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Book More Photography Clients Podcast | Photography Business, Photography Leads, Marketing
Build a Full-Time Wedding Photography Business with Mollie Goodspeed
00:27:48
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- [00:00]
Brooke Jefferson
It's not very often that we have wedding photography topics on this podcast. Not because I don't love our wedding and elopement photographers, or that I don't coach them, because I absolutely do. It's just that there are so many resources and educators out there that cater to wedding photographers that I mainly try to keep my focus on family photographers and portrait photography. But today is your lucky day because I am interviewing Molly Goodspeed. She is a wedding photographer based in Fort Worth, Texas. And this conversation we just talk about her journey from how she went from, you know, a super creative family to doing this full time. And it is so good, really for anybody that has a heart to want to do photography full time. But for those of you that want to be a fly on the wall, you're trying to build your own wedding photography business. This is the episode for you to tune into. It just gives some really great insight and some golden tips and I know you're going to walk away so encouraged. So enough with the intro. Let's get into the interview with Molly Goodspeed. Welcome to the Book More Clients Photography podcast. You can stop spending hours on Google and YouTube because you just found your number one resource for growing a profitable and sustainable photography business. Hi, I'm Brooke Jefferson. I'm a believer wife, mama to two and Oklahoma family photographer. I left the classroom in 2018 to pursue my photography career full time. Now I'm here to help you do the same. In this podcast, we're covering the most asked about topics including pricing, marketing, client experience, and all things systems and workflows. You won't find any fluff or BS here. Just tried and true strategy. Are you ready? Grab your kids some snacks and charge those camera batteries. It's time to jump in. Thank you so much for being here. Molly, for those listeners who have never heard of you before, can you introduce yourself?
- [02:16]
Molly Goodspeed
Of course. Hey guys. My name is Molly Goodspeed. I am now a wedding photographer here in Fort Worth, Texas and I'm so excited to be here. Brooke, thanks for having me on.
- [02:29]
Brooke Jefferson
Yes, I love that you are in Fort Worth. I told you that I actually grew up there for quite some time when I was a kid. And so you're just a hop and a skip, I think is the saying away. And so I, I just love that so much. We're actually neighboring state photographers, so that's, that's super fun. Okay, I want to know. Obviously we know you're a full time wedding photographer now, but what's the story? Have you always been into photography or how did you find your way to being a photographer?
- [03:02]
Molly Goodspeed
Yeah, I feel like it honestly was kind of a crazy ride. So. I have always been interested in photography. I took a high school photography class and I remember asking my parents even before high school if I could get a camera for Christmas. I think I was in middle school or eighth or ninth grade when I got my first camera. You know, little crop frame camera for my parents. But I remember that so vividly, opening it up because I genuinely loved taking photos. I took pictures of everything. I, in high school would take my friends, you know, downtown. And we thought it was so fun and cool to take like cringy photos outside downtown in our outfits and get dressed up for it. And there is a. I don't know if you're familiar, but there's, you know, this art piece in Amarillo. That's where I'm from originally called Cadillac Ranch. It's very famous. It's the art piece that has like the five different cars halfway dug into the ground. And so we would go out there and take photos. But I, as I went to college, I really didn't think of photography as a career. I always loved doing that on the side. And eventually I realized that I needed to find something, some type of hobby that could help pay for the bills. And so I really just started researching what it would look like to actually charge people for photos. And I decided to study abroad. So I applied to study abroad, got my application back, and I was good to go. And I realized that I probably needed a good camera that semester and really just took it as an opportunity to capture things while I was abroad and learn how to use my camera and learn the ins and outs. And so I paid for college myself. And this was going to be a big deal to one, study abroad because it was going to be more money. But two, I again just really