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The Portrait System Podcast
How To Reach A $4500 Average Sale Shooting Quinceaneras with Abygail and Juan Padilla
00:59:52
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- [00:00]
A
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 want to get this. 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 and sign up. Today you're listening to the Portrait System podcast with weddings.
- [00:36]
B
The schedule's super tight. There's not like a lot of room to breathe. There's not even time to eat. And al that's the complete opposite. Like, you have time to really play. When we work weddings, I'm like, oh my gosh. I remember why we went to Quintaneras, because it's like by the time that you're trying to scarf down some food, they're like, oh, we're starting the first dance. I'm like, oh my gosh, what is going on?
- [00:59]
A
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 grown their businesses, quit their day jobs, and are designing a life of their dreams. We keep it real and share stories 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. Hey there, it's Nikki Klosser here. And my guests this week on the Portrait System podcast are Abigail and Juan Padilla. Abby and Juan are hugely successful in the genre that they say is sort of like high school seniors, but with a wedding budget. And that genre is quinceaneras. Quinces are a combination of portraits and a glamorous event. And I have a feeling that after this interview, you might want to get into this super fun and lucrative type of photography. Juan and Abby cover marketing, pricing, the different cultural traditions to be aware of how to break into quince, and overall how incredible this genre is. Okay, let's get started with Juan and Abby Padilla. Hi, Abby. Hi, Juan. Welcome to the Portrait System. How are you guys?
- [02:20]
B
Hello. Thank you guys for having us on. We're doing really good.
- [02:25]
C
Really excited to be here.
- [02:26]
A
Awesome. Yeah. You know, when I heard your. Your message come through. So, like, if people want to. Just for people listening, if you want to be on the podcast, we have a link on our podcast page, and you can just send a message, you know, stating what you think you could offer to the listeners. And as soon as I heard yours, I was like, this is really interesting because, you know, I think, like, there are so many genres that go up and down, especially, like, people who maybe were in weddings and no longer want to do weddings, but kind of like weddings but don't want to do it anymore. I feel like the genre that you guys shoot could be a really nice alternative. Like, it includes a little bit of everything in it. Does that sound right to you?
- [03:10]
B
100%, yeah. Yeah. You get all of the benefits of, like, what you like the excitement of a wedding. Right. So the getting ready, the traditions, a lot of fun, a lot of culture, great food, but the stress is just not at the same level as for a wedding.
- [03:30]
A
That's kind of what I was thinking. Well, okay, let's go back a little bit. Tell everybody what you guys typically focus on. What is. What is your genre?
- [03:39]
B
So we do quinceaneras, and quinceaneras are. It's a celebration for a. A girl when she turns 15, typically for the Latino culture. But here in the U.S. latinos are everywhere, and, you know, we're, you know, mixing with different cultures. And so we get a lot of, you know, really traditional Mexican quinceaneras or really traditional Latino quinceaneras. And then we also get more modern ones, which are, you know, mixed with different cultures, which is really fun, because then you get to add what different cultures, traditions, like, what they do for either, like, a sweet 16 or, like, a debut. And then they're also combining it with the quinceanera, which. Which is really cool.
- [04:19]
A
Okay, so two things before we move on. One, if you're listening and you are not Latino, we talked a little bit about this before we started recording, and I think this is important. We don't want you to tune out and think that this is not a genre that you can be a part of. Is that correct?
- [04:34]
C
Correct. A lot of photographers, especially in the Midwest and not locations in the US they shoot senior sessions, so it's a big thing. And we like to think of a quinceanera as the senior session, plus another party with the wedding budget. So it's the best of both worlds. You get the glamour session a few months before the party, and then the day of the event, it's just a little bit more relaxed, like Abby said, than a wedding.
- [05:03]
A
Okay. So there's really two separate parts to this. The event and the portrait shoot.
- [05:08]
B
Oh, yeah. And so with some girls, they want to have multiple sessions, so it's. It's. It could be like a multiple month kind of a situation.
- [05:18]
A
Wow. And something you said that I think might be really appealing to people is that if you think of it as a senior session on a wedding budget, give us an idea of. Of what your. If you know what your average sale is on something like this.
- [05:33]
C
The average sale for us would be about $4,500. And that's just for photos with the session before and then an 8 to 10 hour the day of the event. But something also that's interesting is that every single region in the United States has a different tradition. As far as in Miami, there's a lot of Cuban quinceaneras, and they like to go all out on the pre event session and then a little bit less on the event day is what I've seen as far as they. There's really amazing places to shoot out there that incorporate tigers and alligators, snakes.
- [06:15]
B
It's crazy.
- [06:16]
A
I mean, that keeps it exciting. Wow.
- [06:18]
B
Yeah. And they like fast cars and just like, it's a really, like, it's a glamour session. It's really editorial. The photographers out in Miami, they're sick. They're amazing.
- [06:30]
A
Wow. I'm gonna have to look some of this up. That sounds really cool.
- [06:34]
B
100%. We can send you photographers because the. The amount. The work that they do is really, like. It's crazy.
- [06:41]
A
Next level.
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B
And the girls are like. They look like models, you know?
- [06:44]
A
Wow. Yeah. And I was looking at your Instagram. You guys have 90,000 followers. So it's. I mean, clearly there's some significant interest in this.
- [06:55]
B
Yes. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Especially just Latinos in general. It's something that as soon as you have a baby girl, everyone's like, okay, let's start saving for the quinceanera.
- [07:06]
A
I love it.
- [07:07]
B
It's such a big deal. And it's a really. It's really beautiful because the community comes together. All the family members come together to put this party on. It's traditional for the quinceanera to ask family members to sponsor different things. So they're called padrinos. And it's what really brings the party because, I mean, it's a huge expense for one family. And there are families that they're like, we're going to cover everything, but there's a lot of families where it's like, oh, well, we'll cover the dress and we'll cover, you know, the invitations and, you know, the limo. So it's. It's really nice because whenever you have the family support and that community, it's. It's beautiful to see because on the. On the day of, you can see how much love there is at a quinceanera. And what we say is, there's more love at a quinceanera than there is at a wedding day.
- [07:58]
A
It's so cool. It's so cool. I love traditions like this. And just like you said, bringing community and culture and family all together, it's really remarkable. It's like everyone can just, you know, for the day at least, just put everything aside, you know, and just come together and have fun and celebrate this beautiful girl.
- [08:17]
B
Yes. Yeah. 100%.
