Black Friday Ideas for Photographers

Summary

In this episode, Christa discusses the challenges and strategies for photographers considering raising their rates and running Black Friday promotions. She shares her personal journey of transitioning to a full-service photography model to increase income and emphasizes the importance of understanding one's value and pricing accordingly. Christa debunks the myth that luxury brands can't offer promotions and provides practical tips for running effective Black Friday offers. She highlights the significance of knowing your numbers, creating a unique client experience, and maintaining confidence in your pricing. Christa also stresses the importance of personal outreach and building a supportive community to navigate the ups and downs of running a photography business.

Takeaways

• Value Alignment:Ensure your pricing reflects the value and experience you offer to clients.
• Full-Service Transition:Transitioning to a full-service model can increase income and client satisfaction.
• Black Friday Offers:Luxury brands can successfully run promotions without devaluing their brand.
• Know Your Numbers:Understanding your costs and profit margins is crucial for sustainable pricing.
• Personal Outreach:Direct, personal communication with clients can enhance engagement and sales.
• Community Support:Building a supportive community and seeking coaching can help navigate business challenges.
• Confidence in Pricing:Confidence in your pricing comes from clarity and understanding of your business goals.
• Client Experience:Creating a unique and valuable client experience justifies higher pricing.
• Adaptability:Be open to trying different promotional strategies to see what resonates with your clients.
• Long-Term Vision:Focus on long-term business goals rather than short-term comparisons with competitors.

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Transcript

Christa (00:01.624)
Christa, I can't raise my rates. I wouldn't even spend that much on photos. I feel guilty charging clients that much. If that has ever crossed your mind, you're not alone and we're gonna unpack that today. And I wanted to tell you, I had all of those same feelings. I wanna be very upfront. One of the reasons I shifted to full service was because I needed to make more income. And I'll talk more about my story at the end here. And I was not in a position where I would spend thousands of dollars on wall art or an album. That wasn't where I was at.

but I'm so glad I didn't let that stop me from getting to my next level. So let's go ahead and break that down. I wouldn't spend that much on photos. Maybe that's from frustration. Maybe it's from taking your client's emotional needs onto yourself. And I just want to pause and ask you right now, okay, are you offering the value to align with that price point? And this is really important because if we know

that we are offering more, that is what justifies the price. It's not just jacking your rates up, right? Like if I go through it, guys, I get the same thing at Chick-fil-A all the time. So I know when they have price increases, because it's like, I'm getting the exact same thing, exact same service, and now I'm just paying more, which I understand inflation and stuff, they have to go up on pricing. But I noticed that, why? Because my experience didn't change. They're just charging more. And that's sometimes what feels really, really ick, to be honest. And I understand, I have to go up on rates. I am a huge fan of Chick-fil-A.

But that's often what feels wonky and weird. But so many photographers sit there and every year they're like, I guess I should go up 33 % because I, but like they try to go through these formulas of every 10 sessions, go up 3 % or something like that. Like, no. And then the client comes back to them year to year and every year it's different pricing and it's slightly higher, but they're getting the exact same thing. Right? So first of all, we have to look at your experience. Are you adding in more where you can charge more?

And I can confidently say with full service that I am. I am my client's guide, walking them through the process. I am not adding on 10 extra hours guides per client. I'm not doing that. But what I am doing is creating this space where I come to them and I help guide them through the process and I help them through on the front end. And that experience is different than all the other shoot and burners in my area. I had a line out the door. I doing 100 sessions a year.

Christa (02:21.838)
And I'm in a town where it is insanely saturated. I created a Facebook group for photographers and I've let it sit. There's over 500 photographers in it, just the ones that have like found it. Okay. So the next thing I want you to really look at is especially for those, I'm going to speak to you if you're more full service right now, just to be honest. If you've shifted to full service and that was a scary leap for you and you're charging these rates and it just feels weird. I just want to validate that that's okay for it to feel weird.

