Get Your Shoot Together Photography Podcast
Get Your Shoot Together Photography Podcast
Episode 173 - Milestone Clients
Just when you thought it was safe to assume you knew all there was about managing a photography business, we’re pulling back the curtain on the importance of strategic timing for selling portraits and the hustle of graduation season. Through laughter and genuine insights, we share the trials of working through a back injury, the comical side of pet personalities, and the adrenaline rush of capturing those irreplaceable graduation moments. Tune in for a blend of heartwarming stories and laughter as we navigate the lively world of photography, relationships, and the occasional technological quagmire.
This episode was written and performed by Mary Fisk-Taylor and Kira Derryberry, produced by Kira Derryberry and edited by Joel North.
GYST - 173
Kira Derryberry: [00:00:00] This week's episode is brought to you by our friends at RetouchUp. RetouchUp. Work smarter, not harder.
Kira Derryberry: Welcome to Get Your Shoot Together, the photographer's podcast, where we discuss studio, business, life, and keeping it all in line. I'm Kira Derryberry.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And I'm Mary Fisk-Taylor.
Kira Derryberry: Hey, Mary Fisk-Taylor.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: hi guys, we're back. I swear to God it's not because we don't love you. We love you to death.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: even Kira was here for like almost days Every day we're like, oh today's the day And today it never was the day. No, I had my microphone
Kira Derryberry: with me.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: plan We had everything we had everything we needed to do it We just didn't do it. We just didn't do it at the time.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: The time. It was the time we didn't have. I should have known better. I was the convention chair. I knew I'd be busy. Plus, All our friends were there, and we didn't want to like, you know, we had the worst FOMO, like we didn't want to, we'd be like, what are you guys doing? Oh, we're down at breakfast. I'm like, oh, okay, well, I'll just, I guess we'll talk after breakfast and then anyway, never happened.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: But I mean, when you have like such a dream team in Virginia, which I feel like I had, which was obviously Kira and we had Deanna Robles and we had John Gress and Allison Dollar Jones and Christie Newell and [00:01:00] Sandra Pierce. What are you going to do?
Mary Fisk-Taylor: You're going to hang out.
Kira Derryberry: they were so fun. we had such a great time. John stayed later and, I love how, Mary's computer glitched out, like while we were there, her screen just started flickering and, it was awful to look at. like you were trying to use it and then it would just potential seizures.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah. It was, I can't imagine having to work on that. so anyway, after everyone else flew out, John. had a later flight and he went to the Apple store with Mary and, he had some strong opinions, it sounded like.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: opinions. Neary, the lovely guy at Apple.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: first of all, he's like, well, you know, ma'am, it's, it's a 2019 MacBook, whatever. Fully, like one terabyte, all this stuff, you know. But, you know, it's a screen, it'd be about whatever to get it fixed, or you could get a new one. And I'm like, you know me, I'm like, well, let's just do both. Because my thought was, I'll give Jamie the old one, I'll get a new one, whatever.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: But this is what happened. When the man decided that he was going to, he was going to, what do you call it, repopulate? Yeah, transfer all the data over. Transfer everything to my new computer, he wanted to do it through the iCloud. [00:02:00] John Gress was not having that. He thought that was a terrible idea.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Told him so. He wanted to hardwire it, make sure. Then, to add insult to injury, the guy's like, well, we'll just go ahead and clean this machine here before I send it off to get the screen replaced. And I thought John was gonna lose his mind, but it worked out. We got through it. We got through it.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I'm so glad you had him. I had John, and he sat there. He was gonna do a, virtual, the goggle. That's what he was going to do, but then he found out it was a 30 minute long demo and he opted out of that. And then we had coffee in the sunshine and found out we have like, We have a million things in common, which is just strange, because I didn't know John super well, knew him, but did not know him like as well as you did.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: We have so much in common, and yeah, then we, I don't know, we hung out. It was a full day. We shopped, we had dinner, yeah, because this fight wasn't until 7pm, so we had a long, full day. I love that you had that whole day with Johnny G. Yeah. Johnny G. Yeah, Johnny G and I hung out. It was amazing. Then he got home, [00:03:00] and now we're just harassing our friends because we're trying to talk them into entering the MIR and getting their certification.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So, now there's a text exchange going on, as you know. That's all we're doing.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah. it was fun.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: a great convention.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah. I mean, to know John is to love John, like he is, I mean, I just love that he was there with you at the Apple store. because he's gonna do it.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah. He's gonna take care of it. So Yeah. Then
Mary Fisk-Taylor: we went to Tomi, we checked out luggage. Oh, nice. Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. We, we went all over the mall. Let me tell you this. Okay. This is funny. We pull up in the ball and I'm like, okay, I gotta figure out where the Apple store is, because I wanna go in close to the Apple store and I sw, I.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I shit you not, Kira. I pull into a parking space, and it's one of those ones that's kind of near that little island. You know how the parking lot has those little tiny islands with like a tree and some mulch? Well, I pull in right beside that, and I'm not kidding. A, I was going to say duck, but it's not a duck because that's what I called it, but it was a goose.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: A goose stood up and looked right at our windows. And I screamed. And John screamed, and it was just this goose, like this big, I'm imitating it right now, not very well, this big goose just looking in our window, and I'm [00:04:00] like, where the hell did that come from? He was just hanging out in the island, and we pulled up and bothered him, broke his siesta.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Oh. And then I'm worried to death, and then we didn't get out of the car. He's so mean. I said, do you think it'll get, he goes, well, it could peck us to death, it could kill us, this goose. And I'm thinking, I don't think it could kill us, but I think between the two of us we could take it.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: They'd chase you. I didn't want to kill a goose, like in the middle of the shortbombed town center. That seemed weird. So we sat there until he walked away, and I thought then I was worried to death he was going to get hit by a car. but he made it. I don't know where he went. I guess there's like a Fear, fear and
Kira Derryberry: sympathy.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: That's, that's the quality you have. I forgot about this, but could you imagine pulling in this, I mean, he, they're tall. Yeah. Because he's, he was already kind of like in a little mound thing anyway. They run fast. And he popped up and his neck's as long as a giraffe, it felt like.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Looking right in the window, eye to eye, and I'm like, and John Grest is not short. You should have taken a picture.
