Photo Fuel | Family Photography Education – Détails, épisodes et analyse

This episode is airing originally in the fall, and because this podcast is specifically for family photographers, I’m assuming a lot of you are in your busiest part of the year. You’re travelling to a lot of shoots. Even if you don’t have a ton of work right now, every time you do go to a shoot, it feels especially important. If you are finding yourself in the dead center of tons of editing or in the car going back and forth to client’s homes, I want this episode to serve as a tool to recenter. 

Whenever you’re feeling swirly or like you’re running out the door from your own personal whirlwind and you just need something to help plug you back into your purpose, I hope you’ll play (or replay!) this episode and discover peace and potential that will rev you up to create a phenomenal experience for the families who’ve hired you. 

// connect with Leah //

Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com

Instagram: @leahoconnell.photo

Waitlist for the mastermind + retreat: https://www.leahoconnell.com/group

The Big Picture Workbook Freebie: https://www.leahoconnll.com/bigpicture

Have you ever known you needed to make a change for your business but felt scared about what it would cost you? 

Have you ever resisted taking risks or making investments or choices that you knew deep down were good choices but felt scary? 

That’s the backstory of this episode - why I knew it was time to change my business name and how I went about making the shift after 11 years of operating and creating content on the internet under a different name.

• The history of my longstanding previous name (Firefly Photography)
• The turning point for feeling the nudge to change it 
• Making business personal on purpose
• Simplifying branding by returning to the basics
• Llogistics about changing a name and implications for things like SEO 

// Links discussed //

Group Coaching : leahoconnell.com/group

Free downloads: leahoconnell.com/learn

Fb group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/photofuel/

Right about now, many of you in the family photography world are probably starting to think about planning and marketing for your fall mini sessions. But do you *have* do them??

I am a family photographer exclusively and I do not offer fall mini sessions. Actually I don’t offer mini sessions at all.

If you feel stuck hating fall mini sessions because you think you *have* to offer them or need the quick cash, consider this alternative perspective. 

Mini sessions can be a great way to get started, get practice, and develop your skills. But at a certain point, you can decide if it's something that's really aligned with your business goals... or not.

That's what we're digging into today - My 3 main arguments against doing fall mini sessions and a few ideas for how to supplement your business income or calendar instead. 

Links mentioned:

QT albums: get 20% off your first order with code FUEL20 or a free studio sample - just reach out and mention Photo Fuel and they’ll get you hooked up with your album sample

The Big Picture Workbook: https://www.leahoconnell.com/bigpicture

Mentoring with Leah : https://leahoconnell.com/mentoring

SIGN UP FOR THE GROUP COACHING WAIT LIST! *coming 2025*

What a treat in today's episode - we have the legend Rachel Larsen Weaver with us.

Rachel is an artist-educator and photographer joyfully living on the Maryland beaches of the Chesapeake Bay. A mother to five and creator of moments, her enthusiasm for details and self-love are infectious, infusing creative sessions with a buoyant reverence for the simplest pleasures. Her portfolio and practice is fat-affirming, mindful, and genuine, focusing on the life and light of clients. Co-founder of NOW, NOW School, and creator of #FindingMyselfInPortraits and the original Long Form Sessions, Rachel travels the country documenting mothers, bodies, and details.

In this episode we cover topics like: 

• Learning from the things that don’t work
• How to craft your sweet spot offers by listening to what makes you unique 
• The foundations of Rachel’s signature long-form sessions
• How newsletters support your offers more just than sales
• Rachel’s concept of “all work is personal”
• Why it’s important to have variety with your influences
• Contentment and growth
• Seeing people with a loving gaze
• How seeking presence in your daily life supports your art
• The courage of curation

WOW - it's a packed one! 

