Burned Out Wedding Photographer to a 6 Figure Portrait Business with Ashleigh Taylor (Re-Release)

Summary

The Portrait System Podcast: Burned Out Wedding Photographer to a 6-Figure Portrait Business with Ashleigh Taylor (Re-Release) – Detailed Summary

Release Date: December 3, 2024

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Portrait System Podcast, host Nikki Klosser interviews Ashleigh Taylor Henning, a seasoned photographer who successfully transitioned from a high-demand wedding photography career to building a thriving 6-figure portrait business. Ashleigh shares her personal journey, the challenges she faced, and the strategic marketing techniques that facilitated her transformation. This episode serves as an invaluable guide for photographers seeking to pivot their business models while maintaining financial stability and personal fulfillment.

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Ashleigh’s Early Career and Rise in Wedding Photography

Ashleigh began her career with a foundation in filmmaking, graduating with a degree that combined both filmmaking and photography. Her initial foray into the entertainment industry included interning and working in development. However, realizing that the daily grind of the entertainment business wasn't aligning with her passions, she experienced what she describes as a "quarter-life crisis."

“I wanted to just, you know, take pretty pictures and be creative and work from home, be with my cats, be a stay-at-home, work-at-home, cat mom. Like, that was my dream life when I was like 23 years old.” ([05:26])

Leveraging her experiences and connections from platforms like The Knot, Ashleigh began second-shooting weddings on weekends while maintaining her office job. By 2010, she secured a full-time wedding photography position, rapidly scaling her business to six figures by 2013. Her work was recognized by prestigious publications such as Style Me Pretty and Junebug Weddings, establishing her as one of Santa Barbara’s premier wedding photographers.

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The Turning Point: Burnout and Realization

Despite her financial success, Ashleigh found herself losing passion for wedding photography. The demanding schedules, long hours, and the inability to reschedule weddings began to take a toll, especially during her pregnancy.

“I had something like 12 to 15 weddings in my first trimester... Everything felt like it took a long time... I was just literally putting every single moment of my free time into building that business.” ([05:26])

The physical and emotional strain reached a peak during her pregnancy, leading her to reassess her career path. Ashleigh realized that while weddings provided financial security, they did not fulfill her creative desires or align with her evolving personal priorities.

“It really was the dream. And yet I was always, just to like go back in time a little bit... I always loved it even more than weddings. This would really be my dream.” ([14:24])

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Transitioning to Portrait Photography

Inspired by a transformative workshop with Sue Bryce in 2013, Ashleigh decided to pivot towards portrait photography. The workshop ignited a passion for studio work and personalized client experiences, prompting her to open her own studio in Santa Barbara within two months.

“I walked out like, oh my God, I need a studio. I need to do this full-time.” ([15:37])

Balancing her established wedding business with her burgeoning portrait work was initially challenging. However, the birth of her son in 2015 became a catalyst for change, prompting her to fully commit to portrait photography.

“I had to say goodbye to [weddings] if I really wanted to go to the next level of what my dreams were.” ([16:25])

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Strategic Marketing and Business Growth

Ashleigh employed several strategic marketing techniques to establish her portrait business:

1. Networking and Relationship Building:

   • Ashleigh invested in one-on-one lunches with wedding industry professionals, viewing these as investments rather than expenses.
   • “A hundred dollar lunch is like so worth it for just making that connection.” ([13:44])

2. Voucher System:

   • She offered free or discounted portrait sessions to moms within her network, effectively filling her calendar while providing value to her clients.
   • “I was giving them like a hundred of my favorite photos... then, if they wanted to buy everything I shot, they could pay like $200.” ([06:38])

3. Personal Branding:

   • Focusing on personal branding, especially targeting business owners needing professional headshots, allowed Ashleigh to tap into a lucrative market.
   • “Personal branding could mean like a headshot... I get that I need that I'm successful.” ([38:36])

4. Collaborative Events:

   • Hosting women’s circle events and partnering with other female business owners helped expand her reach and attract new clients.
   • “We're exposing each other to each other's client base... and there's like a call to action at the end.” ([41:17])

5. Consistent Social Media Presence:

   • Ashleigh meticulously curated her Instagram and Facebook profiles to reflect her portrait-focused brand, maintaining a cohesive and professional online presence.
   • “I cleaned up my Instagram quite a lot... started building on that with only portrait shots.” ([48:09])

Notable Quote: “When you are just really trying to connect from an authentic place and really just trying to help people and be of service, it's such an easier conversation.” ([32:43])

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Balancing Business and Personal Life

Transitioning from weddings to portraits also required Ashleigh to restructure her work-life balance. With a more consistent booking schedule, she could better manage her time and be present for her family.

“I need to be present for him, which I will fully admit I'm not always good at doing that, but it's my goal.” ([51:34])

She implemented a structured calendar, dedicating specific days to shoots and others to administrative tasks, ensuring that her business operations aligned with her personal commitments.

“I just find that, like, structuring things to the best of my ability is really key because it doesn't have to be like this just magic thing where people are just going to knock on your door.” ([52:46])

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Advice for Aspiring Photographers

Ashleigh offers several key pieces of advice for photographers looking to transition their business models:

1. Believe in Yourself:

   • Confidence in one's worth and the value offered to clients is paramount.
   • “Believe in yourself because when you have that self-value and when you believe that you are worthy...” ([57:51])

2. Invest in Relationships:

   • Building genuine connections can lead to substantial business referrals and opportunities.
   • “If you're investing in relationships and experiences, it almost always pays off.” ([33:59])

3. Adapt and Evolve:

   • Being open to change and aligning business practices with personal passions ensures long-term satisfaction and success.
   • “You're meant for things that are just not just photography related, but bigger in our world.” ([46:15])

4. Structured Marketing:

   • Implementing consistent and strategic marketing efforts, such as events and voucher systems, can significantly boost business growth.
   • “If you can really just be connecting with people in a meaningful way...” ([32:43])

Inspirational Quote: “Everything is figureoutable.” – Marie Forleo ([56:49])

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Conclusion

Ashleigh Taylor Henning’s narrative is a testament to the power of self-awareness, strategic planning, and unwavering belief in one’s vision. Her successful transition from a high-stress wedding photographer to a flourishing portrait artist underscores that with the right mindset and actionable strategies, photographers can realign their careers to better suit their personal and professional aspirations. This episode not only chronicles Ashleigh’s inspiring journey but also equips listeners with practical insights to navigate similar transitions in their own careers.