- [08:20]
C
Yeah. Actually, last week it was really awesome that a client came up to me and he's like, man, this part is just amazing. I wish I made more money so I could do this as a monthly thing because all. They get to see family from all over the United States that come together for. For this party. Right. So then it's just such a. Such a beautiful, magical moment that the girl is pretty much, you know, wanting her whole life most of.
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A
In.
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C
In most cases.
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B
Yeah.
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C
So.
- [08:45]
A
Yeah. Wow.
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B
Yeah.
- [08:46]
A
And I apologize if I don't. Like, I'm not super well versed in quinceaneras. And I was telling you guys earlier that I'm. I'm physically tongue tied, so I'm not able to roll my Rs. And I took Spanish class for three years. Like, I know a little bit of Spanish, but whenever I sit, try to, you know, like. Like, I can't. It doesn't sound right. So you were saying it's okay if I just say Kinsey. Kinsey.
- [09:10]
B
Kinse.
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A
Kinse. Kinse.
- [09:12]
B
Sorry.
- [09:13]
A
Okay. Kinse. All right, so if I refer to it as a kinse, that's why. Because I'll just butcher it. You guys say it so beautifully. And then I try.
- [09:20]
B
And, you know, we also do the short version, too. It's best.
- [09:23]
A
Okay. Okay, so let's. We have a lot to cover when it comes to all of this because, I mean, number one, it sounds fun, it sounds exciting, but also it sounds like, you know, the money's there. Like, that's a. That's a nice little chunk of change. Now, you had said that it was for the photos only. So is there, you know, possibility for upselling this sort of package event?
- [09:49]
B
Yeah, if you, as a photographer, if you work with a videographer or you're. If you're like me and Juan, we're a husband and wife duo. And if one of you does videography, you can really make a killing in, in this industry. Because traditionally people want to hire photo and video. And that's something that you'll kind of see that we're kind of against the grain when it comes to that. So when people call us and they're like, just photo, we're like, yeah, but we have videographers that we can recommend. So if you do photo and video or you work with a person that is like a trusted videographer, it's so much easier to enter this market. But people are looking for just photography too, especially if you're bringing something different and unique. That's why people that work in weddings because of the, the way that I don't, I don't know how to explain this exactly, but like, if you are a wedding photographer and you're making a good money and you want to have maybe on the off months where it's not wedding season, but there are still quinceaneras, because girls are having their birthday, you know, all year round, bring that same energy and that same creativity that you bring to weddings and to quinceaneras. And I think, man, the industry is going to change completely because I think photographers in this industry, and this is saying us too, you know, we got really comfortable doing kind of the same thing over and over again. And it wasn't until we started looking at what the wedding industry is doing and getting inspired by wedding photographers and bringing that into quinceaneras that really had us stand out. Because you don't see that style of photography, what we do is more like a documentary style photography, which is not something that you see. So that kind of like had us stand out. So, I mean, if you have something unique, if you have a unique style like editorial photography or I'm trying to think of other types of photography, but yeah, if you stand out in the wedding world, you will, I mean, excel in quinceaneras. Yeah.
- [11:49]
C
Seen recently in the last five years, is that the quinceanera market has just exploded as far as there are a lot more people that are having a lot more girls having their quinceanera. And then even recently a few weeks ago, I saw on People magazine that there was a seven figure quinceaneda in Houston and there was all this coverage on it. So that was really cool, you know, just to see how it's being elevated.
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A
Seven figures.
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C
Yeah.
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A
Wow. Intense.
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C
Yeah.
- [12:21]
A
Wow. Very cool. I feel like if you are a wedding photographer, you really have an edge because you know how to light in tricky situations. I mean, think about like dark hotel rooms or you know, you know, nighttime at the first dance, plus portraits outside at high noon. I mean, typically wedding photographers are really well versed when it comes to lighting on the fly and just capturing those candid moments and all of that, like all of those skills I feel like apply here as well a hundred percent.
- [12:57]
B
If you're able to bring that your problem solving skills from the wedding industry and taking sen where I mean, the lighting situations can be really difficult because the halls are dark, the parties, I mean, they're all day long. So you're starting early in the morning, going late at night. It's the same like a wedding. So yeah, if, if you're able to, to do that really quickly in the wedding world, it's going to just seem so much easier in quinceaneras because the days aren't so like back to back. Like with weddings, the schedule's super tight. There's not like a lot of room to breathe. There's not even time to eat. And that's the complete opposite. Like you have time to really play. Especially like trying weird stuff that you wanted to try out with, with the kitsanya on her core or just maybe you wanted to try a different lighting style. You have that opportunity because it's not so strict with time.
- [13:52]
A
Right? Right.
- [13:54]
B
When we work weddings, I'm like, oh my gosh. I remember why we went to Quintaneras because it's like you don't have time to breathe. By the time that you're trying to scarf down some food, they're like, oh, we're starting the first dance. I'm like, oh my gosh, what's going on?
- [14:06]
A
I know. You get seven minutes for bridal portraits. Go.
- [14:11]
B
And we're so spoiled. We have like, they're like, oh, you have an hour and a half and then afterwards you guys can go to In n Out burger with them for like another hour. And I'm like, oh, perfect. And that's why we get the opportunity to do all these like interesting and Unique kind of documentary style photos with these kids is because we're, we're spending so much time with them. So I mean, definitely be a fan of a teenager if you're going to go into this industry.
- [14:33]
A
They're so fun.
- [14:35]
B
So it's not that bad. But that's definitely the difference, right? We're like, you're dealing with, in the wedding world, you know, the bride and the groom and the mother in law and all of like the, everybody's an adult. So like I feel like the dynamic is different where when you're working with teenagers, you know, you are the adult in the room. Even though sometimes we're like, oh my gosh, we're in charge and they listen, they do listen to us. So it's. And then you know, just having like the mutual respect because they're still teenagers and sometimes they just kind of want to do what they want to do and we just kind of have to roll with the punches. So if you're kind of like a little bit more laid back personality wise, but you still like all the craziness of a wedding day, but a little bit more of a laid back schedule, man, you're going to really love quinceaneras.
- [15:17]
A
Yeah, that's awesome.
- [15:18]
B
Yeah.
- [15:19]
A
You know, I've been doing a lot of high school senior shoots lately and I've really been loving it. There's something about connecting with teenagers and it's not always easy. You know, sometimes you have certain teens that either don't want to show a lot of expression because they're nervous or uncomfortable or, you know, so it can be a little tricky. But man, if you can really connect with them and give them just a really powerful, amazing experience, they will tell everyone about you. They'll post all over their Instagram and TikTok and tag you. And so it can be a really, really good, kind of like a marketing strategy to connect with these teens because they will tell their friends.
