The Mistake All Photographers Make (+ 3 Easy Fixes)
When a member of my photography group asked how to make money as a photographer, I excitedly spilled everything I know; I’m obsessed with teaching topics I’m passionate about. Satisfied my answer would skyrocket her profit, I hit “enter” and womp womp… “too long”. But there’s a happy ending! I realized that, after a quarter-century in the industry (🦖 hi, it’s me), sharing my secrets was long overdue and started wiring my dissertation. For the next 3 weeks, I wrote notes unopened mail (whoops) and, in true dinosaur form, opted for racking my brain over AI. I came up with 3 surprising conclusions:
- Every photographer makes the same mistake,
- Photos are not our #1 commodity, and
- Success in photography – weddings, especially – is ridiculously easy (and I’ll prove it!).
Keep reading to find out how to avoid that career-ending mistake, learn what we’re actually selling (it’s not what you think), and snag my guaranteed steps to easy entrepreneurial success.
The Mistake All Photographers Make
This a brilliant way not to make money as a photographer: existing in a chronic state of inward focus. In other words, believing success depends on subjective factors. Has a photographer ever asked you what you’d pay for their work? That’s inward thinking. It may look like insisting on craft mastery before charging a livable rate. It leads to lies like, “if I could just improve ___ (posing, editing, etc) I’d finally be successful”. This intense self-scrutiny and hyper-focus on perfection the first in a series of self-destructive habits that lead to failure.
I bet you’re thinking “where should I focus, then?”. I have an answer I think you’ll love! But first, let’s examine why photographers adopt this singular mindset so you can squash it before it starts.
Psychology Of The Self-Critical Photographer
As a beginner, I thought I knew exactly how to make money as a photographer: have a beautiful portfolio. I was wrong! I mean, sure – we exchange photos for cash, but the real reason we place our work on a pedestal runs much deeper.
Photography isn’t just a skill, it’s an expression of who we are. When we indulge the “photo is king” mindset, we indulge our egos, too. This deeply personal validation builds every time someone hand-picks us in an oversaturated market. Validation + a hit of dopamine… yikes. It makes sense though, right? Who wouldn’t prefer owning an intensely meaningful business over one built on some mundane business model? (The answer is you, after this!)
Think about it – you compare your work to the best in the biz. Clients? Not even aware they exist. So why waste time feeling inadequate? Clients compare your work to one thing: their iPhone pics. As far as they’re concerned, you’re Annie Leibovitz herself. Ever heard a photographer complain that XYZ photographer is booked solid and their work isn’t even that good? Then wonder why they don’t get booked, when their work is so much better? The answer is obvious – Not Even That Good Photography IS good according to the people that pay them. They likely have killer business skills, too.
Next time you think you’re not good enough, remember that the standard of beauty in photography is surprisingly low, and if people are paying you for your work, you are good enough. And if finding out your work isn’t your #1 selling point is disappointing, don’t worry, there’s good news! When you redirect your energy towards objective measures (like pricing structure or client experience) anxiety & self-doubt get replaced with effortless confidence. And the truth is, confidence is to photographers as water is to humans. Ironically, less worry + more confidence = tons of energy to enjoy your art and perfect your craft, you determined little perfectionist, you! 🙂
Problems: A (Business) Man’s Best Friend
All successful businesses have it in common: They solve a problem for their customers. It can be as simple as a bakery selling comfort food, which relaxes a teacher on their way to work (problem = stress, solution = muffins). Or, it can be as serious as a yoga class that calms a recovering addict, helping them stay sober (problem = addiction, solution = yoga class). You won’t catch the bakery literally advertising relaxation, and you certainly won’t hear the yoga studio advertising sobriety.
Marketing this way is subtle on purpose, driving customers to purchase through authentic emotion. But tread lightly, my friend; if the message is too overt, you’ll offend sensibilities. You can safeguard from this by periodically taking inventory of your intentions, making sure they aren’t manipulative solely for the sake of profit. Equitable transactions make for a thriving business! Let’s take a closer look at how problems fuel consumerism and get specific about how you can use them make money as a photographer.
Putting Problems To Work
We know that problem solving is king, and that it subtly uses emotion to lure the buyer in like a fish on a hook. But how is it done? How do we know what problems clients face, and how do we know what solutions they’ll buy? How can you use problems to make money as photographer? Let’s explore what this business model looks like in practice.