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Final Thoughts and Resources

For photographers inspired by Ashleigh’s story and seeking further education, The Portrait System offers a wealth of resources. Listeners are encouraged to visit theportraitsystem.com to access educational materials, join the community, and take advantage of exclusive offers to enhance their photography businesses.

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This detailed summary captures the essence of Ashleigh Taylor Henning’s transformative journey, highlighting key discussions, insights, and actionable strategies shared during the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Nikki Klosser]

Hey there, it's Nikki Klosser and I want to let you know about an awesome free giveaway for people on our email list. If you haven't already, click the link in our podcast description or go to theportraitsystem.com signup to get on the list. If you sign up, you'll get a free posing 101 PDF to jumpstart things. It's an epic PDF so you'll definitely.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Want to get this.

[Nikki Klosser]

Also, just by being in our email community, you'll get deals, sales and information about any of our upcoming events and activities. So head over to theportraitsystem.com signup and sign up.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Today you're listening to the Portrait System podcast.

[Ashley]

It just flew out onto the paper. Like I have to let go of weddings. Even though in a lot of ways my identity was wrapped around it. I was making great money at it. I was published. Everyone knew me as like, you know, one of the best wedding photographers in Santa Barbara. They did not know me as like a portrait photographer in Santa Barbara. I just knew like as much pride as it gave me to be such a well known wedding photographer and to have built what started as my dream business up. Like I had to say goodbye to it if I really wanted to go to the next level of what my dreams were.

[Nikki Klosser]

Welcome to the Portrait System Podcast. I'm your host Nikki Klosser and this show is here to help you succeed in the world of photography and business. To help you learn to become financially free, doing what you love and so much more. With over 1 million downloads, countless photographers have taken what they've learned from both our episodes and from theportraitsystem.com and they have quoted, grown their businesses, quit their day jobs and are designing a life of their dreams.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

We keep it real and share stories.

[Nikki Klosser]

About the ups and downs that come with running a photography business. You'll hear real life stories of how other photographers run their business and you'll learn actionable steps that you can take to reach your own goals. Thank you so much for being here. And let's get started.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Hi everyone. Today's guest is Ashley Taylor Henning with Ashley Taylor Portraits. And if you're feeling burned out with shooting weddings like I totally was a couple years ago, and if you're ready to shoot portraits full time, this is definitely the episode for you. Not only does she go into details about leaving weddings behind, but she gives some really great specific strategies on the marketing that helped her to make that big leap. She also shares with us how she grappled with kind of letting go of the identity of being a wedding photographer, and it's just such an interesting story. Ashley is such a beautiful person and an incredible photographer, and I'm so happy that you get to hear from her today. So thank you so much for being here and please enjoy listening to my interview with Ashley. Hi, Ashley. I'm so happy to have you here today just to talk all about just your journey, your story, how you transition from being an incredible wedding photographer to an even more amazing portrait photographer. So thank you for being here today.

[Ashley]

Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah. So before we get into just how you made the transition and what you did for marketing and all that good stuff, I want to hear a little bit about what your life was like prior to photography because I know you had some interest in, I believe it was like film. Yeah, right. Yeah.

[Ashley]

So I didn't have that much of an adult life before I started my business. I had graduated college with a filmmaking degree and a minor in photography. And my college actually had a program where you could do the last semester as an internship in Los Angeles and work for a production company. So that's. Yeah, that's what I did. However, it didn't take me that long into interning and then getting my first job working in development to realize that filmmaking, as much as making the actual films and telling the stories was my passion. The whole entertainment business and what your daily life in that business looked like wasn't really what I was thinking that it was going to be. So, yeah, I kind of went through a quarter life crisis, I guess you could call it.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

It's a real thing. I went through one too, Ashley. I just feel like it's a real thing for sure.

[Ashley]

That's so funny. So, yeah, like an early quarter life crisis where I just didn't know, you know, what my next step was going to be. And that's kind of how I fell into photography, was just that I was getting married. I was spending a lot of time researching photographers for my wedding to hire, and I would read their blogs and their life just seemed so ideal, so cool. And I was like, that's my dream. Like, I want to just, you know, take pretty pictures and be creative and work for my jammies and be with my cats, be a stay at home, work at home, cat mom. Like, that was. That was my dream life when I was like 23 years old. So that's kind of what I did. I just jumped into it. I mean, I still was working. I Was still working for a while in an office in the entertainment industry, but I just was also shooting weddings and second shooting on the weekends until I finally built enough clientele to just focus on the wedding photography full time.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Okay, so how did you end up though, like, creating your business? So you're getting married, you see all the beautiful wedding vlogs. I remember going through the same thing. Like, wow, this is just. It just seemed like such a dreamy life. Like, I'm curious though, how did you decide? Okay, you decided you were going to go for it, but then what? Like, what did you do?

[Ashley]

Yeah, so what I really did at the very beginning was because I was a bride and I was on the Knot, which at the time had a really big online forum for four brides to connect with each other in local areas. So I was connecting with other Los Angeles area brides because at the time I lived in LA and I was able to find people who could not afford a wedding photographer. Like a proper wedding photographer maybe in some cases couldn't afford anything. I think the first wedding I ever shot, I did it completely for free. And I was giving them like a hundred of my favorite photos. And then if they wanted to buy like everything I shot, they could pay, I don't know, like, $200. It's kind of embarrassing now to like even admit to this publicly that I did this.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, but we all go, like, we've all been there. My first wedding that I shot, I charged 650. So, I mean, we've all been there.

[Ashley]