thought that it would work itself out. I don't know, maybe I was a little too optimistic. But I used. This is crazy. Don't do this if you're listening. But I used some extra loan money that I got for my student loans. I had some extra leftover. I think it was like fifteen hundred dollars or something. And I used that to purchase my first full frame camera that I still have today. It's one of my, you know, many cameras laying around right now, but I use that. And I took it with me. And again, I just took the semester to learn how to shoot in manual and how to create good bokeh. And obviously I was traveling around the world and so it Was like the best place to just learn how to use a camera and to stop and to enjoy and to be creative. And so throughout college I really continued to learn how to use my camera, but also started to charge people and to charge my friends and different families in my college town. And so I really kind of kept working up to that. And I got my first inquiry for a wedding eight years ago, which is insane. I think that I charged them 500 for the whole wedding, which was funny to think about. And it was actually here in Fort Worth at the Brick venue. And it was beautiful. It was. I was really lucky to have that as my first wedding because I had second shot a little bit, but this one was very, very stunning. And it really helped me just kind of continue to book more weddings. And so from there I did, I don't know, around five to ten weddings a year for a few years. And after I graduated college, again, I wasn't thinking that this could be my full time career. I went straight into student ministry, which I loved, and did that for a few years. But basically I hit this moment, Brooke, where I realized that I was shooting around 10 weddings a year, but that was really all that I could do. And my business hit a point to where it wasn't growing at all. And I knew that I was getting the inquiries and the clients that wanted me to shoot their weddings, but I didn't have the capacity for it and I didn't have the ability to spend time and, and work on getting new clients and getting better weddings and things like that. And so really I just sat down and ran the numbers and realized that if I booked, you know, around five to 10 more weddings a year, that I could do it full time and make more than what I was making then. And so it just made sense for me and for my family. And eventually, you know, I want to be a mom. And I was like, I just want to do photography and be a mom. And so, yeah, here we are. That's kind of where I realized that full time could be an actual career.
- [08:16]
Brooke Jefferson
Wow. You have an incredible story of how you really took the time. It sounds like you really took your time, like getting into it, knowing your camera, learning it and getting to do it in amazing places. So I totally envy you for that. But I love, I love that you have that experience. The other thing I wanted to highlight was it's so interesting that in almost every photography conversation that I have of how did we get started? When did we go full time? Why is it that we don't think Photography can be a career. I'd love just to hear, like, why do you think that never occurred for you? Was it because of the way that you were raised? Was it because of your belief in yourself? I would love just to hear a little bit of insight from you.
- [09:03]
Molly Goodspeed
Yeah, that's a great question. I think that when people think of, honestly, creatives in general, it feels like there is a lack of stability in income. I think that's a big thing is thinking, wow, how could I even afford to. To pay my bills or have a stable income when I don't know what's coming in every month? Right. So I think that's part of it. And then also I feel like a lot of people assume that the market is very small, that there's not a ton of people who need photos or need wedding photos and the opposite, that, like, there's too many photographers out there, that the market is oversaturated. And so I feel like it's a mix of all of those things. Honestly, for me, I agree.
- [09:51]
Brooke Jefferson
I absolutely agree with that. The stability piece that I'm like, that's it, like, that's what you hear from photographers. I just want it to be consistent. I just want it to produce, you know, the same amount of income as my job or more or whatever. And so for you, going from somewhat stable income to now being a business owner and taking that leap of faith, I'm sure not every month looks the same. I'm sure not every single year looks exactly the same, especially in the way that you get your clients. So where do you find peace with that? And how do you continue to make sure that you are hitting your goals just from a bird's eye view?