- [16:00]
C
Definitely. And we've seen also that a lot of them are on sport teams and all kinds of different extracurricular activities. So then there's also that connection there. Another thing is it's a process that we've built as far as having a questionnaire, what are their life's dislikes, what are they nervous about, things like that. And then from there we're able to, you know, make them feel comfortable at the shoot.
- [16:25]
B
Yeah, that's the number one thing that, you know, what we try to do even before touching a camera is making sure that we can connect with the family and Connect with the quinceanera. Because the parents, their biggest concern is, like, we just want our daughter to feel comfortable. We want her, you know, especially if they're shy, it's easy when they're like, they love taking pictures. I'm like, okay, my job is, like, 90% easier because they're just going to pose and do it. They already know their best angles. Right. But.
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A
Right.
- [16:53]
B
It's really challenging, but more rewarding as a photographer when you know that they're super shy, you know that they don't like their smile. But then you can finally, like, you know, crack the code a little bit and get them to, like, smile. Like, a real smile. Or you can, you know, have them look at their pictures, and they're like, oh, my gosh, I love it. You know, because that's where we feel really proud of our abilities as not only photographers, but, like, people that are able to connect with these quinceanera. So, yeah, if you're a people person.
- [17:21]
A
Definitely you sum that up really well. And I noticed on your website that you talk a lot about connecting with your clients, which I think is so great. I had a shoot last month, and this poor girl, her boyfriend had broken up with her that morning, and he was texting her mean things during, like, leading up to the shoot during hair and makeup. And I was like, oh, this poor girl. I mean, she was just heartbroken. And at the end, she was like, this is exactly what I needed. Like, this. You know, she felt beautiful. It was empowering. And, you know, it's like, we can do that for these kids in. In a really great way. Yeah.
- [17:58]
B
So definitely. And if you can build their confidence, I mean, you see it because we. We meet them basically, like, a year out. It's like you can see them being kind of shy and introverted, but then by the time that the party comes, you see they're a lot more confident. And, you know, it's. It's good for them, I think, to feel beautiful and to have portraits done. Because if you think back, I mean, when I was a teenager, I mean, I did have a quinceanera, and I. That was like, the prettiest that I ever felt was because, like, you know, my hair was done and I had this big dress. It was just like a party, really, just for you. And it built my confidence a lot. So I can't even imagine what the girls now are feeling with, you know, now that we have social media to, you know, be able to share that and. And just feel really confident in who they Are and in their pictures and all of that.
- [18:45]
A
Absolutely. Before I wanna talk about marketing, but how do people 1 break into this and 2 get clients? But before that, one more thing that you'd said is that this is a year round thing. I mean girls turn 15, right, 15 all the time, all year round. And I live in Michigan. So the weddings, I don't shoot weddings now but for, for photographers here most weddings are between like April and October. You know, I mean I know that's kind of a wide range, but then you've got November, December, January, February, March where things are real slow. So it just seems like a nice, a nice alternative, I guess.
- [19:23]
C
Yeah, I mean it really depends each year for us as well. But our November is always packed. Every single weekend we have a cup view in December, some in January, some in February. So yeah, it's like, you know, it's a birthday. So of course photograph that are just shooting weddings can implement their income by getting quinceaneras. As far as marketing, go ahead.
- [19:48]
B
Yeah, well adding to that, not only are you just doing the event day, but you also have the pre event session. And so if you have a quinceanera in April, they need to have their session, you know, two to three months before because you typically can't shoot before that because you have to wait for them to get their dress which is always like sometimes it could be eight months or six months. Sometimes they go all the way to Mexico to go get their dresses. So typically we do the, their shoot about two to three months out. So you, you could be shooting in January, February and it's a really nice way to keep shooting and you know to.
- [20:23]
A
Yeah, I love that I guess supplement.
- [20:24]
B
The, the off months during the event season. But yeah, we get a lot of girls, I mean throughout the year and sometimes it's not optimal weather. We've shocked Senecas in the rain, we've done it in the snow, we've done it when it's been 116 degrees. So you just have to be good with like all weathers. And I feel like in Michigan it's probably like that too where you're working in the snow and.
- [20:47]
A
Yeah. Oh yeah. Can't wait for the snow. Okay, so you guys, you guys have actually taught at our conference WPPI about this. So I know you have tons of good info. Let's talk a little bit about how does someone break into this market and once you're there, how do you keep the clients coming in?
- [21:08]
B
Yeah, if you want to break into quinceaneras, I Feel like the best way to do it so that you can kind of see what the flow is like, what the day is like, is just go as a second shooter for somebody. And I would do that maybe for just a few events to really see how the flow of a quinceanera is, what the expectations are, you know, what the dynamic is. And I know that if a person is not Latino, maybe they'll feel more comfortable after doing a few and kind of getting to know the culture. But, I mean, there's a lot of quinceaneras that are very Americanized. So I feel like just doing a few just to see what the flow of the day looks like. And then from there, you can start working with, you know, boutiques in the area that are selling quinceanera dresses because they're always looking for photographers, are always looking for photography so that they can, you know, market their own business. Business. And if you have good relationships with boutiques, they can always recommend you to, you know, their clients. And if your photography is beautiful, that's one. A really easy way to. To grow in this market. So we work a ton with boutiques, and we do style shoots with them. We'll take the girls. We'll take, like, a set of girls. We'll go to San Francisco City hall and spend the full day there, do multiple locations, multiple outfit changes. So that way, you know, we can practice our photography, and then they can get their marketing materials, and the girls can also, you know, model. And sometimes the girls out of the models end up becoming. Becoming our clients because their Internet is coming up because you're working with.
- [22:35]
A
Right.
- [22:37]
B
So that's one really, like, easy way to do it, to build your portfolio and to also build relationships with, you know, vendors in the area.
- [22:48]
C
Yeah, I think what Abby said was perfect. Just. But just to kind of recap, it is, I guess the first step would be to contact your local boutiques and set that collaboration shoot. But then the second step would also be to look on Facebook groups, because I think every community has their own Facebook groups that are just for quinceaneras. It's just, you know, looking for them. And a lot of people are on there, you know, saying, a few days, a few weeks before, hey, you know, my photographer build or something, I'm looking for a new photographer. So then that's a great way of doing it as well.