Kira Derryberry: I should have.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: It was shocking.
Kira Derryberry: think to take a picture at all.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Literally, the first words out of my mouth, I said, thank [00:05:00] God Kira's not here.
Kira Derryberry: We would have never gotten out of the car, I'm going to be honest with you.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: We had to get a new parking space.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: we waited it out. but yeah, that was, that was an adventure. but yeah, it was a great, it was a great, great, great convention. We had a lot of fun, but we are behind on podcasting, but guys, we're doing the best we can.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: We're busy, which is good. And, because I told Carol, I was like, if we don't get it done, I leave for Portugal. Yeah, two days. Yeah. And we're gone another week. So here
Kira Derryberry: we are on a beautiful Saturday. I hurt my back this week, I'm just like, I was like, Oh, I could go get some more plants to put in my pots.
Kira Derryberry: And I was like, Oh, I'm not going to be doing any of that. if you're a photographer, you know, you've got some sort of. Muscular back injury, something, knees, and something's gonna go. And mine lives in the lower back. So I just, you know, had two on location jobs this week.
Kira Derryberry: And, no, no help because I haven't rehired anyone since Misty left. And, I just picked up something very light. Incorrectly, and I tweaked it, and it's been miserable, and I have a cute limp now, and, basically, during the day, it's fine, but as the day [00:06:00] progresses, it just feels like it gets worse, and to where I'm like lying on the floor, like, somebody massage my back.
Kira Derryberry: Yesterday, I ran into another photographer, Kylene Gay here in Tallahassee, and I haven't seen her in forever. And we were talking and she was talking about our injuries because that's what photographers do. She's a wedding photographer, like an event wedding photographer.
Kira Derryberry: She does races and you know, so she's, I mean, she's always busy and she totally gets it. And she's like, I'm just coming in just like. Trying to, we were at a day spa and she was like, I'm just trying to get in here and get a pedicure. Like, I just got to get in here before the weekend and I have to shoot weddings.
Kira Derryberry: And so we were having that conversation and, and I was like, I just, I, like, I have a great masseuse, but she's not, she's so in demand and so wonderful. Like, she's not the kind of person I can just call and be like, can I, can you get me in today? Can you get me in tomorrow? And, she goes, you know, I just go across the street to the.
Kira Derryberry: Like, the walk in, Chen's place, you know, whatever, and I was like, how scary is it? she goes, it's not a spa. she goes, if the phone, it's usually just one person there, so if the phone rings, they'll stop massaging you to go answer the phone. she goes, but you know, they're good.
Kira Derryberry: And they're cheap! And I very much almost did it and I still am considering it today, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm just like, [00:07:00] anything would be good at this point. But she's like, it's not scary, it's just, you know, I'm like, they put all the stickers in the windows so you can't see inside, you know what I mean?
Kira Derryberry: Oh, no. And it's got like, you know, stock photography of people with like hot stones on their back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like lotus flowers on their ear and stuff. But you know, I went to Singapore and a place like that and got a massage. And it was also pretty good.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I thought that was terrible.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: It was terrible. I was like, I remember, I remember you talking about that and I thought, no stars, no stars. I, I did that in the Philippines, but it was actually, it was excellent. But, no, no. Do you not have a chiropractor? I do, but it's not
Kira Derryberry: working today. It's Saturday, you know, and Friday. Oh, right. You know, it was like, I had shoots.
Kira Derryberry: I photographed a dog and, and the owner yesterday.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: cute dog, by the
Kira Derryberry: way. Really cute. Actually, there was two dogs and the other one wasn't being as good. And, but they were actually very nice. And I was doing such a great job at pretending I wasn't not into this at all.
Kira Derryberry: I was like, because she was super, the woman was super nervous that the dogs weren't going to perform. And I was like, this is one of those times, you know, when you're, you cannot bring, That kind of energy to the shooter. It's not going to [00:08:00] work if we're both like, oh, these dogs aren't going to do what we want, you know, like I was like, I'm going to have to do my best job at lying to this woman and these dogs about how I feel about this.
Kira Derryberry: And I was like, no, they're fine. Yeah. Let them roam free in the studio. They can't hurt anything.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: there, but. They were not barky dogs. They were
Kira Derryberry: actually very good dogs. But they weren't good. They didn't have, like, their commands down. So, it was very hard to get them to sit or to, you know, but I did all the things that I learned from all the, you know, watching Arik Adorf, actually.
