3 reasons to attend a Photography Content Workshop
Let’s lift the veil and look at how a content workshop can change the trajectory of your brand and business!
Here are three reasons to attend a content workshop and bonus tips on how to leverage a workshop to make the most of it.
On June 20th, I am launching my first Editorial Content Workshop Series for photographers and videographers. My workshop will be in Melbourne and will held at the incredible Villa Alba Museum.
A content workshop changed my business for the better; I know it can for you too!
Lei x
In 2020, I planned my own editorial styled content shoot with the intention of establishing myself as a luxury wedding photographer. At the time, I had shot ZERO weddings and was lacking the social proof to attract the couples and weddings I wanted to capture.
From one content workshop at Churchill, I booked an entire season (22 weddings) and was featured in The Lane, which was a dream come true. The shoot was a game-changer and accelerated the reach of my business in a way that would have ordinarily taken months (or even years).
Before I established myself as a wedding photographer, I was a fashion and lifestyle photographer shooting anything from alcohol, shoes, fashion, style and interiors. I was trying to be the photographer for everyone and wasn’t making the impact that I knew I could. It was only when I decided to niche as an editorial wedding photographer that my business gained traction.
But, when your website and social media channels are full of pretty pictures of interiors, shoes, alcohol and fashion…
How do you launch yourself as a wedding photographer, if you have never shot a wedding?
How do you get a couple to trust you to shoot their special day without social proof that you’re an expert?
How do you attract the kind of client that is planning a wedding that inspires you creatively?
SHOOT THE CONTENT YOU WANT TO ATTRACT
In my mind, I knew I had to shoot the luxury wedding content that would resonate with my ideal client. My portfolio and socials had to burst with social proof that I was a professional wedding photographer, shooting in an editorial style and create desire so that couples would want me to shoot their special day.
I needed to invest in ‘where you put your effort, energy will flow’. I stopped all other jobs* to focus 100% on weddings because without the time and space for my new business to flourish, it would not succeed.
At first, I looked for other photographers who were running content workshops for aspiring photographers in a style that resonated with me; an editorial inspired, fashion-forward high-end shoot with luxury vendors that my ideal client would book. I couldn’t find anything like it in Australia. I couldn’t find anything like it in the Southern Hemisphere. So, I created my own. Why?
1. Elevate my portfolio
2. Attract my ideal client: The Editorial Client
3. Shoot in my authentic style and push myself
Let’s break it down.
Elevate my portfolio
A portfolio of shoes, fashion, alcohol and family photography wasn’t going to book a luxury wedding client. If I wasn’t clear on what my “brand” does and who my ideal client is, then how could I expect my ideal client to invest in me. My portfolio needed an overhaul and I needed to niche (fast!) and deliver my ideal client with social proof.
“What you put out there into the universe – good or bad – you get right back. ”
For established wedding photographers looking enhance their wedding portfolio or attract a more premium client, a content workshop is an excellent investment in your future. By niching and only serving content that speaks to your ideal client, you’ll find that the quality of your leads will drastically improve.
To be honest, even if a couple had already trusted in me to shoot their wedding or I shot 10 weddings that weren’t my ideal client, I would have still invested in a content shoot. Content shoots allow you to step away from the wedding photography timeline and have ample shooting time to capture content that resonates with your ideal client and delivers social proof that you are the photographer they want to work with.
WHAT IS SOCIAL PROOF?
If the concept of social proof and the psychology of buying behaviour is new to you, there is a short summary,
Social proof is the idea that people copy the actions of others to emulate behaviour in certain situations. It is why influencer marketing is so effective and why we spend countless hours on Instagram and Pinterest, actively liking, sharing and saving content for ‘later’. The driver of this behaviour is deep-rooted desire; desire for a life we want to build for ourselves and the items, people and brands that should be in it. When a bride-to-be searches Instagram for her wedding photographer, she is looking for your social proof; Are you an expert? Do you have experience? And more importantly, do you already work with clients that they desire to be and do you shoot in an aesthetic that speaks to their deep-rooted desire of how they want to look, feel and be captured on their wedding day?
Attract my ideal client: The Editorial Client
The Editorial Client. They love luxury, are obsessed with styling details and trusts their vendors and creatives implicitly.
To attract my ideal client, I had to serve aspirational content that resonates deeply with them and then repeat x 1000. I needed content for: my social channels, my website, my directory listings. The content needed to have variety and represent the ‘big moments’ on a wedding day such as getting ready, bridal portraits, ceremony and reception.
