From $20 to $20,000 bookings- Charging your Worth with Ashlea Snell

Want to connect with Ashlea? Follow her on Instagram @thesnells_

Summary

In this engaging conversation, Christa and Ashlea Snell delve into Ashlea's journey as a luxury wedding photographer, discussing the importance of charging what you're worth, the mindset shifts necessary for growth, and the value of investing in coaching and branding. They explore how Ashlea transitioned from affordable portrait sessions to high-end luxury weddings, emphasizing the significance of products and upselling in her business. The discussion highlights the importance of finding ideal clients and the role of outsourcing in scaling a photography business. In this conversation, Ashlea Snell and Christa discuss the evolving landscape of photography, particularly focusing on family portraits and the emotional value they hold. They explore the desire for convenience among clients, the importance of printed products, and the need for photographers to build confidence in their pricing and professional identity. The discussion emphasizes the shift towards high-value offerings and the significance of mindset in achieving business growth.

Takeaways

• Ashlea and Christa have been friends for over 15 years.
• Ashlea credits Christa for inspiring her to start her photography business.
• The journey to becoming a luxury wedding photographer is not easy but rewarding.
• Investing in coaching can lead to significant mindset shifts.
• Charging your worth is crucial for sustainability in business.
• The value of products can enhance client experience and increase sales.
• Finding your ideal client is essential for business success.
• Branding plays a vital role in attracting the right clients.
• Outsourcing tasks can free up time for more valuable activities.
• Mindset is a key factor in overcoming pricing fears. Moms desire convenience in photography services.
• Family portraits hold significant emotional value.
• Passion is essential for selling photography products.
• Starting with what you have can lead to growth.
• Clients appreciate seeing their family photos displayed.
• Pricing transparency can lead to better client understanding.
• High-value products are becoming more sought after.
• Confidence in pricing can change client perceptions.
• Recognizing the potential in your business is crucial.
• Taking yourself seriously can elevate your professional identity.

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Transcript

Christa (00:00.659)
Okay, welcome everybody today is really special I feel like this whenever I have a guest that I'm like We have a very special guest, but y'all this guest is very smart. She's extra special. This is one of my BFFs for oof Ashley we're old

Ashlea Snell (00:01.006)
I'm extra special.

Ashlea Snell (00:16.494)
15. I know, just was actually, I think it's like, I was actually thinking about it the other day. I think it's been 15 years.

Christa (00:23.895)
Yeah, it's been a long time and they say if it's over seven, you're stuck with the person. So Ashley and I have been very, very close friends for a long time before we started our journeys in photography even back in high school. And now Ashley Snell is here with Ashley Snell photography or is it Snell photography? The Snells, I love it. The Snells and her and her husband do luxury weddings all over the world now, which is amazing when you get to see a close friend like

Ashlea Snell (00:27.406)
We're The smells.

Ashlea Snell (00:47.832)
Mm.

Christa (00:52.653)
go for it. And then they're like being published and like a world renowned luxury wedding photographer. It's the best thing ever.

Ashlea Snell (00:58.254)
It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun and I owe it all to you, Krista. mean, truly. Like, I really do. I mean, it all started with me being a little model for Krista in the middle of downtown Greenville on the Coca-Cola, like, painting outside of...

Christa (01:07.329)
No, she's, no, she's don't.

Christa (01:13.751)
my word.

gosh, to fill the people in, had this, one of those murals that everyone gets pictures in front of. It's like the most basic of basic places. So of course, like that's where we started our journeys. Like we need to get photos in front of this giant Coca Cola mural. I don't know what anyone's going to do with those and they painted over it. But yeah, yeah, we did do that too. Our time, well, our time hop reminds us every year.

Ashlea Snell (01:23.187)
Mm-hmm.

Of course.

Ashlea Snell (01:34.074)
And sitting in the middle of the road downtown. do remember that. I mean, it was super cool.

Yeah.

Christa (01:42.447)
But and I'm going to link Ashley's Instagram and website in the show notes. So please go check her out. I feel like people are not understanding the level of photographer you're at. so Ashley's going to share a bit about her story. But one of the reasons I asked her to come here and one of the cool things about Ashley, she's the reason I actually started doing education. I don't know if you remember that, but she would tell me all the time when I was on my journey doing all these products and she would say, Krista, please start coaching. Please start teaching this. Like the people need to hear this. And like Ashley's also a coach and a teacher as well. We'll link her stuff.

Ashlea Snell (02:00.378)
Mm-hmm.

Christa (02:12.329)
And I finally took that step because of Ashley and it's made all the difference. But one of the things that I think of a lot when I think of Ashley's journey and just in the wedding space blown up and now you are doing full service portraits as well is just charging your worth and how you rose above so many photographers that were around you started when you did, you you're doing, you know, these multi five figure weddings now and like how to get there.

Ashlea Snell (02:23.961)
Yeah.

Christa (02:40.675)
Like, actually talk to our listeners about that, like about your journey getting there.