Kira Derryberry: I did all the things that Arik Adorf does with dogs, and it sort of worked for me. I mean, I think the dogs could tell that I was lying, but honestly, it was good advice. It was good advice. I got eye contact in the perky ears. I did. The picture you sent was really cute. Yeah, I was like, look at me learning, learning about pet photography.
Kira Derryberry: Look, that's the thing, guys. As you go to these classes and you think, there's nothing I'm gonna learn. But you know what? You got that high paying client that has expensive dogs and they really want portraits with their dogs. And What are you going to say? Oh, no, but I know this other great guy.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So this [00:09:00] was a portrait session or was it a headshot session?
Kira Derryberry: It was a, it's actually a marketing session because she does all this different coaching and public speaking. She does trauma therapy stuff. And so she wanted to have, her with her dog so she can use it to advertise, you know, incorporating pets into trauma therapy and stuff.
Kira Derryberry: So, yeah, so it was kind of a marketing session. job too. And I didn't want to say I did her book cover. So I was like, I'm not going to send her to another commercial photographer to do this, you know, so she's great. But, and so, but sometimes you got to fake it.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And you did.
Kira Derryberry: And I did
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Yeah. Well, she sent one picture to our group chat and she's like, I feel like I deserve. A medal? What did you say? It's like, I just want everyone to acknowledge how brave I am. And we're all like, it's the cutest little tiniest dog who literally is like smiling, like cutest little dog in the world.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And we're all like, but we all know Kira and we all, took her to the studio, but Nugget is there. Jamie's dog. That was fine. I did it. You were fine with Nugget. But we were leaving, I was like, good job, we're gonna go to my house, and Kira goes, well, let me know how it is, and I'm like, huh, Kira's never been to my house, as soon as we walked in my house, I'm like, this is why Kira's never been to my house, it's a [00:10:00] dog pound, like, there's so many dogs, and my dogs are not aggressive, but they do bark, and, I think it would scare you a little bit.
Kira Derryberry: It just, it makes me, you know, my fainting goat, disease happen. You know about that, you know, like where your brain does a little fight or flight flick. Yeah. And it makes my whole body kind of like go, leave, run away.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I mean, that's fair. That's fair. That's fair.
Kira Derryberry: Hey, you, is it 2 a. m. and you're still up retouching that one year old's cake smash session because there's just not enough hours to get it all done?
Kira Derryberry: Stop what you're doing right now and upload that session to retouchup. Never tried retouchup? No problem! Sign up for a free account at retouchup. com and use the referral code GYST to tell them you're one of our loyal listeners. With retouchup, there are no contracts, no minimums, no fees. nothing to lose for a limited time.
Kira Derryberry: All listeners of this podcast can save 10 with a coupon code. Just fall 10. That's G Y S T F A L L one zero for all customers. That's enough to retouch like four headshots or get five extractions or remove all the leaves out of the [00:11:00] pool and the cars out of the parking lot on that real estate shot you just took.
Kira Derryberry: Get your life back with retouch up at retouch up dot com. We are back. Okay, Mayor. Not only is this week, the, my birthday week. Yes. Turning. Birthday week. Turning the big four three.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Forty three.
Kira Derryberry: but it's so significant. But, the other thing is, is that it is my marking the official 14th year in business for Kira Derryberry Photography.
Kira Derryberry: And it feels like, I mean, I did feel like before, you know, when you're like five years in the business and you're like, yeah, that's a long time, 10 years, 10th anniversary, 14 years. I know a thing or two about a thing or two.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Yeah, 10 years you're in. I mean, it really is.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I do think, I think past that, well, it's kind of like marriage, right? You know what they say? Like, get past that seventh year and it's kind of a thing. I don't know. I mean, I don't know that's true. That's obviously not true, but I think in photography, I mean, 14 years? That's a career. That's substantial.
Kira Derryberry: right? And so, I have three clients right now. This is the thing that you've always talked to me [00:12:00] about and I have really not experienced, but I think because it's the 14th year, I have three clients who were four years old when I photographed them for the first time. And now their families have come to me for their senior photos, which is mind boggling.
Kira Derryberry: And two of them have wanted to go to the same location that we did their four year old session at. Was it outdoors? It was outdoors. Of course it was because, well, I didn't have a studio 14 years ago, right? No, we were always outside. And, so one of them, we did downtown Tallahassee. And they really wanted to match, like, a favorite image from that session.
Kira Derryberry: Aw, that's cute, though. Yeah, so we did, and we, actually, I haven't unboxed them yet, but they ordered side by side medals of the original, because they never ordered a wall piece from that original one. And then, so I have the files. Yes. Because good for me. I have them still.
Kira Derryberry: So the original image on the left panel and then the new image in the same location, almost exactly the [00:13:00] same looking black and white. Thank God. Oh, okay. Wait a minute.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Let's do that. Yeah. Thank God. Black and white. Right. All right. So question. First question. Did they get the files from the first session?
Mary Fisk-Taylor: They did. But they purchased this from you. I'm, I just want to make this, I think, I think this is interesting. I think this is something people don't, even, even if that's how you started, look where you are now. Like, and this is a client that's been with you now for, for 10 years, 14 years, because the kid's 18.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And they got files, they were, you were outdoors on location, pretty much a, a file only photographer, I'm assuming, kind of back then. And now you've sold them two, two pieces, one from 14 years ago. I just think that's good to hear. I think that's really good to hear.
