Making 4 figures with photography mini sessions.

October 30th, 2024
Make 4 Figures mini sessions photographer Maddie Peschong

We’ve all been there–with everything you’re juggling between your photography business and family, you’re constantly seeking ways to maximize your potential income while minimizing the time you spend. Maddie Peschong, a branding photographer and coach, has cracked the code to achieving four-figure earnings through mini sessions. Whether you’re new to photography or a seasoned professional looking for fresh insights, Maddie’s approach is ideal for boosting your business. Let’s delve into the wisdom she shared.

Getting started with mini sessions.

Maddie Peschong has found a highly profitable way to run mini sessions, making an impact on the photography industry by turning this often overlooked or dismissed offering into a key revenue driver for her business and others. She shares her enthusiasm, stating, “I love mini sessions–and I love to talk about how much I love mini sessions because I think sometimes they get a little bit of a bad rep. I have found that’s often just because photographers could be running their mini sessions in ways that are more strategic and support their brand better.” Her journey from earning an average of $900 in a single day when she began offering mini sessions to an impressive $7,000 in a single day demonstrates the power of a strategic approach.

Four pillars of a successful mini session:

1. Reputation:

Maddie emphasizes the importance of maintaining your market reputation, explaining, “Your reputation is essentially your positioning in the market. This answers, ‘What do you want to be known for?’ A lot of photographers will say, well, I don’t want to be the mini session photographer, or I don’t want to be the cheap photographer, but then what they do is offer multiple mini sessions throughout the year without strategic planning.” Approaching mini sessions with a long-term approach and setting goals–rather than hoping for a quick fix–will help make the difference.

2. Rapport:

Building rapport with potential clients is crucial. Use your email newsletter to build a “waitlist” of people interested in your work, and don’t be afraid to reach out to your dream clients. Maddie highlights the significance of genuine connection, saying, “This is the connection that you’re making with your ideal client. And most of the time we are doing this through marketing, how we are connecting with our people.” Your approach and messaging help shape your brand and compel potential clients to book not only mini sessions, but regular sessions throughout the year. 

3. Relationships:

Establishing deeper connections can greatly enhance client loyalty. Maddie advises, “The biggest issue that I see is photographers not considering the bigger picture when they run many sessions. Automate the experience as best you can. There is a huge part of the prep and the planning that is automated.” Automating the customer experience as much as possible, from booking to session reminders and helpful email templates that answer common questions. Your clients will get the positive experience and care they need, without you taking time to be hands-on with every step of the process.

4. Refine:

Constant refinement is an important part of evolving your brand. Maddie stresses, “Branding is key–and branding takes time. This is something that is going to get better year over year. The time is going to pass anyway, so even though the first year that you start offering mini sessions, you might not have this amazing experience where every single session gets booked, it will improve.” Having patience with the process and evolving as needed will pay off in time. 

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The role technology plays in your success.

For a streamlined process, Maddie recommends using booking and scheduling tools and client gallery delivery systems like Zenfolio, highlighting that, “This is where a platform like Zenfolio can come in and make your job so much easier because the booking can happen automatically, and you don’t need to worry about coordinating times with people. They can just book for themselves” Tools for handling client bookings and delivering images are helpful for all your sessions, but invaluable for managing the large volume of bookings necessary for a successful mini session day. With less time spent handling the scheduling, photographers can concentrate on marketing their work and getting behind the camera. 

Maddie Peschong’s insights provide a blueprint for photographers eager to leverage mini sessions for thriving businesses. These four pillars—Reputation, Rapport, Relationships, and Refine—offer a structured approach to maximizing success while ensuring client satisfaction.

Feeling excited by the possibilities? Apply Maddie’s methodologies, and watch as your mini sessions propel your photography business to new heights. Dig deeper on Maddie’s tips and strategies in the recorded webinar:

YouTube video

Contributor

  • Cheryl Dell'Osso

    Cheryl is the Director of Content Strategy at Zenfolio and the Owner/Photographer at Portraits by Cheryl and Seniors by Cheryl in Raleigh, NC. Cheryl has mentored countless new photographers looking to build successful photography businesses.