// connect with Leah // 

Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com

Instagram: @leahoconnell_photo

The Big Picture Workbook: https://www.leahoconnell.com/bigpicture

The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/education

// connect with Rachel // 

Website: www.rachellarsenweaver.com

Instagram: @rachel.larsen.weaver

Rachel's 4x4 - https://www.rachellarsenweaver.com/the-4-x4

Rachel's long-form sessions: https://www.rachellarsenweaver.com/longform

It’s pretty well understood that newsletters are a great form of marketing - anyone who’s had success with it will tell you that it is, but until you find your voice and your magic sauce with creating one, you’re likely to feel some dread around starting one, writing consistent emails, and generally feel a lot of resistance. Like many things in business marketing, it can bring thoughts of “am I being annoying?” or “is anyone even reading this?” or “what’s the point.” So if you’ve felt like this around newsletters at any point, this episode is for you. 

In June I reached a personal goal of sending a newsletter every week for one year and through that process of committing to a specific form of consistent marketing, I learned so much and today I want to share some of that with you - we’re going to address 7 big takeaways I’ve gathered from that challenge.

// Try out Flodesk at 50% off with the code: https://flodesk.com/c/O75MQU

// Connect with Leah //

Join the Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter

Website: https://www.leahoconnell.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo

The Big Picture Workbook: https://www.leahoconnell.com/bigpicture

Developing a family photography business is rarely a straight path. Like most careers, it’s likely that there are some steps that are calculated and some that take us completely by surprise. That’s what happened to my guest on the show today, the lovely Morgan Williams, based out of Raleigh, North Carolina.

She focusses on in-home photography with families and newborns and teaches other photographers how to create the work they were created to create, but before she could do that for others, she had to figure out how to do it for herself.

In this conversation we talk about how and why she made the switch from almost exclusively photographing weddings to exclusively photographing families and newborns.

We also dive into what it’s like to build a business while raising babies and I believe that every time an artist that gets a little more real with what that looks like in their own story, the more we all collectively sigh a little relief in camaraderie knowing we are not alone. 

Links discussed: 

Preserving everyday magic: in-home family photography group coaching program

Flourish retreat and mastermind (a 6 month mastermind designed to show you how to discover your unique creative purpose and flourish in all areas of your life!)

Lit up course (in-home lighting course)

Family posing guide(a guide to creating authentic family imagery)

// Connect with Morgan //

Website: morganwilliamsphoto.com

Instagram: instagram.com/morganwilliamsphoto

Morgan's podcast: Life in Full Frame

// Connect with Leah / /

Website: www.leahoconnell.com

Newsletter / The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter

Private FB group for photographers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/familyphotogs.behindthescenes/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo/

Email: leah@lofirefly.com

If you have “work on my website” on your to-do list for this quarter or this year, today's Photo Fuel is on point for you. 

Whether you’re looking to improve it, working with a designer, using a template, or DIY-ing the whole darn thing, in this episode we’re talking through 2 major mistakes I see photographers (cough, me too!) make when tackling this project and what to do instead to prep yourself for an enjoyable and effective website glow-up. 

// Links Mentioned in this episode //

Right-track audits: https://www.leahoconnell.com/righttrack

Showit code for 1 month free: https://account.showit.com/r/firefly // or code firefly at checkout

The Big-picture workbook: https://www.leahoconnell.com/bigpicture

// connect with Leah // 

Website: www.leahoconnell.com

Newsletter / The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter

Private FB group for photographers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/familyphotogs.behindthescenes/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo/

Email: leah@lofirefly.com

When DC photographer Mary Catherine Wickman posted on instagram about her fears around being 35 and a family photographer without kids, her followers rallied around her in support, encouragement, and their own stories of relatability. In this episode, we talk about that caption - why she shared it, what happened, and what she (and all of us) can learn from it. 

