book to kick back within the new year. So today I'm sharing 5 of the most influential books that have shaped my business, art, and life. Most of them are not even classified as "business books," but somehow, they top the list of books that have shaped the way I do business, how I think, and how I aspire to grow as a person. All of those things influence how I show up with and for people, + the art I create and how I bring ...
Dec 16, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 34
It’s time to start winding down your business from 2024 and whew, that’s an exciting time right? But before you can move onto goal setting and projects, this last month of the year is a beautiful time to take the pulse of your business. It's the imperative FIRST STEP to any kind of planning for the future. Making time for this process of reflection and study of what the heck actually happened this year in your business - and it can also be really fun, too! In this episode I’m sharing my process ...
Dec 09, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 33
How do you find joy photographing your own holidays when your job is as a family photographer? How can you distinguish photographing in your regular life as fun, creative fuel vs obligation or "work?" (even if you love your work!) I hear a lot of guilt from photographers around not making photos at home “enough.” So in this episode, I want to dispel that and bring back the fun, ease the guilt, and just give a friendly reminder about the big picture. Get ready for 5 tips for photographing and hon...
Dec 02, 2024•16 min•Ep. 32
In this episode, I'm sharing a run-down of the 4 categories of investments that serve as umbrellas for all the things you *could* purchase to support your business growth. 1. Software 2. Brand 3. Gear 4. Education Each has several subcategories, too, so we'll walk through how to determine what will serve your business well AND I'll give you some recommendations to narrow down the scope. Of course, I also want to share a little more about The Homestyle Accelerator as well because I am so excited ...
Nov 25, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 31
As the person in your earbuds each week bringing you photography education and industry stories, I felt it was time to give you a little more context about my history and experience getting to this place. I don’t have a fancy background or any official qualifications or fancy job history. My business has grown slowly and humbly - but maybe that’s exactly the kind of realness you need? Failure after failure ultimately revealed something hidden and beautiful - a career that I love, that supports m...
Nov 18, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 30
You likely have passion and excitement to create beautiful photos, but have you ever found yourself working behind the computer and thinking what the heck am I doing? Am I even doing the right thing? Am I doing the things that are actually going to help? Am I completely wasting my time? Today's guest is Lydia Fine, and our conversation circles around this idea of imposter syndrome with a sprinkle of support and the value of education and mentorship. Lydia is actually a student of mine and we've ...
Nov 11, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Whether you're winding down your fall season or you're still in the thick of the season, not *everyone* experiences that "busy fall" photographers like to talk about. Maybe you're reflecting on what this fall looked like for you and instead of being filled with clients sessions, it was kind of stale. Maybe you weren't as busy this fall as you usually are, or you're just getting started and you've never had a busy fall yet. Maybe you've moved to a new city, or you're on maternity leave, or just g...
Nov 04, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Ever had a heart-stopping moment when you realize your camera is dangling too close to the ocean or you check your camera back 100 times on the way to a session because you irrationally think you forgot all your gear? Or show up to the wrong house? Or loose images from a session? As a family photographer with over 15 years of experience, I've had my share of irrational fears and horrifying experiences, too. In this episode, I'm candidly sharing not just my personal stories of mishaps and embarra...
Oct 28, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Sabrina Gebhardt is a long time photographer who’s made it her mission to coach family photographers through bettering themselves and building thriving photography businesses. Sabrina is doing all kinds of work in the education space for photographers right now, but she is also photographing families and has been for 14 years. In this episode, we talk about -the ebb and flow of business and balance -the art of hustling in a healthy way and keeping that big picture view of the whole year - the pi...
Oct 21, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Can Black Friday be about more than just superficial discounts? In today's episode, I'm talking through the complexities of Black Friday sales, especially for family photographers looking to maintain their artistic integrity and profitability. Rather than crafting a sale for your services, I want to propose some more creative thinking about how you might use this time of increased buyer attention to set yourself apart in a positive and productive way with 4 specific ideas to get you going (or wa...
Oct 14, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 25
This episode is airing originally in the fall, and because this podcast is specifically for family photographers, I’m assuming a lot of you are in your busiest part of the year. You’re travelling to a lot of shoots. Even if you don’t have a ton of work right now, every time you do go to a shoot, it feels especially important. If you are finding yourself in the dead center of tons of editing or in the car going back and forth to client’s homes, I want this episode to serve as a tool to recenter. ...
Oct 07, 2024•9 min•Ep. 24
Have you ever known you needed to make a change for your business but felt scared about what it would cost you? Have you ever resisted taking risks or making investments or choices that you knew deep down were good choices but felt scary? That’s the backstory of this episode - why I knew it was time to change my business name and how I went about making the shift after 11 years of operating and creating content on the internet under a different name. The history of my longstanding previous name ...
Sep 30, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 23