Think of your favorite purchase of 2025. Why did you buy it? Hold that answer – we will revisit it in a moment. My top purchase was a meal delivery subscription (Hello, Hello Fresh – sponsor me 😂). It wouldn’t be false to say I bought it to feed my family, but that’s not what convinced me to purchase. My desire to spend as much quality time as possible with my 16 year-old son, whom I dread leaving the nest convinced me. Their ads featuring families happily chatting over a meal are well done – they appeal to my root problem and offer to “solve” it. You can learn a lot by drawing correlations between customers and the ads that target them. And, by evaluating your own purchases. Reexamine why you bought your favorite purchase of ’25. Is it different than before?
If you’re an ad skipper, you might want to stop that nonsense (at least for a while, lol). Carefully observe how big corporations, like Hello Fresh, target peoples’ emotions. Take note of the imagery they use, the colors they select, the music in the background. Note how these things make you feel. This allows you to trace their message back to a core problem in a bit of reverse engineering. With enough observation, you’ll be an expert at it too! Studying the marketing of successful businesses is about as good as a Harvard MBA (without the added bonus of the incredible dating pool, haha).
There’s always a problem to solve, even if it’s simply providing a better option than your competitors. The more serious the problem, the more effective the tactic.
I personally use it as a mission statement during every client interaction. I constantly seek ways to brighten a client’s day, ease a burden, or make them feel appreciated. It doesn’t have to be deep or complex, just make their lives better any way you can. It all counts, and it all adds up, and it will boost your business.
The truth is, a vast majority of purchases are impulse, emotion, or fear based. That’s why photos aren’t our #1 commodity; photographs don’t evoke a strong emotional need, though they are wonderful to have. Tapping into clients’ emotions is the quickest way to make a sale. Plus, as a bonus, you’ll never hear a client say “This solution makes me look fat, I hate it. Can you photoshop it?” 😂
Let’s practice with a theoretical family photographer and explore potential problems + solutions for an average client. First, we need to determine our general areas of value, so we can identify related problems and devise solutions for clients. Different genres will have different categories of value. For example:
- A family photographer deals in togetherness, emotion, memories, etc.
- A branding photographer deals in identity, confidence, marketability, etc.
- A senior photographer deals in self-image, sentimentality, individualism, etc.
Do our ideal clients face any problems related to our offerings? Of course! Perhaps the parents don’t feel as close to their kids as they’d like. Maybe they wish they had more time to slow down and enjoy the family they work so hard to nurture. These are real, every day problems that weigh heavily on them – much more so than simply needing a framed portrait on an empty wall.
A great way to identify problems is to draw on your own life experiences. For example, a few years ago I lost my beloved dad in an accident – unexpected and intensely traumatic. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t take more photos of him while I had the chance. If I was a family photog, could I use this experience to help identify clients’ potential problems? Absolutely! Remember, you can always be the one to introduce the problem; it doesn’t have to be something they think about daily.
So, our theoretical family photographer could create an ad campaign centered around her lived experience. She could begin with a personal anecdote, relaying how much she regrets not having more tangible memories with her dad. Enter the problem… now, everyone who reads your ad is thinking about how they can avoid this themselves (and, bonus – they feel like they know you a bit better). So when you offer specialized sessions geared toward families + grandparents – perhaps noting that sessions usually include nuclear family only, but this time, grands are free – they pounce. Why do they pounce? Because you’ve tapped into a deep, emotional response, and offered a viable solution. Well done, theoretical photographer, that’s thousands of dollars in your pocket, and multiple families that won’t suffer the same regretful fate as you!
Now, lets look at how I use this motto to book brides on the spot.
How To Be The Easiest Choice A Bride Makes
Not many people have more on their plate than brides. First time brides are overwhelmed, confused, and tired of making choices. Problems to solve galore! Here’s what changed my business forever:
I make a point to do things very differently than other photographers. This helps me stand out, and puts me in a league by myself. These things are
- Not using a pricing guide.
