Building a 6-figure Senior Business without Weekends with Brandi Price

Want to connect with Brandi? 

Follow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/brandipricephotography/

Check out her Senior Photography Education page: https://www.instagram.com/6figureseniorphotographer/

Summary

In this episode, Christa interviews Brandi Price, an exclusive full-service senior photographer from Oklahoma City. Brandi shares her inspiring journey of transitioning from a high school teacher and stay-at-home mom to building a six-figure photography business focused solely on seniors. Despite early doubts and industry advice that she couldn't only photograph seniors, Brandi committed to doing what she loved—and proved them wrong.

She explains how niching down, offering a high-touch client experience with products and professional hair & makeup, and setting firm personal boundaries has allowed her to run a profitable, sustainable business while being fully present for her family. Brandi also discusses her recent success mentoring other photographers who want to specialize in seniors and build thriving businesses without sacrificing their personal life.

Takeaways

• You can build a thriving business by photographing ONLY what you love — Brandi proves it with her senior-only model.
• Niching down helps you stand out and attract clients who value your work.
• A full-service experience (hair, makeup, products) allows for higher prices and fewer sessions.
• Boundaries matter — she never works weekends and still grew her income by $40k in one year
• Seniors (and their parents) want an experience that boosts confidence and leaves them raving
• You only need a handful of ideal clients — not 100+ bookings — to build a profitable business.
• With small tweaks and the right structure, it's possible to grow your income without sacrificing family time.

Thinking about joining Uncapped or Intensive coaching?

 DM me the word COACH to www.instagram.com/christa_rene for a no pressure convo on if this could help your business grow to the next level.

Thanks for listening! We’d LOVE if you left us a review!
Connect with Christa on Instagram HERE!
Enjoy a free 20-min training on adding $50k in income from products HERE!
Apply for Uncapped HERE!

Transcript

Christa (00:00.608)
Welcome everybody. We have a very, very special guest. Brandy Price is here from Brandy Price Photo. She is an exclusive full service senior photographer in Oklahoma City. Her and I actually started our businesses the same year. I didn't know that until I just asked her. So she's been in the industry for seven years. And y'all, the reason I had her on just to like, I don't want to take away any of Brandy's gusto, but she has such an amazing story. The way she views business is very high level. She commits herself and her personal life.

just to certain standards and boundaries that I, as a photographer, more of our industry, I would say needs to take on. So she's gonna be sharing a bit about that with us and just about her journey. So Brandy, welcome.

Brandi (00:44.012)
Hi Krista, thank you for having me on.

Christa (00:45.368)
I'm excited you're here. So Brandi, I would love just to hear, know, just a brief synopsis of just getting going with your journey and just what that looked like for you as a business owner, as a mom, like all the things.

Brandi (00:58.83)
Okay, so before I had my kids, I was a high school teacher, basketball coach. After I had my first one, I was like, nope, not doing that anymore. Stayed home with them while they were little. When they were getting close to school age, I was like, okay, my husband and I talking, what can I do? Because he's a teacher, a coach, we needed a second income. But I wanted something where I could be mom and wife first. I did not want to have to work for someone else, all that kind of stuff.

So we kind of landed on photography, bought my first camera, could not, I'm a little bit of perfectionist and I want to know how to do everything right, right now. Could not figure out manual mode, put the camera away for probably six months. Didn't even take it back out. I was like, nope, I'm done with that. Then I've got it back out, slowly started figuring it out. Took just some very basic camera classes with a girl that was local.

Christa (01:44.295)
my gosh.

Brandi (01:55.308)
and then just practiced, practiced, practiced for a long time. Like I said, my husband is high school teacher, so I had great access to high school kids. I would practice on them, loved photographing the seniors because they want to be there. They're excited to be there. So then my husband had a job change. We moved. My kids were both gonna be in school all day. Perfect time to actually start running a business. Took a workshop here from a photographer.

Christa (02:10.872)
Yeah!

Brandi (02:25.416)
learned a lot of not what, what not to do in your business, which was fine. Cause I didn't know anything at the time. he literally told me you cannot photograph only seniors and have a career. Yes. and I believe that I was young. I was new. I didn't know. So a couple of years I did. Yeah. I did all the things, lots of newborns, babies, families.

Christa (02:33.239)
Sure.

Christa (02:40.513)
Really?

Christa (02:45.954)
yeah, yeah, you're just trying to learn, yeah.