Yeah, I think like 650 or was something was like my next wedding once I felt like, okay, I could actually, like the first one. I want to be sure I could actually do it. And they were not going to hire anyone, like, for. It was like a week before their wedding and it was literally like, have an uncle with. I don't even think there were iPhones really back then that took photos. So this is so old. But it was like a point and shoot, you know, so it was like, literally they weren't going to have any photos if I didn't show up and do, you know, give them what I gave them for free. And they did actually end up buying the disc for me. So I kind of felt like I had nothing to lose, you know, because I was really just kind of, in a way, like it was a blessing for me and it was a blessing for them. Although I'm sure, like looking back on it, the pictures could have been better, but they wouldn't have had anything at all. If they hadn't shown up. So I kind of did stuff like that at the beginning where I was shooting little engagement sessions or weddings for people that really had no budget. And then, you know, I creeped it up to like, like you said, like 650 for my first couple of weddings where I actually got paid to lead shoot. And I thought that was a lot of money at the time. I mean I was making I think 12, 12 or $14 an hour in the entertainment industry. So it wasn't wow. You know, for me, getting a check at one time for 650 bucks would be like more than a week's worth of work. So I was thrilled, I was very happy to make that money. But I quickly realized that, you know, that wasn't really sustainable. Even though it felt like a lot of money at the time. I also realized that if I really wanted to make it in weddings, I was going to have to learn how to run a business. Because I did see that it's one thing to take beautiful pictures, it's another thing to learn how to run a business, how to be profitable, that you do really need insurance. I mean, when I started, everything was sort of flying by the seat of my pants. And and then of course I started second shooting with a lot more established and professional wedding photographers and getting, getting experience on higher end weddings and, and shooting things that were a little bit more challenging in terms of locations and everything so that I could get more experience and build my portfolio stronger and end up attracting the clients I want to attract. So at the time everything felt like it took a long time. But looking back on it, I came up with the idea that I wanted to do weddings in 2008. And I think I bought like my first DSLR at the end, like Christmas time 2008, like a Black Friday sale. And then 2009 was kind of these, you know, I was still working and shooting these low cost weddings and starting the second shoot and everything. But by 2010 I had my first full time client load like where I had I think 20 weddings that year and I was making like between 1500 and 2500 per wedding. So I had really made a big jump in that year. And then 2011, 2012, like things really started to snowball and by 2013 I was making six figures in my wedding business. So it really, if you think about it that way, it took off really fast. But in the time it felt slow going and it felt like I was literally putting every single moment of my free time into building that business.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, I bet. I mean, it's really no joke to build a business and to get a good reputation and just to really, you know, get people to trust you and to recommend you. And I know the whole wedding industry can be kind of. Sometimes it's who you know. If. Yes, if the wedding planners are going to refer you in the hair and makeup artist and even like the videographer and the dj, I mean, it really does the venues too. I mean, you can get on those lists. It becomes who you know. And from what I know of you as a wedding photographer back when you were doing it, I mean, you were published by Style Me Pretty in Junebug Weddings. Like, you really made a great name for yourself in the Santa Barbara, San Diego area. Is that correct?

[Ashley]

Santa Barbara. So, yeah.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

So Santa Barbara area, Yeah.

[Ashley]

I moved from LA to Santa Barbara at the end of 2011, which was actually really scary because I had finally, like I said, gotten to a place in 2011 where I really started to establish my wedding business. I had done a lot of networking in LA and finally made some really good connections. I was doing a lot of styled shoots with a core group of, you know, new business besties, but people who had were really talented, really talented planners, florists, stylists that I had met. And I was finally really leveraging those relationships and getting published and getting recognized. And then all of a sudden, my husband got his dream teaching position in Santa Barbara. And, you know, at the time he was actually an unemployed teacher because this is back when the recession had happened and they were doing all the teacher layoffs. So. And that's when he had decided to be a teacher, so he had no job. So when, when he got this job in Santa Barbara and I wasn't working in the entertainment industry anymore, there was really no reason to stay in la, except for the fact that I had just built this business. So I actually had to completely start over again when we moved to Santa Barbara. But what was really cool was that when I went to some wedding industry networking events, because I had been published recently on Style Me Pretty, I had made very much like how sue recommends for your portrait business, like little cards and printed things with my pictures on them. And I had pictures from the shoots that were styled shoots, and the planners recognized them from seeing them on the blogs. So they took me serious, obviously right away, when I moved up there and I took people to lunch, one on one, anyone who I thought would be a good connection, I treated them to lunch. I let them pick the place. So sometimes that lunch would cost me like 100 bucks which when you're starting out might feel like a big investment, but when you think about that they're going to be referring you three thousand, four thousand. At some point in my career got to five thousand dollar weddings that a hundred dollar lunch is like so worth it to just make that connection. And people are so much more willing to spend time with you when you offer them something and are interested in them and when you're generous and when you, you know, take them to a nice restaurant that just makes you look classy and fabulous and like someone that they really spend time with. So that was sort of my approach to how I not only got higher into weddings but also how I transitioned into the Santa Barbara market after having established myself in la.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

You know, I love that you said that. It's, it's when you are reaching out to someone to do you a favor, it's so important to have that sort of equal exchange of value. Like what's in it for me? And not to sound selfish or that people shouldn't be paying it forward, but when you are getting started in any sort of business, if you're going to reach out to someone and ask for their advice or to like pick their brain or whatever, at least do something nice for them in return. So I love that you had that mindset and I think that, that I'm sure had a lot to do with why you were able to integrate yourself so quickly and easily into the Santa Barbara area. So here you are then in Santa Barbara. Built your wedding business up. You're killing it there. What was life like for you just overall as a wedding photographer?

[Ashley]

Yeah, I think for a while it really was the dream. And yet I was always will just to like go back in time a little bit. Even back in the LA days, early on I got asked to shoot boudoir for my brides and I really loved it. And I remember in the beginning I didn't charge that much. It was definitely like a shoot and burn type of thing where I would charge 250 and then I got to like 500 bucks and they'd get, you know, the images basically on disc. But I always loved it. And I was like, I love this even more than weddings. This would really be my dream. But it's not possible. Like I just had that belief that it really wasn't possible to make money at it or not money. But like at that time I was seeing it as like supplemental money. Like it would just be a little bit of extra cash flow that I could add to my month as a wedding photographer, but it wouldn't be enough to replace how much money I was making in weddings. I just didn't think there were enough clients out there. And when you're only charging, you know, 250 or 500 bucks total for the whole thing, of course you would need to have a ton of volume to really make a lot of money at that.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Right.

[Ashley]

So that was always like, in my. In the back of my mind. Even when I moved up here, I was still shooting it a little bit. And I just really, really loved that. And it just felt like a far off dream. And I was happy shooting the weddings and, you know, making myself feel like, wow, I've actually had my dreams come to fruition. But then I saw sue in 2012 on her first Creative Live, and it really grounded for me, like, oh my gosh, like that really, that really is my dream. You know, how can I. How can I do more of that? And so that's, I think when that little seed planted in me that I wasn't 100% happy with what I was doing in weddings.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Right, right.