This is something that my coach had to walk me through as well, where she was like, honestly, Krista, you were under charging for so long. Of course it's going to feel different when someone's handing you a multi-thousand dollar check when you used to do sessions for like two or $300. And I was like, no, that makes complete sense. So part of it is just a change feels feels off. We're not our bodies are literally made to avoid change.

to stay where we're comfortable. That's why so many photographers get stuck charging the same amount over and over and over again, right? What got you here won't get you there. And they literally sit in that comfortability and are unwilling to get uncomfortable to get to the next level. I see that all the time. But for you full service photographers going through this, I wanna ask you this. Why wouldn't you spend that much? Why would you not invest in yourself and what you're charging?

And one exercise that I did at the beginning of this shift that was so beneficial is I had some images of Edward and I printed and I put them on our wall. And it doesn't even have to be, maybe you don't have a partner. My friend did this and she's single with her extended family or with her nieces. There's definitely different things you can do around this, even if you're single. But what happened was when I put those images on my wall in a place that I walked by every day,

just stared at them every day. Y'all, was, these pictures were taken by my friend, Aislinn Eileen, six months into Edward and I getting married. Now we've been married for seven years and we still have them on our wall. Okay, and even though we've moved twice during that time, and I love it, because when I look at that picture, it brings me back to that place. We were figuring things out. I literally even remember the topics of conversation we were having as we were learning about each other six months into marriage and growing and changing and.

Christa (04:35.918)
I love even thinking how far we've come since then. And I've done the same thing since then. I hired literally one of my students to take my daughter's newborns. And guys, I coached her. I know what she's charging. Okay. And we did spend a lot on it and got a beautiful album. And I love that album. And I love flipping through it and remembering like just what a precious little baby she was now that she's two. And for my son,

I had a friend just take some photos. We did a swap who didn't take care of the album because I didn't ask her to. She could have. She's actually full service as well, but we did a swap. So I like, I'll do it. And he just turned three months and I still haven't gotten it done. Right. Because it is hard to do. And I see exactly why so many of my clients weren't getting anything printed. Cause I'm a busy mom. It gets put on the back burner. So your clients aren't just paying for a product. Right. And also my products are so nice. My clients don't hold it and say, what's the difference between getting

this from you or I'm not going to say the name, a super low cost, everyone knows about it, album place that's super cheap. They don't ask because it's so nice. Okay. So when we go through that, why wouldn't you be your own ideal client? And if you are still struggling with that of like, Hey, I'm just really having a hard time with the why of like why I'm charging these rates. Obviously we need to know our numbers, but I would encourage you to get something printed in your home personally. If you haven't gotten a shoot done in a while.

Go get a shoot done, even if it's not with a full service photographer, take the time to get those images printed, put some on your walls, print a nice album of them. And that really shifted my mindset. And it would be on consult calls with potential clients and literally tell them like, I understand you've never gotten this done before. You've never worked with full service photographer before. But I'm literally sitting here staring at the wall of some pictures of my husband and I, and I look at them every day and everyone who comes into my home sees them and comments on them.

And having that is such a gift. That is the meaning of a photograph. To not have to have it on your phone or an Instagram post, but to really enjoy these in your home. And so I do think I have come around to being my own ideal client. So dig into like why you're not your own ideal client, but here's what I want to leave you with on this section before we move on. You don't have to be your own ideal client. I want you to write that on your mirror. You do not have to be your own ideal client. It took me a long time to grow into that.

Christa (06:57.898)
Even when I ended up charging for weddings, I would not have paid that. I did not pay that amount for my wedding. That's okay. You're not doing anything wrong, but still show up and serve really intentionally and really effectively. Okay. Here's the other piece to it. When you start feeling that, gosh, I don't know if I should be charging this. I always go back to the numbers. And if you don't know your numbers, that's where a coach can come in and really help you with what you need to be charging, what you need to be making. Most shoot and burn photographers that I speak to

haven't run the numbers of the time that they're spending with each client and what their rate really is coming down to per hour. And photographers, we work so hard. I think we are one of the hardest working industries in the creative space. Yet we are the space that is so okay getting underpaid for our work out of the sake of, it's creativity. I feel bad making money, all these things. Like, no, what the heck? Like you deserve to get paid a living wage.

