The Beginner Photography Podcast

A Beginner's Guide to Marketing in Photography with Rachael Boer

• Raymond Hatfield

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#458 In today's episode of the podcast, I chat with family, wedding, and headshot photographer Rachael Boer, who shares how to turn your photography passion into a thriving business starts with networking, managing fear, and delivering an exceptional client experience.

THE BIG IDEAS

  • Cultivate Passion into Profit: Your enthusiasm for photography can attract clients; let your passion shine through.
  • Embrace the Butterflies: Feeling nervous signals you care about your work; use it to fuel your drive for excellence.
  • Client Experience is King: Provide memorable services that go beyond the photo, making your business unforgettable.
  • Marketing is a Relationship Game: Build genuine connections and watch your client base grow organically.

PHOTOGRAPHY ACTION PLAN

  • Build Your Portfolio: Arrange free photo sessions with friends and family to showcase your skills across a variety of subjects and settings.
  • Develop Networking Skills: Attend local networking events, such as those hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, to connect with potential clients and other professionals.
  • Overcome On-site Challenges: Practice shooting in unfamiliar environments, such as friends' homes, to become adaptable to varied lighting and space conditions.
  • Market Your Services Creatively: Start gathering business cards at events and add new contacts to your mailing list for ongoing communication about your services and special offers.
  • Invest in Self-Education: Dedicate time each week to reading books or online resources that cover both the technical aspects of photography and business operations, including marketing and sales.

Resources:

  • Rachael Boer's Website and Educational Resources: http://rachelboer.com

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Rachael Boer:

Very often when photographers think about marketing, they think about Facebook ads and Google ads. I'm not really sure why, but that is like the number one place people go, and then they stop there, and they can't think of anything else. But there are probably 120 other ways to market that don't have to do with paid ads. I would not recommend paid ads right off the bat. They're really expensive. If you don't know what you're doing and you set them up wrong, all that money is just going to go down the drain. So go with what feels natural to you. What feels good, what feels easy and what feels fun. Because if you're choosing to do things that you hate every day, you're just sabotaging your own potential.

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, welcome to the beginner photography podcast. I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield. And today we're chatting with family, wedding, head shop, photographer. Rachel Boar about how to get started marketing your business. But first, this episode is brought to you by Clouds Spot. Be way better than Google Drive solution to deliver and even sell your photos online. Grab your free Forever Clouds Spot account with 10 gigs of free photo storage over@deliverphotos.com. Many of you may remember the name, of Rachel Bore as I met up with her, to do a quick interview at Imaging USAA few months back. and after our chat, I said. I've got to get you on the show for a full interview to keep sharing because Rachel has this great way of I think being able to break down these advanced concepts, like marketing in a easy to understand way. And include, actionable steps for, for anybody to understand, but especially photographers like yourself. So today, Rachel, we'll share with you how to network the smart way, how to create a marketing budget and where that money's going to come from and how to overcome the fear and anxiety that you and even I have when, photographing clients. So with that, let's go ahead and get on into today's interview with Rachel bore. Yeah. Okay. So, Rachel, my first question for you is, when did you know that photography was first going to play an important role in your

Rachael Boer:

life? Yeah. Great question. my background is actually in music. I grew up in music. My whole family was musicians and we all went to music school and kind of thought we were going to pursue classical music. I went to Juilliard. This was like a big part of my life. And I think after being in that world for a long time, I kind of reached burnout, you know, at a certain point. And I decided I needed to take a different, I knew I wanted to do something creative that kind of still scratched that same itch, but not music necessarily, just to kind of take a break from it. And so when my first child was born, this is like the classic story, right? When my first child was born, somebody gifted me a camera and I started photographing my child. And then it kind of grew and neighbors were asking, friends were asking, can you take photos of my kids? And so it's one of those things where it just evolves out of nothing. I didn't have a business background. I had the creativity side, but I didn't have the business side. So that was something I had to learn along the way and make some painful mistakes along the way. Um, and eventually that became my favorite part of business. I love the business side. I still enjoy being creative, but, learning about, marketing and sales and pricing and psychology and all that stuff, that is so fun for me. And so then I kind of, evolved into teaching that as well to other photographers.

Raymond Hatfield:

I feel like that's the exact opposite of what most people's journey is, is that they love the creative side of it so that they get into photography and then they loathe the business side of it so that they stop doing it, or they get into photography because they know that they're good at the business or that that gets them excited. Very rarely does somebody get into it for one and then switch the other. Yeah. But let's, take a step back real quick because, music is very much a, I think in the same vein as photography. It's very creative. There are obviously technical elements to it, but you can explore things on your own. photography is also one of those things that as you continue to get into it, It's easy for some to feel burnout. So I want to link these two together. I want to know, what was it about music that you were feeling the burnout from? And two, since photography is kind of similar to music, how are you making sure that you don't feel the burnout with photography?

Rachael Boer:

