Today we opened up the mic to Madi Richardson, a Kentucky based documentary family photographer, so she can ask us ANY and all questions she has for her business at the moment. She started us off STROOONGGG by diving headfirst into money mindset, pricing strategies, and communicating value to prospective clients. We spent almost the entire call live workshopping her business model and service offering, her current pricing, her ideal revenue and workload, running calculations, tackling tough mindset hurdles she’s facing, and loads of nitty gritty strategies of how to communicate your value to your ideal clients in a way that leaves them RUSHING to book with you.

 

Madi: I am a documentary-style photographer, I specialize in families, motherhood, newborn, and classic family sessions but with a twist. My love for this started when I was 13 years old, I sold my Nintendo DS to buy my first DSLR. It was on and off for the next 6-7 years of picking it up and putting it down. Eventually, I started doing more research and was going through a tougher time in life, so picked my camera back up and started taking pictures of nature and finding the beauty in little things. Which lead to me shooting portraits. I started my business in 2018 and have progressed from there. Today I want to talk about money mindset and how to make this a fulltime career. It’s always about money for me. 

 

Lindsey: What is your first hesitation when it comes to pricing and money mindset in general? 

 

Madi: I go in spurts where I think I deserve this, but then there is that inkly of “Do you?”. It’s hard for me to find a pricing that I feel comfortable sharing. Or excited to share when clients are inquiring. A lot of times I hesitate or want to give them a discount right away. 

 

Lindsey: Would you be willing to share where you are at pricing wise? 

 

Madi: I started offering a smaller package because my original pricing was $600 for an hour, all inclusive images and 1-2 outfits. Then there was a four hour package for in home that was $1,200 but then I started offering a smaller package because I noticed a lot of people wanted to work with me but couldn’t fork out that much money from the start. So I would offer a 25-30 minute but ended up being 45 minutes but those were $350 for 15 photos and then they could upgrade their package for the full gallery. 

 

Evie: Do you still offer that small package? 

 

Madi: This last year I put it back but then this upcoming year I’m going to take it out again. 

 

Lindsey: “Expensive” and “cheap” are completely different to every single person based on value perception. You are sitting at a good spot. Are you feeling imposter syndrome at the prices that they are? Do you feel like you aren’t able to serve who you want to because it is higher? Do you feel bad that people can’t afford you? 

Madi: I definitely feel bad because I know so many awesome great clients that have been working with me and growing with me, and in a sense I get to grow with their family. When I offer the packages they always end up opting for the smallest one. I don’t know if I’m setting boundaries enough within my packages. I don’t know how to separate the two, so I feel like I need to give more than I already gave when doing free shoots. 

 

Evie: First and foremost your work is gorgeous, you clearly have experience, and you clearly know what you are doing. You are worth whatever you are charging. My opinion with pricing is there are alot of different factors. Including your skill, experience, what you are bringing to the table, but there is another whole side of the factor that you might be missing the clarity on which is leaving you with imposter syndrome. Sit down and mathematically and objectively reverse- engineer your pricing based on how much you want to shoot and how much you want to make. 

 

Madi: When I work the numbers I think that’s doable, but then it’s keeping that high spirit when you are in the lows. I’ve fought so hard, but then you feel like you are too expensive. 

 

Lindsey: Slow seasons are normal and necessary. Where you are finding yourself getting stuck in is in your heart, you are feeling empathic towards people who can’t afford you. But some of those people (not all) genuinely don’t value what you are giving. You need to approach your business and work with confidence knowing that you can crush. You need to stand confident in that, regardless if people are booking you. 

 

Madi: For my packages I would love to not have to set a time, if I curated some sort of package that didn’t have as much structure it would align with me more. But then a lot of families say their kids couldn’t last for an hour, but then we’re there for an hour and a half. 

 

Lindsey: Niche down your offers in a sense where if you know your flow and give you the best work is 2 hours, then explain that in your offering. Even in your pricing guide have an FAQ answering those questions you already get from clients. It’s communivating the value and price of booking a session with you. 

 

 

Show notes

Imposter Syndrome Freebie: www.theheartuniversity.com/imposter

 

The Heart Website Templates: www.theheartuniversity.com/website-templates

 

The Heart Courses: www.theheartuniversity.com/courses

 

Follow along with Madi: 

www.instagram.com/madirichardson

www.madirichardson.com

 

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Follow along:

www.instagram.com/mrslindseyroman

www.instagram.com/evierupp

www.instagram.com/theheartuniversity