[Ashley]

And then in 2013, just to go back a little bit too, in 2013, I actually got a chance to meet you in person, meets you for the first time by doing a small workshop that she hosted in New York City. And that workshop changed everything for me too, because I went into that workshop just wanting to learn how her posing, because she was just so amazing at posing and directing and shooting. And I was like, wow, if I can just like learn a little bit of that, my photography is going to be so amazing. Like, I just need to learn that. But I walked out like, oh my God, I need to do this. I need a studio. I need to do this full time. Just not what I expected. And that workshop happened in early May. And by July, I had my own studio space in Santa Barbara. And that felt like. I feel like. It felt like a year, but when I look back on it, I'm like, oh my gosh. It was only two months in between that workshop. So I was like on fire after that workshop. Like, I came home, I did a folio build, like a bunch of folio builds in my living room. I booked clients in my living room. And I was like, no, I need a studio. I'm pushing forward. That's something that I started doing in addition to doing the weddings. And a couple years went by where I was shooting the portraits part time, having the studio. And every time I would walk into my studio, I would Say, my gosh, I wish I could be here every single day. Like, this is where I'm so happy. But the weddings were just safe money for me. And I was just slowly starting to lose my passion for the weddings. Like every day I would just lose a little drop of passion for them. Just like a slow. Not making a big decision. And then when I was pregnant with my son, everything changed because I had really bad morning sickness. And I found out I was pregnant, I think in May. And I had something like 12 to 15 weddings in my first trimester. And I had.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

That's brutal.

[Ashley]

Yeah. And I had like morning sickness. That's shouldn't be called morning sickness because you feel like you have the stomach flu all day. And every single thing that I smelled made me want to throw up every time I smelled it, like wedding food. Oh my gosh. I just, I remember there was some salmon that would be cooked at weddings and I was like, I'm going to throw up everywhere.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Oh, you can imagine, it was horrible.

[Ashley]

And also when you're that early on in your pregnancy you're told, like not to tell people. So I think I like made it that much worse on myself because I didn't want to say any, like, I didn't want to say, oh, I'm pregnant. So I just was like trying to look cool and look like I had my act together when I felt horrible and I felt weak and I felt like I was going to throw up at any given second at any given moment. And so I'm sure people thought I was like hungover or something because I mean, there was obviously something wrong with me at every single wedding, that I still took beautiful pictures, but it was just so brutal. And I think that's when I had this realization that like for the most part, a portrait shoot can always be rescheduled. It's not ideal, but, you know, it can. Usually it's not a one time biggest moment of someone's life event, you know, and a wedding, they book you and you just, you just gotta be there for them whether you want to or you feel up to it or not. And that was when the pressure really, really started to take its toll on me.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Absolutely. Yeah, I can see why. Yeah, yeah, it is. It's one of those things that you can't just reschedule. There are no sick days as a wedding photographer.

[Ashley]

No.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

And having a family, of course, being an entrepreneur is so great when it comes to having families because you have that flexibility. But. And I'm curious if you felt like this too with weddings, it was, it was really intense. And especially being pregnant or having a newborn when you're, you're working 15 hour days on your feet, running around. Like I remember when I had my son and I had to go back, I had a wedding schedule. I think it was seven, maybe six or I think maybe it was even six weeks after he was born. And I had to pump. I was breastfeeding, so I had to pump every three hours. I had to stop and just disappear for 15 minutes from the wedding. It was so hard. And that after that wedding was when I was like, I'm not, I'm not doing this anymore. One too. Because do you remember how intense the editing time was and how many hours and hours compared to a portrait shoot?

[Ashley]

Yeah, I mean, for me, one thing I did early on in my wedding business was outsource, which I've continued to do in my portrait business, so I would call it, but I wouldn't color correct it. So that did save me a lot of time. Although, you know, it came out of my profit too.

[Sue Bryce]

Sure.

[Ashley]

I kind of built it into my prices. So that was intense. But for me, what was like you said, more intense was the day. And yeah, I went through the experience of having the morning sickness. I also went through the experience of pumping also with my husband having a, you know, he's a teacher, so he has kind of a traditional 9 to 5 job. Monday through Friday. The weekends were only family time together. So I was really losing out on that as a new family. It just started to become this thing where the thing that was my dream, my dream life and weddings was becoming like, not fun. And I would start to dread it. And I just was like, how can I, how can I make my portrait business work? Because that is where I'm happy. And I knew like I had that track record where like, hey, like I'm selling well, I'm making like my sales average is like you know, 2500. And I do book people consistently. I just wasn't booking at that time enough to replace the weddings completely. And so there was this little tension for a while of like, what do I do? How do I do this? How do I get to the place where I want to be?

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Well, yeah, I could see that. Here you are making money and I'm assuming a lot of your friends are in the wedding industry at this point. Yeah, you know, you, you've, you've got the money coming in. And I know something that I struggled with when it came to transitioning out of weddings was you book Weddings so far in advance. So we could look at our calendar a year out and see that there's more money coming. And not to mention, you often take the 50% deposit. So you've got half the money now, half the money a year from now. And it's like this. This sort of mental cushion. You know, it just makes you feel better mentally to have that cushion. And so. But with portraits, I mean, we only. I mean, often I'm booking only a couple weeks in advance, and sometimes the next week I might get an opening or something that. And so that was something that I had to retrain my brain. Like, just have faith and just know that your calendar is going to book up, but it's just not going to be like how it looked for when I had weddings.

[Ashley]

Yeah, exactly. And one thing that I had to learn was I could not book all the portrait sessions I wanted to when I was giving so much time to the weddings. Even if I thought, oh, I have this styled in, like, you know, referrals are coming in, I'm not doing that much to market myself. Like, I'm not putting that much time, but, like, replying to all the inquiries that don't pan out, it takes a lot of time. You know, like, there's a lot of things that you do for the weddings that just take up the time that you could be using that energy to market yourself in the portrait business. And so actually, in 2015, which was the end of 2015, my son was born. At the beginning of 2015, sue came out to Los Angeles for another workshop. I almost didn't take it because I was like. I took a workshop with her in 2013. Should I really be spending my money on this? And I actually PM'd her about it, like, private message her about it, and she was like, come, come, you know, it's gonna be different. You're gonna. You're gonna take something new away. And sure enough, I did, because she asked at the. Toward the end of the second day for us to journal about what our deepest desire is and what we have to, like, essentially kill or let go of to make that desire happen. And like, yeah, it just flew out onto the paper, like, I have to let go of weddings. Even though in a lot of ways, my identity was wrapped around it. I was making great money at it. I was published. Everyone knew me as, like, you know, one of the best wedding photographers in Santa Barbara. They did not know me as, like, a portrait photographer in Santa Barbara, but I just knew, like, as much pride as it gave me to be such a well known wedding photographer and to have built my dream business that what started as my dream business up, like I had to say goodbye to it if I really wanted to go to the next level of what my dreams were and that everything kind of had changed when I had my son. Like my priorities had really shifted. So that is what I did. I just made kind of a cold turkey decision that like you said, weddings book out a year in advance. So this is the end of 2015. I did have some weddings booked for 2016 that I couldn't get out of. But I decided from that point forward I was not going to accept new inquiries. Like I was just going to say I'm booked. And I also took weddings off my website like a couple months after that. So that you couldn't even really go online and see unless I guess if you googled me, you would see all my past stuff. But you couldn't really go to my website and see that that was a service that I was offering. So I just really took that leap. And then once I took that leap, I realized I had to back it up with a lot of action and a lot of marketing.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Right, right.

