THE JOURNAL

One of the most common questions I get from photographers is:“How do you get your skin tones to look so creamy and soft… straight out of camera?” The truth? It’s not a magic camera setting or a fancy preset.It comes down to something way simpler (and more powerful): intentional shooting. For years, I struggled with […]

Mini sessions are a great way to serve more families in a short amount of time.But only if people actually book them. If you’ve ever posted about minis and heard crickets, or ended up scrambling to fill your last few spots, chances are it wasn’t about your price or your photos… It was your marketing […]

You don’t need 10,000 followers to build a fully booked photography business. In fact, some of the busiest photographers I know aren’t “influencers” at all. They’re booked because of one thing: client experience. From the moment someone inquires to the moment they receive their gallery, they feel taken care of—and that’s what keeps them coming […]

In the beginning, I thought the key to a successful family session was having a list of “can’t-fail” poses memorized and ready to go. You know the ones: standing in a V, walking while holding hands, a tickle shot if we had time. But here’s what I learned… Posed Doesn’t Always Mean Connected I’d go […]

I used to spend hours trying to “save” photos in Lightroom—bumping up the exposure, fixing weird skin tones, adding masks to fake a soft glow. And I’ll be honest… I thought that’s just how photography worked. Take the photo → fix it later. But here’s the hard truth: editing can’t save a bad photo.If the […]

When you’re first starting your photography business, it’s easy to think success comes down to one thing: taking great photos. And yes—your work matters. But the photographers who actually grow long-term, booked-out businesses?They’re doing the little things that build trust, loyalty, and momentum behind the scenes. If you’re still early in your business (or rebuilding), […]

When I first picked up a camera and stepped into the world of family photography, I thought I just needed a few go-to poses, a decent lens, and maybe some Pinterest inspiration to keep in my back pocket. Spoiler alert: I was very wrong. It’s Not One-Size-Fits-All I learned the hard way that what worked […]

Let’s be honest—most of us are building our photography businesses while juggling everything else. Kids. Clients. Dishes. Editing. Dinner.It’s a lot. And if you’re waiting for things to “slow down” so you can finally go all in—newsflash: they won’t. If you’ve ever said, “I’ll work on it when things calm down,” you already know:Things don’t […]

There’s so much noise in this industry—hot takes on what you “have to” do to be successful.Spoiler: most of it’s outdated, unrealistic, or doesn’t work for the life you actually live. Here’s the photography advice I’ve fully unsubscribed from: You Need to Offer Everything to Get Booked Nope. The idea that you’ll be more successful […]

Let me paint a picture of what booking mini sessions used to look like: A flood of DMs and emails.Me copying and pasting the same answers over and over.People asking what was included, how many photos, how to book, what dates I had left…And then ghosting me mid-conversation. Sound familiar? It was overwhelming. Time-consuming. And […]