Kira Derryberry: And to be fair, I think I was always leading with the digital files at that time, and then offering additional things.
Kira Derryberry: Like, she's, in the 14 years, we have done other sessions. You know, so they have bought other things, but from the original session, I just thought like, how special is it now that I get to have, for me, it's like, it's special for me too. You know what I mean? Cause it's like the first year in business, I did this, this photo of, of her adorable [00:14:00] little kid.
Kira Derryberry: Thank God it wasn't terrible, you know, because can you imagine it being like such terrible quality and then like 14 years later you actually got good and then you were like, you know, it was natural light, which was hard for me now because I, I so rarely shoot a natural light now. So, I still used flash with it, but I still used it now.
Kira Derryberry: You get it. Like I still made it look like it was original natural light. Yeah. But, it was. Anyway, I will definitely post this, like, once I get it on their walls, because it's, it's here and then we've just got to go install them together and then I'll photograph the walls. Oh, that is so awesome. I'm so excited about it.
Kira Derryberry: And so then, the other one was another one. Four years old, photographed her for the first time at McClay Gardens. And then she, the teenager, really wanted to have it done in the same location, like, and so we did, and it's the same time of year that we did it before, so the flowers are all in bloom, the same ones, it just turned out so great, and we're doing a family portrait of her, she's the only child, family portrait of her and her parents there on this one, so we're doing a family portrait over the [00:15:00] fireplace, And then we're doing, a graduation party portrait of her in her two lane t shirt at the gardens with a big three inch border around the frame.
Kira Derryberry: Oh yeah, for a signed in portrait. And we're doing that so that mom can put it up in her room. And I just think it's gonna be, I'm just, anyway, I haven't had this happen yet. Yeah, that's so cool. And so, now I guess I'm just waiting for the newborns that I photographed, from Fright.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Well, it happens. I mean, I have three weddings this year for kids that I've been photographing since they were pretty much born. so yeah, actually one definitely since she was born for sure. the other one, maybe she was a little bit older, but wedding, so I get, you know, I get it.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And, you know, but the thing I like about what you're doing, first of all, I like that you said, you know, even though you're photographing differently now, obviously probably different camera, the whole nine yards, you still had those sound. things so your, your portraits are matching. You know what I mean?
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Your style is not. So even though your business model has changed quite a bit, your, your base core photography skills haven't really. I mean, they improved, they changed. They [00:16:00] certainly
Kira Derryberry: I could do more, more now than I could then. I was more limited, but not unskilled.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Right.
Kira Derryberry: Right. Does that make sense?
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Not every single person. Of course. Right.
Kira Derryberry: Of
Mary Fisk-Taylor: course.
Kira Derryberry: There's not everyone. And a lot of that had to do with, with price differences over the years. Correct. You know, I remember. a client who I photographed for most of their, like, their kids elementary school years, you know, she finally came to me and she was just like, I just, you're so special and I love your work, but I just can't afford you anymore.
Kira Derryberry: and it's okay. It's, that was okay. I mean, you know, especially since the focus of my business has also kind of moved much more in the direction of corporate work than family work as it, I mean, I'm still doing families, but not, Seeking them out as many, you know what I mean?
Kira Derryberry: that's just growing pains. That's just to be expected. There's no harm. there's no hurt there
Mary Fisk-Taylor: isn't but I think that's something hard when you're starting out or you do decide you want to change Your business model and maybe you now want to start selling products or go into ibs or whatever I do think that that's still a fear and I know we've talked about this probably many times but it bears repeating because I think that for some reason then We sometimes feel [00:17:00] beholden to the photographer.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So you hear maybe, well, I'll grandfather them in or I'll do this or I'll do that. But why, right? Why, why do we have to, why, why do we feel the need to do that? Because, I mean, I don't know about you guys, but everybody's raising their prices right now, and nobody's grandfathering me in.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And I just, I like hearing that even if it is only these four this year, because there'll be more and more as you, are longer and longer in business, you're gonna make more off these four. Then all those other people that stuck with that old business model
Kira Derryberry: and you know, because you've built this relationship, you know, you have the choice to get to gift things to kind of solidify that, you know, maybe you give them the graduation cards, you know what I mean? Like, because you don't make a lot of money on that anyway,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Unless you're Allison Tyler Jones.
Kira Derryberry: you know, maybe you give them, their session fee credited. Or maybe, something that doesn't have a cost of good attached to it. but at least you, I mean, both these sales, are making my order.
Kira Derryberry: I mean, you know what I mean? Right. It's, it's great, but it's also like, [00:18:00] Leads back to relationship building from the beginning, like every single person that you work with, even whenever you start working for them, you are cultivating a relationship that could go, Much longer than you think,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: you know, that's the hope.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: That's the that's the desire. I mean, but even though you didn't start with that end in mind You still are accomplishing it now. Do you have all that? Do you have and I know this is probably a big question because I don't know what your SMS was or what kind of stuff CRM you were using if any quite frankly at the beginning But do you have enough records that now you're like, ooh, look at this now, because this is your first time, right?
Mary Fisk-Taylor: You're like, oh wait, I've been doing this so long that now I have these seniors. Do you have a way that you can now start reaching out? So next year, you know, next year in January or February, you're reaching out to your rising seniors inviting them in.