- [23:21]
B
You just have to jump into it. Kind of fearless, I think, because sometimes as photographers, I feel like we overthink, you know, how can I be the best at this? It's like sometimes you just have to jump in and then just do it, you know, don't even worry about, like, I don't know. As a photographer, I think each person has their own special way of, you know, photographing and viewing the world. And it doesn't have to look like every other quinceanera photographer's work. You know, that's something that. That's something that we really want in the quinceanera industry, is that we see more variety, that we see more change. And not everybody is shooting the exact same way. And everybody has their own flair and their own style, their own editing style. So, yeah, just really jump into it. Don't be afraid. There's also expos that people can do too. There's quinceanera exposure.
- [24:14]
A
This is a huge industry.
- [24:16]
B
Oh, yeah, yeah. There's multiple. Especially if you live, I mean, in hot spots like la, in Houston, in. We're in san. We're in Arizona, like Santa Fe, Phoenix. Yeah. Where's. Santa Fe's in New Mexico. Sorry. Yeah. If you live in those hotspots. If you live in hot spots in. Yeah, in those areas, then I feel like that's when you can really. Those are the really big events, like the big quinceanera expos. But I mean, anywhere in the US you can find this industry, I think it's just kind of. It's not underground. It's just if you don't know about it, you don't, you know, you won't know.
- [24:54]
A
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Wow, this is cool. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about you. You had mentioned $4,500 of your average sale. So if someone were to put some packages together or, you know, pricing. I mean, is it similar to where.
- [25:11]
B
Let's.
- [25:12]
A
Let's just pick family photography, for example. You've got some people that are like, you know, 150 bucks, all the digitals out the door, up to like 10 grand for the full, you know, the full range of things. Like, is there kind of a standard pricing or is it all across the board, like how families are and weddings are?
- [25:34]
C
I think that that really depends on the region that you live in. Last week I was listening to a podcast. There was a photographer from Chicago. He was saying that the most that people would pay in Chicago is about 5,000, $6,000 per photo and video. It seemed kind of low to me, but I don't know. That's. That was. That was his experience in his region.
- [25:58]
A
But I. I think, well, everyone has their own opinions on what they can and can't charge. So that I think. Never know.
- [26:08]
B
Oh, yeah. Because I feel like there's. If you want to hit that luxury market for quinceaneras, it's there. It's definitely there. But I feel like I would say maybe like an average 2500 for photo. Maybe that's like a. That's like a maybe. I don't know.
- [26:23]
A
Okay.
- [26:23]
C
I also know a photographer in Houston that's charging 13k for both photo and video for quinceaneras. So it really depends on the region, but I wouldn't say there's a standard price.
- [26:36]
B
I think it's like weddings where, like, it's a wedding in San Francisco, like a wedding photographer is charging way more than a wedding photographer. I don't know, somewhere. Somewhere else, I don't know, in Florida or in Georgia. So I think it's just. Maybe just the event market is just kind of all over the place with pricing.
- [26:55]
C
But, yeah, it does tend to be a little bit lower than the weddings.
- [26:59]
B
Yeah.
- [26:59]
A
Okay.
- [26:59]
B
Yeah. Okay.
- [27:00]
A
Yeah. And I'm sorry, that was kind of a loaded. Really was a loaded question because it's, you know, like, when I lived in Seattle, I had photographer friends in Michigan. Like, you don't think you're going to charge Seattle prices in Michigan, do you? And I was like, well, I kind of like, I have. I have been and I am, you know, so some people have their limitations of. Of what they're comfortable with charging. And I mean, maybe, maybe if you're just starting out and you're portfolio building and you need to get a couple of these under your belt, then, yeah, you're going to start a little bit lower or offer gift vouchers or something just to get that portfolio built. But then once it's built, you have to really make sure you're pricing yourself at a rate that you feel good about and that you're not going to feel resentful that you're spending eight hours, you know, at this, photographing this event, plus the portrait shoot or whatever. You have to really make sure that it's worth it for you.
- [27:55]
B
Definitely. I think maybe a good story that kind of goes with, like, pricing. When we first started out, we got accepted to be in an expo for free at Quinceanera Expo because we took the headshots or like the graduation photos of the daughter of the expo owner. And so she's like, hey, in exchange, can I give you guys a booth in exchange for the headshots? And I was like, yeah, for sure. I've Never done a quinceanera expo before. Juan had probably shot maybe two quinceaneras beforehand, but not. Nothing super professional. So we just went and, you know, printed out a bunch of stuff from CVS and framed it from, like, Michaels. It was. It looked really janky. It looked really ugly. And they put us, like, next to the bathroom because they were like, that's the only spot. Nobody knows who you guys are. You guys got in here for free. Our booth looked so ugly. And when people were coming by, they were like, where's the bathroom? And I'm like, oh, yeah, it's around the corner. But we didn't have pricing because we were like, we've never done this before. So we did a giveaway. Literally, it was like, everybody gets a free shoot and everybody. You can enter a raffle and one person's going to win a freaking sen. Nobody entered our raffle except for, like a couple people, because they're like, who are these crazy people in the corner next to the bathroom with ugly pictures and offering everything for free? And so that's how we got our first king said. Yeah, like, our first giveaway winner was a girl that they were like, oh, you're offering a free consent. Yeah, for sure. And that was our first exposure to doing it. I mean, we did it 100% for free. The pre shoot. We didn't even do a pre shoot. It was just the day of. I mean, it's still work that we can still show pretty proudly because I think we did a good job. But sometimes that's just what you have to do is doing for free. We didn't do many of them at all for free. Maybe a couple free pre shoots.
- [29:42]
C
But what she's not saying is that the Expo was in January 2020.
- [29:46]
B
Oh, yes. This was years ago, right? Yeah. But from that Gincena, we got all of her cousins. So, like, the quinceanera had little cousins that were, you know, about 10, 11. And so fast forward now, four years later, we did all of the quinceaneras for all the cousins. We charge her full rate. And I'm like, wow. From that one quinceanera that we did for free, we got a bunch of cousins. Because they see, you know, my cousin did, and they like to, you know, like, keep it. They like to keep the same vendors because it's like, you did a good job. Why are we going to hire somebody else if we hired. Hired you and you did a great job. So, yeah, that's kind of like not a hack, but, like, that's how we got into it was, I mean, really undervaluing. Right in air quotes. Undervaluing. Just doing it for free.
- [30:33]
A
I mean, that's how I got into pretty much every genre is. Is doing some free shoots first. 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 membership, 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, an 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. I wonder, though, if it. Especially with this, because if it's family and you've got one cousin who paid, you know, next to nothing, and then you now all of a sudden, the next cousin, you're like, it's 4,500. I wonder if it would be helpful for people if they say, this is typically my pricing. However, I'm going to give you a gift voucher for $2,000 or for, you know, I'm going to do this for free just for you, or, you know, something like that. So then that way it's. I feel like it's a lot harder to raise your prices, especially when it's like, different family members. I don't know. Just a thought.