Ashlea Snell (02:44.573)
Yeah, it has not been easy. think, you know, I've been shooting now, I think for like nine or 10 years and it's been crazy. It all kind of started up in Wisconsin. Well, really in Knoxville, Tennessee in college after Krista has started her business, I was seeing her thriving and loving what she did. And she actually said all the time, she was like,

You know, my dad used to say I have to get like, you know, a real job, but this is the job that I want to do forever. And it is a real job. and I remember you saying like, if I, you know, love what I do, I'm never going to work a day in my life. And I, I am so glad that like reminisces in my mind so much because I was working at Chick-fil-A like 50 hours of hours a week. Yes. And then I remember we got our tax refund back and I called you and I was like, Krista, I got $2,000 back. what should like, I want to start a business.

Christa (03:12.715)
Exactly.

Christa (03:23.009)
Yeah, I heard about that!

Ashlea Snell (03:35.95)
And you were like, this is what you're gonna do. You're gonna come to Greenville. I'm gonna like walk you through. And like to this day, I'm so grateful for that journey that you helped me start. Tyler told me if I was able to do 20, yeah, $20 sessions, if I could get 20 people to pay me $20, I could put my two week notice in. And I was like, I can do that. So I mean, like when everybody started doing like free sessions, I was like, no, please pay me $20.

Christa (04:03.727)
$20, I know. And then we had pushback even on those prices sometimes back in the day.

Ashlea Snell (04:05.344)
And thankfully I like really scored well because there was a like a high school prom going on. So there was like 10 sets of couples that paid me 20 bucks. Yep.

Christa (04:17.775)
Oh my gosh, I think I remember that. And now look at you, you've done what? $20,000 weddings, like 20,000, not $20. like, and I know it's been 10 years, Ashley, but like the cool thing about having you here is others can learn from you on how they can fast track that. Or if someone's listening now and like, oh gosh, is it gonna take me 10 years to get to like a $20,000 wedding? It doesn't have to, but like you're doing it now. And you also, started so young, so.

Ashlea Snell (04:22.915)
Yes, yeah, it is amazing. Yeah

Ashlea Snell (04:33.079)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (04:38.722)
Yeah.

Christa (04:42.903)
Walk us through like what did that pivot look like to when you were like, okay, I got to start charging my worth like this isn't sustainable.

Ashlea Snell (04:50.226)
Yeah, so I had started off kind of kind of doing some portrait sessions here and there I mean for just like shoot and burn super cheap and I remember you actually hired a coach probably like six seven years ago and You invested in a coach and I remember watching you and I'm like I can't do that Like I'm in a small town you were sitting there and like trying to tell me about products I was like, I don't know. I don't know I'm charging like two to three thousand dollars for weddings like it'll do it'll do and then really when we move back down south

Christa (05:11.727)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (05:18.95)
I knew that like really where my market was in it couldn't sustain the luxury industry. And when I was moving down here, I was like, something's got to change. And I had started, I invested in a coach myself and she was kind of more leaning into not really product based. And that's kind of when I was really like, Krista, like I'm teaching photographers about luxury weddings, but like you have such a value. Like you were telling me about

five, $10,000 sales that you were having. And I was like, how is that even possible? And so like, I really do believe it was like a mindset block. And that's really what my coach had helped me kind of conquer. And that was a huge hurdle for me because after like, honestly, that was probably what took me the longest time to get where I am now. It was like, people aren't gonna pay this much. People aren't gonna pay this much.

Christa (05:48.463)
Mm-hmm.

Christa (05:58.543)
Absolutely.

Ashlea Snell (06:12.302)
And I think that that's kind of where a lot of people are stuck at, whether you're like raising your prices with services and products or vice versa. So really, I had stopped doing portraits altogether. was like, it's just not even I had two kids by this time. And I just was like, my mental capacity, you know, I tell you all the time, like my mental capacity can't take anymore. yeah, it's very true. It's very, it's very true. And

Christa (06:32.703)
We see that to each other weekly, I think, of like, I can't do anything else. This is draining. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (06:40.046)
And so I think it was really like three years ago, someone at our church had come up to me and she was like, Ashley, do you think that you like, will you do portraits for me? And I remember calling him like, Ashley, I said, Krista, I don't even want to offer portraits. Like I don't do that. I don't want to do that. And she was like, just try to do it my way. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. I remember literally like hours before this session.

Christa (07:05.377)
I I literally just like, did I just text you a studio menu like 10 minutes before the shoot or something and was like, just try charging these rates, your costs will be good.

Ashlea Snell (07:09.134)
Yes. I think it was like five minutes. She was like walking in the door. Yes. And so it's so true. mean, I did like a 20, 30 minute studio shoot of a like granddaughter and I had like a tooth at my house. I literally showed her just like products. Um, I actually had all these albums because for my weddings, I wanted to get into that. and I think actually before that I had a $4,000 album sale and I was like,

Christa (07:19.939)
Yeah, at your house, I think, right?

Christa (07:38.191)
Wow, yeah.

Ashlea Snell (07:39.382)
what it like, I don't even know what doing. Which is why I bought all this stuff. Because you told me like five years ago, you're like, actually, just buy samples people will. And it's so true. Like that's, they will. And so I had them over to my house. You know, I just had them over to my house and they fell in love with like a 12 by 12 leather album and she purchased it. But I mean, like the grandmother that came after that 20 minute shoot of her granddaughter, she ended up buying like a wall art and then also bought an album.