yeah, you're right. That they're very similar. It's sort of like if you, and we used to have to do this in college, they would say, go to the library, pull out every recording you can of this scene. And listen to every single recording that you can back to back and you'll hear how the musicians are all taking the same exact notes, the same rhythms, but they're putting their own spin on it, their own creative phrasing and timing and dynamics. And so each piece almost sounds like a different piece, although it's the same subject, and I think with photography, it's the same thing. If you take one. Child or baby, and you give that subject to 10 photographers, they're going to shoot that same subject in such beautifully different ways with their own spin and their own perspective. And I love that. So that's, to me, they feel very similar kind of in the way the brain approaches the art, whether it's, you know, I was a violinist. So, you know, playing violin or picking up my camera. It's kind of very similar. You get to take this subject that's just standing there in front of you and turn it into something really personal and really beautiful. I was burnt out, I think, just simply by sort of overexposure. If you're going to go to that level and you're going to be at the very top of your field, you have to train. you got to practice four, six, eight hours a day, go to rehearsals another four hours a day, go to music classes for four or five more hours a day, you just run out of hours, and all you're doing during that time is, is this one subject. And so for me, I think it was simply just a matter of feeling like I wanted to explore something else, anything else, after being so heavily invested in that field. and photography was a great experience. Outlet because I could do it on my own time. I could pick up a book while my kids were sleeping or in the middle of the night. I remember sitting there nursing a baby and making my photography website at the same time. It was something I could fit into my life in a flexible way. So it wasn't I had to go out and go back to college and get another job in corporate America where I'd be gone 95. I could fit it in around my other priorities in a really comfortable way. And then over time, it sort of grew into the main thing. But, Yeah, I think burnout in photography also is a risk for all of us. And I think the deeper we get into it, the more we do risk that. I had reached that point with weddings several years ago where I was doing a lot of weddings and they're very exhausting. They really are. I'm getting older. Like it's not as easy as it used to be to stay up till 1 a. m. at somebody's reception at some hotel downtown and then drag myself home. Right. So. I was having to find creative ways to stay fresh with weddings and after a while decided, you know, I'm going to focus more on the portraits and the headshot side of things because that's something that's a little bit lighter, for me, a little bit easier to do, still fulfilling, just less hours. So that has helped with the burnout on my part. That

Raymond Hatfield:

makes sense. Yeah. And I think again, as you said, to me, it sounds like finding a way for it to fit into your life is extremely important rather than making it all consuming because, Anything all consuming is, it's easy to get burnt out, for sure. When you first got that camera, you're photographing your child, you're reading these books in the middle of the night, I'm sure that you have the brain coming from this musical background, to understand the technical side of it, but there's still very different technical aspects. Was there anything specifically that you struggled with within learning photography that, was difficult for you?

Rachael Boer:

Yeah, absolutely. I remember my very first book about photography was Brian Peterson's Understanding Exposure, which is still a great book, and I recommend it to anybody who's starting. It's a really beautiful picture book, so you can enjoy the visuals and the examples in there, but also he really breaks it down and there's, okay, let's learn about shutter speed. Okay, let's learn about aperture and, ISO, putting all these things together. How does that triangle work? And, you know, I remember the first time I was working my way through that book. I think it was like Christmas vacation. We were at my relative's house and I was sitting on the floor just going. What? Wait, what? Wait, okay, what? And I just didn't understand the technical aspects, so if I go up a stop with my aperture, I have to, what now? It was really hard kind of trying to learn just from a book, and back then, I'm gonna make myself sound older than I am, the internet wasn't as much a thing where like, I didn't think, oh let me go watch a video on that, that'll make it easier. it wasn't as accessible as it is now to get education that way, so I was like, I'm just gonna go really slowly through this book, line by line by line, work with my camera. And try to figure this out. And by the time I got to the end of that book, I did have a really good grasp on how to shoot in manual. And, I use those skills every single day, but there was definitely a learning curve. I'm not good at math. And so I feel like some musicians are good at math. I am not. So anything involving numbers and ratios and all that, kind of tripped me up at first, but once you get the hang of it, like anything else, it gets easier. So, um, thankfully that learning curve wasn't too, too long. You hit it again when you try to learn lighting, if you try to learn off camera flash or anything like that. You're right back in there going, wait, what, what? And then, you can get there. But yeah, that process is always, it's fun and not fun at the same time. Stretching, but a little frustrating. It's

Raymond Hatfield:

fun and not fun at the same time. Well, I don't think a truer statement has ever been made about photography. Yeah, absolutely. Especially when you're trying to learn. you're reading this book, and for all intents and purposes, this is a master photographer who is teaching you how to use your camera, and it's still confusing as you go through and read it. how do you get over that? How do you get over the not understanding the text that's on the book to get to where you are today?

Rachael Boer:

as I was working my way through that book, I remember I said, I'm literally just going to read one sentence and I'm not going to move to the next one until I understand the last one. I was really determined to just slow down, take my time, there was no rush, I was, no one was waiting on me to finish this, it was something I wanted to do. so I really, really took my time going through each exercise in the book. He also gives you, I think, exercises for practicing, different shutter speeds and adjusting your aperture and things like that. So I pulled out, an apple and put it on the kitchen table and I practiced shooting it wide open and stopping down and seeing what effect that had on the photo. And, you know, I really just took my time with it. so I do feel like it's solidified and cemented those concepts. Because if I just read about something and walk away, I'll forget it. But if I read it and then I go practice it, it will stick. So for me, I think that was really the process of just unpacking it piece by piece and working on it a little at a time, you know, and not, not trying to rush through it. And

Raymond Hatfield:

actually doing it. That's the part that I think people gloss over. They're like, I'll watch this YouTube video. I'll read this book. I'll subscribe to this newsletter. I'll take this course. But then, months later, why do I still not understand photography? It's because you're not actually doing it. So that is, great. I appreciate you sharing that. So how did we turn from, I got this camera, I'm frustrated, but I'm starting to figure it out. I'm taking these photos of my kids to starting a business. Tell me about that progression. Specifically, I want to know about like your first client that you didn't know, right? were you nervous? and how did it turn out?