- [31:59]
B
Definitely. Yeah. With that first one, I guess it's like your anchor. Anchor quinceanera. Yeah. I think if you're saying, like, this is typically what we would charge, and then for the next quinceanera, you know, if it's years later, they're going to expect the prices to go up a bit. I mean, from frida, you know, 4500 was a big jump, but. But I think that, I mean, they saw the work. They see, you know, what we're doing and how we're improving, and they're like, wow, we can see from that first quinceanera to now, and the work is like, it's not even the same, you know, it's. It's completely different. So, yeah.
- [32:33]
C
So another thing that she hasn't mentioned is that you never know where your Big sales are going to come from. Abby mentioned that the photos that we had at the first expo were kind of ugly. But the cousin of the first of that person that had the photos of, she's the one that hired us to go to Paris.
- [32:51]
A
Oh, wow.
- [32:53]
C
Yeah. Yeah.
- [32:54]
B
Pictures are beautiful.
- [32:56]
A
Yeah, I think.
- [32:56]
C
No, I didn't think they were in the.
- [33:00]
B
Work that we did now. Yeah, some of it was. I guess it wasn't. The pictures were ugly and the prints were ugly because we got them printed at Walgreens or cvs and it was.
- [33:11]
A
I mean, we've all been there. We've all had like, you know, our first however many shoots. Or like you said the print paper we used to use. Or like, wait, trust me, I was. I've been there. Totally.
- [33:23]
B
Yeah, it's. It's definitely something where you never know who has the next crazy idea because maybe there's one quinceanera that you do and it's like, oh, it's a really low key one. Like, oh, she doesn't even want to do like that much. She does. She wants a really simple pre shoot, a super simple party. And then the cousin is like, take me to Paris. I want to pre shoot before that in the studio. And for the event day, I want 12 and a half hours. And you're like, cool, right?
- [33:49]
A
Yeah. It seems like it could snowball pretty quickly.
- [33:51]
B
Yes. Yeah. Especially if. If people want to like one up each other. We've also had that where like one cousin will hire us.
- [33:57]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [33:59]
B
Cousin wants to do something better. Because they're like, what'd you do for that cousin? No, no, I want to do something better. And would you do for that cousin something better? So for one year, I think we were with one family from January all the way to December. And each one was like doing. It's not like competitive, but like, they were kind of like, well, we want to do something a little bit different. That's how we ended up at the San Francisco Giants State like the stadium with like, oh my gosh, how coolers and a bunch of stuff. I'm like, this is sick. Like, this just came from one.
- [34:25]
A
So is it just one price then that you have like one package or can they choose?
- [34:30]
C
We have multiple. The lowest package that we have is 3,300. Then we have a $20,000 package that includes Paris and stuff like that. So it's a package that we've only sold once, but hopefully we get to sell it more in the future.
- [34:47]
B
It's the destination one because there are girls that Want something a little bit more luxury, like a destination photo shoot in a different country, or they want to do like a destination party. So we want to give a variety. Obviously, we're not going to have a destination quinceanera every single time. I think we couldn't handle that ourselves, just in general, because to travel that much would be insane. But we have our local pricing, which is our smallest package. That's typically for the girls that maybe they don't have church, which is something that is pretty traditional for quinceaneras, is to have the traditional Catholic church. And that always will add a couple extra hours because the church is a little bit earlier than what a blessing ceremony would be. So the day just starts earlier. But our local package is just like a local session here in Sacramento for the pre shoot, a local party. And that's kind of like our entry. Entry pricing. And then with the. Our middle pricing, which is the one that we do the most, which is the $4,500 one that always includes that pre shoot in San Francisco. That photo shoot is like a minimum of five to six hours. The day of, we're there for 10 hours, and they have, like, a couple things included. An album, a canvas, and then from there, it's just like, just keep adding. Keep adding another photo shoot, another, you know, another album, Grandparents albums, the easy upsells that we. That we can do.
- [36:10]
A
Sure. I feel like another way you could set yourself apart is to offer these destinations. You know, we'll go to Cancun or like you said, Paris or Italy. You know, there's so many different places wherever you personally love to travel. And if you know the area and where to shoot and that sort of thing, you could really set yourself apart by offering something like that.
- [36:33]
B
There's a photographer out of. Well, we know a couple photographers. One that's in Miami and one that's in Guadalajara, Mexico. And they always take girls to Paris. Like, they take between, like, five to 10 girls, and they do like a full couple of weeks out there. And it's just pre shoots back to back to back with.
- [36:52]
A
Wow.
- [36:54]
B
So, yeah, if you're a person that likes to travel and do some crazy shoots, the market is definitely there, 100%.
- [37:03]
A
The other one thing that I'm big on it when I'm. When I'm teaching is how you can incorporate two different shoots into one session. For example, I do a lot of personal branding, and sometimes I'll say, like, hey, do you want to bring your family at the end and add some family photos into that or for a high school senior, bring your family at the end. Or if I'm doing a family shoot, hey, do you need headshots as well? You know, anyway, just, like, kind of in order to upsell to selling more photos and that sort of thing. Do you find that that's something you could possibly do as well? Is add in family photos or are family photos just expected as part of this?
- [37:42]
B
Typically, the family photo portion of it is done the day of the event, since that's when they're all dolled up and all, you know.
- [37:50]
A
Okay, yeah, that makes sense.
- [37:52]
B
We typically don't do family photos during the pre shoot. We've done some where it's like we just put the parents in there for a couple of shots with the quinceanera. But for the pre shoot, it is a little tough because the quinceanera herself is, like, getting hair and makeup done for, like, at least three to four hours. They're driving, you know, a couple hours out just to get to the Bay Area or wherever we're taking their pictures. So most of. Most of the time, the parrots are just like, dress to. For efficiency, you know, like, exercise clothes just to, like, carry all the things that they need to carry. The dress is super heavy, so it's hard to do pre shoot or to do family photos for that. But the day of, we always carve out some time to do family photos. So I don't know if that's necessarily the upsell for a quinceanera, but I would say that an upsell would be like a studio session, which is super popular for quinceaneras, because they. What's popular right now is that they send out this digital invitation that has, you know, music behind it. There's a bunch of, like, photos, basically. Like one of those wedding websites like Zola, where you can, like, send out the wedding invitation and it has pictures and all that stuff. It's basically that, but for quinceanera. And so the girls don't want to show what their dress looks like because the dress is typically always a surprise. So they'll have a separate session or it's just in studio or just a separate portrait session where they're in a colored dress that's similar to a quinceanera dress, and that is the session that they use to make those invitations. So that's another. That's one way you can upsell something.