Kira Derryberry: I do have access. In fact, I still pay monthly for this access to my old billing.
Kira Derryberry: because I used a company called FreshBooks, which is still a great company. but I moved over to 17 hat. So, I still maintain the searchable database that I have with FreshMix. I still pay to keep it, which sucks. do not recommend. One star.
Kira Derryberry: But, the alternative, there's no way to import it. You know what I mean? So I wanted to be able to have, like, at least do that for some of the history so I can [00:19:00] go back and see. I do like to see how much a client has spent with me over the years. What they typically, it was helpful, especially in the first couple of years of transitioning to 17HATS because I could go back and see what they purchased last year.
Kira Derryberry: Right. Or a couple years before. but I didn't have a system of, of really documenting the age of the. Okay. When I photograph them. I can see newborn sessions, so that'll be a little easier to figure out. But I, but I didn't, I only, Was made aware of the fact that I photographed these three kids when they were four because their parents reached out and told me You know, I mean like oh, you know Ava's graduating Amelia's graduating, you know, and it's and that was new, you know,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: so now maybe you'll try to find or you know, cuz we can always do a little Facebook stalking I mean, there's little things that you can do and I mean And I just that whole power of reaching out.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I mean that you're really blessed and lucky that not really. I mean, you did such a great job. You built that relationship that obviously they're going to reach out to you. That's fantastic. And we all have that handful that will, but it's those others that maybe need a little bit of a nudge and I, had this happen just a couple weeks [00:20:00] ago, for March, something you would never do.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I ran an heirloom, it's called Heirloom Bonds, and it was a pet portrait experience. And it was solely based on people celebrating their pets. Now, I have, we lost a little, our little Stella passed away several months ago, and I just found out my corgi, Rookie, is going through some medical issues. So it just really hit home for me personally.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So anything that's personal to me, I know is always going to be a good thing to share because I think I have like minded clients. Okay, so what I did was, I went back and because we have such a good CRM, we use Success Core for a long time, we use Studio Cloud now, but just like you, I'm running in parallel because I'm sure I could export it.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I'm just. We're two people. I don't even have the bandwidth to do it. So I just have one computer that just runs it. I went through and found everybody that I knew had a pet, meaning they came in for a pet promotion through the years when we did our pet books, or they came in with SPCA or whatever. And I personally handpicked, The ones that spent.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I could pull that report, and I [00:21:00] texted every one of them, and it was, you know, it was a lot of texts or whatever, but I texted everyone. I'd already sent emails, and I got some response, but I texted every one of them, and I booked it. 13 sessions just from texting and saying, Hey, I don't know if you saw this promotion.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Would you be willing to help, do us a favor, help us out with this? I'm so sad, I miss my little Stella. I've made it personal. I made it and 13 people went, absolutely. I've been meaning to call you. I've been meaning to respond. Absolutely. And we got them booked. So that being said,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: It's that extra push from here. So taking what your clients have already, the ones, because the early adapters are always going to be the ones that call you and say, such and such is a senior, such and such is getting married. we have those clients, but I think it can go one step further if we've done it.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: if we have had the wherewithal to keep good records, that now you're reaching out and saying, Hey, I know it's graduation time. And even if you kind of think maybe they're a senior, but you're not sure you could kind of spin it with. And if you know that, you know, to share it with other people, I wanted to let you know, and you could share it with other people that kind of safeguard [00:22:00] you.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: They're like, well, they're only a junior. Like, well, just should be thinking about it now or whatever it is. Yeah. but showing and really promoting when you get that install up of that four year old portrait and the then and now how it's going, you know, where, I mean, As a mom, people are going to respond to that with so much energy, you know what I mean?
Mary Fisk-Taylor: It'll be a good, maybe even you just pinpoint one email just to your past clients with children that haven't been in in 10 years. Right.
Kira Derryberry: As you were talking, I was thinking of like, what I would do differently with technology, if the technology that we have now existed then, I was thinking like, now, maybe it would be great to, have a field in your intake, you know, that obviously has, you know, the ages of all the kids, but the class of, you know, just make a little note class of, and then what if you could set a reminder, because you could set calendar reminders, right?
Kira Derryberry: So what if you could just go into your Google calendar or whatever calendar you use, and just. Set those dates at the beginning of the quarter or whatever, you know what I mean? Like this is class of whatever. it would basically pop up with a reminder that you would be updating all the time as you got more clients.
Kira Derryberry: That would be like, here's five kids that are class [00:23:00] of 2020. and reach out to these kids, a reminder that you set yourself years in advance, right? Like you, that's what we
Mary Fisk-Taylor: do.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah, you're going to do,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: we do it for our milestones because we wanted to get them in for that three year old, five year old, you know, eighth grade senior portrait.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And we photograph our senior portraits. They're usually done. before their senior year? When do you guys do them?
Kira Derryberry: these kids are, they almost all do during and because of the weather in Tallahassee, this is the time where I'm doing them and I'm rushing to get everything out on time.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: every place is different. We do them like before the high school seniors start senior year. So like the summer before your senior year,
Kira Derryberry: too hot here to do it, you know, that makes sense It's just yeah, everything makes sense scorched earth here.
