The Art & Soul Show - Photography Podcast for Newborn and Family Photographers Lisa DiGeso, The Milky Way

Iwona Podlasinska started her career as an architect, but once she became a mother, she discovered her newest inspiration: her children. That prompted her to pivot into the world of photography, and she’s been honing her creative craft ever since!
In today’s episode, Iwona and I chat about her incredible career as she’s focused on fine art children’s portraiture and educating other photographers. We dive into how she’s developed her own eye-catching style, how she thinks about composition, and the way she directs her clients to capture just the right mood in every portrait. 
If you’ve ever wanted to dip your toes into fine art photography, you can't miss this episode. Let’s dive in!
What’s in this episode:
[00:00] Intro
[03:27] Iwona shares how she got her start in photography and why she focused on education early
[05:41] How Iwona uses social media and how she rebuilt after losing her Instagram account
[12:42] What inspires Iwona and how she’s created her signature style
[18:27] How Iwona manages traveling for her work as a photographer with two small children at home
[25:31] How Iwona sets the mood in her photography sessions through composition choices and direction for her clients and models
[41:09] The new teaching models Iwona is working on to continue educating other photographers
Tune in to this episode to learn how Iwona Podlasinska crafts her magical fine art children’s portraits!
For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: [LINK]
Grab the replay for the 2024 Online Newborn Retreat!

Nicole didn’t start her career as a photographer. She just had a love for animals and knew she wanted to work with them forever! When she finally did pick up a camera, it took her a few years before she niched down to just pet portraits, but since then, she’s created a thriving, profitable business doing just that!
In this episode, I chat with guest Nicole Begley on what got her into photography, why niching down was a scary, but necessary, choice for her business, and the mindset changes that allowed her to reach real profitability in her photography business. Nicole is also a brilliant educator (and teacher at our upcoming Family Photography Online Retreat), and she shares the four stages all of us as photographers go through and what we need to move forward in each stage.
This episode has something for everyone. Let’s dive in!
What’s in this episode:
[00:00] Intro
[02:27] Nicole explains her life-long love of animals
[05:09] Why Nicole is a huge proponent of niching down and how niching down to pet photography elevated her own business
[10:49] How Nicole prepares for her pet photography sessions and interacts with her furry friends the day of the session
[16:35] How Nicole handles nervous pet owners 
[20:28] The four stages of photography business that every photographer goes through 
[26:09] The messaging shifts photographers need to make to move through each stage
[30:29] Nicole’s lightning round, including her best business advice!
Tune in to this episode to learn how niching down can help you create a thriving photography business, just like Nicole has done with pet portraits!
For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: https://themilkyway.ca/a-passion-for-pet-portraits-making-furry-friend-photography-a-profitable-business-with-nicole-begley/
Grab the replay for the 2024 Online Newborn Retreat!

As creatives, the legal side of running a business can be really intimidating for us. What protection do we need? Can we just use a contract from the internet? What do we do when someone steals our photographs?!
Well, in today’s episode, I’m chatting with Kiffanie Stahle to answer all your burning legal questions and hopefully ease some of your fears around the legal process! Kiffanie is so gracious and takes her time explaining exactly what we need to know about contracts, copyrights, liabilities, and payment policies. 
If you’ve been avoiding some of the legal tasks in your business because it’s felt too overwhelming, this episode is for you! Let’s dive in!
What’s in this episode:
[00:00] Intro
[02:43] How Kiffanie created the magical life she is currently living in her RV 
[05:00] Why contracts aren’t as scary as creatives make them seem, but why you should still have a lawyer create a custom one for you
[10:24] The kinds of clauses and additions you do –and don’t– need in your photography contract
[18:34] Everything you need to know about protecting your copyrights as a small business photographer
[33:07] What photographers should know when writing their pricing and payment policies
[39:24] How photographers can protect themselves from liability in a variety of situations
[43:55] The double-edged sword of social media for photographers
[47:48] Kiffanie’s lightning round, including some really creative business advice she has to share
Tune in to this episode to learn about the must-do legal tasks for your photography business to set yourself up for success!
For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: http://themilkyway.ca/contracts-copyrights-and-copycats-the-must-do-legal-tasks-for-your-photography-business-with-kiffanie-stahle/
Grab the replay for the 2024 Online Newborn Retreat!