[Ashley]

To fill my calendar.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

I mean, that's a scary leap. I know a lot of wedding photographers and let me say that some people really love wedding photography and it's their passion. Like this isn't to say that. Yeah, you know, all wedding, you know, some people really love it. I personally just didn't. You got burned out from it. You know, but there, we're not like knocking wedding photography or anything, but there are a lot of photographers out there who are trying to figure out how to transition. How do you actually do it? So I would love to kind of, you know, go a little bit further into that with how you were marketing for your clients and how were you setting your pricing and, you know, what did all of that look like?

[Ashley]

Well, like I said, even though I kind of quit the weddings cold turkey, it wasn't like I didn't have an established portrait business going. It was just what I would call a part time portrait business. So this might be equivalent to someone was shooting weddings or had a day job and was still shooting the portraits. You know, like I had built it up where I had the professional pricing that was in line with what sue recommended. I had done the homework on what my cost of goods and cost of doing business was. I already had the studio, I had the retoucher, I had the portfolio. So I wasn't. When I quit the weddings I wasn't starting from complete scratch. And I do think, you know, that that's important when someone is taking a leap and whatever their day job is. Mine just happened to be wedding photography when they're quitting that, like, you do want to have some, hopefully some safety net under you. So I had the safety net in the sense that, like, it was a business that was proving that it worked like I was profitable. I just didn't have the volume. So what I really needed to focus on was how do I get the word out that this is what I'm doing now? And funnily enough, like, my son was a huge blessing in marketing myself because I was going to all these mom groups and I was meeting so many moms that were struggling to feel beautiful after they had just had a baby too, or they were, you know, struggling to connect with their husbands again in their marriage, or they wanted pictures with their kids. So sue talks about, you know, the different demographics of women and there's that family first demographic where her highest value is her family, but she also might be feeling like not 100 herself and wanting to reconnect with that. And so I was able to really understand that and use those connections with moms that I had met. And I gave out a lot of vouchers, which, if you don't already follow, like Sue Bryce terminology, a voucher would be a discount on the sitting or a free sitting. I think I gave away free portrait sittings and then a hundred dollar credit toward the images. And I filled up my calendar just giving those out to moms. And it wasn't like I was just giving them out to moms, like blindly, like making it rain little card vouchers or something. Like, I. I was actually like in conversation with these people, they knew I was a photographer. You know, I. Anytime someone asked, what do you do? What's your story? I always mentioned that I was a photographer. I'd always talk about what I do. I post about it a lot on Face, on my personal feed, my Instagram. So people were curious and they saw what I did and they would ask me about it. And so when they asked me, I would just say, hey, you know, like, I used to shoot weddings as well. I'm not anymore. I'm really, I'm really trying to build this out as like a full time thing. Like, if you would like a free portrait sitting and $100 credit toward the images, I would love to photograph you. Let me educate you on what the images would cost. But don't worry, like my job is to take amazing, beautiful images of you. I don't want you to buy anything that you're not 100% in love with. And you're in this perfect position where it's like 100% guarantee satisfaction. If you don't love the images at all, there's not a single image you love. You don't have to buy it. I just want you to, like, have this experience because I know you're gonna love it. And of course, everyone loved it. There were a couple people who just bought one because they were on really tight budgets. But most people shocked me and themselves and bough, you know, the top package and we're on a payment plan. And that was really how I got the ball rolling and they referred their friends. And so it's kind of funny because my son was such a. Like, I wouldn't have expected. I didn't have a son to have like this big epiphany in my business. But he ended up becoming such a big reason why I switched to portraits full time. Then he became such a good connector for me and my networking. So there's. You can always look at what you might think is your weakness. Like, some people might think, oh, I'm a mom and I just don't have time to network. But actually, you are networking everywhere you go. And you might be networking when you're with your baby and you don't even realize it.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

That's some really, really great advice.

[Nikki Klosser]

And hey, just a quick break to tell you that since you're here listening, you have access to a really great offer for our listeners only. We have a special promo code you can use to get 50% off the cost of membership. Just go to theportraitsystem.com or click the link in the description and use the promo code PODCAST50 to get 50% off of a membership. We rarely discount memberships, so this is a big deal. As I hope you already know, the membership is how I and so many guests on this podcast reached our success. And it gives you access to countless amazing videos and awesome community and all the tools you need to build a massively successful business. So use the code podcast50Now to join the community and to start building the business of your dreams. I'll see you there.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

I love too that you gave people a no risk. You get to come in and get your hair and makeup done. I know, like when, when I just had my kids, like, I would love to go get my hair makeup and have someone pamper me for a little bit. I think it's really smart and I love that you use the voucher system for that. So, yeah, I mean, you clearly used in your life at the time your superpower, which was connecting with other women who had just had babies. And you used that, you know, and just moved forward with building your portrait business that way. It's just so smart.

[Ashley]

I just, I think what's really important for people who are starting wherever they're at is like, look at the easiest people that you're around and how can you connect with them and how can you have meaningful conversation? Because when you are just really trying to connect from an authentic place and really just trying to help people and be of service, it's such an easier conversation than when you're like, I, I just want to make money off of you, or like, I just, I just have to be desperate and like, you know, it's just such a different place to be in. And also like, for me, when I look back on like my story, I realize, like, I was always willing to take small financial risks. Like, I'm not saying I just throw money away, but like I would be willing to pay my hair, makeup artist 150 to $200 if like I could have that opportunity to sell someone a $2,000 package. And sometimes it didn't work out. Or I would be willing to take a wedding, a wedding planner to lunch for a hundred dollars. And maybe she's never going to refer me and maybe that's it. Maybe I just spent a hundred dollars on lunch and I'll never see her again. But almost always it works out, you know. So I think sometimes people get so tight fisted with how they invest. But if you're investing in relationships and experiences, it almost always pays off for.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Me, at least 100%. I found the same thing that those connections and relationship building is so important. And I know on Sue's website and on the education site there are specific videos because it's not easy for everyone. You know, you're a social girl. You're. It's easy for you to talk to people for the most part. Not everyone feels that confident and comfortable to just ask someone to go out to lunch or to, you know, give, go to the networking groups and give out vouchers and talk to people. But that's like the, one of the things on Sue's education site is she has like videos explaining to people, this is how you network. This is how you give out vouchers. Like it. Because she gets it. Not everyone. That's not everyone's superpower she hated networking.