Kira Derryberry: It's like
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Yeah, what makes sense, you know, whatever your season is for seniors is now so yours is right when college acceptance are coming I think that what I used to try to do is get them back in this time of year when they're getting their College If they were going to school or trade school, military, whatever they were doing, but get them back in because then we would do their announcements with announcing where they're going to be going next, whether it was going to be going to, you [00:24:00] know, UVA or, wherever they were going.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And that's how I would get them in a second time. Now, we ran a senior studio for many years, which during COVID, we decided not to keep it going. But we would do. A hundred or more seniors in summer, but I would try to get them back in this time of year to do their announcements.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So just senior photographers or volume photographers out there getting back in this time of year because I know they're getting their college acceptance letters and I would say it's a complimentary session with your college t shirt or sweatshirt or whatever they would come in and then, and I could almost always sell them announcements.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So it would be their announcement and then on the back, it'd be say, you know, heading to Blacksburg or heading to Charlottesville or. whatever it was, continuing their sports career And that would give me an additional sale from the portrait session because the portrait session was, six months ago at this point.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: if you don't do this and you want to photograph a lot of seniors, it really is. an extra money maker. You always can make an extra couple hundred bucks on that session. If you take the time to call them back in, but you have to invite them.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And I think that's one thing that's been the big, [00:25:00] I'm 30, almost 30 years in, or the studio is I'm, I haven't been there quite that long, but close. And, you know, it's like, that's one of the things that's changed so much is the amount of time I spend reaching out to people, reminding them it's time to schedule their session.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I mean, That never was the case. And I know you don't have that in the corporate world or in the headshot world because these people have to get a headshot, right? Everybody needs a headshot, especially now.
Kira Derryberry: Mm hmm.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: But everybody doesn't need a professional family portrait or senior portrait or five year old portrait or whatever.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So I spend the majority of my time reminding people, calling people, texting people, which makes me tired just thinking about it. But if I wasn't, where would I be? I wouldn't be in business.
Kira Derryberry: there's, because there's also like I have had another influx with the scene in the last couple of years when people are going off to college of the parent calling and saying, this is the last time all of us are going to be at home, like maybe it's the oldest kid going off to college, we need to get a family portrait.
Kira Derryberry: And so, because that family portrait, they're more comfortable with. being on the wall than the one of when they were babies, [00:26:00] because then they're going to have to, like, this one's going to last a while because they almost look like adults. And then we're going to put them on the, over the fireplace here, so that's another, it's kind of a milestone.
Kira Derryberry: It's not just kids are going to college, but it's like, oh, this is the last time all four of us or all five of us are going to be in
Mary Fisk-Taylor: the same house. That's my number one moneymaker. That's my number one milestone. Family portraits. Smaller like, you know, maybe with a newborn or whatever, but I'm not selling large i'm not even talking about large portraits until the oldest is in eighth grade because usually if your oldest is in eighth grade Usually the family's complete but my biggest seller is before that first kid goes to high school.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: That is my number one milestone Hands down. It's my biggest sales Because a when that first they're all they're all in their fields because the first one's going to college plus as that You time goes by, and the next one goes, or the next one goes, you're more likely to have picked up hangers on, meaning a fiancé, somebody getting married, whatever.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Maybe not as much these days, but it happens. And it's the first, it's probably the last time your family as a whole is Just you guys. Just that [00:27:00] unit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's no, you know, boyfriends, girlfriends, whatever. but that's my number one. I mean, you came to my studio, which was almost embarrassing, but I mean, I think three of the portraits sitting there waiting to be painted were exactly that.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: The family. First of all, guys,
Kira Derryberry: she's embarrassed because it's so overrun with orders that are going out and being delivered and being installed. Like it's overwhelming. It's packed to the gills with. Stuff that people have purchased. So, like, so embarrassing.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Well,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: It's a lot. But see, because we paint in there and we install. But we both work in small spaces. And mine's small. Yeah, it's small. but it's, it's spring break. So everybody's been out of town or we're getting ready to travel or we're traveling. So nobody wanted to schedule an install or they're getting ready to, you know, Flip or spring clean.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: So we're like, sure, we'll hold on to it. And we're like, we've got to get rid of some of these things. I know. Some of them are too big for our
Kira Derryberry: walls. Like, they're just My whole, my landing right now in my home, it's just, it's just White House boxes. I've seen that. Yeah. It's just laying in the, because I can't, one, my car's too packed with equipment right now to get, you know, and then I'm like, okay, yesterday I was like, okay, I can [00:28:00] squeeze in two White House boxes, like, in the car and get it to the studio.
Kira Derryberry: And then I'm like, where am I going to put it in the studio? Because I The dogs are coming and I don't know what they're going to touch. So
Mary Fisk-Taylor: It's a great problem to have, We just underestimate the fact. And sometimes I, you know, being in and you can get this.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I mean, sometimes you're like, wow, you know, they never came back. They were such a great client and then they stopped. But then all of a sudden they pop up and they're like, it's senior year. And maybe you haven't seen them in five or six years. Well, I know for us, one of the weddings that we're doing, I'm gonna be honest, she was one of our top, still is, one of our top clients, and she came in and did three huge sessions with us, but I haven't heard from her, and as soon as her daughter got engaged, she's like, you're the second person I called, because I want to know when, because it's got to be you guys, I kind of thought they'd forgotten about us.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: but she actually ended up Talking to her a little bit about it. She's like, you email you check in you send me a holiday card you're always top of mind I get your magazines i'm like, oh good. So it does work she's like we just frankly haven't been we've just been busy and we haven't really needed anything because We did that big portrait before the first went to college.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: There was no reason to do it as the second and third went to college. College graduations aren't that big here. We do a few. I think you do a lot more.