As photographers, we’d love to spend all of our time just photographing and working with our clients. Unfortunately, in 2024, it takes a little more than that to attract new clients to your business, but cultivating a successful marketing mindset doesn’t always feel intuitive to creatives.
So in today’s episode, I’m talking to Carolina Guzik, expert photographer, host of the TOG Republic podcast and marketing genius, to discuss the way she successfully markets her own business. We cover so much ground here, including how we should reframe the way we present our marketing on Google, Pinterest, and social media, how we can use our unique interests to create connections with our clients, and how we’ve got to let go of how we feel about our marketing and use data as our guide instead.
This is such a good episode full of actionable tips. You’re going to love it. Let’s dive in!
What’s in this episode:
[00:00] Intro
[02:22] The unique experiences that lead Carolina to her photography career
[04:49] How Carolina stays on top of the marketing for her business
[08:52] How Caroline plans her ideas for social media and marketing
[15:18] How Carolina’s love of reality TV helps her market her business
[22:10] How to boost your social media engagement as a photographer
[25:05] How to rethink the way you approach SEO and how this applies to both Google and Pinterest
[33:52] Why Pinterest and marketing for your business in general is a long game that pays off over time (like training for a marathon)
[40:50] Carolina’s lightning round where she dishes out advice for photographers just starting out and the creative pursuits she’s passionate about right now
Tune in to this episode to learn how you can shift your marketing mindset to attract more clients, both now and in the future.
For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: https://themilkyway.ca/marketing-mindset-makeover-why-its-time-for-photographers-to-rethink-their-marketing-strategies-with-carolina-guzik/
Grab the replay for the 2024 Online Newborn Retreat!

Everywhere you look on the internet, you can find pricing guides, information, and others talking about the revenue their businesses generate. And that’s all fine and good, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter when it comes to your individual business. What really matters is whether or not you’re pricing for profit in your business.
But “what about industry rates?” you may ask. Well, in today’s episode, my guest Jamie Devlin is here to remind us why we need to keep our eyes on our own paper and worry about what’s going to get us clients in our niche and make a profit in our own business. 
She shares how she got started in the industry (and why she had to start making a profit right away), how marketing has changed in the photography industry in the last decade, and why it might be time to rethink the way you approach pricing. Let’s dive in!
What’s in this episode:
[00:00] Intro
[02:38] Jamie’s do or die start in the photography industry and how she’s pivoted since then
[08:36] Why pricing is so specific to your unique business and why you shouldn’t read too much into others’ revenue numbers
[12:01] How marketing in the photography industry has changed in the last decade and how Jamie finds clients currently
[23:51] Why you need to find your “real why” before you can run your business authentically
[28:28] Jamie’s advice for when you’re getting inquiries, but not closing sales
[35:33] How to crunch your numbers and set your pricing to have a profitable business
[42:54] How Jamie stays inspired in her business, even in the midst of her busy life
Tune in to this episode to learn how pricing for profit can transform your photography business.
For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: https://themilkyway.ca/the-profitable-photographer-pricing-for-profit-in-your-photography-business-with-jamie-devlin/
Grab the replay for the 2024 Online Newborn Retreat!

If you’re alive in 2024, I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of overwhelm. It’s so common, little space robots on Mars are even feeling it (not a joke, this literally happened!) In fact, these feelings of overwhelm can be so powerful, that they paralyze us from getting anything done at all!
But with distractions, options, and ideas everywhere these days, how do we manage and cope with being overwhelmed?
Well, in today’s episode, Lisa is going to lay out a tried and true system for managing tasks in your business and avoiding the executive dysfunction that comes with having so much on our plates! She also shares common reasons we might feel overwhelmed, what context switching and executive dysfunction are and why they both contribute to overwhelm – and yes, the story of the little overwhelmed space robot. Let’s dive in!
What’s in this episode:
[00:00] Intro
[01:09] Why even space robots feel overwhelmed and how this leads to procrastination
[03:00] All the things that can contribute to overwhelm
[04:30] How to identify when you’re feeling overwhelmed
[07:05] How to organize and categorize the tasks causing you to feel overwhelmed
[15:17] What executive dysfunction is and how we can prevent it from paralyzing us
Tune in to this episode to learn how to avoid the overwhelm and keep procrastination from paralyzing your business!
For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit our website: https://themilkyway.ca/the-procrastinating-robot-with-lisa-digeso-strategies-to-deal-with-overwhelm-procrastination/
Grab the replay for the 2024 Online Newborn Retreat!