for your art, for your skill, for your craft. Now, we need to position it where you're bringing enough value to the table where you can justify getting paid more than your competitors. But it doesn't come down to like, well, my images just have to be a step above better than them. I have had students with very mediocre work have a multi-four figure sales because they master the sales and the numbers part of this. So here's why we go back to the numbers. First of all, they don't lie. It literally does not matter.

how you or your clients feel about a number. A number is a number. There's no meaning attached to an actual number. A number is a fact. So when we know our costs and our margins and exactly what we're making an hour, it doesn't matter if you're thrilled about that or super sad about that. Like that is a fact. That is factual. So for me, in my mind, what helped me stay focused and on course is I just kept going back to the numbers. So when I thought, my gosh, I don't know what I did here. Is this worth it? Which I did have those moments. Okay. So.

If you're coaching with me, if you're thinking about coaching with me and that's come up for you, I get it. I was there. That's why you need support in a container. That's why it's a coaching group so that we can coach you through it and guide you through it. It's why I needed a coach or I would have quit. And so when I shifted to this, whenever I just felt that or heard a lot of no's that week or even that day when I heard multiple no's and was like, maybe I should just go back to shoot and burn. I went back to the numbers and literally was like, this isn't what I want. There's a reason I shifted off of this.

Christa (09:21.902)
This is not going to build where I want my business to go. And so worrying about, I'm afraid people won't book, like, I gotta go back to the numbers. What am I doing? What do I need to hit the goals for my family and for my life? So confidence in what you're charging, it doesn't come from approval. It comes from clarity.

And when you look at all of the different things people spend money on, people buy what they value. I have seen this time and time again. My biggest spenders in the photo space are often not who you would think. They are, I call them regular people like me, right? They're not rolling up in a Rolls Royce or a Tesla. They're just normal people. One of my biggest spenders drives a minivan that's a few years old, okay?

And so instead of viewing it as, I got to reach like all of these, you know, super high paying people and they just have a stigma about them and yada yada. No, that's not true. You are serving people who value photos and you're holding true to your numbers and what you know that you need to have a sustainable business. again, we have to know your numbers and your profit margins. That's not the point of this podcast episode. I have others about that, but like that's where it stems from.

So if you don't know that this yet is super simple exercise, again, this wasn't kind of just free here. If you take like 100,000, okay, that's the goal a lot of photographers come to me with, divide it by 12 for 12 months of the year to hit six figures, which is not what you're paying yourself. You do not have hundred grand to spend. Okay, so this is what the business brings in and then costs come out. You have to do at least 8,300 a month. Okay, so you can divide that by whatever you're charging. So right now, if you're charging $400,

you're going to have to take 21 shoots a month to hit that goal. And for me, that's not worth it. Heck no, tech no. And you can even do it in the wedding space. And I want to share my story at the end. that's, was balancing both of those. So we have to know our numbers and then, okay, what do we base our numbers on? Okay. So I've coached students. I have a student right now. She's single. She wants to pack her schedule. She's starting some education to her business.

Christa (11:39.32)
Her work hours in life look very different than the student I'm coaching homeschooling her four children. They are in two different places and right now they have two different whys and that is great. But you need to know why you're doing what you're doing and why you started your business. So you probably didn't start your business because you wanted to be a charity case for people who couldn't afford photos from other people. I don't know anyone I've talked to that's like that. Now what you can do is when you do know your numbers,

and you are making enough percession, you can give back in other ways to missionaries in need of some photos for their prayer cards and for their email letters to your church when there's a special event and they need marketing photos. I have done those things and I can do that because I built a business where I'm making enough in other areas that I can give back in those ways. And that's something important to me that I'm very passionate about doing.

for the causes that are near and dear to my heart. I'm even photographing an event next week for a camp who's having a fundraising dinner. And I was like, I would love to do photos for you. Well, Krista, you're doing it for free? Yeah, but Krista, that's crazy. You have costs coming out of that. I know, but because I know my numbers in other areas and I'm profitable there, I'm able to do things like this and give back, but it's on my terms. My friend Morgan Amanda said it really well. She said, Krista, either.