[Ashley]

Like she hated it.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

She hates having the small talk and the.

[Ashley]

Yeah, yeah, it's hard. And I hated it too. Like, I guess I sound like I really liked it, but I didn't. Like, I still sometimes have anxiety when I have to put myself in a place where I don't know anyone, whether that. And sometimes like now it's less for business where I get the anxiety and more like personal hobbies that I just want to do for me. But I'm not like by nature I would consider myself an introvert. I would consider myself someone who feels socially awkward a lot of the time. And her scripts on like what you say really helped me in the beginning. Like I would just repeat what she would say. And same for like the sales conversations. Like I would just repeat her words. So I also didn't come to it with like this brilliant conversationalist. I just want to make that clear that I was just as nervous as the next person. But you can fake it till you make it if you really want something. And if you practice in the mirror a bunch of times.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, it's so true. I want to back up a little bit and just talk about your pricing. So when you were giving out the vouchers, what was your starting package and what was your biggest package? And then you mentioned that someone maybe just bought one or two. So you had the a la carte option also.

[Ashley]

Yeah. And honestly looking at it, my price list hasn't changed that much. Maybe it's time for me to raise my prices. But my bottom package has always been 1500. And over time I've lessened what is included in that 1500 instead of raising my prices. So I think back then it might have included eight or ten images and now it includes six. So the bottom package is 1500. The top package at the time was 2900. And that would include everything like, and everything being like the 20 to 25 images that I would show. And I also had a la carte. So a la carte. One image was $295 if they just wanted to get the one. And with the voucher it came with a hundred dollar print credit. So it was really like $195 if they just got the one. And I would say even to this day in my business still, like there will always be two people a year that have like a low sale or maybe just buy one image. I still, I give vouchers in different ways now, but I donate to a lot of high end auctions and sometimes that really pans out for me. And sometimes it really doesn't because they don't come in with any education. They've just bought this thing. And I include a picture in the donation because that's what a lot of times the charities require. And it's kind of the right thing to do when you're donating to a charity. But sometimes I'll, you know, from those charity auctions, like, people are like, oh, I did not realize extra images were so expensive. I'm just going to take the one. So that happens, you know, but you just brush it off. Like sue always talks about. It's a lot of averages. So I just think about it as chances to put myself out there and chances to have an amazing sale. And I don't get down on myself when I have one or two bad ones a year. I just accept that that's part of doing business.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, that's such a good point. Because I think people get discouraged when not everyone books or only one out of ten books, you know, with your. With your industry standard pricing or. Not everyone buys the top package and. But really, it's not like someone. Everyone who walks into. Walks into a car dealership actually buys. Yeah, everyone who walks into Nordstrom isn't going to spend a lot. I mean, it is. It's a law of averages. And sometimes people are going to book you and sometimes they're not, and that's okay. But you have to keep on pushing and you have to keep marketing. And it's not this just magic thing where people are just going to knock on your door. You know, you really have to keep getting yourself out there. So I love that you do the charities you said, the vouchers with the moms group. Are there any other really important marketing strategies that you have that have that keep your business going?

[Ashley]

So I do a lot of personal branding now. It's just opened up a lot of doors for me because a lot of the personal branding clients will come back for a family session or for a boudoir or like a glam session. So that has been really cool because a lot of times the personal branding. So like, personal branding could mean like a headshot, you know, or a series of really great headshots that they can use on their website. And that's a need. So it's a lot less like, why would I take a bunch of pictures of me in pretty outfits just to have. I don't get it. You know, you don't really get that objection. They're like, oh, I want to look great on My website, in my bio page, on my business cards, I get that I need that I'm successful. I'm not had good track records with cheap photographers, so I'm willing to put this investment in. And then they have that initial experience and it's so great. And then they want to come back. So I find myself marketing a lot to other business owners now just because that is such a great way to meet people. And also, you know that they're like, if they're already running a successful business, you know that they, they have that disposable income that they could invest in future sessions as well. And as. As people are just marketing themselves online more, it's really becoming such a need. So I would encourage people to just like bring that into their marketing as well as a strategy, even if they're not as fun, because they're definitely like, not necessarily as fun as, you know, having someone in a tulle gown or something, but. And like, they don't want their hair, makeup all extra glamorized. You know, they just want it to look like, like a nicer version of their everyday. But if you can still give people that experience of like, making them look great on camera, making them feel beautiful, it's such a great intro to, to having another experience with you. And.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, it is, it is. I mean, business owners often, I think more often than not understand the value of needing good photos in their marketing and their website. I mean, they just, they just do. And I think that often they can see the difference between just having a quickie, you know, and I'm at a conference and they're offering a $20 headshot, real quick type situation and coming in and really having some guidance with what to wear and how to do their hair and makeup and the multiple outfits. And that way they've got so much marketing material for, you know, the next year or two with their business. So, I mean, I know for me it's my bread and butter, the personal branding. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley]

So that's been one thing that's been huge. And like I said, I see it as not just money making, but as marketing as well. And then I also. One thing that is newer to my business that I started this year and I'm. It's very new, like a couple months new, so I'm trying to see how it pans out, but I'm tracking it is doing like, more events in my studio. I used to do champagne parties, which I still do, and those always lead to bookings where, you know, I have my Clients come in and I have them bring their friends, and I just serve champagne and yummy food and give raffle prizes away and then sell discounted like, $99 sitting fees. And that's always worked out great. But what happens with that is I feel like sometimes the pool gets a little exhausted. Like, if the same people are coming to the party all the time and they don't always bring their friends, like, at some point in the year, like, you need to keep bringing new people into that funnel. So what I started doing is doing these monthly events in my studio, and they're like women's circle type events. And I'm partnering with other business owners who are women who have a similar client base to mine. Not necessarily meaning like that they're photographers. Of course, they're not photographers, but people whose clientele is women who want to feel empowered are looking for personal development, are looking to have some sort of transformational experience in their life. So, of course, coaches are a great business partner for that, but also healers, just. Just different types of practitioners whose main demographic is women. And I'm having them come in and do talks at my studio. And what's really cool is like, they're promoting this to their client base just as much as I'm promoting it to my client base. So we're exposing each other to each other's client base, and they're getting to come in and have this, like, really empowering, great experience in my studio and then see all my work. And then of course, there's like a call to action at the end. So I'm, you know, pitching. I'm introducing myself, I am pitching what I do. I still offer that same. Like, if you buy while you're here in the door today, 99 sitting fee. And it is like panning out into clients. And it's also building my email list really quickly of local people. And it's also just created a lot of goodwill. Like, we tripled the amount of attendees from the first. We've only. It's monthly, so it started in January, and we're recording this at the end of February. So I've only done it for January and February, but we tripled the amount of people that came in February. And I already.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

That's incredible.

