How Emily Built a $100K Senior Photography Business Through Word-of-Mouth (While Raising 4 Kids!)

Want to connect with Emily? Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilysommerphotography/

Summary

In this conversation, Emily Sommer shares her journey as a senior photographer, discussing her transition from a shoot and burn model to a full-service approach. She emphasizes the importance of creating a unique client experience, balancing family life with her business, and the value of senior photography as a one-time event. Emily also offers advice for aspiring photographers on how to stand out in a competitive market and build a successful business.

Takeaways

• Emily transitioned from shoot and burn to full service photography.
• She found that fewer clients can lead to higher earnings.
• Senior photography is a unique, one-time event that clients value.
• Balancing family life and business is crucial for sustainability.
• Creating a personalized client experience is key to referrals.
• Emily emphasizes the importance of being different from competitors.
• She offers mini sessions to cater to clients' needs.
• Emily's average earnings per session increased significantly after her transition.
• Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool in the senior photography space.
• Emily encourages photographers to focus on serving their clients well.

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Transcript

Christa (00:00.693)
Welcome back everybody. I am so excited today to have a very special guest, Emily Summer Photography, who is a photographer in the senior space in Columbus, Ohio. And Emily, I think you and I first connected. I'm like looking at my calendar here, maybe two-ish years ago.

Emily Sommer (00:19.096)
Yeah, that's right.

Christa (00:20.413)
Yeah, and I've had the joy of coaching Emily ever since she started in uncapped and then did more intensive coaching, but she has such an amazing story. She balances a lot. I don't know how she does it all. And I just know Emily, like what you have to share today is just gonna be so helpful for the photographers out there that look at you and what you've done. And they're like, man, I would love to get there. So.

Emily, do you want to share a little bit just about your photo journey and really especially when you shifted towards full service?

Emily Sommer (00:56.273)
Yeah, I started my official business about seven years ago and I had a friend who was a photographer and I didn't know that photographers could be somebody besides just a studio where you went. She was just like a normal person who was a mom and had a business and I thought I want that.

Christa (01:15.562)
Yeah.

Emily Sommer (01:17.134)
So that was kind of my inspiration where I started and I did just the shoot and burn method for years and years. And I got to the point where I was so exhausted from shooting so many sessions. And then at the end of the year, looking at my bank account, thinking, where did it, where did everything go? I worked so hard and I had so many clients and I feel like I have nothing to show for it. And

That is when actually on Instagram, Christa, you kept popping up about this whole like, different way to do things. And I thought, I need to give this a try, because the way that I'm continuing is not going to be sustainable. So I need to make some changes. And so that's when I joined Uncap. And I learned for the first time that there's a different way to do this that doesn't have to be scary. But when I when I heard

Christa (01:50.089)
haha

Emily Sommer (02:14.252)
you can have fewer clients that make more money. I thought I'm in, I've got to try this. So that was the transition for me and the turning point. And I loved Uncapped. And then you extended the offer to be an inner circle. And I thought, I've got to try this. And it literally changed my business and just all for the better. And so I was able to make more money. And honestly, more than anything,

I feel like I was able to serve my clients better because I was giving them more than just the digital images. And even when I had repeat clients who were with me when I was shoot and burn, and now were with me when I was more full service, they said, you know, with my first senior, I never did anything with my photos. And I'm so excited that now you're giving me some different options of how I can have these photos displayed in my home, how I can look at them every day.

Christa (02:44.042)
Yeah.

Christa (02:55.945)
Mmm.

Emily Sommer (03:06.134)
And so they were not only ordering for their current senior, but then they were going back and saying, and then for my senior that you photographed two years ago, I want this frame or I want these matted prints. And so I was able to give them that too, which was just amazing.

Christa (03:20.168)
Wow. Okay, I love that, Emily. And so for those of you who don't know, Emily, is it a good, you think like a 90%, 80 % of your business is the senior space? Okay.

Emily Sommer (03:29.826)
I would say yes, I did not start off that way. I started off mostly doing families and I still love doing families, but somehow it's like the tables have turned a little bit and now I'm doing mostly seniors and fewer families, which is honestly what I love, yeah.

Christa (03:35.206)
Really?