- [10:32]
Molly Goodspeed
Well, I think most entrepreneurs have a continual drive, and that's something that I forgot to mention. Entrepreneurship, it comes very naturally to me. I have a lot of entrepreneurs in my family and people that I've watched do that. And I feel like my parents taught me really well that, you know, if you want to do something in your life, maybe you want to travel, maybe you want to do this, you have to work hard for that. And I've had a jobs since I was 15. And that's just kind of like a part of my story and a part of my life. And so I think the first thing is just waking up every day and trying your best. If you're not trying your best, then you're not doing enough. And I think that that has just been my boundary, is trying my best, but also not overworking as well. So I Think that really helps knowing that clients are coming in and then also just part of photography, but really any business in general is about building relationships. And what do your relationships look like with your clients or with the people around you? Knowing that I am working really hard on relationships with my clients and with my community here, I knew that eventually it's going to stabilize. And it did. And so that's an encouragement to anyone listening. And I tell my mentor students this too, that weddings or clients build on other weddings or clients. So the more that you're doing, the more that you're experiencing those experiences will build on other experiences and bring those to you.
- [12:14]
Brooke Jefferson
Such a great point. That's a really good mantra. For those of you that are in the beginning stages or you're in a season, maybe you got to take a break or a pause in your business and you're coming back to it. Keep that right. You got to keep one foot in front of the other and just know that that's how you build momentum. I always give the visual of you're pushing the snowball up the hill and before you know it you have this huge snowball you can ride on the other side of the mountain. So I love that visual. It goes perfectly with what you just said. Okay, question. I always put myself in the listeners shoes and I try to imagine what would they be thinking, what would they want to ask you if they were the ones sitting in front of the mic. And a couple things came up. The first one is when you were just doing photography geography as a side thing. Again, I love that we say that and I'm using quotations, but I love when you were doing it part time, how did you get your clients? Like, what was the number one way you were booking weddings when this was just your part time gig?
- [13:18]
Molly Goodspeed
Yeah, it still is the same actually. It's all through Instagram. And I'll be honest, like I don't have a huge following. I think I have like 3000 followers or a little bit less. Genuinely, not a ton. But I think that when people start to see your work and like I said, I was really lucky to have a first wedding that was very beautiful that I used to market. And in taking work that you really love and that you're proud of and continuing to post that and spread the word, that is honestly how I generated leads. But not only that, I mean, you guys, I grinded the first, you know, year that I realized I was going to go full time soon. I was doing constant like wedding fairs, I was making like flyers to pass out to people if I talk to them about weddings. I was constantly, constantly thinking about it and doing genuinely everything I could. I was emailing wedding planners and venues and, and sometimes a great tip that I've done too is I would go to venues that I've shot at and write a review for them. And that's also how I got a ton of inquiries as well as they would see a review that I would put on a venue and say, I've shot a wedding here. You know, they're so amazing, blah, blah, blah. So honestly there's, if you're just starting out, there's nothing that's out of limits that you can try to see if you can get those leads. And honestly, I didn't love every single wedding that I did in the first year. Like, they were all my favorite. And now I try to simplify and do more of things that are really my brand and my style. But in the beginning, like I said, you just, you have to get the experience and to build on that.
- [15:07]
Brooke Jefferson
So that was gold. Like, just rewind, write it all down. You gave such good tips. Yes. You have to be willing to do what other people are not willing to do. And I say this all the time. Everybody can be on social media, but not everybody is going to go write a venue, the review. Not everybody's going to get outside of their own four walls and go network with people. So I love that you said, yeah, I got my hands dirty and I did all these things to kind of help build my brand and my presence. So I love that you said that, that, I mean, that could be the whole episode. We could be done right here. Of course we're not, but we could be. In the beginning. One thing as you're describing this, you said I, I didn't love every wedding that I shot in that first year, maybe even two years. How did you eventually develop like an ideal client or, you know, let's just, let's just say ideal client because I know everyone knows what I'm talking about. Is that something that developed as you went on? Do you feel like you do have an ideal client now that you are full time?