Christa (07:41.187)
Right.

Christa (07:46.275)
Yeah. Great. People buy what they see.

Ashlea Snell (08:07.362)
And I remember like bringing it over to her house and she had tears in her eyes and she, was like such a, like a core memory, guess was what the hip people call it now. I think maybe, you know, for products, you like how much did I spend on product? she's, it was a $2,000 sale. Yeah, it was a $2,000 sale. And I actually told her, I was like, I'll give you the digital because I'm like,

Christa (08:18.127)
Yeah, how much was her spend?

Christa (08:25.623)
No, how much did she how much was that sale? Wow.

Ashlea Snell (08:36.686)
Yeah, why not? Um, and did she do anything with them? They're probably actually but it was so cool because I actually went over. I had bought like white gloves, right? And I like went over with a nail and Tyler was freaking out because he does all of our hanging. And I was like, I will give this woman a white glove service. Like she just paid me two grand. And so sure enough, I went to her house and we found where we were gonna put it.

and I put a nail on the wall and I hung up her portrait and she just stared at it. And still to this day, like she just sent me a Christmas card and she's like, everybody that comes to my house loves this picture of Luna. And that like truly like still gives me goosebumps because I never ever ever would have offered products if like you weren't just like, Ashley you must do this. And.

Christa (09:08.015)
That's amazing.

Christa (09:16.419)
Yes!

Christa (09:28.163)
I know. And like you said, like when you mentioned, talk more about, I don't think anyone in my area will ever pay this. And then they did.

Ashlea Snell (09:34.722)
Yeah. Yeah. And that's like, I was in the boonies of Georgia, like at the time, cause I was living in Chatsworth and like our neighborhood was pretty much the only good neighborhood. So, like I just was thinking, well, and I told her, I did tell her walking in and kind of like with what you were saying, I had already, when I moved out of Georgia about four years ago, I was like, something's gotta change. My wedding prices have got to go up.

Christa (10:01.167)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (10:01.806)
So I think I like tripled our wedding prices and truly like the Lord had just blessed us for, I mean my husband went full time with me and he was able to do video and I do photo. you know, it was really taking the weddings that we really wanted to take and that's kind of where I've gotten with my portrait sessions. Like that's the beautiful thing about where I am with portraits. I don't have to do a portrait session.

I think I was telling you, I think it was back in November, I just photographed someone from Forbes 100 magazine. He's one of the top billionaires in the US. And I did a very nice session for him and it was a well over four figure session that just for a 30 minute showing up. They haven't even done their album. I pre-sale an album to them. But I sent them the pictures and...

They haven't done anything else. And I'm like, okay, if I walk away with X amount of money, that's fine. but it's just really great. I feel like I've been able to find how to do my portrait sessions at a premium cost. That makes it actually worth it. I've got three kids now and I don't want to get out every weekend, but I mean, I just told you like back in November, I had done two portrait sessions and I was like, this is worth it for me.

Christa (11:02.979)
Right.

Ashlea Snell (11:24.492)
It's worth it for me to get out. It's worth it for me to get away from my kids for two, three, $4,000. Just going and shooting for 30 minutes and providing the wall art or whatever the case may be. And I was definitely the one that was like, there's time on the back end, right? Like you have to buy samples and you have to buy that. And like, think that that's kind of what held me back so much. I was really nervous about like investing in, I was really nervous and investing in product. There are some days where all this stuff just kind of sits there.

Christa (11:34.831)
Yeah, I love that.

Ashlea Snell (11:54.508)
But I know that I've well made well over my sample price of what I've bought.

Christa (11:59.681)
Exactly. So much of it is mindset. It's funny because one time I shared that I got a DM from someone that's like, do I have to buy samples? And Morgan, you know Morgan, Amanda, DMed me and was like, just buy the dang sample. Like you're going to sell more. so, but so much, Ashley, I was like that too. And like, think about when we started our business of like, should I buy this lens? And in retrospect, it's like, yes, that lens will make you a lot more money, Krista. But like in the moment it was like, but I'm still building. Like this needs to work. And

Ashlea Snell (12:02.807)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (12:07.99)
Yeah.

Yes, it's true. It's a lot of money.

Ashlea Snell (12:24.418)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (12:29.037)
and

Christa (12:29.623)
It's really important, Ashley. coaching a student this year who is just really skilled fast, really fast. And she actually hand builds all of her framing. She's actually going to be on an interview scene. I'm excited. like, isn't it insane? One of the reasons like she's skilled is she always was like, Krista, I'm always looking at like, she views herself as the next version of herself. So like, yes, I'm going to invest in a actual brand people for my website and not like slap something together and like,

Ashlea Snell (12:34.902)
Yeah. my gosh.

Yeah.

Christa (12:58.991)
Yes, I'm going to have professional headshots and like all these things that likes for me. I felt like it took me much longer to like get to, but once I saw that, like you mentioned, we both invested in coaching. Well, it costs money. Well, yeah, but I need to learn how to make money and I want to do it fast. And like we invested in samples, but it costs money. You know, yeah, but then clients see it then want to spend that amount with you.