- [39:27]
A
You just said is typically the dress as a surprise. Are there. I mean, obviously there are different Latin American communities who do this. Are there different cultures and or cultural traditions that you really need to be aware of. Or like, are you finding this out during your, like, consultations? Like, I would hate to be the photographer that shows up and just messes it all up because I didn't understand, you know, the cultural traditions.
- [39:53]
B
Yeah. So yeah, there's definitely traditions the day of the event that are kind of specific to a quinceanera. And then from there, if they want to add anything from other cultures, then, you know, those are things that they kind of tell us. So it's always really important as photographers for quinceaneras to have that scheduling meeting beforehand to go over the timeline, to say, like, at this time, this is when we're doing, you know, the changing of the shoe and the last bear. So I can kind of go over, I guess, some of the traditions that are typical in which is the changing of the shoe, which is when the dad will change their daughter shoe from something flat, 10 shoes, flats, cowboy boots into high heels. Or I mean, the more modern version of it is they'll change it from like Converse to really nice dunks or really.
- [40:43]
A
I know that's what they wear these days, these high school girls. Yep. I love it. I wish that's how it was when I was in high school.
- [40:48]
B
Right. Like the giant pump.
- [40:52]
A
So comfortable.
- [40:53]
B
A nice tennis shoes. Or they'll go a lot of times from crocs to like a bota or like in English is a cowboy boot. So it kind of depends on each girl. Right. So it's just a symbolic change of like, okay, I'm acknowledging that you're going from a little girl to now you're a young woman, not an adult yet, but you're on the way to becoming an adult. So it's just a nice symbolic gesture that they do. Some of them do do the high heel and then immediately take it off. But that's the first one. Then they get their last dollar and that's whoever wants to give it to her. Sometimes it's their. One of the sponsors, one of the Madrinas. It could be their younger sister. It could be somebody significant in the family that gives her her last doll. Another twist on that is that they give their last doll to the next quinceanera. That's always a really sweet one. They'll do a coronation, so they'll have a crown and they'll put the crown on the quinceanera or they'll change crowns. They'll also do a father daughter dance, mother daughter dance, and then sometimes they'll dance with grandparents or with the Padrinos.
- [41:57]
A
I want one.
- [41:58]
B
It's so nice, right?
- [42:03]
A
Oh, it sounds amazing.
- [42:04]
C
But other than those traditions, it's like a wedding. You know, you have the getting ready shots and then the, the shots with the dress before she puts it on and, and all of those details. From there we go to the church. Sometimes there's church, sometimes there isn't a church. But then we go to like the formal photos with the, they have, each girl has what's called the Chamberlains and Damas when we take photos with them, high energy photos usually. And then from there we go. It depends on the timeline, but we would go to In n out or like Chick Fil a or something like that. Yeah, because. Yeah, because most of these kids, you know, especially the, the young ladies, they get their makeup done from like 6:00am.
- [42:46]
B
So they're hungry by the time it's like 1:00 clock in the afternoon, they're like, give me in and out, I'm hungry. And then from that point, then it's just the party and all the detailed pictures. It's basically like the wedding, you know, it's just a little bit more relaxed when it comes to that. But with the traditions, it's really beautiful because like that's when all the family is there and they're all really emotional. Like you don't really expect people to be so emotional during, you know, these moments. But if you think back or if you think of a family member of, you know, a little girl that you saw be born, you see her through her childhood and then now she's an adolescent and then you're just like, oh my gosh, this like kid that I saw be born is now going to be an adult. And I think it kind of like shocks us as adults too that we're like, oh my gosh, I'm getting old too. But it's, it's really beautiful because like they'll do speeches, everybody's crying, the quinceanera is crying. And it's so, it's, it's really, really special. So those are moments that we get to, to see. And I think it's a moment too that especially with dads, they're like, my gosh, the next time I do this, or I'm dancing with my daughters maybe at her wedding. And then that's like a whole other thing where they're like crying the whole time and we do like a little slideshow for them or they see pictures from when they're babies all the way to them being a Teenager, they do their waltz. So that's something that's also traditional to quinceaneras. The girls will. With their damas and chambalanes, which is. Damas means the. I guess like bridesmaids, but for a quinceanera. And then chamelanes is like the groomsmen. I don't know if there's like, an English translation, but it's basically that. And usually they'll have anywhere between 5 to 15 of each.
- [44:25]
A
So they pick all their best friends, their cousins, their siblings, and it's like a. Like a wedding party, basically, yes.
- [44:32]
B
But they're all between the ages of like, 11 and 15. So it gets kind of crazy when there's like 22 of them, but they're. They do a dance. So they do a formal waltz. And then sometimes those dances they can have, you know, just one, or they can have four or five where they're just like. There's a full waltz with the champagne glasses that we've seen before where they're, like, dancing with their champagne glasses for their toast. We've seen just really, really elaborate, beautiful waltzes from there. They'll do their outfit change, and then they do a surprise dance. And the surprise dance is always a surprise. We never know if it's going to be something, like, traditional and, like, Mexican with, like, where they, like, jumping up in the air and they do a bunch of crazy acrobatics, which only the kids with good knees can do. Or, like, they'll do traditional dances, like where they're dancing with their traditional dresses, or they'll do hip hop, or they'll do just a variety of dances. So it's so cool to see that because the kids work on it for months on this choreography. And they're so nervous beforehand, too, because they're like, oh, my gosh, I have to perform in front of everybody. And then after that, it's the party. And sometimes families have banda, which is like live music or live. I think it's called Mexican polka music, which I think it sounds so funny, but it's like banda music. So it's the big, loud instruments, and the party gets crazy. I mean, it's Mexican parties or, like Latin parties. So like, sometimes there's alcohol. Most of the time there's alcohol. So the uncles and aunts and everybody's having fun. Not for the kids. It's not for the kids, but.
- [46:02]
A
Well, that's when you. When you were. When we were talking about, like, the kids being, like, the pseudo wedding party or whatever. I'm like, at least you don't have to deal with, like, the drunk groomsmen or whatever, because the kids are not going to be drunk.
- [46:13]
B
They're just.
- [46:14]
A
They just have a lot of energy.