- Only offering one package
- Offering privacy @ no extra cost
- Sending personalized welcome and thank you gifts
Pricing Guide Free Zone
I know many photographers who have beautiful pricing guides, yet say most brides ghost after they send them. Instead of responding to a wedding inquiry email with a greeting and a guide, I respond by congratulating, inviting to a call or meeting, and expressing excitement to meet them. Brides appreciate straightforward communication, they don’t have time for fluff. And, you’re avoiding adding to one of her problems – choice exhaustion. Every other photographer is doing the opposite and adding to it! Instant bonus points for you. Choice exhaustion may make her avoid looking at the guide altogether, so do this instead…
One Package Only
Once you have her on the phone (they never choose meeting), give a brief overview of your process and style. Next, invite questions. 1st time brides always admit they’re not sure what to ask. There’s another problem! You get to solve it by offering FAQs and answers, to relieve her mental exhaustion. Periodically, I remind myself of her potential problems. Again, In this case, they are 1) decision burn out, and 2) budget dilemmas just to name a couple. After FAQ, tell her you only have one package, designed for simplicity and savings, and she’ll be relieved and thrilled. Explain that you encourage everyone to book the 6hr minimum; you can always add more hours later in the planning process. You’ve just become her best friend and hero, and the easiest decision she’s made in the planning process thus far.
Free Privacy Sold Here!
The other big problem I aim to solve with brides is the issue of privacy. This has been cited by countless past clients as “the reason they chose me” – it’s a true rarity in this industry. Any rarity you offer is money in your pocket, just by virtue of standing out in a saturated industry. Roughly 75% of my wedding clients opted to stay private, and the couple’s enthusiasm generates more leads via word of mouth than posting client’s photos ever could! Also, you don’t actually miss out on advertising, just delay it. They almost always post and tag you eventually, and 99 times out of 100 don’t mind if you swipe some of their favorites for your feed. I highly recommend this if you aren’t starving for content.
Also, throughout the call, I use language meant to validate and calm. Here are a few examples:
- It’s okay not to know how the day will go so far in advance
- There’s nothing you can do that I can’t work around/work with
- Don’t worry! I’ve attended a million weddings and not one has gone terribly wrong, regardless of planning abilities.
- I’d love to help you with that!
- How/if you share your wedding day content is a deeply personal decision and deeply personal decisions need to be yours to make.
- I’m so happy you like my work, it means so much to me!
Using calming, reassuring language solves her anxiety problem, if only for the duration of the call. By the end of the conversation, she knows I have her best interests in mind, she feels she can trust me, and is so relieved not to have multiple choices on the line. She feels informed without having to ask all the right questions, and thinks you’re the bees knees. At the end, I communicate that their date will be held for 3 days so they have time to deliberate in private, and 8/10 want to book immediately.
Also worth noting that booking 6 hours up front led to a massive bump in profit for me. I found that people were more likely to spend in chunks. If their budget at consult was $5,000, they’d spend no more than that. But if I booked them at $4,800 for 6hrs up front, often they’d add several hours of coverage right before the wedding, since their finances had time to recover a bit from planning and end up spending 1-2k more. The 6hr method singlehandedly doubled my profit. Please try it!
Gifts: The Cherry On Top + The Cash In The Bank
Another problem I love solving for clients is simply turning an okay day into a better one. This never fails, and doesn’t require any specific circumstances to be effective.
A great way to accomplish this is to send welcome + thank you gifts for weddings, and just a thank you gift for other sessions. First, I study the couple on social media. Once I have a feel for their overall vibe, I find the perfect $30 gift and send it with my wedding guide (that guide is available for free in our Facebook Group – ask for a tag if you’d like a copy!) After I deliver the gallery, I print 20-30 photos through my pro lab (great preview for them, encourages them to buy prints through you), and place them in a decorative box, add a $50 gift, and send it with a hand-written thank you note. Brides usually post to social media + tag you, which equals tons of inquiries!
Gift giving created a huge uptick in both profit and client satisfaction for me. Plus, it’s fun to do! I have a guide listing my all-time favorite client gifts under $50 for every type of couple in our group, too, if you’re interested!
You’ll be making money as a photographer before you can say “cheese” with these techniques. Many of these ideas can be applied to any type of session, too. Don’t be afraid to experiment with identifying and solving problems; it’s your greatest sales tool. Next time you consult with a potential bride, or any client, put yourself in their shoes. Then, structure your offerings/communication accordingly and you’ve got yourself a lifelong client! When in doubt, remember that the best thing you can do is stand out.
Stop by and let us know when you become a six-figure photographer! Not much would make me happier, and I have a feeling you’re about to be well on your way. Happy problem solving, my creative friends!