Christa (03:43.485)
I love that. Can I ask Emily? Yeah, and I love that you're, I mean, I'm sure you're okay to share, you surpassed six figures last year and doing mostly seniors. I know that some senior photographers out there are told you can't be successful shooting just seniors. Like, what would you say to that?

Emily Sommer (03:52.248)
Mm-hmm. First time ever.

Emily Sommer (04:04.43)
I would say absolutely you can because a lot of families, really just want their family Christmas card and they want memories for that. But when you're photographing a senior, this is a one-time event. And so almost like with newborns, I feel like people are more willing to go all out because it's not going to be a senior session every year like a family session is every year. And so senior moms are willing to buy albums or wall art because

this is the one shot they have at being a senior. And even my parents still have my brother and my senior photos on the wall in their living room. So it's like this legacy that you do this once and then that photo just lives forever.

Christa (04:51.293)
love that so much. it's like to Emily, I know that you've coached, you know, an inner circle with multiple other senior photographers too, but like one thing that kind of keeps coming up for me when I see you girls doing that is also what a pivotal time for those seniors and what they're facing and how cool that like you get to be a part of that journey. Emily, like I know you personally, obviously just like, you have a very calm demeanor that's like very confident and incredibly encouraging.

And like, what a perfect fit to help them during those really hard years of high school.

Emily Sommer (05:21.263)
Well, thank you. Yeah, and also I have graduated two seniors at this point, and so I feel like I'm also able to offer advice about what it's like to be a mom of a senior, what it's like to say goodbye to your kid. And I have never told my story of saying goodbye to my senior without the other mom.

Christa (05:32.72)
wow.

Emily Sommer (05:45.474)
just starting to cry because it's such an emotional time, but yet it helps set them up for like, this is what you need to expect and that kind of a thing. And so it's, I just have a lot of experience, I guess, with older kids too that I can share that I think just helps.

Christa (06:00.914)
I love that and I know it's something that probably unless you've been through it, you don't truly understand what it's like to say goodbye to your child. And I even remember Emily, when I had Riley, my inner circle gals, you being one of them were like honestly out of everyone like the most encouraging people because it's like y'all just understood it, running a business, bringing children into the world. You had been there, done that for you. You even walked me through having a C-section. I still vividly remember that. And like you were one of the most real people with me about that.

Emily Sommer (06:19.029)
Yep.

Emily Sommer (06:26.638)
Yes.

Christa (06:29.382)
and how cool that you're taking your experience and bringing that into your business. So, you mentioned you've graduated two seniors, so you have four kids, right? Talk about balancing that with your business. Was that one of the reasons that you shifted off of shoot and burn as well?

Emily Sommer (06:45.642)
It absolutely was because, you know, as somebody who has a business in the Midwest, the busy time for us is late summer all the way through November. So you wrap up your busy season and then it's the holiday season. And I was finding that by the holiday season, I was so exhausted that my energy for like making Christmas fun was just like I had no reserves left. And so I also knew I want to change something so that when the holiday season rolls around,

I have energy for my family for this really special time of year too. So that was one of the reasons I wanted to make huge changes. And one of the things I love about running my own business is I get to design my own schedule. So I get to create my schedule. So I only schedule sessions that work for me. I wait until my kids' sports schedules are out and then I plan my sessions so that I don't miss my kids' events.

Christa (07:40.423)
That's amazing. And you having four kids, they're doing a lot of different things. I knew coaching you, you were running around a lot. Christa, this kid's home from school this week. I'm taking this kid to dance. You were doing a lot. Yeah. And serving your clients really well. And I think it's really cool, Emily, that even amidst that, and I know if you know Emily and talk to her, she prioritizes her children and her family. I think Emily, with Shoot and Burn,

Emily Sommer (07:54.346)
Mm-hmm. Yep, it's busy.

Emily Sommer (07:59.382)
Mm-hmm.

Christa (08:10.289)
when I have conversations and just can feel like I can be very candid with photographers. It's like, you can't do both like that and still hit like a six figure business running yourself ragged. Like, do you know Emily, what your average went to from shoot and burn and then some of your sales, you know, after offering more to your clients?

Emily Sommer (08:30.357)
I was charging $450 for a senior session, for a two hour senior session. So one of the things that I do is I offer two different types of sessions. I offer a mini session for the senior that only wants an hour. Most of my guys and my clients, especially the moms and the guys love that I offer that because

Christa (08:39.558)
Mm-hmm.

