Photo Fuel | The Vision, Art, and Business of Family Photography

Leah O’Connell
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This is a podcast for family photographers about the swirl of vision, art, and business. Through stories, interviews, and nearly 20 years of experience in the family photography industry, host Leah O’Connell will help pack your creative toolbox and build confidence to fuel your sessions, your business, and your life. We’ll tackle family photography education with topics around the logistics and the skills, along with mindset, marketing with alignment, and more. This podcast will help you fan your own flame towards doing more of what you love and loving how you do it. Free, full, and fun family photography education every Monday - grab your Photo Fuel and let’s get creating.

  1. 7월 6일

    Putting in the website work to get found online with Jamie Bugbee

    What business owner doesn't want to get found through Google and AI search? Jamie Bugbee spent over 20 years as a dental hygienist before postpartum depression led her back to a camera and a way to come home to herself. And once she put herself fully into learning and tackling SEO for family photographers, she was able to grow her photography business by 400% and leave her day-job to go full-time. Jamie is a Portland-based family, maternity, newborn, and brand photographer who now teaches photographers how to grow through their own websites. We talk about the practical side of getting found online without leaning on social media: on-page and off-page SEO for family photographers, backlinks and local citations, and how to blog in a way that's actually built to be found - not just written and forgotten. We also cover the tools Jamie uses to track what's working and what's not working, silent killers to your page speed and searchability that might be working against you, and more.   Find It Quickly: 2:20 - From dental hygienenist to photography 5:00 - Picking up a camera again after having kids 12:00 - The mentorship that finally clicked 14:20 - The bones of modern SEO for family photographers 21:00 - Blogging effectively 27:30 - Tools for tracking what's working and what's not 30:15 - Jamie's Photo Fuel   Mentioned in this Episode: Keywords Everywhere White Spark, Google Search Console SEO Edge Microsoft Clarity Free Guide from Jamie: Luxury Client Journey   Connect with Jamie Portland Oregon family photographer (Jamie's website) Jamie's Instagram for photographers The PhotograpHER Podcast: The Booked Photographer (course) Connect with Leah Leah's website: https://www.leahoconnell.com Leah's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo Learn Page with free resources + stay connected : https://www.leahoconnell.com/learn

  2. 6월 15일

    Falling for Lifestyle, Session Prep, and Playing the SEO Long Game with Becca Lueck

    Becca Lueck has been photographing families in the Portland, Oregon area for 16 years, but she didn't find lifestyle photography until year seven. Once she did, everything changed. We talk about the before and after of learning to fall in love with the work you're doing, how it changes, and how to keep it interesting.  Becca is the founder of Becca Jean Photography, a membership for family photographers, and a suite of courses covering everything from business systems to video. She's also been blogging and building her SEO for years, to the point where she can now publish a post and rank on the first page within days. In this episode, we talk about how she got there and how things look now. We also get into her video workflow — how she moves between photo and video inside a family session without losing momentum — and her honest take on where new photographers should put their energy.      Find It Quickly: 3:30 - Getting started 7:00 - Mini sessions and slow early growth 12:00 - Discovering lifestyle photography in 2017 20:00 - Client prep: email sequences other tools 27:00 - Styling guidance and client closets 30:00 - Adding video inside a family session 37:00 - SEO over Instagram 41:00 - Becca's membership 44:00 - Photo fuel: in-person events     Mentioned in this Episode: Becca's Membership: https://courses.beccajeanphotography.com/p/family-photography-collective Style and Select: https://styleandselect.com/ Becca's CRM: https://17hats.com/ How Becca edits film: Adobe Premiere Pro How Becca edits photo: Imagin AI Tristin Tracy: @tristentracy_photography   Connect with Becca:  Education: https://beccajeanphotography.com/education Instagram: @beccajeanphotography  Connect with Leah: PhotoFuel Retreat and Mastermind: leahoconnell.com/retreat Free resources: leahoconnell.com/learn

  3. 6월 1일

    Guide to In-Home Family Photography Part 4 - 8 Tips for What to Do When You're Stuck