She tells people this either be expensive or be free, but don't be cheap. Okay. So you have to know your wife. Let's go back to it. Why did you start your business? If it's for the freedom and you just want a lot of time flexibility and not be tied to your desk, like a corporate eight to five, like some of your friends are doing, then taking on sessions every evening and weekend, missing time with your family is going to really lead to burnout no matter how much you're making. That's not going to work for you. You're going to feel empty and unfulfilled even if you're making a lot of money.

Maybe you're in a season where it is for the income and that is okay that you're in a season Edward and I had a season like that We didn't have kids yet. We were newly married and it was a season of like hey, let's let's hustle here Let's build some stuff up and that led to so much more freedom that I have now from that season So if that's the case, well charging three to five hundred dollars, that's going to lead to burnout That's gonna be really hard, right? I don't want to do 21 shoots a month. So get clear on why you're doing what you're doing

Christa (13:59.458)
We were on our inner circle call yesterday with our mindset coach, Aislinn Eileen. And one of the students broke down in tears because we were talking about the why. And when you really dig into why you're doing what you're doing, she was just having such a hard time making the shift of going full service. She had the tools, she has the know-how, she has the clients, and it was such a hard step. But when Aislinn broke down for her, and what is your why? It clicked. That was what she needed of like, what I'm doing right now is not the life.

that I want to live or the business I ever intended to build that was taking me away from my family so much. And that was the push she needed to keep going. So I want to share a little bit how I experienced this, because I think sometimes from social media, from coaching, it's easy to see others as, my gosh, it was a cakewalk for her and it's hard for me, so I'm doing something wrong. And that could not be further from the truth. And I vividly remember in college, sitting on my bed, I actually lived at home with my parents.

So I want to bring out, I didn't have very many expenses. My car was paid for, my parents were very gracious and my tuition was covered, but I still sat on my bed crying. And now I look back and I'm like, Krista, you had literally so little to worry about. But the reason I was upset is because I was looking at sustainability for my business and I didn't just look at what's going on now. I always thought what's ahead. And as I was looking at the numbers, as I was looking what I was charging for weddings and what I would need to book, things weren't adding up.

because at the time I really thought weddings were the answer to growing something sustainable. Why? Well, I was charging $300 sessions, so I realized that's not gonna get me very far. So I was like, weddings are where it's at. And I loved weddings, don't get me wrong. They have a very special place in my heart. I have some past brides who just are just so, so incredibly special to me and their family that I still keep up with. So I loved it, but I thought that was the key to making what I needed to make to make this full time.

But the problem with that is with weddings, you guys get it here in the wedding space, it fluctuates so much, it's so much pressure where you might have a month where you book five weddings and then three months where you book nothing. And it's just so like up and down with emotions of what's going on, trying to track trends. I've had people in the space tell me it's more different than ever. And it was just really stressful. And it was just really frustrating. And I remember just sitting on my bed praying because it was like, I really want to do this.

Christa (16:19.724)
I really want to make this happen long term when I'm done with college. I really want to go full time with this. So I didn't make any huge changes. I should have. And I was doing education. I've gone to workshops, soaked in everything I could. And that's what got me to that point in college, which I'm like, it was pretty good that I built like, don't I can't remember how much I was making in college, but that was pretty good that I got to there. But have you heard the phrase, like, what got you here won't get you there was definitely that. That's what I was feeling. So after college, I had a date a couple of years and building up in weddings.

And we get married in 2018. And I remember in 2019 paying out taxes and my mom's my accountant, which is like a blessing and a curse. So she'd be like, I took out your tax money and I'd go check my bank account. Like, Oh, no, feel like I've been shot. And it was scary because it was like, I'm working so hard doing so much. Why is there such little money here? Seriously. And some of you are like, well, it's off season, but even then, like, I don't want to make no money certain months. Right. And I want to have something sustainable for my family, not just like fingers crossed, hopefully more payments come in.