Emily Sommer (08:49.774)
it gives them something where they feel like, okay, I don't have to commit to two hours because a lot of senior guys are like, I'm only doing this for my parents. It's only because my mom wants my pictures. So they're not that excited to be there. So the fact that I can offer like a senior mini session and also a senior full session is just a great offering. And so with, but for my senior full session, was 450, they get all the digitals. And then a lot of times at this time in life, they have...

Christa (08:56.752)
Sure. Yeah.

Emily Sommer (09:15.822)
a lot of blemishes and so then I'd have to go back and let's say I'm delivering a hundred images well then I'm I'm in there and I am hand editing you know like even if I were to outsource my editing things like a lot of like acne and that stuff I would go in and do those final touches and so it would just take forever now I would say that my average is more of like around 1,500 to 2,000 per session

because I've increased my session fee and then I just price my products at a point where that ends up being about what my average is.

Christa (09:54.886)
That's amazing, Emily. So you went from 450 to basically, I'm trying to do math in my head, you know I struggle with that, almost tripling that and hitting six figures. I think we almost had an overbooking problem, like very much in high demand. And one of the reasons, yeah, even at your higher rates, I know we've talked about this, you're like, okay, probably need to bump them up again. And Emily, yeah, and I shared that Emily for the photographer out there that's like,

Emily Sommer (10:02.497)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Emily Sommer (10:09.909)
Yes, yes, definitely overbooked.

Emily Sommer (10:20.29)
Yep, working on that now.

Christa (10:24.816)
There's no one out there paying that. Well, with the shoot and burn process, no, we can't just hijack our rates for like a low level of service. But now, I know that you are very intentional. Like I would say intentional is a very good word to describe you even in the images you deliver to your clients. Like if you go to your feed, you can just tell you are so intentional making sure each image is incredible. And like now you have the permission and the power to actually be able to do that and be paid for it. Yeah.

Emily Sommer (10:27.234)
Mm-hmm.

Emily Sommer (10:52.828)
Yeah.

Christa (10:54.723)
And then the other reason y'all that I wanted Emily to come is she is a little bit of a, not a unicorn because, but most of your clients are word of mouth. And I think Emily, I'm very intrigued by that. I would say especially in the senior space, because like you said, some family photographers, half of their calendar might be returned clients. Whereas for you in the senior space, for those may be newer to it, marketing is a huge thing because you're obviously actively getting in

Emily Sommer (10:58.414)
Okay.

Christa (11:23.594)
new clients for this that aren't necessarily coming back year to year to year to year. Could you speak to that a little bit?

Emily Sommer (11:32.242)
One of the things that I really try is to give my clients a really great experience. I never want my clients to feel like they're a transaction. And so even from every single inquiry email that comes in, my responses are always excited. I'm so happy. I can't wait to meet you.

Christa (11:38.254)
love that.

Emily Sommer (11:52.694)
And then I always have my clients fill out a senior questionnaire and some of the questions on there are so that I can get to know them a little bit better. And then when we actually have the session, know, years ago, I invested in some posing courses and I start off every session explaining to them that they don't have to know what to do. I'm here to guide them into all the posing.

If they feel like they're confident and they want to try some things, they absolutely can, but they don't need to worry. I will tell them exactly how to stand, where to look, what to do with their hands, what to do with their feet so that they never feel like they're just standing there staring at me. And so I do throughout the whole process, I guide them. Also for girls, I think it's really important. One of the tricks that I learned was to ask them what side they prefer. And some of the girls are like,

Christa (12:45.966)
Yes.

Emily Sommer (12:48.27)
for sure it's my right side. And they usually have a reason why they love their right side because that's where their dimple is or that's where their part is or anything like that. And they, for some reason, that specific question, they just love that I care enough to know like what side do they prefer. And so throughout the session, I keep that in mind and I try to pose them so that that's the dominant side that is showing. I always ask them,

Do you like to smile showing your teeth or do you like to smile not showing your teeth? Because I don't want to assume either way. And so I just really take the time to get to know like, what do they want to look like in front of the camera? Where do they feel confident? Is it showing their teeth or do they hate showing their teeth? And so I just do whatever I can to help make them feel confident and to pose them accordingly. And then at the end of the session, I always give them a gift, which is usually a total surprise to them.