    You're halfway into a session, things are flowing, and then — nothing. The energy drops, your brain goes blank, and you're thinking - WHAT NOW.  This is the final part of the four-part in-home family photography series, and I'm giving you eight specific moves to pull out when a session stalls or you need to jolt yourself in to a new perspective.  Stay to the end for a preview of what's coming this summer! Find It Quickly: 2:56  - 1: Three focal ranges  4:37  - 2: Shoot through something nearby 5:34  - 3: Doorways 6:41  - 4: Invite music 7:55  - 5: Invite play 9:00  - 6: Look for the moment, not the space 10:57 - 7: Use furniture in non-conventional ways 11:38 - 8: Let the mess be the story 13:10 - Recap  13:43 - Series wrap-up + how to get the field guide  14:52 - What to expect next on the podcast Mentioned in this Episode: In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguide Photo Fuel Retreat and Mastermind: leahoconnell.com/retreat

  4. 5월 25일

    Guide to In-Home Family Photography Part 3: Story Filters

    In Part 1, we prepped. In Part 2, we got the ball rolling. This episode is all about how to open your dang eyeballs, guide with your heart, and sink into a session that is less pose and more honest family gold. If you often leave sessions feeling like you checked the boxes but you never really GOT anywhere emotional, this is your next-level.  I originally learned the concept of "elements of family story" from Brooke Schultz, and Story Filters are my evolution of that over the last 5 years. They're themes you carry into a session like a scavenger hunt — lenses for seeing what's actually in front of you rather than hunting for your next pose. I'm sharing what they are, how they work in practice, and a two-step process for developing your own. It's the thing that made the difference between galleries that are fine and work that actually means something.   Find It Quickly: 1:49  - Introducing Story Filters (your personal in-shoot scavenger hunt) 3:37  - Story filter examples 5:06  - Filters in action: how they change the way you see and direct 7:52  - Why filters matter: seeing people not subjects 9:28  - Direction vs. documentary: finding the middle ground 10:51 - How to develop your own filters 14:09 - Series recap + next episode preview 15:03 - How to get the Field Guide for all these tips in writing to reference for your next shoot  Mentioned in this Episode: In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguide Episode 72: Part 1 — The Walkthrough Video: https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ Episode 73: Part 2 — The First 10 Minutes: https://leahoconnell.com/in-home-family-photography-series-part-2-the-first-10-minutes/ Also listen to:  Episode 59 with Brooke Schultz: https://leahoconnell.com/episode-59-messy-action-the-artful-pivot-and-creating-from-the-inside-out-with-brooke-schultz/

  5. 5월 18일

    Guide to In-Home Family Sessions Part 2: The First 10 Minutes

    You've done your prep. You've watched the walkthrough video. You knock on the door - now what? The first 10 minutes of an in-home session do more than most photographers realize. They're where trust gets built in person, the tone is set, and where you either make it feel like an experience or a performance. I'm walking through five things that shift the energy in those opening minutes and two things I'm careful not to do in a session to help get it rolling on a good foot.  This is Part 2 of a four-part May series on practical in-home family photography tips. The guiding principles and recommendations for each episode can be found in the companion resource for free called : The In-Home Session Field Guide. You'll find swipe copy, pep talk language, and go-to moves for every stage of the session.  Find It Quickly: 2:30 - Why the first 10 minutes matter more than you think 5:00 - Tip 1 - hospitality  10:30 - Tip 2: Kid level 13:00 - Tip 3: Notice the good 15:30 - Tip 4: The loop 17:30 - Tip 5: The pep talk 21:00 - Transitional shooting before direction 22:30 - What not to do Mentioned in this Episode: In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-field-guide Episode 72: Part 1 — The Walkthrough Video - https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ Episode with Rachel Larsen Weaver: https://leahoconnell.com/an-interview-with-rachel-larsen-weaver-on-pursuing-the-love-of-art-business-and-people-photo-fuel-podcast-episode-13/