- [46:15]
B
Oh, yeah. Which is. I don't know if it's better or worse, but, yeah, I know where they're like, get a picture of me jumping up in the air. And they're, like, literally jumping up in the air and, like, catching themselves with their. Like, their hands and their wrists and, like, oh, my gosh, we're gonna see an injury one of these days. And they're rolling around and, oh, it's so fun. You do get to deal with, like. Like, the drunk family members, but, like, Latinos are really. It's a beautiful culture. Everybody wants to share. Like, you're never gonna go to a quinceanera and leave, like, hungry ever. There's so much food.
- [46:46]
A
Love that.
- [46:47]
B
There's so much afterwards. There's fun. There's churros, there's tacos, and, like, the grandma's gonna come. Did you eat? Yeah, I ate the mom. Did you eat? I ate the uncle. Did you eat?
- [46:58]
A
I'm like, it's so refreshing to hear this, Abby, because I see I'm in a lot of photography, Facebook groups, and so many. I can't tell you how many posts I've seen from wedding photographers where they're like, they'll screenshot or just show a photo of the meal that they were given from the vendors. Like, cold chicken tenders and, like, soggy fries or like a, you know, a turkey sandwich that's been sitting out for two hours. And I love a culture that is like, you are going to eat and you're going to be our guest just as much as you are, you know, our hired help or whatever. That's. I love that. I love, love, love it.
- [47:36]
B
Oh, yeah. We need to take a picture of our next plate. When we go to a. All the plates of food that they'll give us, they'll send you home with food. Like, they're like, no, take it, you know, because what are we going to do with the food? Yeah, it's. It's great. The last quinceanera had just, like. Like, three different types of meat, beans, rice, salad, pasta. And then afterwards, they had, like, a little snack cart that had fresh fruit. They had popsicles because it was super hot. They had bread after. It was just. Yeah, you will never. With Latinos, you're never going to go hungry. You might gain some weight, so just keep that in mind.
- [48:13]
A
Oh, that's so good. You know, if I wanted to work weekends again, I feel like this is a genre that I might try and break into. You should. My weekends are just too packed. They're with my kids sports stuff now, and I won't miss that. So maybe when they're older.
- [48:28]
B
Definitely. Well, whenever you want to come, you can join us anytime.
- [48:31]
A
Oh, thank you. Gosh, it would be fun to experience it, you know, just to. Just to experience it, to see. To see what it's like, because it sounds really, really cool. The other thing, I was kind of laughing to myself because you were. Sometimes you can do a studio shoot, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. You'd have to have a massive studio. If you guys go on their Instagram, on Abby and Juan's Instagram, it's Padillakinse, right?
- [48:55]
B
Padilla is s. Yeah.
- [48:57]
A
Yeah. Look at the size of these dresses. They are so dreamy. Like, I mean, these dresses are just magical. They're huge.
- [49:06]
B
They're so heavy.
- [49:08]
A
I feel like you cannot have a tiny studio and do a portrait shoot with these dresses.
- [49:13]
C
It's almost never with the dress. Usually they have, like, a simple dress or something just for the invitation photos.
- [49:22]
B
Yeah, but if you are shooting with the dress, I mean, yeah, you need, like, a U haul to carry these dresses around. I'm not kidding. They probably weigh between 2015 to 20 pounds. And they have to wear petticoats. Sometimes the girls are like, they want it super big, so they'll wear two different petticoats. And it's always like, the tiniest girls have the biggest dresses. Like, the girls that are, like, barely 100 pounds, they're like, my dress is gonna weigh 40 pounds. Like, oh, my gosh. Can you handle. The pre shoot is always good practice for them, because, I mean, at least for us. Our pre shoots, they run about between five to six hours, multiple locations. And so they have the dress on for a long time, and they're like, this is when you're gonna see how you're gonna do the day of your event, because it's very similar. And so sometimes the girls are like, oh, yeah, my waist kind of hurts. So that's when we know, like, okay, let's just add something, you know, so that it's not going to hurt your waist as much, because typically, most of the time. And I can even say this from my own Quintanera, you leave that party with bruises on your waist because of those petticoats and the weight of the dress.
- [50:21]
A
Oh, wow. So intense.
- [50:23]
B
Yeah. The beauty is pain.
- [50:25]
A
Beauty is pain. I know. I was just. I was just going to say that. I always say that to my senior girls when I have them climbing into, like, wildflowers, where they're like, is there going to be snakes? Or, like, am I going to get, you know, bit by a bug? And I'm like, beauty is pain. Get in there. Deal with the thorns. No, I'm just kidding. But it's. Yeah. Oh, wow. Very cool. Well, this is awesome. One more question before we get into the last questions. I always ask at the end of each episode. Is there anything you, you know, something really significant you taught at WPPI that we didn't cover? Just, you know, just like a tip or a golden nugget or something that you want to give to people? I know. I'm just kind of throwing. Throwing this at you. Last second.
- [51:09]
B
Okay, so our WPPI class was in Spanish, which was so cool, because there's not a big, like, Spanish market at wppi.
- [51:18]
A
Hopefully we can.
- [51:19]
B
We can do that again. But we. We focused that class on the three pillars of photography that we like to focus on. The storytelling, the lighting, and the emotion. Because we really feel like when you have a grasp and understanding of the light and how to control the light, then you're able to do the rest of it, which is like being able to share that emotion, that show the emotion that family and the continent are feeling, and with that, be able to tell the story of the day. So that's what we really went over in our WPPI class, because a lot of the people that were going to the class maybe were more traditional quinceanera photographers that had kind of their formula for however many years that they've been shooting it, maybe the traditional way, where they feel like, oh, I have to do this, because this is how you do quinceanera photography. And we wanted to be able to break that for people and be like, hey, it doesn't have to just be one way. You don't have to just take pictures of quinceaneras like this. Like, you can really be creative and really create really beautiful images with your, you know, your own voice, not having to feel like, well, because this photographer does it this way. This is how I have to do it. Really finding yourself and your own creativity and be able to express yourself through photography to tell something really beautiful so that you can capture this day for the family. Because that's why they really want you there. Because at the end of the day, that's all with this wedding budget for a girl's first 15th birthday, like, the day goes by so fast that the parents really just want to look back and be able to relive that day. And if it's just like, not boring pictures, but if it's like, oh, that's a nice picture, we really want to be able to have them look back at the pictures and be like, oh, my God, I remember that moment because this happened and that person cried and, you know, be able to relive the day through these images. So that's basically what our quinceanera class was. And hopefully we can do more classes like that in the future.