Rachael Boer:

Yeah, that's a great question. I haven't thought that far back in a little while. So that's fun. so yeah, I was taking photos of my own children first. I had, one or two babies at this point, they were young. And talk about practicing, on your family. If I go back and look at a lot of the photos of my first two babies, they're terrible photos, terrible, because I was in, I was insistent. I'm going to only shoot in manual. I won't, I'm not, I didn't want to learn. Not that those things are bad, but I was just determined I'm going to only shoot manual forever. And so there's these photos of my son on the bed and it's like dark and grainy and blurry. Like I made all the mistakes all at once in this one photo, right? so, you know, they weren't all winners, but I'd occasionally get a great shot. And I was like, Yes, you know, I felt it was like really exciting when once in a while, all the stars align, you do everything right in that photo and you get something beautiful. So it was worth it, to make all those mistakes to learn. And then I was just photographing friends and family for a little while I think church friends or neighbors or like my sister would ask, hey, can you take photos of my kids. So that gave me some free practice without any pressure. I definitely valued that time because I made a lot of mistakes on those as well. But I always thought if I leave a session with. my nephew and let's say I bombed 90 percent of the shots, but I got them 10 beautiful shots. I'll be happy. They'll be happy. I've learned a lot and I can go home and figure out what did I do wrong? Oh, my ISO was too high here. Oh, my shutter speed was too low. Everybody's blurry. And so then I can avoid those mistakes next time. So I really wanted to practice before I ever considered. Taking a paying client and, you know, it's my sister who actually told me, I credit her for this whole business. Cause she said, you know, you should start a business. I literally hadn't even thought about it. I was just having fun, like, yeah, people would pay you for this. And honestly, I wasn't probably ready at that time that she said it, I still had so much to learn, but she gave me the confidence to start thinking about it. And then I sort of dove into that subject. Just like I had. So I went to the library and I checked out every book in the business section about starting a business and I read all those books. And then I went to Barnes Noble. I remember sitting on the floor of Barnes Noble just reading through the entire business section. I went to the library down the way. And I just gathered as much information as I could again, the old fashioned way, just reading and started to apply that to my own photography. And so my business slowly, started, taking off. And I think my very first client, if I'm remembering right, I can't remember which one was number one and number two here, but I'm remembering right. It was a family who had had a newborn baby and they had a two year old. That combination has become, I don't know if it's my nemesis or my signature over the years. It seems like every client I have has a newborn and a two year old. I don't know why, but that combo can be tricky because parents want to focus on the new baby. But also they have this two year old who's probably going through a lot of emotions of being dethroned from their only child role. So there can be some big feelings and then the parents want the photos of them together in this beautiful, idyllic scene. And that can be hard to get, right? Two year olds are not always the most cooperative. And it seemed like, when that first client came in, it was setting the stage for what I'd be doing a lot of. and, I just remember feeling totally out of my depth. It's so nervous going into that home. I mean, I went to their home for the session, terrified. Cause I didn't know what kind of lighting I was going to find. I wasn't using off camera lights yet. So it was like, whatever I find is what I'm going to have to make work. And there's a lot of pressure there. Obviously it went well enough that I kept going. So, you know, nothing catastrophic happened there, but yeah, I just remember the fear walking into that first session going, okay, this is it. They're paying me. I have to produce something good here, and I think that pressure sort of fuels me too. So it's probably a good thing in the long run. Ah,

Raymond Hatfield:

Would you still feel, I don't know, how many weddings would you estimate that you've shot?

Rachael Boer:

Oh, I don't know. I'm not one of those massively high volume people. I'm, oh, 100, 150.

Raymond Hatfield:

In that time, did you find that, you would still show up to weddings and get butterflies?

Rachael Boer:

Oh, 100%. Not just butterflies. Like, I would always feel like I was going to throw up on a wedding morning.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay, yes. that fear, and this is something that I've been trying to figure out lately, is that the fear of the unknown? Is it the fear of doing a bad job? Is it the fear of something else? what do you think that feeling

Rachael Boer:

is? Probably both of those things. It's the unknown, especially if you're an on location photographer and you've never been to that location before, you don't know what you're going to have to work with lighting, backgrounds, space, that's stressful. And then I think, yeah, fear of letting the client down. You know, we have this, whether it's a newborn or a wedding, it sort of doesn't matter a headshot, anything, When people show up, they're putting themselves in a very vulnerable situation in front of your camera. It's a little uncomfortable for them a lot of times, and they're putting a lot of trust in you. It's very personal. yeah, there's certainly weight on your shoulders to get it right and to do a good job. You don't want to have to. reshoot and some things you can't reshoot like a wedding. So that's the pressure for sure. particularly for events like that, that are once in a lifetime, you got to get it right. You got to get it right the first

Raymond Hatfield:

time. And it's so funny. Cause it's like, we know how to use the camera and like you gain enough skill, you know how to use light, you know how to either find it or, use it artificially and still you show up. And cause I feel that way too. And I think to myself, Oh my gosh, like, what is going to happen today? Like, I don't know. And I know that I could get through it. And at the end of every single wedding day, just about every wedding day, I thought to myself, I got it. Like, we're good. Yeah. And trying to figure out what is that inside? And, maybe that's a bigger question for this pod than, than for this

Rachael Boer:

pod. Oh, but I think it's good. Cause I think if you don't have that fear, it means you don't care anymore. You don't really care about your clients and you're not going to bring your best work. You're just showing up. and I think that fear is what, like I said, it propels us to do a better job. If I wasn't worried about missing something, I might miss something, you know? And so I think we need that little bit of anxiety to be a little on edge because it keeps us sharp and it makes us, okay, double check, triple check. Do I have this? Do I have that? did I get my settings right here before I start shooting? I see that anxiety as a welcome thing, although it doesn't feel very welcome. Yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

it's not a welcomed emotion, but it's a welcome. Yeah, of course. Now I understand. I think what I was trying to get out there is that, a lot of, photographers who are listening right now are probably at that stage where you are when your sister said, Hey, maybe you can start charging for this. And they think to themselves, like, I don't have the skill for this. I don't know. And just the thought of it gives me anxiety right now. so to hear from you that even after years of shooting, you can still have that feeling and confidently be able to capture, what a client needs. So then what's that first step? When do we know that we are ready? To take a, our first client.