  6. 5월 11일

    Guide to In-Home Family Sessions Part 1: The Walkthrough Video

    If you're working on improving your process for in-home family photography or adding home as a location this year, this series is for you! This first episode is one of four that kicks off a short, practical series on in-home family photography, starting with the one thing I do before every session to walk in feeling prepared. This is the biggest asset to preparing for an in home shoot - without requiring a consult call, zoom meeting, or in-person scouting trip: the walkthrough video. I share how I ask for it about two weeks before an in-home session and what I'm looking for when I watch it. I also cover what to do when clients don't send a video, and why the goal of all this prep isn't a rigid plan but a confident, settled mindset before you even knock on the door.     Find It Quickly: 1:30 - The two traps in in-home sessions 3:00 - The mental shift required  4:30 - Asking for the walkthrough video 7:00 - When they don't send it  8:30 - What to look for : Light, Life, and Layers framework 12:30 - The real win, regardless of how it's executed in the end 14:30 - Part 2 preview + The In-Home Session Field Guide Mentioned in this Episode: In-Home Session Field Guide: leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguide >> Episode 69: Stop Posing, Start Playing >>  Episode 55: Set the Table - how to stop expecting your clients to perform for you Free resources: leahoconnell.com/learn >> CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: @leahoconnell.photo

  7. 4월 27일

    What I Learned From Hosting a Photography Retreat and Mastermind

    A few weeks out from the first PhotoFuel Retreat and Mastermind, this episode is the honest debrief — what I got right, what surprised me, what I'd do differently, and one big decision I made about the future of the program. Regular reflection is tool I use often in my photography business so I want to model what that looks like and how it can lead to purposeful alignment. If you're curious about the inner workings of crafting something new, I hope this episode models what it looks like to be in development rather than just seeing the end result.    Find It Quickly: 0:00 - Free resources at leahoconnell.com/learn 1:15 - Intro 3:00 - What I got right 8:30 - Why the in-between moments were king 12:30 - What I'm changing for the next round  16:30 - The biggest reason I think it worked 21:30 - The surprising tax I wasn't expecting 24:30 - A big decision about future rounds Mentioned in this Episode: PhotoFuel Retreat: leahoconnell.com/retreat  Episode 68: Why I Started a Retreat for Family Photographers

  8. 4월 13일

    Thoughtful growth & the power of mentoring with Lydia Fine

    Have you ever wondered what working with a mentor actually looks and feels like over time? Lydia Fine is back as our first-ever returning guest. She's a purposely part-time photographer with a full-time marketing career and two kids, and over the past few years she and I have worked together across just about every format. In this episode, she breaks down exactly what that journey has looked like: the doubts going in, the breakthrough that changed how she thought about her business, the numbers, and what it's meant for her life outside the business. We also get into the harder questions — when someone is actually ready for mentoring, how to choose the right person, and what you have to be willing to bring to it. Lydia now mentors other photographers herself, specifically around systems and marketing strategies for part-time photographers, so her perspective comes from sitting on both sides of the table.   Find It Quickly: 2:30 - Where Lydia started: lack of confidence, scared to raise prices, feeling alone in decision-making 7:00 - The first doubt: was mentoring worth the cost if she was just making $15k a year? 9:00 - The 2024 breakthrough: you don't have to compete on photos alone 15:00 - How she helped me form my Voxer coaching package around making micro decisions and the in-between moments 21:00 - "Like a therapist for my business" 26:00 - The numbers: revenue doubled, then grew another 50% 30:00 - From $300 sessions to $1,025 to $1,850 (and her first $2k+ booking) 33:00 - When is someone ready for mentoring? 38:00 - How to choose the right mentor — and what to avoid 43:00 - Intentional rest, boundaries, and how support has helped her be a more present parent Mentioned in this Episode: PhotoFuel Retreat & Mastermind: www.leahoconnell.com/retreat 1:1 Mentoring: leahoconnell.com/education Illuminate Courses: illuminateclasses.com Connect with Lydia: Photography Instagram: @lydia_apolloandivy Education Instagram: lydiafine_forphotographers Mentoring with Lydia: https://www.apolloandivy.com/for-photographers/photography-business-mentor/

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4.9
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21개의 평가

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This is a podcast for family photographers about the swirl of vision, art, and business. Through stories, interviews, and nearly 20 years of experience in the family photography industry, host Leah O’Connell will help pack your creative toolbox and build confidence to fuel your sessions, your business, and your life. We’ll tackle family photography education with topics around the logistics and the skills, along with mindset, marketing with alignment, and more. This podcast will help you fan your own flame towards doing more of what you love and loving how you do it. Free, full, and fun family photography education every Monday - grab your Photo Fuel and let’s get creating.

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