Ashlea Snell (13:15.694)
That's a business. You know, it's interesting because like my dad, owns a multimillion dollar shop in Greenville and like he's a mechanic. And it's so crazy. was talking to him. They hired coaches like on a monthly basis. They actually have people come in and like audit how their business is doing. And I was like, I never knew like a mechanic shop. Like, why are they investing? But it just kind of was like in retrospect, it's like everybody is trying to do better. And yes.

Christa (13:37.41)
Yeah!

Ashlea Snell (13:44.462)
100%, you can definitely go onto YouTube and find this stuff for free. But honestly, with Facebook, with ads that are showing, I hate going onto YouTube. I actually was trying to brush up on my karaoke for whenever I'm going on a cruise in two weeks. so I was looking, and I'm like, why is there 16 ads? I I feel like it's just a total waste of time. And I feel like, yeah, I just definitely.

Christa (13:57.081)
That's hilarious.

Christa (14:04.335)
Sure. And like, think YouTube is a great, there's, like you said, a lot of great resources, but I will say Ashley, part of the reason that I think we both scaled and you mentioned you hired a coach, even though someone might say, well, you could have pieced it together on YouTube. You made that investment into yourself. You took yourself seriously, right? It's kind of like when you get like professional headshots of yourself to share, you could have done it with an iPhone by yourself, but like you don't, cause you're, taking yourself into that next level. And then that's when Ashley, I feel like you started

Ashlea Snell (14:10.306)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (14:18.966)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Christa (14:34.381)
you know, viewing every area of what you were doing as like, am a high level business owner and you, I mean, goodness, you stepped into that luxury branding space by being that person. What does a luxury wedding photographer do? Who do they market with? Who do they have conversations with? Like, who are they taking out to lunch? Like, what things are they photographing? And you went out and got that content. So talk to the photographer, Ashley, listening. That's like,

Ashlea Snell (14:38.956)
Yeah. Yeah.

Christa (14:58.951)
I know there's that next level for me. Maybe it's portraits, maybe it's weddings. I am leaving my kids for way too little. Like I'm barely offsetting the cost of the babysitter. Like what would you say that maybe helped you get out of your own way when it came to charging your worth?

Ashlea Snell (15:08.718)
Yeah, I think that's a really good thing to talk about. think it's a lot. It's there. There, you know, my husband says it all the time. He's like, there is an immense amount of money in this world. You just got to go find it. And, you know, it is crazy because people are wanting to spend money. You

Christa (15:29.071)
Hmm.

Ashlea Snell (15:38.698)
walk into freaking Walmart for milk and you walk out with a hundred dollars worth of groceries because you're looking to spend money. And so, you you think of something just as treasured as like images. And I used to say, like when I was a shoot and burn, I was like, I would never pay for product. But now that like where we are with really like our annual income, I would totally drop $2,000 on getting a portrait of my family. Like, because I value that.

Christa (16:04.878)
Right.

Ashlea Snell (16:07.144)
And there are people that have value in there. I have seen people value that. I've seen people value photography. And it's funny because yesterday someone just mess. It was a planner. She's like a really good planner. She's a wonderful planner. And she was like, she sent me something. She's like, what are your thoughts about this? It was like pricing on your website. And I said, my clients are not price shopping. And I was like, so at the end of the day, like you can say all day that I'm losing clients, but like those aren't my clients. And so I really think.

Christa (16:32.911)
And you don't want to be the photographer for everyone. So yeah, it's turning people away, but that's your your goal isn't to book everybody. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (16:37.684)
Yeah, that's the point. Yeah, I mean, we've got 10 weddings that so far this year already booked and we're like not even an engagement season. And like dream clients, I would say every single one of them are absolute dream clients, resonate with our brand. And you know what afterwards, I could bet money, I did not sell them an album with their package, but I bet money that they're going to spend two to $6,000 on an album afterwards, because they don't blink an eye because and it's the funny thing is

Christa (16:50.926)
Amazing.

Ashlea Snell (17:06.798)
I feel like most days I'm like, I don't even know what I did right. Except for my branding. I heard a coach to figure out what the crap I was doing. I've had you walk alongside me with products. Um, like just seriously having Kristen, my year has been, and I think that that's the biggest thing when it comes to coach, my, coach that I had hired, she was like, she kicked me in the butt and you don't, you know, because we actually had the same coach for a while. And she, once you find someone that's like more driven than you are.

you work your butt off to pay that off. like that's kind of, yeah. And so it's funny because even my husband, sometimes he's like, all right, who's the next coach that you're going to invest in? Like, what are you going to do next? Because, and that was not him. That was like not him five, six years ago, but he's seen the value of like where it's, you know, where I've come by hiring and fast tracking. And my biggest regret is probably not, not doing product sooner. I think that that would, yeah.

Christa (17:39.361)
absolutely!

Christa (17:49.709)
Yeah. Great.