And so for girls, I give a Starbucks gift card. For guys, I give a Chipotle gift card. And the other thing that I always do, which sounds really silly, but I always give them gummy bears because that's something that I do for my family sessions is that, and I always ask the moms or dads ahead of time, you know, like I've got gummy bears so that if your kids need a little bribery.

know, gummy bears, don't run, they're not gross. I buy the organic that are only flavored with natural fruit juices so that moms that are like concerned about, like I just kind of covered all the bases, which moms generally tend to appreciate. But then I have found that seniors love candy. And so at the end of the session, I always kind of joke with them and I'm like, you know, I didn't have to bribe you, but I always love to give at the end of my sessions, I love to give gummy bears. And most of the time they're like,

Christa (14:20.632)
Yes.

Emily Sommer (14:31.784)
And for some reason, this brand that I always buy, they're like, that's the best brand. I'm like, I know, I know it's the best brand. They're the most delicious ones. And so they just love the gummy bears. And so it's like, I just kind of had these little surprises that I give them that just, think they really appreciate. And then I do, once I get home and I always do a sneak peek, seniors love to see themselves, especially the girls. And I do, I pick out the best images and then I don't just say,

the girl's name or the guy's name and had a great session. But I always try to remember something from our session that really stood out to me or something from their questionnaire that really stood out to me. And then I also just back to the session, I use that questionnaire so that, you sometimes you get seniors that love to chat. Sometimes you get seniors that it's like, they're really shy, they're really nervous. And so I just, before every session, I always refer back to the questionnaire so that it's fresh on my mind.

and I'll ask them questions like, you play lacrosse. How long have you been playing? you write for the school newspaper. Tell me, like, when did you start writing and what's your favorite kind of story to write? So I just take that information from their questionnaire and ask them because my heart really is like, I want to get to know these seniors and I want to get to know them so that they feel just appreciated so that I can just be the best photographer for them in these two hours that I'm with them. Like, how can I just make them feel the most known?

So then when I'm writing on their sneak peeks, I usually will write something about, know, like, you're a hockey field hockey player, you know, good luck with the rest of your field hockey season. So I make it really personal. And I cannot tell you how many times even moms that are not like this, the mom of the senior will come to me and they'll say, my gosh, I just read through all of your feed and like the things that you write about these seniors, like it brought me to tears. And it's like, that's not my intention, but it honestly is, I'm just trying to be as

personable as possible. And so that's my goal from beginning to end of the session and then to serve them the best. And so if for, know, there was a couple of times where maybe the products weren't exactly what they wanted. Like one girl, the mom said, you know, her dress in real life just feels more vibrant than it ended up showing. So what did I do? I went back, I increased the saturation on that dress. I reprinted the images and you know, no cost, no questions answered. And I just, I just want to serve them the best that I can. And so

Emily Sommer (16:58.478)
I just hope that that's what's working for me. And so that people want to refer, like not only am I a photographer who hopefully gives people beautiful images, but I want to be a photographer that people are like, you just need to have that experience. And so that's what I aim for. And like you said, you know, it's kind of funny to me now that I think about it, but in the moment it didn't feel funny, but I was creating my schedule for August this past year and I was like, well, except for these dates.

Christa (17:13.943)
Yes.

Emily Sommer (17:27.104)
My entire August is open, but I'm sure I will not fill up. And so I was, I just left August because I, the way that I have my system set up is like, once people want to book me, I let them go in and choose the date. And the next thing I knew, I had 19 consecutive days, I'm sorry, 17 consecutive days with 19 sessions. And I was like, how in the world did this happen? And the great news is I just, booked up because I said, is when I'm available and people took the spots and

I will be a little bit more proactive because as much as I loved all those senior sessions, I was exhausted and I needed a little bit more margin in between. But I was just shocked that that many spaces would fill up. But that gives me good knowledge for planning my schedule this fall.

Christa (18:14.005)
And that, think Emily, that can be so encouraging. Like I hope listeners out there are taking notes that like, yes, you have these different avenues of where people can find you. Like you just updated your website, obviously posting on social, but let's not miss like the word of mouth that can come just from, like one thing I kept hearing is like, you just care so intentionally about each senior. It's not a copy paste, cookie cutter thing, which it would probably have to be if you were having to shoot three times that amount of seniors to hit the financial goal.

you intentionally care about each senior and then now me as a mother, I'm thinking, wow, if that was my kid being served that way, whew, like that's gonna be so impactful.