Rachael Boer:

That's a great question. and I don't want to, you know, this is such an important question. I don't want to steer anyone wrong by saying this, but I'll say it, I think it depends a little bit on what type of work you want to take on. Because like I said, for things that are once in a lifetime, if you're going to do a wedding or you're going to do an event that is, you get one shot at this and literally you cannot redo it, the pressure is greater and therefore I think the expectation has to be greater that you are. 100 percent ready, before you dive in there. I don't want to see someone being like, you know, I'm thinking of taking my first wedding. I don't really have my exposure figured out, but I'm sure I'll figure it out by then. You know what I mean? You want to be like, absolutely. I got this rain or shine light or no light. I can make it work. Right. If you're doing something like families in the park, let's say, or pets or something where, you know, if you do make a mistake because you are new and you will make mistakes, but if it's a big enough mistake, you can say, Hey, My bad, I'm brand new. I messed up something. can we go back out and shoot again tomorrow? You know, that's going to be okay. That'll work. You can't do that at a wedding. So I think how ready you need to be does depend a little bit on what you want to take. Not that I think you should give families, a bad job either, cause obviously you do want to be prepared no matter who the client is. But like I said, there's just a little more grace and a little more forgiveness in some areas than others. Right. I hope that's not like, Not, you know, if it's okay to say not too controversial. but that's how I would feel about it. And how do you know you're ready? I think one thing to remember is you'll probably never feel ready. Like I said, that anxiety is pretty real for most of us, and it doesn't always serve us, although sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. It keeps us held back from what we really could be capable of doing. I think it's really good to have some kind of mentor in the photography space, somebody who's been doing it longer, who's better than you, who's more experienced than you. Who can speak into your life and say, yeah, you know what? You are ready. I've seen your work. I've seen you shoot, you've helped me with some shoots. I see that you're very capable and confident. You've got this. Or to have someone say, you know, you're getting there. You're not quite there yet. You need to work on your composition. You're, lighting's a little off. Who can give me like some feedback? Cause I think it's hard to judge yourself if you're ready or not. Isn't that, isn't it hard to tell like, Where you are at with your skills,

Raymond Hatfield:

you know, for me today. Yes, very much. Let's see. When is this gonna come out? This is gonna come out April 16th. Okay, so great this is gonna be hard to talk about because when this comes out it's in the past But from now it's in the future With the eclipse coming up, it's coming like directly over Indie. And I've had this idea in my head of the downtown skyline with the eclipse like directly above it. And I was like, that'd be a great photo. And I've been doing like all this, this math, which is not my strong suit. And I went out to, try to find the right spot, And I had this like augmented reality app and I found that, oh my gosh, like, it, the eclipse is going to be much higher in the sky than I imagined that it would and, Indy's rather flat. So it's like, in my head, I thought, before setting all this up, I know how to use my camera. I know how to use filters. I can set this up. I got this. But it wasn't until I actually went out there that I thought, Oh my gosh, like I am way over my head here and figuring all this out. So yeah, I mean, still today I definitely go through that. so getting back to, some listeners here, because getting into the business is a very difficult thing. To do, and you had mentioned there that, some late nights you were staying up while you were nursing and we're building your own website, right? We know that we got to get out there. We know that we have to get our name out there. That is, we know that people have to know about us. how do you start? To get there because that's maybe this is more of a mental, shift episode, but still like having that thought into your head of like, am I ready? Am I not ready? But I'm putting myself out there to be hired, which kind of implies that I'm ready. And people don't want to hire somebody who's not an expert, but I'm not an expert. And it's all these things. So. I apologize. That's a very, that's very much a thing. It is. It is. But is there anything that you have to say to that to try to make people feel better about that decision? I think I

Rachael Boer:

do. I think imposter syndrome is something we're all very keenly aware of. And even those of us who've been in this field for a long time probably still experience that. Like, well, who am I? Why would they come to me? I'm not a very good photographer compared to anybody else here. we all feel like that no matter how advanced we are. I think first of all, just knowing that that feeling will always just coexist with us as artists is sort of a helpful thing. We can learn to live alongside it, right? And I think as you're getting started, probably to this point, if you're thinking of starting a business, you have photographed lots of people by now, or lots of animals, or lots of whatever it is that you're going to be photographing. And likely you've been getting feedback along the way from those people, whether it's friends and family or neighbors or whoever you've been photographing, like in my case, lots of friends and family from church, they gave me feedback. Oh my gosh, Rachel, these pictures are so beautiful. Oh, these are such a treasure. I'm so happy to have these. And so I feel like, if you can take that feedback and that, joy that you bring to clients and you can pocket Those messages away, and maybe even keep them in a folder. You know, anytime someone writes you in a kind note or set gushes in an email or, it leaves you a testimonial or whatever it is, keep that, save that, put it in a folder because on the low days, you're going to want to read those things again, you're going to want a reminder of like, why do we do this? Especially if I'm feeling like an imposter that day, let me go back and read 20 notes from people who were so grateful and blessed and thankful to have your photography work. Right. And then I think you could take that into the business side of things and say, Hey, I have brought people joy. I've helped people. they're telling me this is valuable service. They're telling me I've brought value to their lives. Why do I want to deprive the rest of my community of that joy and that value? I'm going to go ahead and do this for them. I'm going to bring them the same joy and value. and it really, if you can make it about sort of what you can give to people, what you could bring to them, how much you can maximize their joy and delight, right? And it's not about the money. It is about the money, but it's not about the money. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, of course. Yeah. You need money to be able to keep going and to be able to obviously pay your expenses and feed your family. We're all worth a good wage, but if you keep your focus, I think on what you're bringing to the client, it just helps make all of us easier. It's easier to market. It's easier to talk about yourself. It's easier to spread the word about your business because you know, you're going to be bringing people something really valuable. You're not cheating them. You're not tricking them. You're not. Opening up their wallet and forcing them to give you money at gunpoint. they want to be here. They want what you have to offer. So I see it as kind of offering them an opportunity to enjoy my work and to have my work in their home. and it ends up being a win win because they pay me and I'm happy. They're happy. We're all happy, right?