Christa (18:02.479)
That's mine too. Yeah. I say that all the time where I look at the five years I spent doing shoot and burn and just never getting past that six figure mark. And then the five years after it was multiple years of doubling income. Okay. So you would say to break it down, Ashley, our listeners, the biggest thing that catalyst for your growth, I think you had said branding was a huge thing and education was a huge thing. Learning what was next, especially for you in the luxury wedding space, I would say branding.

Ashlea Snell (18:08.184)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (18:14.456)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (18:22.693)
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, branding definitely helped. And it's funny because I am a very, mean, you know, I know, show it like the back of my hand, I could like whip out a website like that. And that's kind of what I've always done. But I actually invested in a show designer when we rebranded, I think it was like, I think she launched last year, it took about a year. It was a long year. But I feel like once she kind of got the branding out, and once we

Christa (18:36.483)
Yeah.

Yeah, you could.

Ashlea Snell (18:59.82)
like really found out what our ideal client was. was like, it was a hit the nail on the head type of aspect. Yeah. And it was a lot of money, but.

Christa (19:02.991)
Hmm. Yeah. And even though you, for sure. And even though you said you could have done it, there comes a point actually where you do to get to the next level, start outsourcing things. And I tell my students this, where I'm like, we're photographers, but we wear as a business owner, like we could be working 24 seven. If we had double the amount of hours in the day, we could be working every single one of them because we're photographers, but we also like.

Ashlea Snell (19:12.888)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (19:17.464)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (19:26.926)
Yeah.

Christa (19:31.501)
make our own websites and run our own social media and like do our own editing and all these things that we don't have to be doing. Like what if we just focused on what do I need to do to get to the next level and learn to get there and started outsourcing. And I remember when I made my first big investment to outsource my website and it's interesting because now that I coach, I'm going be honest, it was before a lot of like some of my students would be willing to take that step, but it's because I saw what was next and knew I can't, I don't want to

Ashlea Snell (19:34.478)
Yep.

Ashlea Snell (19:46.478)
them.

Christa (20:00.685)
be the one to get there myself when there's someone ahead of me who can do it better, where more people are going to find me on Google and book me, where people are going to visually see it, and it's going to resonate with them. And for you, Ashley, you made that investment, but one wedding paid for that and more. it's like, yeah. So outsourcing and education.

Ashlea Snell (20:15.462)
100%. yeah. yeah, for sure. And I, you know, it, I think naturally, it's interesting because you look at it now and you there's probably a lot of moms that are are watching this. And, you know, I think so many of those moms are just trying to pick up an extra part time job, right? Like they're just trying to get some extra money, which I think is a beautiful thing they're able to give. But like, in my perspective, you're probably picking up a session right now. Three hundred, four hundred, five hundred dollars.

Christa (20:34.191)
Totally. Yeah, no shame in that. Right.

Ashlea Snell (20:45.09)
and you're killing yourself, you're probably gone for an hour, you you're editing it all at home afterwards. But then you want to do like six of them, seven of them in a month. So like if you really break it down, numbers wise, because we all love numbers, you could sit there and in my mind, you really could just do one or two portrait sessions a month. Maybe, I mean, literally, you could do one for $2,000, $3,000.

Christa (20:48.239)
Hmm.

Christa (21:00.111)
Yep.

Christa (21:07.439)
Hmm.

Ashlea Snell (21:14.08)
And it's crazy once you sit down and like you actually talk to these other moms that are wanting to invest in photography. They're like, they want that too. Like they really want everything to be done for them. I want my house to be cleaned for me. I don't want to just throw them on Facebook. yeah.

Christa (21:26.018)
yeah.

Right. Right. And like the why, I think you had said you were like, you now you maybe would be your ideal client. And you mentioned like financially you're in a spot, but I would say more than that, like just where the spot your family is at. Like we see more than ever how much our kids change so fast. And yeah.

Ashlea Snell (21:37.558)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (21:42.126)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (21:46.126)
Mm hmm. And, and I love this because we actually invested in some wall art for our kids. I think we got them like two or three years ago. And I told Tyler, I said, they're huge. They're like, I think they're 20 by 30s. And they're black and white. And we had them up the staircase. And it's so crazy because I told Tyler was like, I said, well, when we moved into this house, I was like, Hey, we need to get new photos ordered. And he's like, No, I love looking at where our kids were like three years ago. And I'm like,

Christa (21:52.099)
Yeah

Christa (22:11.896)
How?

Ashlea Snell (22:15.072)
That's so true. Like it makes me want to cry because I think of like little Carter with his bleach blonde hair when he was like two years old. And I think so many moms want to reminisce, you know, how fast their kids are growing. And they say like one of the most important things for your kids is to see their pictures on the walls. And like that's like one of the biggest, you know, I don't know. And you have to be passionate about it. I think that at the end of the day, if you're trying to sell something, you do have to be passionate about it. so I think that

Christa (22:28.111)
Absolutely.

Christa (22:33.112)
Yeah!

Christa (22:42.383)
Absolutely. But I would say though, go ahead.

Ashlea Snell (22:46.606)
Oh, no, no, no. That's all I was gonna say.