Emily Sommer (18:42.74)
Mm-hmm.

Emily Sommer (18:54.645)
Yeah, thanks.

Christa (18:55.787)
I love that. my gosh, Emily. This was wonderful. Can you, Emily, let's say there's a photographer out there. Maybe they're doing shoot and burn. Emily, maybe they're like, I love the senior space. I just, I didn't know I could hit six figures just from that space. Or I didn't know I could offer such a wonderful experience like to my seniors. And this is so eye-opening. Like what advice would you give them if their goal maybe is to build a business like yours?

Emily Sommer (19:21.526)
I would say first thing, just common sense being nice to people, serving your clients really well, because I think that really does help with the word of mouth referral. Secondly, don't be like everybody else. Don't be like the shoot and burn photographers. Just because there are so many people like that and maybe they're hitting a lower price point, sure. However, be different. Be the one that says,

Christa (19:33.824)
Hmm.

Emily Sommer (19:45.006)
Yeah, I can do that, but I can also give you so much more. Cause at the end of the day, what is the point of taking pictures if they're just going to live on a hard drive? I just don't even understand that. And so be the photographer that stands out that says, I am going to give you something so much more. I am going to give you a piece of wall art to hang in your home forever. Or, you know, the way I always phrase it, when you have an album on your coffee table and then your senior is away at school.

Every day you can flip through your photo album and just see your favorite images from your session. You don't have to pick just one to hang on a wall, but you can look at, you know, your 20 favorite images. And again, as a mom who's had two kids who have gone off to school, I love looking at their photos because they're not with me in my house every day, but I can look at their pictures. And so be the photographer because there are moms out there. There are moms who want that for their own kids. So be the one that can offer that.

Christa (20:43.92)
such great advice and I hope that encourages anyone wondering like if I can do this you can. Emily you you got to I think that over a thousand dollar average within a year even like you know you jumped in and like you did the work and decided you were gonna make these changes and I know you heard no's and that was hard but like you stuck with it and now people are having a hard time getting in the door with you because you're so wonderful.

Emily Sommer (20:50.349)
Yes.

Emily Sommer (20:54.249)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Emily Sommer (21:01.495)
Okay.

Emily Sommer (21:08.55)
And here's what I'll say too about hearing the nose. I actually just had a senior reach out to me and then she told me that I was too expensive for her. And I'm sad about that, but I'm also just like, but you know what? Now that I've tasted what it feels like to have the average that I can, I'm not going back. So if you can't pay that price, I'm really sorry. There's so many photographers, excuse me, photographers out there.

Christa (21:14.377)
Mm-hmm.

Emily Sommer (21:31.992)
who will offer you at that price, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my time for my family to do that anymore. So it doesn't even hurt or sting to be told no anymore. It's more like, great, I don't have to spend my time with that.

Christa (21:45.824)
I love that, Emily. I think that is such good advice. I think we need to print that out and put it on our mirrors because for those who maybe, Emily, maybe takes them some extra time or harder work to really get in and find those clients, you're right. Every shoot you're taking for that little amount for you, I know having four kids with different schedules, you're saying no to something else in life. So, Emily, thank you so much for just taking the time to share your wealth of wisdom with our listeners.

Emily Sommer (22:05.09)
Yep.

Christa (22:11.377)
if they just really connected with this and just want to reach out and say thank you or ask any follow ups, where's the best place to do that? And we'll link it in the show notes.

Emily Sommer (22:19.377)
You can always DM me. My Instagram is Instagram, you know, at Emily Summer Photography, or my email address is hello at emilysummerphotography.com. And Christa, I just want to say thanks for having me. And also, like, I wouldn't be where I am today without you. So thank you.

Christa (22:34.528)
Don't make me cry, Emily. Well, I just count you as like not just a student, but as a friend at this point in our relationship and have just loved watching everything you're doing and just appreciate you taking the time to encourage others and help them on their photo journeys. Thanks, Emily.

Emily Sommer (22:50.54)
You're welcome.