Brandi (02:53.934)
but I always kept coming back to seniors, coming back to seniors. And so finally I was like, you know what, why not? Why can I not do seniors? So I'm gonna show you, I'm going to just do seniors because that's what I love doing. That's what I enjoy doing. So I probably 2019, 2020, somewhere in there, I just dove all in to just seniors. Let's provide them the best experience.

Christa (03:07.251)
Yes!

Brandi (03:20.066)
I had always loved products, always knew I did not just want to be shoot and burn. I didn't always do it the right way because I was learning. But I knew that that's what I wanted to offer. I didn't want to just meet up with a client, photograph their sessions, send them the digitals. It just feels kind of incomplete. So that's why I do all seniors and we do the whole experience and products and all the things.

Christa (03:45.408)
Amazing. Okay, I love that. So that mentor had told you, you can't just do seniors, but for you, tell me more. I, Brandy, it's so interesting hearing that, because I think a lot of moms that pick up their camera, you hear like, I do babies and kids and families, because like I had a baby, right? But like for you, I would love to hear like what drew you so much specifically to the senior space.

Brandi (04:09.134)
Yeah, so for one, like I said, they, especially the senior girls, they want to be there. It's fun for them. They enjoy doing it. But it's also a really fun thing for me. You know, we do professional hair makeup, which a lot of them, one, they know how to do makeup much better than I did when I was in high school. You know, they know all the things, but it's really fun for them to get pampered to come in and then for them to see themselves, you know, in a photo where they're just,

Christa (04:27.672)
for sure.

Brandi (07:50.222)
Okay, so when I was photographing newborns and toddlers, don't necessarily like having their picture taken or they don't listen to what you're telling, you you can't tell a newborn, be still, go to sleep and just pose how I pose you. And so there was a lot of, you know, I just didn't enjoy it. I wanted to, I wanted to enjoy newborns because I could do those during the day while my kids were at school, but I dreaded every single session. And so was like, you know what? I'm just, I'm gonna do what I love and we're gonna figure it out.

Christa (07:57.208)
Yeah.

Christa (08:20.108)
Yeah, and then Brandy, one thing that you touched on for seniors, those are such formative years. I feel like now more than ever, I'm reading a book on mental health and it keeps talking about kids in the school system and everything going on in social media and viewing themselves as different. And it's really sad, but often that's when girls are just so self-conscious and hate pictures of themselves. talk about that experience of how your clients on the other hand go through this and the mom is literally, you said thanking you for making her just.

Look and feel so beautiful. Talk about the experience there.

Brandi (08:53.186)
Yeah, so I first of all have an awesome hair and makeup girl that comes to my studio for every single session. She is super awesome. She pumps those girls up. She just makes them, before I ever have the camera out, they are relaxed, they're excited to be there, they're confident in themselves because she's telling them how beautiful they look. And for her, it's not about making them look different. It's about making them look like themselves.

Christa (08:59.501)
Amazing.

Brandi (09:20.152)
Just enhance, just enhance your natural features. It just makes such a difference for them. They love it. Then we go out, we put on all the pretty clothes that they bring. Posing is, we tend to be more natural. Just let them be who they are. I love watching their mannerisms and hey, do that, that's you. And then they get to see themselves, how their mom sees them and how others see them, yeah.

Christa (09:21.548)
Yes.

Christa (09:36.216)
I love that.

Christa (09:44.227)
I love that. That's so special. And Brandy, to shift into the business side of it. while I want to make it clear, I was not the coach who taught you in-person sales. I have coached you the past year. But I want to jump into, you knew kind of from the start that you wanted to be this high service photographer. So Brandy, like, what would you say to the photographer listening, hearing, okay, you offer products, you do hair and makeup. That's a lot to have going on for like every session. I don't know.

if I could charge my worth doing that, or if people would still book me, right? Having to run around and do so many sessions. Could you speak to the business side of how you built a little bit?

Brandi (10:21.196)
Yeah, absolutely. obviously, first of all, offering the experience that I offer with the hair and makeup, with the products, we're not stuck in that three to $500 range. So we don't, I don't need to shoot a ton of sessions a year. My goal is 40 to 50 seniors a year. And that's going to get me to that six figure mark, which is where kind of where the happy place is.

Christa (10:35.661)
Yeah.

Christa (10:43.37)
Yeah!