Christa (22:48.281)
Like to step into that, even when you had that first client and sold her wall art that you talked about, that 2K client, and you really didn't know what you were doing, I wouldn't say you were like insanely passionate about it then, but like the more you do it, the more you see that and like, it's okay. I would say to start doing something and then, like see the value later on. So like if you're listening and you're just like, I have never printed something before like you're talking about. I hadn't either until I started like,

Ashlea Snell (22:52.6)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (23:00.014)
Yeah, it's true.

Ashlea Snell (23:06.606)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Christa (23:17.773)
doing this process and my coach actually told me like one of my homework steps was exactly what you did of like print something of you for your home and I was like, well, it's just that overnight. She was like, it doesn't matter. And so I did and Ashley, it was the same thing where we were six months into marriage. Now we're like seven years into marriage and we still have them on the wall and I still look at it and Ashley it's like my mind just goes right back to that place. We were at six months into marriage, like the beautifulness of it, what we were working through like.

Ashlea Snell (23:42.035)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right? It's probably expired, if I'm just being honest. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Christa (23:45.507)
all of those crazy things that I would never think about. Actually, I don't care where that online gallery is. And now as a mom, my gosh, probably. And now, like you said, like as a mom, it's like, wow, things change a lot, like year to year. And it's not, hey, we get this done to change the image in and out. Like you move it around the home because you're celebrating like that season of like where your kids were at.

Ashlea Snell (24:12.382)
Mm-hmm. It's so so true and and honestly you're so right because I had actually gotten those images printed out because You were pushing me more towards product and I was like well You know might as well buy some samples from my home So then I ended up buying that and literally that grandmother walked in and I had those three wooden frames and she ordered the same size She ordered the same size. She said I want that I want that in my house and that's what she ended up purchasing and I yeah, you're so right. I really wasn't like

Christa (24:24.324)
Right.

Christa (24:32.163)
Amazing. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (24:42.03)
super passionate at the time, but you better believe when I made $2,000 I was like, we're gonna, I was like, let's, we're gonna get more passionate about this one. And so.

Christa (24:46.479)
Something's working here. Yeah. Yeah.

Christa (24:52.964)
Yeah, and I do think it's like you said, like, but then you, but now you are, and like, you can convey that sale even easier and just share your, like, even share your purse. And I would do that with clients. Like, Hey, I'm looking at photos of my husband and I on the wall right now. I don't care where those images are, but like, that's truly what I want for every client and every mom I photographed to not have to like dig up an online gallery. What size do you need? Cause like you said, 24 by 30, sometimes students wonder actually why when they email out a PDF, no one buys. And it's like, well, you would see that number and have no idea.

Ashlea Snell (24:57.535)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (25:06.668)
Yeah.

Christa (25:22.081)
What that size even means? What does it look like in person? All these things.

Ashlea Snell (25:25.871)
Yeah, and I would love to tag in. So really, whenever I started all of this, we've been, my husband's been in the ministry, like all this stuff. So we've had a lot of people from church kind of, I guess, feel obligated to use, to try and use us for, mean, you know exactly how this is, we've talked about it before. So I essentially was like, I can't mentally be telling people like my average spend for this whole boutique type photography is going to be two to $3,000.

Christa (25:42.477)
Mm-hmm.

Christa (25:52.623)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (25:54.414)
I just don't want to have that conversation. I will totally be honest, like still to this day, I'm not like a salesperson. But what I did was I really recreated this for me. So I actually have something that we've created that like, can go on, it gives all the information, they can click to book, there's a $200 session fee, it lays everything out. I don't have to get on a phone call. And they pick the package and it's labeled all out. She gets the, you know, they get all that stuff. And if they book, great. If they don't,

Great, and you know what I found? They book. Most of the time they'll book. If I send them, if they're inquiring with us, it is very clear on our website, like an average spend is like 18 to $2,200 for a portrait session. And yes, people click off. But I don't wanna be doing portrait sessions every weekend. I don't wanna be doing portrait sessions. So like for me, I've kind of worked this, I say worked this system where I've been able to, Because I don't wanna be, you know, I personally, I found out that like,

Christa (26:40.227)
Exactly.

Christa (26:45.455)
I love it, but for it to work for you and your goals. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (26:52.494)
jumping on a call for me, you with a four year old in the background is not as easy. I've actually, um, this one client that was in Forbes, the woman just like called me out of the blue and I was like, Oh my gosh. Like I don't, I'm like, I think we're in the process of remodeling. And I was like, Oh, one second, Sarah, like walked outside. So I just, I don't, I don't like phone calls. I just, I'm not a fan of them. Um, but like all the information's there, it lays it out and

Christa (27:09.123)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (27:19.182)
They know going into it and they're okay with it and like honestly when she booked that she was like yes I mean actually she was like yeah, send me the invoice and then she messaged me back She's like no, actually want to go with it. I think it's like $2,200 sale or something like that and then like literally Yeah, I think it was like five digitals and then a 12 by 12

Christa (27:30.445)
Right. It's a portrait session, just in case anyone's wondering. She's still talking about weddings.