Raymond Hatfield:

I really hope that listeners like go back and listen to what you just said there because what I took away I think would have really helped me when I had first got started because I was very technically focused, right? If I can deliver technically good photo, they're going to love it, which as we know, is not necessarily the case. but if I came at it in the sense of like, I can help you feel comfortable in front of the camera. I can make you feel like the camera's not there and still get great, portraits of you and your new spouse on your wedding day. that's delivering a service, right? It's not the product that you're delivering. It's that service. And there are going to be people who want that. They don't necessarily want, technically the best photos in the world. They just want to feel comfortable on their wedding day. And that's a service that you can definitely deliver regard Well, I don't want to say regardless of your, knowledge of a camera. But, with A certain amount of knowledge with your camera. that is a great tip there. And, I really appreciate you sharing that. So let's move now into the marketing side, because I know that this is an area that you really enjoy. You said that you love the business side and figuring out all the marketing stuff. One of the questions that I get asked a lot, and honestly I struggle with myself, is that there's so many places where we can be, and there's so many things that we can do from SEO and networking and, just cold outreach, social media, so, so, so many things, so many places. I know that we can be everywhere, but help me make sense of how to figure out where we should.

Rachael Boer:

Yes. Yes, you're thinking specifically maybe when you're starting out in business. Yeah, that'd be the target time Okay, because yeah, I think it will shift over time. I mean if you get to the point You're running a, you got two or three studios, you got associate photographers, you got a huge budget. I mean, it's gonna look very different than like, hey, I have my camera and me, that's all I got. So yeah, if we focus in on that starting off time, I think a couple of universal things are gonna be true. You probably don't have a huge budget for marketing yet. I do recommend that you take at least 5 percent of every dollar you make and set it aside and do a little marketing fund for yourself. I think PPA, the Professional Photographers of America, they have sort of these benchmarks. And I was just going back and double checking and I think they recommend 5 percent minimum marketing budget, annually. So, starting to build a little fund for that so that when an opportunity does arise, You have some money set aside and you can go ahead and take advantage of that opportunity. a lot of people want to spend as little as possible on marketing. If you ask them like, well, what's your marketing budget? They're like, Oh, I don't really have a budget. I just, you know, try not to spend too, you know, but if we can say, Hey, 5 percent of every dollar is set aside for marketing, it kind of changes your mindset. Like, Oh, what do I want to do with that money? Oh, I'm watching that money grow. Oh, I'm up to 250. What could I do for 250 that would spread the word the best in my community? So it helps you to think a little more creatively if there's like an actual dollar amount sitting there looking at you It helps you to prioritize marketing and then I do think there are so many things you can do for marketing That don't cost anything. And when you're starting out, I would absolutely focus on all of those. Very often when photographers think about marketing, they think about Facebook ads and Google ads. I'm not really sure why, but that is like the number one place people go. And then they stop there and they can't think of anything else, but there are probably 120 other ways to market that don't have to do with paid ads. I would not recommend paid ads right off the bat. They're really expensive. If you don't know what you're doing and you set them up wrong, all that money is just going to go down the drain. So I'd recommend starting with the things that are more natural. and you want to work with your strengths. That's another piece of this puzzle. So we're all very different, right? Temperament wise. I'm really extroverted. I love networking events. I love big groups. I love going to the Chamber of Commerce and walking into a networking meeting, knowing nobody. I don't know why, but that's just, It's so exciting to me. That's my nightmare. Like your nightmare? Total

Raymond Hatfield:

nightmare. Yeah. Sounds horrible.

Rachael Boer:

Yes. Other people would rather like rip their toenails out than do that. So you don't have to fight against that. If you know that that's not your jam, that's not where you're going to be spending your time and your money and energy. You're going to be doing other things, maybe like blogging, building a really great photography blog on your website full of really great articles that are stuffed with really good keywords that are going to attract people to your site. And you don't have to leave the house. and that doesn't cost anything either. So there are lots of choices we can make about how to market. And I would go with what feels natural to you, what feels good, what feels easy, and what feels fun. Because if you're choosing to do things that you hate every day, you're just sabotaging your own potential. One reason we run our own business is we want freedom. We want to be able to make our own choices. So why? Make yourself do things that you hate. Um, and so, I think if we can creatively work with our strengths rather than against them, that's another thing that really helps as you're getting started. Later on when you have the budget for it, you can outsource all the things that you hate. That's also a great option.

Raymond Hatfield:

Is like going to Chamber of Commerce meetings, going to networking events, you got started?

Rachael Boer:

Yeah, I will say probably if I could narrow my success down to one thing, one strategy, it would just be building relationships and connections where I live, in my community. And I've always been comfortable with that. I enjoy that. And so that's, that's my go to. I have always been a part of the Chamber of Commerce. I will go to other networking events. Like there'll be women in networking nights, or, in fact, I have one tomorrow. It's a, Local networking event and it's just professionals from all walks of life getting together for some hors d'oeuvres and wine and we just mingle and we share business cards and we just talk and you never know. That's what's fun about it for me. You never know who you're going to run into that might be an amazing connection for you or for them. I mean, I've met plenty of people that I've ended up hiring for myself or recommended to a friend. we're all helping each other and it's this great, feeling to kind of, You're building another business up. They're recommending people to you and they're building your business. and you're sharing just ideas and, kind of brainstorming together with them. So networking would be my number one go to if I don't have a ton of money, but I want to get started finding those free networking events around town. And if there aren't any, make your own, you know, if you're an extrovert, you love it. Set up taco Tuesday and be like, hey, let's do a networking taco Tuesday at this restaurant and just put it out there on Facebook Say anybody can come bring business cards. Let's network people will show up people want this and a lot of people like me Enjoy it so you can always create your own thing. If you can't find something

Raymond Hatfield:

always up for a good talker Tuesday, right? So just to clarify going to these networking events. Are you trying to build relationships with other? Vendors at that time or just meeting other potential customers?