Kira Derryberry: yesterday.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Yeah, we don't do a lot of those here. I wish we did, but [00:29:00] but so she's like, but you're the, you know, but you're always top of mind.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: you always stay in touch. So I think there's another point of the reason why I'm so adamant about my newsletters and my emails Even that like using drop cowboy and calling around the holidays just to wish him a happy holiday or just staying in touch just i'm thinking about you I mean and we do that a lot and I think she was kind of a testimony that oh It actually is working
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I mean? Because sometimes I get my feels about like, maybe it's not working Maybe all this is for nothing but especially february's because if any you've heard listen to this podcast for any length of time for over a year every february I'm a doom and gloom Eeyore and life is over and I'm a complete failure because that's just what February is for me because I just decide that I'm slow and that means I've failed at life, but it always works out.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: But I just for some reason can't stop. My husband is like, from now on, he's going to vacation the entire month of February and not, either I have to be gone or he has to be gone so we can survive, survive this. but I [00:30:00] love that you're going through that and you don't do weddings.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: You'll have to find somebody great to refer him to down the road. But, I almost thought we were going to, I really thought we were going to, two years ago, I thought, you know, we're probably going to phase out. We have more weddings on the book for 25, than we've had in probably four years.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I know
Kira Derryberry: because like every time I'm like, Like, are we going to, because we're talking about trips and there's like, well, Jamie's shooting, Jamie's got this wedding that he's got to do, so he won't be there until after, and we're just like, Imaging
Mary Fisk-Taylor: this year. Yeah, Imaging this January wedding, you know, yeah, I mean, because this is the year and we're going to probably for the next four or five years, a lot of our kiddos will be getting married and thank goodness they still want us.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I mean, and it's really cool. I mean, we're going to Pennsylvania. We have one in Pennsylvania. We have one in Florida. We have, well, yeah. We have Spain and Ireland, like, it's kind of cool. It's kind of cool. It's really cool. I'm gonna have to, like, really do more Pilates, though. Because you hurt your back picking up a light stand at a wedding.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I am in traction for, like, two days. Like, weddings are hard.
Kira Derryberry: cannot. Begin to imagine like they're hard. You're on your feet so much. And I whine if I'm on my feet like a couple of hours.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: on just like, just like your all day session. You're [00:31:00] on. You're smiling.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: You're happy. You're not complaining. There's no issues. Everything's great. Everything's everything's. What is that song? You always see everything is awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's what it is. In my head all day long, which I'm happy to do, by the way, guys, I wouldn't want to ever bring anything but that joy to, to people's weddings, but it is a lot.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: It's, it's, it's draining physically and it's physically
Kira Derryberry: and emotionally draining. And I think that's why, you know, I came, came home yesterday. from shooting, so I had the dogsokay, so just, let's see. You landed on Tuesday. Landed on Tuesday, Wednesday, working for the bank at a meeting that they had at a hotel.
Kira Derryberry: So, I'm at a hotel set up in a conference room that's obviously always too small for what I'm trying to do, you know? And so, did that all day, building people up.
Kira Derryberry: I don't worry about that. Don't worry about this. I got you, I got you. All day, right? And then it's raining. So you're also trying to like, get your gear in and get, you know, the theater kids at the, who are so fun because they emote, they, you know, not as much coaching, but also it's shooting from a higher [00:32:00] angle and down onto a bigger set.
Kira Derryberry: So it's like, literally I was up on a box and down off the box, up on the box, down off, you know, just to be able to reach. To where I can see and then down off the box so I could go do their, their, order with them real quick. And then that was because they're hurt your back the day
Mary Fisk-Taylor: before.
Kira Derryberry: So you're already back the day before. So I'm coming off the box and I'm kind of pretending that I'm not like doing this weird, like, you know, what is the guy, the Hunchback of Notre Dame kind of foot drag. Just this foot drag sort of thing. And then, you know, but I'm like, So cheery, you know, because these kids are so, they have a lot of energy and they're so fun, and I'm trying to be cool and not some old lady, and then yesterday, the very next day, it's the dog shoot, so I've got the dogs in there and I'm trying to pretend like I am good with dogs, and she keeps saying things like, dog people get it, you just don't get it.
Kira Derryberry: Get it. And I'm like, yeah. Stop it. She called you a day. Stop it. Stop saying it. And so I'm just like living this lie for this one for the sake of the shoot. Right? Like, I'm just like, Oh, what sweet dogs. Oh yeah. Frenchies, you know, they are a dream. Like they're it. She goes like, Oh, they don't bark. I was like, I know they don't bark.
Kira Derryberry: And I'm like, this is news to me. I don't know [00:33:00] anything. And I'm like, isn't that great? What? Perfect. This is perfect. They're angels. They're perfect. Like, you know, people get it. And then she keeps saying, dog, people get it. Dog people. And we're going through her photos and every, every photo.
Kira Derryberry: They're terrible. Like the ones that were the dogs are not performing and she's got a weird face. She loves every single one. she's like, Oh, that's just so Django. That's him. That's him. And I'm like, that's not a good one. Like his butt is facing the camera, you know what I mean? Like it's not, and it's like Django is mostly butt, And so, Frenchie butt.