I approached vendors who my ideal client would also want to work with: venue, florists, videographer, planner, designers, so that the wedding style and elements would spark desire in my ideal client.
NICHING EFFECTIVELY
The sooner you mind-map and ‘go-deep’ on understanding your ideal client’s needs and desires, the clearer it will be what kind of content should not feature on in your portfolio, social channels and directory listings. There is no shame in deleting old content that no longer serves your brand if it doesn’t align with your niche.
I was ruthless (in the nicest way!) and deleted everything, leaving only imagery that represented a personal brand narrative that my ideal client could resonate with (a few styled photos of me and some travel photos from Italy). 7 years of commercial work; gone. My old website; gone.
Here’s a glimpse of my social media, branding and imagery prior to niching down.
BEFORE
This is my Instagram feed before I niched down and only posted wedding content. I had started trickling out my fresh content shoot I shot at Churchill but as you can see I had a mix of personal, commercial, fashion, prints I was selling. It was confusing to prospective customers and myself.
This is my old price guide before my branding was done.
After
And this was after my branding was finished. Shout out to Hello Hello Studio.
Shoot in my authentic style and push myself
Wedding are beautiful; a life-changing event for the couple, their families and friends. Weddings are not, a good time to test out new photography gear, practice your flat-lay styling, indulge in creative play (the whole time) or network to find your next couple.
I approach every wedding day with the mindset to serve my couple exclusively. My focus is on them and capturing their day as a story. I don’t intrude on their timeline, I always work with arising changes and I never put pressure on the couple to do something they are not comfortable with (even though I might want the shot). I am there to serve them. If I need to practice or test anything out, it must happen before the wedding day and not impact my couple in any way.
A content shoot is the perfect place to play, be creative and really hone your photography skills.
ESTABLISHED WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS
For established photographers, test out a new shooting style, get creative with your gear, push your own boundaries, and learn from other photographers on how they shoot elements of a wedding day. We all need to get out of our comfort zone at times and reignite your fire, especially after a long wedding season which may not have filled your creative cup.
NEW WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS
For photographers just setting out, a content workshop will give you time and space to shoot content and practice, practice, practice before you shoot a wedding.
Content workshops are also a great opportunity to sponge of other photographers on how they manage ‘mindset’, prepare for a wedding and their tips on how to deliver an amazing client experience for the couple and their families before, during and after the wedding day.
3 GAME-CHANGERS TO LEVERAGE A CONTENT WORKSHOP
I’ll save the nitty gritty details of how to plan a styled content shoot for another post (see survey below!). Here are three added game-changers that helped me leverage the content shoots:
1. I booked a videographer to take behind the scenes and film a personal introduction that I could post to my ABOUT ME page on my website.
2. I launched my new branding and website from Hello Hello Studio with imagery from the content workshop. New brand, new website, new portfolio. Find out more here.
3. I culled my existing presence on Instagram to reflect my new brand and updated my directory listings such as The Lane with my new content.
Interested to know more on how to organise your own content styled shoot?
I’m preparing a mini-course on How To Run Your Own Luxury Content Styled Shoot and would love your feedback. What would you like to learn from me? Would you like tools on mind-mapping, mood boards, budgeting, pitching, vendor engagement, sourcing a model, shoot day logistics, post-shoot marketing? Let me know your thoughts here!
BALANCING WORK-LIFE BALANCE, CREATIVE PURSUITS, NEW BUSINESS AND PARENTING
*I recognise that stopping all other jobs and pausing income is not feasible for most people. I launched my brand during the first 12 months after my son was born AND during COVID where due to lockdown after lockdown almost all my commercial work had dried up. Thankfully there were creative government subsidies to support creatives.
If pressing the STOP button isn’t realistic, then intentionally carving out time for your new brand/venture can be really helpful. I have creative friends who have reduced their full time work to 4 or 4.5 days each week, so that they can dedicate the time to their creative businesses.
For the Mummas out there, I see you. Juggling work-life balance as a parent is especially challenging (more on it here). I know Mummas who arrange for an extra few hours or day in child-care to focus on their businesses. Other Mummas burn midnight oil once the kids are in bed (myself included!). No solution is perfect but so long as it works for you (for that day, week, month or season) go for it. If you’re looking for tips on balancing it all, download my free workbook here.
Well I hope you now feel motivated to go to a workshop or create your own! Believe me it’s a game changer.
Lei x