- [16:12]
Molly Goodspeed
I definitely have one now. I think in the beginning you kind of have to be open handed and to get what you get, honestly, especially if you don't have much experience. But I mean, yeah. I'll tell you a quick story of one of my first weddings that I did. There was no wedding planner, no day of coordinator, no vendors. I was pretty much the only vendor. And it was kind of an odd day. But in, like, honestly, it was just. It was just not a good fit for me and the bride. And there was no, like, nothing bad about it. It just was like one of those that's not a good fit. And when the ceremony started, no one was directed, any of the guests directed to sit. And so I started directing all of the guests to go and to sit for the wedding itself. And the wedding was, like, late. The ceremony was late. And so after that wedding, I really was like, okay, I need to think about which weddings I'm accepting and to think about what type of wedding that I'm wanting to do in X amount of years. And so, yeah, I have an ideal client now, and I even have specific venues that I like to shoot at. And honestly, that has changed for me in the past year so much. And focusing on my ideal client and really finding people who just connect well with me and who I would love to be a part of their day. And every wedding is so special and perfect, and that's why I love our job. But it does simplify your life when you find people that you connect with really well. So that's something I try to do. And an ideal client is it can be anything you want. Anything that you are hoping to have in your business is what you should ask of an ideal client.
- [18:00]
Brooke Jefferson
So that's great advice on all the points. And the big thing that I want to say is, you know, in the beginning, like you said, you kind of have to just take, like, find your niche, but then take all the clients that will book you and pay you basically. And then from there you can start weeding out. Okay, I didn't really love that these clients were unprepared or that I was, you know, or that they have this type of a wedding. Maybe backyard weddings aren't for me. Maybe I want more black tie at venues, things like that. So I love that that develops as you go on. Something else I was thinking about that I know a photographer would want to ask is, how has your pricing changed over the years? At what point, like, were there signs? Did you go through a certain process for raising your prices? Because I get this question all the time, and I specifically want this to be pointed towards wedding photographers, because that is your background. So I'd love to hear that.
- [18:56]
Molly Goodspeed
Totally. Well, I think first off, when I say, like in the beginning, when I'm saying that you should take everything you could get, I do want to clarify something that really helped me niche down into weddings, and that was only posting couples and weddings. So I feel like I started gaining more clients when I stopped posting the family photos that I was doing extra, or the branding photos or the newborn. And I only posted weddings. I still do those things from time to time if I like really love that session. But only posting weddings was really helpful. But as far as pricing goes, in the beginning I really struggled with this as well. And I think that something that just makes sense in my head and also I really want my business to be fair and to have integrity for my clients is really just pricing yourself based on your time. So what capacity do you have in your life right now? Like, are you just completely busy to where you can't even be there for your friends or your family? Or are you able to have those types of times where you can be there and be there for your relationships? But I think the biggest turn for my business in it was right before I went full time. So this is really what helped me jump from part time to full is I changed my pricing to more of an all inclusive mindset, which is very different from what most people do. So I included unlimited time, I included a second shooter, I included an engagement session. I also at one point was including an album. So I did a bunch of things and tossed them into one thing and I charged like, what felt like to me was so much and I was so scared and I booked so many weddings that year, I. And that's what helped me again jump to full time. And so structuring your package based on the amount of time that you have is really important. So when I want to up my price, normally it's based on, okay, you know, like for this year, I'll give you an example. I have 24 weddings booked and I'm really only wanting to have 30 weddings. So around 20 weddings, I up my price again. And, and that's just because I genuinely, I. I don't want to have 35 weddings and I want to do weddings that I'm really passionate about. And I feel like that in turn actually helps your client as well because you're able to serve them better and focus on them better and just give them better product.
- [21:43]
Brooke Jefferson
So, yes, okay, I was clapping you up over here when you were talking about one of the things that really helped you get those wedding bookings. Like to increase it. Just like a simple tweak to show what you want to book. That's it. And it's so simple. But I know that as photographers we go through this mind battle, right? Of I can't do that. Like, no, because then what if they don't book and then, and then I'm not making any money. And I just have to say, you have to take that scary leap if you are truly trying to become like a go to for something. So the fact that you said that, I'm like, yes, thank you, Molly, because you're proving my point that it really does work. Okay, so, so good. The pricing as well. And I would say, of course there's a lot of strategy. We could sit here and talk about pricing as well. But I love that you, you're watching what's happening and then from there you are making data based decisions really to then increase your prices. And I just love that, like there's so much freedom once the demand is there and you're trying to reach a goal. I just love that your brain was like, yep, it's time to increase for these last few weddings that we're going to book for the year. So I love that. Okay, we're going to kind of round out our conversation here. I would love to know what is some advice you have for an aspiring full time wedding photographer. Listening to this right now.