Rachael Boer:

Anybody, anybody, because I feel like everybody at that event, whatever event it is, everybody is either my ideal client or they know someone who is right. And I'm not typically trying to sell directly to people at a networking event. That can feel kind of sleazy. I'd be annoyed if they were doing it to me, like, Hey. Do you need your gutters cleaned? You know, I'd be like, okay, back off, buddy, you know, but I think if you can approach it with just sharing excitedly a little bit about what you do. One tip I have is I bring an album to these networking events. I'll create a little eight by eight album and it'll be, not just one family session. It'll be more like a portfolio because it has all different kinds of images that I've taken. So there's some newborns and some seniors and some weddings or whatever. So I can show off the breadth of my work. And then if people say, so what do you do? You're a photographer. And then I'll just pull the album out of my bag. This is what I do. It makes it easier because then they're looking at something tangible, it's a nice, thick, sturdy album. It feels good. It looks good. And as I'm talking about what I do and sharing my excitement and my passion, they're seeing that I actually know what I'm doing. You know, Oh, this work is really pretty. Oh, this is great. They start thinking, Oh, you know, my daughter just had a baby. Maybe do you do gift certificates? You know, and they start thinking like. How could I, get in on this? or, Hey, you know, some of my clients have mentioned to me, let's say they do interior design, right? Some of my clients have mentioned to me, they have these big empty walls and they want art, but they want something local or they want something custom of their family. Do you do that? Or, you know, you just never know where the conversation is going to go next. And that's kind of the

Raymond Hatfield:

fun part. That is the fun part. So, Did you go into these knowing that you wanted to get into, weddings or did you go into them thinking I'll shoot whatever and then you developed your priority out of the fact?

Rachael Boer:

Yeah, I went in knowing, went into photography knowing I wanted to photograph people. I was not interested in anything but people. So I really, I never take a landscape image. I don't take a food or architecture image. Street photography is not my thing. Pets, I don't even like pets. I will shoot generally any human subject I'm good with. and so knowing that that was just what I was most interested in, It became portraits and weddings just naturally evolved from that. And over time, like I said, as I've stepped back a little bit more from weddings, I'll do the occasional wedding, but I don't want to focus on it. I've got five kids now and my Saturdays are very busy. I don't have time to, you know, 14 hours at a wedding. So it's moved more into headshots and portraits. That's work that can be done during the day while my kids are in school. So again, that flexibility of this career where you can just take it wherever. You want to at any time. That's one thing I really love about it. Of course.

Raymond Hatfield:

so let's maybe, help me brainstorm here. Let's come up with an idea for listeners right now. So I want to take your idea of this, little eight by eight album, right? Where you, had different things that you photographed. Like, let's figure out how, how do we start building this? do we just start taking like every session? Are we taking our favorite photo? And. Yeah.

Rachael Boer:

I love that idea. I think in this album, you want to have, your best work. I would rather that you choose fewer images that are really, really your best work, really stunning than to have an album that's big, but full of like. That's so stunning images, right? So less is more. so even if the album is only 10, 10 spreads, let's say, and on each page, you have one or two photos. you could get that album done with 20 images and you're good to go. So I think choose your best. I like to say, don't repeat the same face. In the album, so make sure you're showing variety because if you show me an album and it's really only the same two people over and over again, I'm going to start to think you've only photographed two people. and maybe you have at this point, that's okay, but how can you go out and get some more models? And it might be asking friends, asking family, asking the dog walker that you see go by your house every day. Hey, I'm looking to build my portfolio. I'm a new photographer. Do you know of anybody that would be willing to do a 30 minute session for me? And, in exchange, they get some images and I get something to add to my portfolio. So there's no shame in, kind of building up that portfolio for free at the beginning. Yeah. just cause you need to have something to show for anyone to trust you to hire you.

Raymond Hatfield:

Of course. When I had first moved out to Indiana, I had to take photos that I took of my buddy's wedding, like at his wedding, and put that into my website just to show that, like, I've been to a wedding before, I promise, you know, like, here are some photos. so, let's just make it easy, we'll say ten spreads, right? Sure. so in the beginning, this can be multiple different genres, this can be families, babies, weddings, portraits, headshots, all these things. And then, if we have an area in which we're lacking, we reach out to friends, family, anybody who we know. They don't have to be an actual paid client. We can just ask them to get in front of the camera.

Rachael Boer:

Absolutely. Okay. And I would do that to this day. You know, there's a real stigma against shooting for free, especially once you get more established. Sure. Never shoot for free. But I think there's Very good reasons to shoot for free sometimes. And for me, if I was trying to build a new area of my portfolio, if I decided, you know what, I do want to work with pets, but I have zero pets in my portfolio. I'd probably be reaching out to everybody I know that has a dog and say, Hey, come on over, you know, and that would just be done strategically to build this. You can't really sell what you don't show. You can't say, Oh, I do maternity and babies, but then only show me architecture. I'm not going to believe you, and I'm not going to trust you. So I think we have to have something to show that we're proud of. before we can get started.

Raymond Hatfield:

You're right. There is stigma about shooting for free. And I am of the same mind of you as, as like, if you got something that you want, but you don't have any of the photos, like just go get it any way that you need to. And if that's free, that's absolutely fine. Okay. so, we're building this album, maybe it's got families, it's got weddings, it's got some headshots in it when we go to these events. Are we trying to show this book to as many people as possible, or only if it comes up? Like, kind of walk me through this networking thing, because this is not an area where I excel at as much as, as well as you do. Yeah, yeah.