Yeah. And I think actually too for you, like sometimes I think people hear, you know, you have 10 weddings in the luxury industry and they're like, she's just working 10 days this year. Like, no, the luxury wedding industry. And I tell students this, it's not just, it might look a certain way on Instagram. It is a lot of work. You're not sitting there twiddling your thumbs like what to work on today. So you want that, and I call it like that higher barrier of entry for portrait people to book you versus the student who's like,

Ashlea Snell (27:44.462)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (27:51.488)
It's not. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (27:56.486)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (28:01.39)
Mm-hmm.

Christa (28:04.719)
I really, really, really want to book more and more and more. We're like, don't go that route. But I've coached students like you before who were like, no, I have a student actually at that $3,400 average for a shoot. And she's like, I just want people to know the minimum and like go from there. But like you said, it shows, you you've set yourself up in such a way that there are people that pay that. And when people, you know, the bigger I get, the more people I get that slide into my DMs or comment on ads. Like, is this even true? Are people actually paying this?

Ashlea Snell (28:14.128)
Amazing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Christa (28:34.839)
And it kind of blows my mind because it's like you said, people buy what they value. Like the stuff, things you've splurged on. Everyone always has splurges and it's just, finding people who value it. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (28:40.759)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (28:45.248)
Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And I think like, once you sit there and you kind of break it down for people, like so many people are willing to like put out on payment. I mean, for instance, I had someone just spend I think, over a fourth of what they paid for a wedding package on an album. And they were thrilled. I actually was shocked. I was like, I was like, I literally was like, these people are gonna buy anything. Like, there's no way.

Christa (29:03.823)
Yeah.

Christa (29:08.046)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (29:15.33)
They did. They were thrilled. They were like, well, just, and I was like, do you want to break it up in payment plans? They're like, no, send me a full invoice. I was like, okay, why not? Yeah. And so like, I think still like, I'm still trying to overcome my mindset when it comes to products. So like, I mean, I'll be the first to say like, I know, but I think I see how much it's valued and I see how much potential it is. Like,

Christa (29:21.027)
Yeah, exactly. And that's what they're going to look through after. Like, that's what they have from their wedding. They love it.

Christa (29:32.247)
Absolutely.

Christa (29:39.801)
Mm-mm.

Ashlea Snell (29:43.406)
there's so much potential, there's so much money to be made. And even in a super small town, like you want to be known for the person offering products. And it all kind of goes back, things go in trends. You know, they always say things go in waves. And I really do believe we're like on the up trick of right waves of people are sick of social media. They're sick of like just putting their kids on social media. And they want to have their pictures printed out. Like they want the filmy type images they want.

Christa (29:54.286)
Mm.

Ashlea Snell (30:09.566)
all this stuff that's coming back. like the whole shooting bird people are, would think, I think. Like more people are wanting to get more of the full service. And that's just kind of like what I've kind of seen with trends because people are sick of just nobody wants, I mean, especially once you get into like higher end clients, like they don't want, they don't, they don't want their pictures online. They don't value that. Like they have.

Christa (30:25.091)
Makes sense.

Christa (30:29.571)
Mm-hmm.

Christa (30:33.794)
Right. You've had, I hope it's okay to say, you have had non-DA situations of your high level clients saying, I don't want these blasted all over, right? But they're going to have them in their home to look through.

Ashlea Snell (30:36.867)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (30:40.674)
Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, they've got like a 6,000 square foot beach house that they need to fill up. So, yeah.

Christa (30:52.045)
Yeah, exactly. So Ashley, just to end this, I think this was so helpful. What would you say a student should do or a photographer should do? What would be the first step you would say to take to shift from, I have these mindset pricing blocks, which even like Ashley said, y'all, even though she's had big sales, mindset's a constant thing. It's not like, and check, got my mindset fixed. I work through mindset stuff all the time. But what would you say would be a good next step for them?

Ashlea Snell (30:57.336)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (31:13.39)
Yeah.

Yeah, I really think that I think uncapped is a really great program to be a part of I actually

Christa (31:25.551)
I wasn't trying to lead into that, but thank you.

Ashlea Snell (31:27.842)
You know, it's so funny. It's so funny because a lot of my past like clients with coaching, they've actually invested in, I think that some of them are still in your like one or two have been in your program and they're like, they're probably thinking this is way better than Ashley's. But seriously, like I really do believe like actually recognizing that there's a need for growth in your business and like accepting the fact that there's so much more potential. I think that that's kind of what held me back for so long. I just was so nervous of like,

Christa (31:35.957)
I love it.

Christa (31:41.027)
No.

Christa (31:48.205)
Okay.

Christa (31:55.439)
Hmm.

Ashlea Snell (31:57.864)
What if I start this journey of products and then nothing happens? And like, think, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And so I think that that's a very valid thing too. think like putting your business actually like on a level where you believe like, I can actually do something with this. because you know, we all as photographers, people tend to love to say like, you know, how's your little business going? And it's so cool to even look at you and like we're

Christa (32:01.751)
Yeah, all the what ifs or it flops or people laugh at me. Yeah.

Christa (32:15.865)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (32:27.15)
you are now and you're like, I can easily make 500,000 on sales in a year. And you're like, this is not my little little business. No, I mean, but for real, like I think that so many people like, but you have to start taking yourself seriously. And I feel like that's, that's about everything in life. Like once you kind of get to a point where you're like, yeah. So

Christa (32:42.179)
You do, yes.