Read the post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3AsIgNOcUj/

We also touch on: 

• The way our vulnerability helps us connect in deeper ways with out clients and other photographers
• The “age ceiling” in family photography and how we’re finding it’s a complete myth
• The sacrifices of going from part time to full time
• What it’s like to look around at what you’ve built and say ‘this is good.’
• The value in participating in non-photography-related creative mediums

// CONNECT // 

Mary Catherine Wickman : www.marycatherinephotography.com | Instagram: @marycatherinephoto

Leah O'Connell:

Website: www.leahoconnell.com

Newsletter / The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter

Private FB group for photographers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/familyphotogs.behindthescenes/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo/

Email: leah@lofirefly.com

The Big picture workbook: https://lofirefly.com/bigpicture

What do you do when you're being hired to make family photos, but you don't feel like picking up a camera? When you don't feel inspired by making photos of your own family? When you feel tired or bored with life but you're preaching about joy in little moments and soaking up the precious people you love? The natural burnout of parenthood and relationship has a unique way of seeping into our work as family photographers because the two are so closely intertwined.

In this episode, I’m going to share 3 things I practice to get re-inspired by my own life - and they have nothing to do with taking pictures. 

Ironically, they often lead to an ignited passion for photographing again and a realignment in my personal life with my contentment, delight, and art that spills over into my work. 

+ ((17:40)) 6 practical experiments *with* your camera that you can try to introduce play and get awake to your love for photographer again. 

// Links and sources mentioned //

Wildly Creative Life Podcast // When you don’t feel like creating anything: 

Wildly Creative Life Podcast // Can’t find any motivation: Try this instead

Book Rec: Do less: A revolutionary approach to managing time and energy for ambitious women 

Rachel Larsen Weaver’s self portrait guide

Artifact uprising:  15% off orders with code FIREFLYPHOTO15

QT Albums: 20% off first order with code FUEL20

The big picture workbook: https://fireflyphotography.myflodesk.com/bigpicture

Website: www.leahoconnell.com

Newsletter / The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter

Private FB group for photographers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/familyphotogs.behindthescenes/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo/

Email: leah@lofirefly.com

Todays episode features a must-listen conversation for every family photographer! Morgan Miles is my guest and not only is she an incredibly talented family photographer, she is a full time marketing professor and studies consumer psychology at San Diego State University where she’s been teaching for over a decade. She has incredible insight into the growing trends of marketing in general and how it uniquely applies - at one point she brings up how she can’t think of another career that has the same marketing challenges as family photographers, and one of the reasons for that is privacy.

Topics we touch on:

• Predictions about the future of marketing with client images
• How AI plays a role in safety concerns
• The shift with clients requesting privacy on social media
• Naming your own values and boundaries around sharing personal work and your own family online as part of your marketing
• Managing consent and client expectations or request for privacy
• Safety tips for respecting our clients and kids 
• Ideas for sharing personal work if social media isn’t something you want to engage in at all
• Defining your personal and brand voice with authenticity 
• The power of education to accelerate your growth

// NOTES + LINKS REFERENCED //

Blog post - "Do I need instagram for my photography business?" 

Click photo mini classes -

Pew Research Article on privacy:

SAS survey: 

Enzuzo article on privacy statistics

Morgan’s bio: 

Morgan is a mom to two, a marketing professor, and a lifestyle family photographer based in sunny San Diego, CA. She studied art and photography in college but didn't pick up a camera again until she was pregnant with her first child and has now been in business for four years. She is fascinated by the complexity of the parenthood journey and seeks to capture it in a way that feels both beautiful and authentic.

// Connect with Morgan //

• Website: https://www.morganmilesstudio.com
• INstagram: https://www.instagram.com/morganmilesstudio/

// Connect with Leah //

• The Firefly Letters - https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter
• Big picture workbook (free) : https://fireflyphotography.myflodesk.com/bigpicture

• Website: www.leahoconnell.com

  Newsletter / The Firefly Letters: https://www.leahoconnell.com/newsletter

  Private FB group for photographers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/familyphotogs.behindthescenes/

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leahoconnell.photo/

  Email: leah@lofirefly.com