- [53:10]
A
Yeah, I hope so, too. Juan, will you. Something that you had said, I would love for you to finish off with this, where you had said something about how you really want people to kind of break free of what they think quinceaneras are like, because in what you guys have covered is it's not just. It might not be what you. What you have the picture of in your mind, I guess.
- [53:36]
C
Yeah. Yeah. So I, I loves photographer. Like, I love the emotion, and I love the just the candid story moments of the day. And I feel like quinceaneras for a long time were very. Just traditional. They were just like, oh, here, stand, stand here, pose. Take the pretty photo. And then just moving on and getting those. Checking a list off. And I, I feel like there's not enough photographers that are taking. Taking risks and capturing those crazy moments that happen in every. Because at the end of the day, all of, all of the family members and the girl, they have so much energy invested in this one day that they have a mindset of what's going to happen. But at the end of the day, it's the photographer's job to capture those special moments throughout the day.
- [54:30]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Very cool. I'm excited about this. This is really. Yeah, I'm glad we talked about this. This is. I've learned a lot, and it's very exciting. And I hope, you know, I hope our listeners feel kind of invigorated to maybe give this a shot. If it's something that speaks to them, obviously has to speak to you, but. Yeah, yeah, very cool. All right, well, we are at that point when I'm going to ask you the last four questions that I always ask. And the first one, and if you have separate answers, totally fine to give two different answers. But the first one is, what's something you can't live without when you're doing a photo shoot or, you know, just Doing a quince in general. And it doesn't have to be a product. It could be, you know, because I'm going to ask you about product later.
- [55:19]
C
I think for me, I can't live without flash. It's very hard for me to do a natural light kincenieta photography. It's just because I feel like it's a lot easier to separate the background from. From the star, which is the quinceanera. So I love to work with lighting.
- [55:40]
B
I was gonna say my fanny pack, but yours is way better than mine.
- [55:43]
A
What were you gonna say?
- [55:44]
B
My fanny pack.
- [55:46]
A
Oh, my God. Hey, you know what? Everyone needs a good fanny pack.
- [55:50]
B
I think it has my emergency kit in there. I have sewn so many girls into their dress or sewn, like strain up into the. Just. I've bustled so many dresses or things pop off. So my fanny pack is the. Is the star of the show, really, of the day, the quinceanera.
- [56:07]
A
I love it. I'm thinking like, chapstick, my phone, you know, just the little things that you need throughout the day too.
- [56:13]
B
Sean definitely needs water. He needs like 10 gallons of water during an event day.
- [56:17]
A
Yeah, that's good. You gotta hydrate. Gotta hydrate. Okay. Number two is how do you spend your time when you're not working?
- [56:25]
C
For me, it's running. I have an ultra marathon next weekend, and I did 13 miles this morning right before the podcast. So that's. That's where most of my time goes.
- [56:36]
B
Yeah. And I kind of split my time between gardening, knitting, and Brazilian Jiu jitsu, so it's a nice balance.
- [56:43]
A
Awesome. I'm getting ready to close down my garden for the season. It's so sad.
- [56:47]
B
I know, I know.
- [56:49]
A
So sad. All right, number three is what is a photography specific product? So, Juan, maybe you could tell us what lights you use or, you know, what, what your lighting is.
- [56:59]
C
Yeah, definitely. For me, it's the GT200 by Kikodo. It's such a light, portable flash that I just can't live without it. And a 200 is just so versatile. You can use it bear bulb. You can put a modifier on it. And there's so many different beautiful tools that you could use with it. And it's just one thing in my camera bag that I can't live without.
- [57:22]
A
Awesome.
- [57:24]
B
I would say the widening a wide angle lens for me.
- [57:28]
A
Okay.
- [57:28]
B
Because I like to capture things really wide and really weird.
- [57:32]
A
So the 16 I would. @ the event, I would think. Yep, yep. Same with weddings.
- [57:37]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something wide with Some distortion.
- [57:41]
A
Are you talking like a 2470 or even wider?
- [57:45]
B
16 to 35.
- [57:46]
A
16 to 35. Okay.
- [57:47]
B
Yeah.
- [57:48]
A
All right. And then last but not least, what would you tell people who are just starting out?
- [57:55]
B
Jump into it. Fearless. Be brave. Put your own spin on it. Don't be afraid to speak your creativity through your photos.
- [58:06]
C
And for me, I think it's learn to see light more than focusing on your equipment.
- [58:13]
A
Yes, yes, yes. You guys, I still have my lenses from 12 years ago. I finally upgraded camera bodies to the R6. But seriously, I still have my lenses from before.
- [58:30]
B
We've only. We've never upgraded our equipment.
- [58:32]
C
Yeah, we started with the same camera six years ago, and we're still going strong with the same camera bodies.
- [58:36]
B
Same camera bodies. Yeah. We've only upgraded the lenses because someone stole our lens at a. At an event out of tricked.
- [58:44]
A
Oh, no.
- [58:46]
B
At a church. Yeah. It was crazy. Stockton, California, man. It wasn't the people that were going to the party. It was the people that. Because we left it on a pew and I guess it was just right next to a door and so always have your lens in, like a lens caddy around your waist. Don't leave it because. Yeah, somebody.
- [59:10]
A
Yeah. When I was shooting in Seattle, it was. There were multiple times when I walked away from my bag, not even, you know, eight feet away, and someone was ready to take it. I'm still, like, scarred by it fast.
- [59:22]
B
Oh, yeah, Always have. That's the thing that we'll tell, like, beginner photographers. Have insurance. Have photography insurance. It'll save you.
- [59:31]
A
Yes, yes, yes, yes. All right, awesome. And where can people find you online?
- [59:36]
B
They can find us on Instagram. Our main Instagram is the Padas underscore and our website, the bad studio dot com. But you can also find us on YouTube now because we started our. Our YouTube. So we're the B studio on there and that's where we're doing more educational. Educational videos.
- [59:58]
A
Very cool. That's awesome. All right, well, thanks, guys. Hopefully I'll see you at WPPI next year. Definitely.
- [60:06]
C
Yeah, we love wpi. We'll definitely be there. Yeah.
- [60:10]
A
Fantastic.
- [60:11]
C
Thank you so much, Nikki, for taking the time and doing this podcast with us.
- [60:13]
B
Yes, thank you.
- [60:15]
A
This was great. Thanks, guys.
- [60:17]
B
Thank you. Thank you.
- [60:20]
A
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 you to head over to subryee dasheducation.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 true everything to help make you a better photographer and to make you more money. Once Again, that's Sue briceducation.com.