Christa (32:46.351)
Oh, 100%. I remember the OG goddess of photography, Caitlin James, one time saying, and I will never forget this. I think she said this. I really hope she did. If you can't take yourself seriously, don't expect anyone else to. And I just like tucked that away because I would do that. People would be like, what do you do? And it would be like, you mumble it. Like you're just like, I'm a photographer. And then like change the subject as fast as you possibly can. And it's like, no. And I tell them like,

Ashlea Snell (32:52.747)
Yes.

Ashlea Snell (33:03.007)
Mm-hmm.

Ashlea Snell (33:10.529)
Yeah, it's.

Christa (33:13.391)
Tell my students like when you go places like have your elevator pitch and be confident. Hold your head up high. Look at people in the eye and tell them what you do, who you do it for and why. And then make sure you make it about them and that it's not the Christa show, but they know Chris is a confident person. She believes what she stands behind and I loved, know, I want to be someone Ashley like you walk away from and you're like, why did I? Why did I share so much with that person right? Because I've done that where I'm like, why did I?

Ashlea Snell (33:20.308)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's so funny because literally like

Christa (33:41.369)
tell them my deepest secrets is because they were that person that was confident and easy to talk to.

Ashlea Snell (33:48.386)
five, I guess four years ago when we first moved here and we were going to the private school with my kids and people with mothers would be like, what do you do? And I'm like, I'm a photographer. like now I'm like, yeah, I'm a photographer. You know, I do weddings and I do corporate stuff. And so many of them are, do you do family sessions? And I'm like, actually I do a very minimum amount. It's a very boutique service. Like typically our offerings are over 2000 a piece. And, and it's really funny how different their mindset like views. then

Christa (33:52.685)
Yeah.

Christa (33:56.854)
Yeah.

Christa (34:09.464)
Right.

Christa (34:15.672)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (34:16.462)
when they kind of find us, like, oh, you're not just like some little like podunk mom that... Not that, right, right, right. Not that like younger photographers are podunk, but you know what I'm saying? But yeah.

Christa (34:22.338)
sure, or they're like, yeah, my 14 year old neighbor's a photographer. Yeah.

I know what you're saying. Yeah, there could be a difference. So, okay. Yeah. Oh, what were you saying? I did not mean to cut you off.

Ashlea Snell (34:35.748)
no. mean, I just feel like once I started taking myself seriously and like being like, no, like I'm not just some person that you could hire to do a $200 session. because that's totally where I was four years ago and I was just not confident. You know, I was so like, I'm self-employed. I'm like, and I had owned my business at that point for six years. Like it wasn't like I was like not, you know, but I would definitely say like, it was my mindset that I needed to kind of like.

Christa (34:44.495)
Absolutely, yeah.

Christa (34:49.624)
Hmm.

Christa (34:56.27)
Right.

Ashlea Snell (35:04.984)
change my big girl pants and be like, no, like I'm legit. Also make sure to find a good CPA. That's also something I would make sure you.

Christa (35:09.347)
Yeah.

Christa (35:12.975)
Yeah, yeah. Again, outsourcing. So like you said, like put yourself at the level that you want to head to. And I think that's where lot of photographers stop is they're like, but I'm not there. And it's like, right. But like we have to start making moves to get there. Right. Well, I need to update my website and I'm not a website designer. Yeah. You're going to invest in your business and yourself. Also, there's tons of freeways to market until then as you build up and grow. Like the sky is the limit. So Ashley, for our listeners who are like, oh my gosh, like

Ashlea Snell (35:20.408)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (35:30.978)
Yeah.

Ashlea Snell (35:34.488)
Yeah.

Christa (35:39.481)
They're probably, first of all, they're probably like, these girls are insane. We just spend our conversations interrupting each other when someone has something good enough to say. But where can they find you and connect with you? We'll link it in the show notes too, but tell us, I believe you have even some ways that you can help, like wedding photographers, I believe, get to their next level. Tell us a little bit more.

Ashlea Snell (35:45.838)
Yes.

Ashlea Snell (36:00.084)
Yeah, so we just have a one-on-one coaching program that we offer and Yeah, you can find us over on Instagram the smells you just start typing that in and you'll find us but It'll pop right up and then you can see that we're just honestly we're just

Christa (36:11.681)
It'll pop right up.

Ashlea Snell (36:18.476)
a family that we love what we do. absolutely, we love doing weddings and we love serving the minimum of portrait clients that we do get to serve. But it is, it has truly been like the most incredible journey and like looking back over the, the however many years, it is so fun to kind of like see where the business has, has gone and like where we've been able to grow it now. But we just, just like you, we just love what we do and

Christa (36:28.591)
Hmm.

Ashlea Snell (36:46.616)
We're super passionate about serving our clients. And I really think that people see that more than anything. you know, just, yeah, that's kind of where you can find us.

Christa (36:52.483)
Yeah, I love that. I love that. We'll link that in the show notes, Ashley, and thank you so much for taking the time to chat, and we really appreciate it, and thank you to our listeners for being here.

Ashlea Snell (37:06.894)
Yeah.