Brandi (10:44.288)
So by providing that one, you're standing out from everybody else in the industry that's doing it. You know, yes, people can go find someone cheaper. That's fine. And I, I mean, I talked to potential clients all the time, like, yeah, I'm really looking for something cheaper. Okay. There's tons of photographers that are great at a lower price. but that's just, I offer something much more than just a, you know, a one hour session. so I, yeah, yes, I get told no.

Christa (10:48.45)
Yes!

Christa (11:01.197)
Right.

Christa (11:08.609)
Exactly.

Brandi (11:12.216)
But it's, mean, it gets easier when you, when you realize I don't need 150 yeses a year. I just need those 40 to 50 clients that value what I do and are excited about it. had, I mean, I've had all my clients love the products, but I remember very early on I had a mom and yet they can still buy digitals. Absolutely. And most of my clients do, but I had a mom say, you know what? I chose you because I knew you would give the products that we needed.

Christa (11:14.881)
It does.

Christa (11:18.764)
Exactly.

Christa (11:32.13)
Mm-hmm.

Brandi (11:40.812)
She said, I have five years of family photos sitting over on my computer that I've done absolutely nothing with. said, I don't need the digital's. don't, there's, they're just going to sit. and that was very powerful and reassuring to me that, okay, I'm doing the right thing because there are people that value it and want it. They want that taken off of their plate.

Christa (12:00.342)
And you've created Brandy such like an experience and sometimes I'll even equate senior sessions almost to weddings, right? Where it's like a one and done thing. It's not something you're doing every year, every other year. Like maybe you could family photos or photos of your kid. Like this is a full experience and a huge milestone for these seniors.

Brandi (12:09.783)
You

Brandi (12:17.836)
Yes, it is. And it's just, it's so fun to celebrate them. High school is not easy, you know, it's, can, and I can't imagine having social media when I was in high school. Like, no thank you. And all that they have to know, yes. So I just love giving them the safe spot to come have fun, enjoy, themselves and look beautiful doing it and feel beautiful doing it.

Christa (12:21.888)
Yeah. No!

Christa (12:28.785)
no, Brandy. Can you imagine? It's crazy.

Christa (12:42.296)
I love that. And I think sometimes Brandi, like when I talk to shooting room photographers that are interested, they view being full service as like, you know, have to be this old dude with this big moldy studio and it's like everything is super cheesy and they're like balancing the basketball on their finger and there's no digital's included. You just have to get the giant portrait on the wall. And it's like, no, like as Brandi, the past year that we've coached together, remind me what your average was when we started and then when like where it is at now in our year of coaching.

Brandi (12:56.299)
Yeah

Brandi (13:12.206)
Yeah, so I think it was right around 1800 before I started coaching with you. And then it's bumped up to a little over 2200, I think. And that doesn't sound huge, but when you multiply it by 40 to 50 sessions, and we just made minor tweaks. It was so awesome. You just pushed me out of my comfort zone to one small thing difference, and it made a huge impact. my averages went up, but...

Christa (13:27.138)
Great.

Christa (13:31.576)
Yeah.

Brandi (13:41.518)
I went over, I think 40,000 over from my 2023 year into 2024. So definitely exciting year. That's yeah, 40,000 is a lot. Yeah.

Christa (13:45.954)
Wow.

which in the photo space, that's like unheard of. And it's a ton of money. And for you, I was doing the math when you were talking about 40 to 50 seniors. Okay, obviously I know for you, Brandy, there are seasons that are busier than others, but on average, I mean, that's only three to five seniors a month that you're having to do to hit six figures. And then Brandy, I have also been impressed. Obviously, y'all, kind of know Brandy and her business deeply at this point, but talk a bit about like the boundaries that you've set for yourself and for your family to make sure like your business.

hasn't completely taken over your life or made you miss out time with your kids.

Brandi (14:23.424)
Yeah, so, you know, like I was telling you, my husband and I were talking about what do I want to do when the kids are back in school, I wanted to find something where I could be mom, wife first. Like that is so important to me, to my family. And at first, when I was shooting everything and not charging a lot, you shoot all the time, all the time. And then I would start missing things or just missing out. And I was like, wait a second.

I, this is not why I signed up for this. This is the complete opposite. so I've just set really hard boundaries. I do not shoot on the weekends ever. No Saturdays, no Sundays. Those are for my family, whether usually we're at a ballpark or in a basketball gym, something like that, but it's for them. And I'm not, I just do not bend on that, you know, and I probably lose some clients, but a lot of them are understanding.