[Ashley]

Yeah, I have a lot of signups for March, so it seems like something that's going well. So I'm excited to see and report back maybe at some point how this new marketing strategy is going for me.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, that'd be great. It's almost like you started Your own networking group?

[Ashley]

Yeah, it kind of. It basically is. It's like. Because there's some mingling to it, like networking and then there's a presentation. And what's cool is like, it's not necessarily business topics, so it's not networking where it's like everyone's a business professional and they're not necessarily coming into it to swap cards. But I'm just finding that women are really. I think they're just really open to the idea of talking about some issues that are taboo in our society or wanting to express themselves in new ways. And I'm really just. I'm really interested in that. I'm really interested in my own business. Going more into, not necessarily coaching, but into women's development. You know, I consider myself a feminist and that's just where I. My passions lies. Empowering women to push the boundaries and to take up space and to express themselves. And I feel like I do that with the photo shoots. And so I really wanted my studio to be more than just a photo studio, but be a place of community, a place that feels like sacred and feminine and where women can just really shed the weight that societal pressures put on them and really feel like they can step into their bodies and their expression. And so it's really cool because people aren't showing up like, just as business owners. They're just showing up with like open hearts and ready to connect with each other. And that's been like. My favorite feedback is like that like in my last event, women were like crying, but like in a good way, you know, like they were just like being seen and it was just. It's just so cool. So I'm really excited to see where that takes me to because I know that I'm meant for things that are just not just photography related, but bigger in our world. And I. That's kind of the direction that I see myself going to is just being that leader for women.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

You seem really great at morphing your business into your passions or what feels right for you now instead of just staying in the part of your business that makes you know, that doesn't make you happy anymore is you. You move, move forward. And as we grow and get older and change and you know, you became a mom and you know, just learning and discovering new things and so your business is sort of coming along with you. It's really cool.

[Ashley]

Thanks. Yeah. I think for me, I love, I've noticed, I love the chase. Like, I love when things are kind of hard. Even though I say I hate it, you know, like, I love going after the big mountain that's hard to climb and I love the climb. And it's like getting to the top. I have a hard time receiving those moments. I have a hard time sometimes, like just bathing in the success of something because I always want something new. So it's a, it's a double edged sword, but it's something that I've noticed about myself over the years.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, it's really cool. I love that about you. I love that you don't just stay complacent or miserable. Like, you find ways to kind of, you know, make it change. And, and, and I'm excited to hear about how your groups go.

[Ashley]

Yeah, I definitely will update because like I said, it is new, but it is something that, that's really cool and it's bringing people into the shoots with, I think, just a different type of openness of like, I'm ready to have this transformational photo shoot experience that I really love.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

I want to back up really quick. This is something that comes up quite a bit in the Sue Bryce Education Facebook group where when people are transitioning from one sort of genre to another, they don't know what to do with their Instagram. So this is more like a logistical question of how for, for your branding. I know you said you started just removing weddings altogether from your website and everything. Is that what you did for your social media? Like, how did you make that transition with, with your social.

[Ashley]

Yeah, with my social media. So I did clean up my Instagram quite a lot. Although if you were to like, want to stalk me and really scroll back in time, you would still find wedding photos there. It's not like gets completely removed. I didn't want to remove like my story necessarily. I just cleaned it up to the best, best shots that looked most cohesive and then started building on that with only portrait shots. So eventually, you know, there's only nine, I think squares on your Instagram feed that scroll up before people or show before people start to, to scroll down on your bio page. So all you really need is nine posts that are fresh before you know. Otherwise people kind of have to work to see what you were doing before. So it's not that hard to reshape the vibe of your Instagram at any given moment. And you can even do that within genres of portrait. Like if you shoot a bunch of different genres of portrait and you're marketing for Mother's Day, just start posting Mother's Day pictures. As you get closer to Mother's Day.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

You know it really is that simple.

[Ashley]

I know it's so silly, but it really is. And then with Facebook, it's just was about switching the story. Instead of telling people about the wedding I just shot and blogging about the wedding I just shot and posting all those pictures, I just stopped doing that. And guess what? I just stopped share. I just started sharing about the portraits and that experience. So sometimes it's just a pivot. Like it doesn't have to be like, you don't have to like when you let something go, you don't have to like just like murder it or you like get rid of it, you know, like totally let it go very gently.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

You don't have to be violent with it. That's hilarious. So if you, if you were to think back about what life was like when you were at the peak of, you know, you're doing your 40 weddings a year and compared to what life is like now in terms of work and that sort of thing, is it different? Like what's, what's it like now versus then?

[Ashley]

I mean it's definitely really different because like you said, you're kind of always in a booking cycle or it's a quicker cycle than weddings where weddings like if you looked at a year you had your booking season, your shooting season, kind of your slow season. And with portraits it's almost not really like that. It's kind of like it's all that is shrunk down onto like a month or six week cycle depending on how you structure your business. Right now I'm booked out till April. So like end of April is my openings at the current moment. So right now I am like marketing for those spots, you know, because I don't ever want to get too, too close to those spots and having a bunch of spaces open. But I'm also shooting twice a week and then editing. So I've noticed like in a way because the time cycle is a lot shorter, I have to be a lot more intentional and structured with my time, which. And also as a mom, I need to be a lot more intentional and structured with my time because I also want to not be working when my son gets home from, well, he goes to preschool, then he goes to grandma's house till about 5:00. And so when he comes home at 5:00, I want to be present for him, which I will fully admit I'm not always good at doing that, but it's my goal.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

So it's hard.

[Ashley]

Yeah, it's really hard. So I just know that I Have to be a little bit more intentional and structured during the day. So how I have my calendar set is like, I have shoot days. On those shoot days, in a very ideal world, I try to call the shoot the same day, and then I have a retoucher, so I send it off to the retoucher so that part's done. And then on the days that aren't shoot days, I try to do all the office work, admin work and networking, marketing. And it doesn't always. Sometimes it gets messy. It's not always that great. Sometimes I'm, you know, really tired or something on a shoot day or. Or something else came up and I don't get to the calling. Like, sometimes I'll have a lot of consultations also on the shoot days. So it's not. It's not perfect by any means, but I just find that, like, structuring things to the best of my ability is really key because I. It's not like with weddings, where you have this really slow season and all you're doing in that slow season is just kind of taking the inquiries and booking them. And then you have this really intense shooting season and you're just shooting and editing and shooting and editing. You're kind of doing all these things at once, if that makes any sense. But I still much prefer it to weddings. Just to be very clear about it.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

You and me both. I pick the consistency over, like, I just remember it being like doomsday every time it was time, you know, to get ready for a wedding or like the season was coming. And I knew that my weekends and, you know, summer was just gone and I just could not do that anymore. So I'm with you. I will take the consistency of feeling just busy enough all year round as opposed to sitting on, you know, on my butt and doing nothing and then freaking out for, like, three months.