Rachael Boer:

No, and that's okay. I think the real key, there's two keys. One, you don't want to come off. Slimy and pushy. No, yeah you i'm sure you are not slimy and pushy too. You don't want to come off like you're not confident either So if someone does ask you or you're wearing a name tag that says photographer right or something if someone says Oh, so you do photography? You do want to have something ready to share or ready to say that you've practiced and you've rehearsed so you feel comfortable So being able to describe, yeah, i'm a photographer. I've got a studio downtown or maybe You I've got a home studio, whatever, whatever it is. and I focus on photographing families and babies, and I love providing my clients with like tangible art like this and I'll, I'll show them the album and I'll say, you know, everybody these days has 40, 000 digital images on their phone. But when's the last time you actually went back and looked at any of them? Those images are all basically lost the minute that we take them. But if you can print something beautiful for you to keep from this experience, that album is going to last for, it's going to last longer than you and me. your kids are going to love that. Your grandkids are going to love that. That's what I love providing for my clients. So it's like a little elevator pitch, but it's very conversational and very natural, and they're holding the product at that moment. So it really brings home what I'm saying. So I think coming off as excited and confident about what you do without sidling up to somebody and being like, Hey, you need some portraits. you want to show interest in others as well. And people will reciprocate that to you. And then when they do be ready, that's what I would say. That was great.

Raymond Hatfield:

how important are our business cards? How important are, I know this is like the minutiae, but like,

Rachael Boer:

you've got to have some way for people to, find you after the event. So I've been a business card. Yeah, it's old, old school, but it works. People do the fancy ones where it's like, here, tap your phone on my phone and this digital thing will pop up. That's fine. If you want to go techie, that's totally fine. And, um, I think the key is not giving away business cards. It's getting business cards because you can give them away all day But there's no guarantee that that's not going to get lost in the bottom of a bag Dropped in the trash dropped on the floor and then that person has no you don't have control anymore of that interaction But if I can get their business card, in fact I just did a networking event about a week and a half ago, and I collected about 45 business cards, and I kept them all in a little, little box, and immediately when I got home from the event, I sat down and I put them all into a spreadsheet, so I have all that information, and I made notes about the ones I could remember. You know, oh, mentioned that they might want a family portrait, mentioned they need a headshot, right? So I put those in, and those are the people I'm going to reach out to and call first, because they implied they might want my services. Some of them don't need my services right now, but you know, it's a great connection to have. So I'm going to keep that list and I also always ask people if, they'd be okay going on my mailing list. So then I'm able to send them out emails and updates about my studio, Hey, you know, I'm now looking, for a headshot marathon coming up or whatever it is. And that's just a way that I can then be in control of like sort of staying in touch with those contacts. So I think it's about collecting cards more than it is about giving them out. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

you're absolutely right. And, and being able to take control of that communication seems much more, proactive than trying to give away as many cards as you can and just hope for the best.

Rachael Boer:

Yeah. People are busy, you know, you can't blame them, but

Raymond Hatfield:

yeah. You got to make yourself busy trying to get those people in front of your camera. Okay. I get it. That's good. So, what about we talked about getting some clients, let's kind of talk about like that, marketing 201 there, and maybe talk about marketing, after we've had some clients, so either marketing to past clients, or using our list, you know, you mentioned the email list there, what are some ways in which we can use our clients to get them back in front of the camera?

Rachael Boer:

That's a really great question. marketing is a little bit like a snowball, so it can be hard at the beginning to get the momentum to get that snowball rolling down the hill, but once it starts rolling, it's picking up more snow all by itself and it's getting bigger and bigger all by itself and you don't have to exert very much force at all. And I think that's how it is with marketing. A lot of the stuff that we talk about doing, whether it's, sending out emails, or doing your social media, or blogging, or all of those things that we can be doing, networking, all that. It can be hard at the beginning, because you can be like, well, okay, I did it, and nothing came out of it, you know? and it can be hard to make yourself go back for that next push. But if you just keep pushing that snowball, maybe from as many angles as you can, It will start to pick up speed because for each client that you work with, they have a network of friends and family who are going to see those images. I love selling tangible artwork. For one thing, it becomes a marketing tool in their hands. They're taking that album to work. I can't tell you how many times a client has said, Oh yeah, I reached out to you because Sandra at work brought in her newborn album to the office and we were all oohing and aahing over it and I had to reach out to you. So Sandra becomes my marketing. assistant, and she's out there spreading the good word about me. I had somebody, it was a UPS worker actually, who contacted me and said, I was delivering a package to a family. And when they opened the door, their family portrait was right in the entryway. And I asked them who did it. So you never know who's going to see your work and inquire about it. And so that's where that snowball effect came in. I didn't necessarily have access to those. additional people, but my clients did, right? So the more clients we photograph, the more that snowball will kind of roll. Not that you can ever fully give up, but it gets easier. It gets easier.

Raymond Hatfield:

Are you providing some sort of incentive? Are you asking your clients to share your name? Cause that can be a hard thing too, to ask for help. it almost can feel like a weakness, right? I don't have enough. Clients, can you help me get clients is, I guess that's how I always internalized it, but like, do you do any sort of, like, print credits, or I've seen other photographers do that, do you do anything like that to encourage your clients to share?