The seniors are more than happy to miss half a day of school to come do their senior pictures anyway. You know, it's not that big a deal. and then, yeah, I typically like busy seasons, I'll do two sessions a week. That's kind of the max. Tuesdays, Thursdays are shoot days. That way my family knows, okay, mom's going to be gone these evenings. We're kind of going to have to figure it out ourselves. And then we just, we just roll with it and clients will, they adapt and they adjust and they.

Christa (15:18.871)
Yeah!

Brandi (15:42.88)
If they want to work with you, they're going to make it work.

Christa (15:46.166)
And Brandy, I get so passionate hearing this, especially I think for you starting just in a very mature mentality, like as a mom. Like for me, I started my business before I had my daughter and definitely, you know, was making shifts after, but for you going into it from the get-go of like, these are my boundaries, these are my standards. So just to confirm, you can build a six-figure business without shooting on Saturdays and Sundays, and you took some time and went to Hawaii, right, with your family or Maui? Yeah.

Brandi (16:07.959)
Yes.

Brandi (16:12.114)
Yeah, yeah. So this last summer we spent a whole bunch of time. We went to Colorado for my son's baseball team. They went to a world series up there. So we were gone for over a week for that, home a few days and then gone to Hawaii for about a week and a half. you know, without one, without having a business, bringing an income, we wouldn't be able to do that. But then also just having boundaries in place. And I just think blocking your, you make your schedule, your clients don't make your schedule.

Christa (16:33.122)
Yes!

Christa (16:37.217)
Amazing.

Christa (16:41.208)
Yes, yes. And also I think it comes down to volume. So let's say Brandy, maybe the average shoot and burn senior photographer maybe is like at 400, you think? Ish. So to hit that same, you know, six figures charging 400, okay. Now you're looking at, and I know I should be able to do this in my head, Brandy, but just to, again, I just like wheels to the ground, very basic math, but you 100,000 divided by 400 is 250 shoots a year divided by 12. You know, then you're going to.

Brandi (16:50.498)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Christa (17:08.952)
20 to 21 shoots a month. Yeah, you're gonna have to open Saturdays and Sundays and family dinners and family breakfasts. And that's the power of you shifting to this model where it's the idea of less is more. You can serve your seniors so intentionally and the parents so well. And it is an amazing experience. Parents want to pull their kids out of school for this. It's not just a quick in and out kind of situation. That's amazing. I love it. I love it. And I've loved coaching you this past year. So for those listening,

Brandi (17:11.373)
Yeah.

Brandi (17:15.821)
Yeah.

Brandi (17:20.801)
Absolutely.

Brandi (17:31.554)
Yes, yes, absolutely. Thank you.

Christa (17:36.836)
I do coach photographers at a higher level than Uncapped is the perfect place to really learn how to shift from shoot and burn to full service. But what Brandy was doing was already there. And so we never want to, when someone comes to me at, you know, a thousand to two thousand average, we don't just scrap what they're doing and say, like, let's start over. Like, there's often little tweaks we can make to that process to really scale. That's how Brandy scaled 40 grand. But then Brandy, I've also gotten to help you a bit start, you know, your own offer for senior photographers. Share a little bit about that with us.

Brandi (18:04.566)
Yes, yes, I am so excited. It kicks off next week. Just I want to help empower other photographers want to know if they want to niche down, do it. If you only like shooting seniors, do it. Just, mean, and I know that can be a little controversial in the industry. You you don't want to turn away clients and all that kind of stuff, but.

Christa (18:26.796)
I love controversial. Bring it, Brandy. Don't hold back.

Brandi (18:28.854)
Yeah. but I mean, for me, it was super important to just niche down to what I love doing. so I want to teach photographers, if that's what you want to do, let's do it. I'm to go over all the ways to do that and to grow your business to six figures, to have regular $2,000 sales, like it's possible. And also teach you how to have that client experience that leaves those clients spending thousands with you, but also telling all their friends and just raving about you.

Christa (18:35.884)
Yeah. Yeah.

Christa (18:57.836)
I love that. So Brandi, where can the photographer listening that's like, I want to hit six figures in the senior space. I've resonated with Brandi's story. Where can they find you? And we will link it in the show notes as well.

Brandi (19:07.756)
Okay, awesome. Yeah, they can find me over on Instagram at Brandy Price Photography and then also my website just brandypricephotography.com.

Christa (19:10.572)
Okay?

Christa (19:15.416)
Perfect, we will link that, but Brady, thank you so much for taking the time today to just chat and share your story. We appreciate it so much.

Brandi (19:23.064)
Thank you, Krista.