- [23:09]
Molly Goodspeed
Oh man. A few things come to mind. I, I guess these are very practical and specific things, but I had a goal. So something for me that I was really struggling with as a part time wedding photographer is when do I make the jump? Like I want to make the jump and I think I can make the jump, but how do I know when, like when's the right time? And so for me, I just made some goals. I sat down and I still have the pages and I wrote like, I want to have this many weddings booked. And then I wrote how much I would make from that and how many sessions I would need to do. So just write it out and write out what you want, write out your goals and then when you meet those goals, that's when you know it's time. And also I honestly, my husband and I, we saved up money just in case. Like it's good to have something to fall back on if anything does go not as planned. And so those are specific and very goal driven things. But I think in general in the photography world to go full time, you just have to be confident. You have to be so confident in your work. You have to just get your hands dirty and find all the ways and all the paths that you can figure out to get some more leads and some more inquiries. And so those are kind of the two things that I would focus on the most.
- [24:35]
Brooke Jefferson
I love that, I love that so much that's like a heart to heart with an aspiring, you know, full time wedding photographer. So I, I just love that. Now tell us a little bit. You have a podcast, obviously you are on mine and we're doing a little bit of a swap. So go ahead and tell our listeners about your podcast, how it came to be and where they can listen.
- [24:57]
Molly Goodspeed
Yeah, that's also a funny story too. So I do have a podcast. It's called the Photography Business Podcast. I am a co host for that. So my co host, Danny Purrington, she has been in the industry for a long time. She focuses more on elopement weddings and she's up in Utah. Has a really awesome Instagram following. You should check out her work. She is amazing. But the photography business podcast is awesome and unique because it is also faith based. So we talk a lot about faith and how that impacts our business and a lot about photography and marketing and specific things on SEO, things like that. So we really, really love it. And the way that I actually started co hosting with her is I was part time still and was going full time and I literally emailed her because she, she was stopping the podcast for a while. She, you know, she's had lots of babies and she just needed a break and I emailed her and was like, hey, I know this is crazy, you don't know me, but I would love to continue this amazing thing that you're doing and co host with you and just help you continue it because I really believe in it. And so, yeah, basically now here we are. We've been doing it for a while now and it's been really fun. We kind of talk more about how she is super, super experienced and has had years of experience and I'm a little bit newer into full time photography and so it's nice to have both of us there to talk about newer and older perspectives. But yeah, I really enjoy it and.
- [26:31]
Brooke Jefferson
I love how your podcast came to be. I just thought it was such a unique story and one we don't hear often. So thank you so much. Okay, my last question is where can people connect with you, tell you their favorite takeaways away from the conversation today?
- [26:47]
Molly Goodspeed
Yeah, probably Instagram is best. So my Instagram name is Molly M O L L I E. I know everyone, everyone spells it by but I spell it I E. And then my last name is Good Speed. Just like it sounds good and then speed and then photo. So Molly Goodspeed Photo. You could also look at my website too or email me from there. It's just mollygoodspeedphoto.com so and I will.
- [27:11]
Brooke Jefferson
Get all that linked up so they can just click on it and get to where they need to go. Molly, thank you. This conversation, I I know that the photographer that wants to go full time or wants to grow their wedding business is going to feel just very uplifted through our conversation today. And I just appreciate you sharing your story.
- [27:31]
Molly Goodspeed
Oh, it's an honor to be here. It's so fun. And I appreciate you, Brooke, for having me on so.