Kira Derryberry: Frenchie butt. And, but she thinks it's adorable, because she's a dog person. And then I leave to go to FSU's campus to photograph these two doctoral, graduates who are married, who I just did their family session to, so that was the deal. We did a studio family session. And now we're doing the two of them in their regalia, like, on campus.
Kira Derryberry: Well, guess, it's like overrun with senior graduating college kids doing at this location. Doing it at the fountain, you know, in front of the Ruby Diamond, you know, so we're, and it's full sun. Like the sun is kind of setting over the building. It takes, [00:34:00] just to get like four locations in this one little area, I mean it takes like an hour.
Kira Derryberry: And I'm in a sweatshirt for some reason, I smell like dog. And I'm trying to get, like, wait in line with these kids, these photographers who are kids. Like they're young, you know, and they're out there photographing all these girls in white dresses.
Kira Derryberry: From that yesterday and I just limp in, you know, and I'm just like, like, it's just I'm so and Kevin's like, yeah, but I mean, it's you're so busy. That's so great. Like you're making money. And like, I was just like, but I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm so tired. I can't, I can't do anything and I hurt everything hurts like I'm and I'm on fire.
Kira Derryberry: and I have to change because I'm sweaty and I smell like dog and Cats are mad. And the cats are mad because they're like, what in the world? Where have you been? Where have you been and who have you been with? I know. You traitor.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: I know. And like, what is this we hear about you being a dog person?
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Dog people get it. That's the [00:35:00] best thing I've heard all day. I'm going to chuckle about that all day long. speak a little. Well, that is it. And, you know, man, that she could not have been less right. But you know what? That doesn't matter. We play the part.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: We do what we have to do. that's, you know, it's like your baby's cute. And the
Kira Derryberry: thing is, is that I don't hate the dogs. The baby's cute. No. You know, none of that. It's just that it's not, it doesn't come as easy for me as it does for others. To do certain subject matter, but I think that's
Mary Fisk-Taylor: fair. I mean, I think that a lot of people struggle with families because that posing families is hard or weddings because it's, it's hard, you know, dealing with all those people and all, you know, I don't, it's not, well, this is why.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: The older I get, the more I'm like, you know, I'm just going to niche right into something. Like I'm just going to niche into one thing. I think that there's a lot to be said for that. Now, when you do that, then do you miss out on the opportunity of exactly what you're doing right now, which is them coming back to you for senior portraits because they want to go outdoors and you've niched into only doing X, Y, Z.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: it's a trade off and that's okay. It would have been perfectly okay for you to say, I'm grateful and thank you so much. I no longer, that's not a part of my business model, but let me refer you on. I think that it's okay [00:36:00] to do that.
Kira Derryberry: Most of the time I do, it's setting a boundary, right? Because I am niche.
Kira Derryberry: I do consider myself niche. And, but I think the key to being good at being niche and still taking advantage of certain opportunities that arise is like with this dog portrait. If I had not, Honestly, I've done pet portraits before with, for, for clients. Like they want their dog in the family portrait and I'll go, you know, as long as you can give the dog commands or wrangle the dog, you know, that's fine.
Kira Derryberry: But until Arika came to my studio and did some pet sessions at my studio and I watched what she was doing, I realized I was not well equipped to do that for somebody. And so I think. Making sure that you have a well rounded sense of knowledge base, even though if it's not something that you want to do, like attending a class like we've talked about that you wouldn't normally do or shadowing a photographer like Arika, like I did that day, watching her work with animals and making it seem like so easy, which it's not, But I think that is how you go when that commercial client who you did the book cover for comes back and says, you know what, I want to be photographed with my dogs for some marketing pieces.
Kira Derryberry: you can't go, well, let me just [00:37:00] refer you to another commercial photographer. No, you can't. Well, you could, but you don't want to have been a big,
Mary Fisk-Taylor: it wouldn't have been the best decision.
Kira Derryberry: It wouldn't have been the best decision I couldn't make. and the same thing with, those, graduation portraits, you know, it's like I have done.
Kira Derryberry: Someone's family all through their entire time. I'm not, I'm going to say to them. No, I won't go on campus with you and do these locations. Of course I will. Now I'll say no to other people. , but it gives me the opportunity to be selective about who I do that with, so I have more control.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: Right. And also the, you have a history with these people and you know that the investment level and they've invested in you, so you're investing in them.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: And I think that's where the, that for me is the trade off. if you've not invested in me and you're proving to me you're not, meaning you don't wanna come in for a consultation, you wanna do all these things, you're not investing in me, I'm not investing in you. So no, I'm not coming out on a Friday or Saturday.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: However, if it's XYZ, and I know what they've invested in me, and that could be money and time, by the way, of course I'm going to invest back into you. It's a give and [00:38:00] take. And in the world we live in today, in the society we're in and everything else, I think that equitable relationship is so important, more now than ever, because there's just not a lot of it out there, in my opinion.
Mary Fisk-Taylor: You know what I mean? people That continue to invest in you and come back and forth.
Kira Derryberry: Yeah, and I think that's so important. Okay, let's wrap this up guys, we're so grateful that you guys Continue to stick with us while we try and bang these out You guys can follow us on instagram at get your shoot together You can follow us on facebook at get your shoot together and email us at girl at get your shoot together.
Kira Derryberry: com We will see you guys next time. Thanks y'all