Rachael Boer:

That's a great question, and I think that, that mindset shift is a, it's, an important question, I don't see it as a, as a feeling of weakness. If I say to a client, Hey, I'm thrilled you guys are happy. I love how these turned out too. Thank you so much for the privilege of doing these. my business relies on word of mouth, so if you know of anybody else who might love portraits like this, would you let them know about me? That feels very much, it's very natural in the flow of conversation. Yeah, and it feels like I'm just saying, Hey, I'm glad you're happy. Is there anyone else that you know that wants to be this happy? You know, um, get that. And I think people understand that they know small business. They know that we're all working hard to get clients and that each one, is a cost, to our business. And so they're usually more than happy to spread the word and to help out. Now I don't do an official referral program right now. I do send people a little thank you card and some kind of little gift in the mail. If they refer someone to me, So if, a new client comes in and I'll say, can you tell me how you heard about me? And they say, Oh, the Smith family, they're my neighbors. They said, I have to come over here for family portraits. I will then send the Smith family a little handwritten. Thank you. No, thank you so much for recommending me to your neighbors. That means a ton. here's a little gift to say thank you. And in there I'll put, usually it's a gift card. Cause that's easy to mail just a little gift card to say thank you. And I will either give them a gift card to somewhere that I know that they like. If I've been in their home, I've scoped around like, Hmm, where are their furnishings from? Where are their kids clothes from? Like, I'm kind of being a little bit of a sleuth. Not in a creepy way, but just noticing where they shop. Or if they mention, online, they might say, We're going to our favorite brunch spot today, right? Then I'm like, Oh, that's their favorite brunch spot. So I'll send them a gift card to that place. And it just feels like more personal, I think, than a print credit would, you know? And I want it to really feel like, Something unique and special and customized to them, which, a free 8x10 doesn't have that feel. So for me, I would go the handwritten card and smuggled card

Raymond Hatfield:

route. Yeah. We are coming to the end of our time here. And I know that you are, like, you have the experience, right? You've been in business for a long time. You've done this. If you had to tell the Rachel who her sister just said, maybe you should start this business, right? Yeah. If you had to tell her one thing, what would that be?

Rachael Boer:

That's a great question. the voice inside your head will always say, but there are better photographers out there than me. Why would they come to me? There are better photographers out there, and that will probably constantly play on a loop. And that may be true. There probably are better photographers out there than me and you in our city, right? Why would they come to me? Because I can provide them with an experience. and I can give them a feeling that they can't get with anyone else. Maybe I'm delusional in saying that, but, but I really believe strongly in the quality of the experience that I can give people. that is the top of my list of what's important. Image quality is important, but it's not as important. What's important is how they feel throughout and about the whole interaction. So when they, Go away and they're done and they paid their final invoice and we go our separate ways. I want them to think back on that entire experience with warm, fuzzy, happy memories. I want them to feel really great about their choice and I want them to be excited to share it with other people. If I've done that. My business will be okay because that is something that not everybody is focused on providing. Not everybody can provide. And that's something that is going to spur my business on to the next level and the next level and the next level. Because especially in this day and age, people want to feel connected and cared about. They want to feel like Someone took the time to really see them and to really work with them and give them exactly what they want, nothing more, nothing less, and to make them happy. And if I do that, it's all going to come out in the wash. It's all going to work out in the end. So I just try to keep my focus on client experience. And the rest will fall into place.

Raymond Hatfield:

Perfect. That is wonderful. Rachel, now that we are at the end of our time here, I know that listeners are thinking to themselves, this all sounds great. She obviously knows what she's talking about. Where can listeners find out more about you, your photography, and what it is that you do for photographers online?

Rachael Boer:

Yeah, I think the easiest place to send you for kind of a one stop shop for everything is just rachelbohr. com. My name is spelled a little funny, it's R A C H A E L, and then the last name is B O E R. But if you can get that right, rachelbohr. com, you're there. And that's where you're gonna find, I have a lot of educational courses for photographers, I have an academy. With basically everything you need to know to run a photography business step by step in little micro modules, so it's not overwhelming i've got a template library full of all kinds of canva templates and photoshop templates So if you need to make something for your business rather than starting from scratch You just pick up a template drop your images in and it even has the professional wording in there ready to go So just makes everything easier And I offer coaching as well. So all that is over at Rachel,

Raymond Hatfield:

thank you again so much for coming on the podcast and sharing everything that you did. I had three big takeaways from today's episode. these ones are actually more like action steps, right? So, I said in the beginning, Rachel's really good with action steps. So the three step action plan, I guess, from what I, what I took away from this interview. The first one is to build relationships, as a, as a person. new photographer, it is vital to recognize that the strength of your business often kind of lies in the community that you live in. So these relationships can lead you to referrals and repeat business. So try attending these local networking events and joining community groups where you can interact with others and showcase your work. Remember to have these meaningful conversations rather than just, making each interaction a sales pitch. Nobody likes that. action point number two is to practice with purpose. Rachel shared that, her strategy of offering a free session to build a diverse portfolio. Honestly, I think that is a golden tactic for, photographers, especially new photographers. the reality is that you need to show prospective clients what. You do before they decide to invest in your services. So if you can, arrange a photo session with family, friends, that allows you to explore different styles and situations, this can help, I think, in identifying the areas in which you need improvement, as well as you'll be able to grow more confident in your abilities when it turns out really well, which is going to happen surprisingly more than you think that it will. And action step number three is to focus on the experience. Delivering a great experience often transcends the technical quality of your images. As a new photographer, you should really internalize how clients feel during and after your shoot, because that will have a lasting impact. so start by creating a checklist for client engagement that ensures a smooth and enjoyable process. This should cover everything from initial contact all the way through to delivering the final photos and even beyond. You know, implement small touches like the pre session phone call and answer any questions that they may have, before the shoot, or a post shoot. Thank you note, just handwrite a, Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to meet with me. You guys were great. You know, a quick little note, send it off in the mail. Those are the things that will make your clients feel taken care of. That is it for this week. again, thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the beginner photography podcast brought to you by CloudSpot. you can grab your free CloudSpot account by heading over to deliverphotos. com. And remember the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Talk soon.

Rachael Boer:

Thank you for listening to the beginner photography podcast. Keep shooting and we'll see you next week.