[Ashley]

Yeah, exactly, too. Because, yeah, sometimes that slow season can feel painful. If it is really slow and you're waiting for the bookings to come in and you're like, am I going to be broke this year or what's going to happen? Even though, like, it never worked out that way, but thank God. But yeah, I mean, for some people, that can be really anxiety inducing. So I agree that I really like having a little bit to do each week and just being consistent with it. And I'm someone who doesn't really love routines, so I try to give myself structure without having things too locked in and still where I can look at my calendar and feel some spaciousness and feel like, well, if. I don't usually change my mind, but I just like to know that I can.

[Nikki Klosser]

So, like, if I want to go.

[Ashley]

You know, get lunch with a friend on Thursday, I can. I'm probably not going to, but I can. So I just like to see that face on my calendar just because. I don't know. That's just the way my. My mind. My mind works like that.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

For some reason, I love it. You know, whatever works for you. That's just. I. I love that. I love that you keep that open for that reason. That's. Yeah.

[Ashley]

Yeah.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

I just think that's so cool. Well, you have just shared so much good information about your marketing and just how to make that transition out of the wedding world. And so for people who are out there listening, feeling like they can absolutely relate to the burnout of wedding photography, I hope this really helps. You know, they're. They're really. It is something that can be done. I know there is sort of this belief sometimes that you can't make as much in portraits as you can in weddings, but I'm an example. You're an example. I mean, there's. There are a lot of us who have made that transition. So just know that it is possible, and if that's really what you want, you can do it. So, yeah, you're just such a great example of that. So I really appreciate you sharing everything.

[Ashley]

Thank you.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Okay, so I asked the same four questions to everyone at the end of the show, and I'm wondering if you would mind answering. So the first question is, what is something you can't live without when you're shooting?

[Ashley]

Definitely my 50 millimeter 1.2 lens. That's just the lens that I use in every single shoot. And I obviously have other lenses and backup lenses, but if, God forbid, something were to happen to that lens, like in a photo shoot where I couldn't replace it, like, immediately, I'd be like, oh, no, this shoot needs to be, what am I going to do? Like, that is. That is like my go to go to lens.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Awesome. Yeah, it's a great lens, that's for sure. So how do you spend your time when you aren't photographing?

[Ashley]

Well, I obviously am a mom, as I've talked about, so I definitely spend a lot of time with my son. He's in a co op preschool right now. He ends in. He goes to kindergarten in the fall, so that's gonna end in May. But I spend one day a week at the preschool with him. So that's a lot of Time. And then I also have hobbies too. I like to dance and perform and I, you know, want to spend time with my husband. I love traveling. I love to go out to try new restaurants as a personal hobby of mine. So I know like eating is just a hobby, you know. So. Yeah, that's, that's kind of usually what you'll find me doing is just trying to have fun. Whether it's like going to the theater, performing or dancing or trying new food or being with the family. That's like what I love.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Very cool. I've been following some of the stuff that you've been doing, like dance wise and I just love seeing it. It's so awesome.

[Ashley]

Thanks.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

So what's your favorite inspirational quote?

[Ashley]

I really love the Marie Forleo quote. Everything is figureoutable. Yes. And I really love that just because sometimes things can just especially for me, feels so impossible. I always want a how, like if I have an idea, I will reject it. If I don't see a clear path, like how am I going to make that happen? And I've been told by many people that you don't need to know how you, if you can believe that like if you can dream something, you can do it. And so the Marie Forleo quote really grounds me into remembering that like I can figure this out little step by little step if I really want to. And no matter how big the dream is and how impossible it might seem, I can figure it out. It's, it's. If someone else has done something like it, they figured it out. It's not impossible.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Um, even though absolutely every problem can be solved. Yeah, every problem can be solved. I love that. And then what would you say to people who are just getting started?

[Ashley]

I would say to really just believe in yourself because when you have that self value and when you believe that you are worthy of achieving your dream and you're worthy of putting yourself out there and making connections and that you're bringing something valuable to the table and that what you're doing is really going to like bless and serve someone else in completely unexpected and unfathomable ways. You just come in with so much more confidence and it doesn't have to be so hard and so full of anxiety and so in your head all the time. And I'm someone who suffers from anxiety and being in my head a lot of the time. So that's kind of a message that I always have to give myself too when I'm starting something new is like just be present for it. Just believe in yourself that you're offering something amazing and that you're bringing something awesome to the table and that will take you so much farther than just getting wound up.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Amazing words of wisdom, really, truly, that's just something to truly live by, what you just said.

[Ashley]

Thanks.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Yeah, I love that. And then where can people find you if they want to see your work or just follow your new networking group sort of success? Where can people find you?

[Ashley]

Yeah, so my website is ashleytaylorportrait.com and then obviously I have Instagram. So that's Ashley Taylor portrait. And I should mention that Ashley is spelled very strange. It's a S H L E I G H. That throws people off sometimes. And then I also have a Facebook page too, so it's just facebook.com Ashley Taylor portrait. So pretty much if you type in Ashley Taylor portrait, you're going to find me on some platform.

[Ashley Taylor Henning]

Awesome. Well, thank you again for being here and for taking the time just to share everything. I always love talking with you and learning from you and I think people are really going to love this episode. So thank you, thank you, thank you for having me.

[Ashley]

This has been so fun.

[Sue Bryce]

Thank you so much for listening to the Portrait System podcast. Your 5 star reviews really help us to continue what we do. So if you like listening, would you mind giving us a review wherever you listen? I also encourage encourage you to head over to subrication.com where you can find all of the education you need to be a successful photographer. There are over 1000 on demand educational videos on things like posing, lighting, styling, retouching, shooting, marketing, sales, business and self value. There's also the 90 day startup challenge plus so many downloads showing hundreds of different poses. We have to do checklists for your business, lighting, PDFs. I mean truly everything to help make you a better photographer and to make you more money. Once again, That's Sue Bryce. Education.com.