This episode is part of my quiz series, where I tell you all about the four archetypes of brand photographers. You can go here to take the quiz, Are You Ready to Be a Brand Photographer, and I will tell you what your brand photographer archetype is!

This episode is diving into the first archetype, the Brand New Photographer. If you got this result from the quiz, keep listening to discover your best next step towards becoming a successful brand photographer.

Episode highlights:

01:27 The Brand New Photographer: Starting from Scratch

03:08 Building Your Portfolio and Client Base

05:26 Rewind Program

CONNECT WITH MADDIE:

Instagram

Website

LINKS:

Quiz: Are You Ready to Be A Brand Photographer?

The Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: 10 must-have images

Full Show Notes

You're listening to Take It Personally,

a podcast for photographers about

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the personal side of business

and the art of standing out.

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Here I'll help you build a business

and a brand that is uniquely you.

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If you want to attract dream

clients and stop looking at the

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competition to decide your next move.

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to show up as a confident

branding authority to help you

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serve your clients and consider

your goals and priorities too.

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If you want to make your mark in a

new, underserved niche of photography,

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then this is the place for you.

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I'm your host Maddie Pachon, South

Dakota brand photographer and educator.

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I'm a straight shooting, Instagram

obsessed, and Instagramer.

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Diehard Swifty who has built a multi

six figure business on the back of brand

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photography all while raising a family.

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And I know you can do the same.

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Let's get ready to take it personally.

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Wireless Microphone RX-1: This

episode is part of my quiz series,

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where I tell you all about the four

archetypes of brand photographers.

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You can go to Maddie Dot com slash quiz.

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And take the, are you ready to

be a brand photographer quiz?

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And then I will tell you what your

brand photographer archetype is.

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Wireless Microphone RX: The first type of

brand photographer is also the most rare.

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Most of the time when I hear from

people who are wanting to get into

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brand photography, they already have a

successful wedding or portrait business.

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They've been shooting for a while.

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They're familiar with their camera, but

once in a while, I get people who are just

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starting to pursue being a photographer.

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Maybe they've picked up a

camera a handful of times.

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Maybe they haven't even purchased their

first camera yet, but they just know.

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That they want to pursue

photography as a business.

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This is what I call, not very creatively,

the brand new photographer, right.

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They are brand new to

photography as a business.

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And I love these photographers

because they know what they want.

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And let me tell you that was the opposite.

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Of me, I, while I am very thankful

for the path that has led me here, I

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think it would have been probably a lot

easier and a lot straighter of the line.

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If I would've just known right away

that I was interested in personal brand

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photography or even like what that was.

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I had no idea what that was.

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So I love the brand new brand photographer

because they know what they want and now

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they just need a clear path to get there.

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So characteristics of the brand new

brand photographer, they are likely still

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working on getting it right in camera.

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I can really relate to this.

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I remember sitting in my

college photography class.

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Thinking that there was no way

I was ever going to be able to

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control my ISO and shutter speed

and aperture and white balance.

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Like all at the same time.

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I just thought there's no way that

I'm ever going to be able to do

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this, but practice makes perfect.

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And the more that you get your camera

in your hands and play with it, the

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better that you're going to get.

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My biggest piece of advice.

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If you are the brand new brand

photographer, don't be afraid to

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do some portfolio building shoots

for free as you build your skills.

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I know that photographers love to get

really sassy and Facebook groups about

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photographers who are shooting for free.

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And I don't want you to shoot

for free forever by any means.

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But there is a time and a place for it.

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And when you are brand new, when

you're starting out, when you're

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honing your skills, that is exactly.

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What you should be doing.

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So don't be afraid to do some of

those portfolio building shoots

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for free, and then you can slowly

raise your price as your skills get

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better and as you get more confident.

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It's also really common as the brand

new brand photographer for your clients

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to be mostly friends and family.

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When your business is a little bit

more hobby than it is a business.

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As of right now.

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Um, and even as it grows and you start

charging people, Your friends and

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family can be really fantastic clients.

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This is how so many

photographers start out.

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And it's a really good place

to be in because you have

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this like built in network.

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So you can use the networks

that you already have.

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To spread the news that you're

interested in photography and

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watch those networks grow.

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And as your skills grow and

you increase your prices.

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Also, I want you to know that it's

normal for some of these people to fall

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away, to make room for new clients.

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It is normal to get to a point

where your friends and family

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might not pay your prices.

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And I think that this is a point

that so many photographers get

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to and they kind of freak out.

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Like they think if their friends

and family aren't going to pay the

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price, then the price is too high.

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That's actually not the case at all.

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It just means that your business is

entering a new stage, a new era, but

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for right now, enjoy the support and

celebrate the wins that you get by

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booking with your friends and family.

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They're also going to be really

great clients to learn on.

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You can ask them for genuine feedback.

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You can use their photos

to build your portfolio.

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It's a really great place to start.

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Now I actually do not recommend that

the brand new photographer come in to

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rebrand it, at least not quite yet.

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However I do recommend that the brand

new photographer look at my new program

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that is launching on black Friday.

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Which is called rewind and rewind

is going to tell you exactly how

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to shoot your first brand session.

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For the brand new photographer, you

really want to be working on your

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skills first, and then we can work more

on the business on marketing, on your

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personal brand to get to a point where

you can charge those higher prices

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and become a six figure photographer.

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But for right now, I want

you to work on your skills.

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I want you to get really comfortable

with a camera before you move on to

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step 2, 3, 4, all of the other steps.

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If you are a brand new photographer

and you are listening to this,

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I would love to hear from you.

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You really are at such an

exciting point in your career.

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And you're going to be learning

so much and I cannot wait to

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support you along the way.

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Thank you so much for listening

to Take It Personally.

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If you haven't already, would you head

over to iTunes and leave us a review?

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This is the best way to let other

photographers know about the show and

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help keep us creating content you crave.

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And if you want more tips and tools to

build your personal photography brand,

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head over to my website, MaddiePichon.

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com.

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Here, you can access my downloadable

ultimate personal brand session shot

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list to get your clients singing

your praises and browse my blog for

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more trade secrets to help you hone

your craft and grow your business.

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Love to learn while you

listen, visit MaddiePachon.

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com and click on podcast for all things.

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Take it personally.

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From show notes to recent episodes

and incredible guest profiles.

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Remember friend, the most important part

of any brand is the people behind it.

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Branding and business is personal,

so let's take it personally.