And so that really got Edward and I thinking where I was like, Hey, I really think something needs to change. And I'm trying to figure out how detailed to get in here, but around that time, I met two ladies, Andy and Aislinn at a conference. Actually, I Aislinn at a conference. She connected me with Andy and now Andy actually helps me coach in our groups and Aislinn comes in and does mindset coaching. So it's very full service, very, very full circle moment. And Aislinn was saying, Krista.

It's possible to have these like multi-four figure portrait sessions. And you guys, that was the very first time I had heard of that. Coaching was not how it is now where I feel like information is just so accessible. There's multiple coaches in this space. It just wasn't like that then. And which is a blessing and a curse because like I had to kind of navigate a lot by myself, but also I did have support from a coach and my eyes just were opened up where I'm like, it's like a whole new world in front of me if that can be the case.

And so I took a huge, huge leap for myself. I invested thousands and thousands and thousands in a coach because I didn't even know exactly what we'd be doing together. But I knew that what she had built was also the type of life that I had want to build, built. And I coached with her for five years. She no longer does business coaching. does couples coaching. She's incredible. But for the very first time, here's what I want to get to.

Christa (18:42.326)
I started focusing on what I needed for my business and my goals, not what someone else needed. For the first time, instead of basing my rates, creeping on my competitors' website and Instagram, like, what are they doing? I could just mute them, block them, whatever, and keep my head down and get hyper-focused on that. Had I let what my competitors were charging block me, I would have missed out on, I'm not kidding, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

just from comparison. if you need to get social media off your phone and just schedule it out for the week because that's stopping you, do it. I just got the Brick app. This is not sponsored. I just got the Brick app. Amazing. I already feel so much more at ease because it's so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing. and they're doing branding photos. Maybe I should do branding photos. maybe this type of mini session. Maybe I should do this type of mini session. And the line of inspiration versus putting yourself in that box gets very blurred. Or...

Krista, they're a husband and wife team. They have it together. I'm just little college girl. I can't do that. That's not true. That is not true at all. And when we tell ourselves lives like that, we are the ones keeping ourselves stuck instead of taking that next step to what's possible. I coached student. She just turned 21. She just bought a $300,000 house all by herself because of making the sleep. And you know how many other students I've talked to, potential students that say, I'm just, I'm too young. She's so glad she didn't let that stop her.

I have a student homeschooling four kids who just had an $8,000 family session sale. You know how easy it would have been for her to be like, hey, I'm in the thick of it homeschooling my kids. I'm gonna put this off and revisit it later and just keep doing what I'm doing. Okay. I've had students have very big health challenges, family challenges. One of my top students this year, she signed on soon after she had a passing of a very close family member. And now she's so glad she didn't wait and put it off.

Because for the first time for me, that was a time where you might've said, well, Krista, you need to make a little bit more money for us to have invested in that coach. I'm so glad I didn't wait. would have been, I would, I would probably still be right, right around there. And it was really hard. And I just want to point that out. Running a business, building a business is so hard. it's, can be very isolating. It can feel very lonely. It can feel very personal dealing with like big girl business problems. It's hard if a client is not totally happy with you.

Christa (20:58.882)
I take it very personally and I really struggle with that. I'm going to be honest, that is one of the biggest things I struggle with. And it obviously doesn't happen a lot, but I really struggle with people pleasing and I want everyone around me to be happy. But I had to get clear on the numbers and why I'm doing what I was doing and share it in a way where I could help clients further. And it wasn't a fit for some of them that I had loved and that was okay. It was a fit for others and they stayed with me and were excited to invest more in what I was offering. And then I found new clients too.

that this is exactly what they needed and were looking for and have come back time and time again. So there was a lot of moments of doubt. There was a lot of moments of sitting in my bedroom crying, saying to Edward, what have I done? What did I just do here? And I can promise you that every successful business owner has had moments like that. And if you haven't, you will. And that is the point where you get to decide, I'm thrown in the towel, I'm done, this is hard, or you keep going.

And that's why there's such a high close rate on small businesses. That's why the photography meeting income is so low because so many quit when they get to that hard point or one negative client thing comes up or one person says, I actually don't want products. liked what you were doing before and they change everything back. And they were, it's like one step forward, two steps back. And I get it because it's so easy to do. But what really helped me is I had coaching support and I also had a wonderful community to encourage me to keep going. I didn't do it alone. I also have a very supportive husband.

that I'm so incredibly thankful for, that the Lord just has in my life as like my rock, who also encourages me to keep going. Why? Because we saw the bigger picture. We saw what was ahead. We saw what was so possible. And we knew this was the path to get there and that it wasn't going to be easy. So even after a week where I might get told no 10 times, there were days, there were weeks I got told no every single day. I would have my VA VA deleted. It's like, I don't, I don't need to see it. So one time she like,

put it on my Trello board of like so-and-so doesn't want me for it. I'm like, don't tell me that. Like, why would you share that with me? Just reply something nice and move on. I don't need to see that. I want to be focused on getting to the next step and what's ahead. If you really struggle with this, I can't recommend the book Rhinoceros Success Enough. It's about moving forward with thick skin. It's a really easy read. It's a great listen. I love listening to it. The author reads it and it's so, good. But that really helped me keep going. And I just constantly filled my mind with education.

Christa (23:19.116)
With books at that point, I was driving multiple hours to a city I had built up my business in secondarily besides Greenville. And I would just listen to audio books that were about business building and being strategic. I would listen to educational information. I held myself really accountable with my coach to do the work. So if you're asking me, Chris, I want to make this change. Is it going to be easy? No, it's not going to be easy. Chris, it is everyone who jumps in stays with it. No, they don't.

Cause I can't force that, right? I wish they did. And if you look up Lindy's podcast, she even shares that where she goes, Christ, I coached with you and I got really mad at you part way through. don't know if you know that or not, which I, I love Lindy. I actually didn't know she was that mad at me and she came to me and was like, Oh, I can't do this. And she said that I said, of course you can. Like, well, why would you stop doing this? Silly goose. And that's what she needed to keep going. And now she has a $2,500 average and is so grateful. Okay.

So fill your mind with those positive things. Now, I just wanna wrap it up. And again, this is a little bit longer than normal episodes. So I want you to pause and ask yourself, when you say, I need to charge more, but I wouldn't spend that much, I want you to ask yourself these questions. Are you serving from a place of confidence and clarity? And if not, what would it take to get there?

Are you not sure why you're doing what you're doing? Do you need support? Do you need a coach? Number two, do you know your numbers and why you're charging what you're charging? Okay. Even now I have a financial coach. We looked at my, still run my photo side of my business along with coaching. My profit margins are exactly what I teach, which I love. I was like, my gosh, I'm so pumped, right? And I don't have to keep as careful of an eye on it. Cause now it's just like.

Engrained in me because I've done it over and over again multiple years been a photographer for ten years But only running it in like a the best profitable way in the last, know, six or seven, which is why I coach now And then ask yourself. Are you leading your clients? to value What you know is worth it. Are you creating an experience worth that investment? It's not about convincing everybody

Christa (25:35.086)
It's not about trying, oh, this girl only wants to $200, Krista. She just, I can't believe it. I might just bump all my rates down. Do not let one person derail the higher calling and the vision that you're set out to do. If you want to ensure everyone has images in their home and beautiful albums to flip through in the years ahead. If you want help with this, if this is at all curious to you and this sounds like what you need and what you're looking for and you like my vibe and feel like I could help you in this.

DM me the word coach on Instagram at Krista underscore Renee, R-E-N-E and Krista's the C-H. I'll link it in the show notes too. And what I do, I help guys with all of these things. I help photographers with this every week because we weren't meant to do it alone because it is hard. That's why our re-sign on rate, especially for my highest level is so high because we get so much traction together when we can work intensively, but we also have lower options too for every budget.

so that if you just need something small to get going and moving, you can do that. So definitely reach out. We can look through those options because guys, like 2026, it could be the year that changes everything for you.