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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 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 sign up. Today you're listening to the Portrait System podcast. I was so incredibly nervous the entire time. I wanted the whole thing to be perfect and it turns out they're still one of my most favorite clients. And then they both came in for the maternity session and we had a blast. We had so much fun. 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 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. Hi everyone. Today for the Portrait System we have a special episode and we wanted to do this because we often hear from people that raising their prices can be so scary. And what we find is that once photographers can really get that first great portrait sale, it's such a boost of confidence and it really just gives you the proof that you need that you can do this. I ended up making a post in our Sue Bryce education private Facebook group and I asked for people to call in and leave a message sharing their experience with their first $1,000 portrait sale. We ended up setting the bar for $1,000 because really that is the industry standard now for portrait pricing. And while we're we were talking about doing this episode, it really brought me back to my own first $1,000 sale. I will never Forget it. I remember I had someone call in. She needed some photos for her. Her brand, for her website. And, you know, I didn't even have a studio yet at the time. And I thought, like, I can't have her come to my house. I just. I don't know what to do. So I ended up renting a studio for $150. And she came in, we did her hair and makeup, multiple outfits. And then she had such a great time, and I did as well. And I really loved her photos, but still, like, this is. This was my first time that I was, like, expecting someone to spend more than a thousand dollars. And so when did her photo viewing, and she kind of quietly looked through them all, and I was like, sweating. My heart's pounding out of my chest. And part of me wanted to be like, you could just have them for 300, you know, so ridiculous. Anyway, she looked at me and she was like, I'll take them all. And I was like, all of them? But okay, okay. And she was like, how much? I was like, that's eighteen hundred dollars. And I didn't even add sales tax because I was, like, too afraid that she was going to be like, nope, Sales tax pushes it over. Like, so stupid. Anyway, so that was my first big sale, and at that point, it gave me enough confidence to actually get my first studio. So I did that shortly after, and then the rest is history. And I know for me, just. Just that that first one just really. It just pushed me to a place that I knew I could grow my business. So we ended up getting a ton of calls, and it's been so fun to listen to all of the other stories from different photographers. So here we go with the $1,000 sales for our first over $1,000 sale story that we're going to share today. We have Allie Sharano, and she lives in Tampa, Florida, and her studio is at her house, but she kind of jokes that she occupies one bedroom in her studio. I thought that was kind of cute. It took her about two years to go full time with her business, but since then, she's been going really strong. So for Allie's first big shoot sale that she wants to share about, she mentions that it took a few months to get her client booked, and I like that she mentioned that because she didn't give up. So, you know, in the end, even though it took a little while, she got a huge sale. And then this client ended up being a great evangelist for her. So let's just take a listen to Allie's story. Hi, my name is Ali Serrano. I own a portrait studio in Tampa, Florida. Ali Serrano Portraits and my first, I can't remember the first thousand dollar sale, but my first big sale was actually a $4,500 one. And this was in my second year of business. I have just joined B and I recently at the time and it was a referral from one of the chapter members. And this was a woman who was getting ready to retire, but she was still looking absolutely fantastic and she wanted to capture a portrait of herself. So we scheduled a consultation and it took us several months to actually get her booked because she had to reschedule due to personal reasons. But we finally got her on the calendar and I photographed her in four or five different outfits. And when we sat down to look at the portraits, she bought my top package and my jaw dropped. At the time when I knew what the total was, I could not say the amount. I had to write it down and put push a piece of paper to her so she could see the total. I've got one of those blocks where I'm having a hard time accepting that that's the kind of money that I could be making. So I couldn't say the amount and I was totally shocked. I know she is not a rich woman by any means. As a matter of fact, she had a huge amount of savings and she tapped into those savings to be able to get this portrait for her. She got a folio box and a set of portraits for her wall. And I was absolutely thrilled and shocked and amazed that that I could be getting these kind of sales. That's actually when I first realized that this would be something that I could actually sustain myself with. So that was one of my, one of my best sales at the time, one of my first big sales. And she remains an evangelist day. She comments on my posts and gives me huge recommendations and she's. She's been an amazing client. Thank you so much for having this opportunity. I don't know if it helps to say that I'm originally from the Czech Republic, so I've lived in the United States for 20 years and my portraits are a little bit more Europe inspired. I bring New York with me and every portrait's unique. There's none that's the same. Each one is customized to capturing my client's soul and telling their story in a way that it deserves to be told. I'm definitely a masterpiece artist in that sense. Like so many other photographers in this group, in this platform, every one of us are absolutely unique. If there's any information you'd like to find out more about me. My website is Allie A L L I E S E R R a n o portraits.com that's Allie serranoportraits.com Thank you so much. Bye bye. Our next over $1,000 sale is from Lizbeth McEwen with Liz Marie Portraits. She's located in Woodbridge, Virginia, but she's originally from Peru. And I just think this is the sweetest thing. When she got her citizenship here in the United States, her husband gifted her a camera. She knew nothing about photography at all. But here she is a few years later with her own photography business. And the sale that she shares with us came in a way that you might not have expected. So let's take a listen to how that happened. Hi, my name is Liz McEwen and my business name is Liz Marie Portraits. My first thousand dollars sale was two years ago. I actually sold my top package that at that point was 1800. It was a model call that I did for a family shoot that was my first time printing all the pictures for a printed reveal. I was very nervous because it was a family. There was a friend of us, and I just worked really hard print all the beautiful pictures and they could not choose, so they decided to take them all. I was very excited, very happy. From then I start doing printed reveals. And every single time I either sell my top or my half package. And I do now just digital reveals. But it's still the same sensation. Like the first time. Just making those beautiful images printed and shown to the people is the most amazing feeling that you can have as a photographer, especially when they take them all. Our next call that we got is from Oksana Kami. And Oksana lives in the suburbs of Chicago. And while she's been shooting since 2012, she said she really doesn't consider herself having been in business until 2017. She went from being a shoot and burn and a wedding photographer to making some really huge portrait sales after learning from Sue. And she actually made her client cry during her first $1,000 sale. And let's find out why. Hello, my name is Oksana Kami with Oksana Kami Portraits. And I would like to tell about my first $1,000, actually more than $1,000 experience. It was in November 2017. I had my first client that booked me for the experience I learned from Sue. At that time, I was a shoot and burn photographer. I would give everything for 275 DOL colors digitals only. I was doing weddings at that time and I felt that that was time to start doing what I really want to do. I found sue in 2016. I would learn from her as much as I could. However, I just didn't believe at the time that I can implement everything she teaches. And I waited for about a year till I made that decision to start and try. And when the lad called me, I tried to do everything I learned from Sue. So I did a consultation. I didn't have a studio at that time, so I came to her house. We did her and her daughter's hair and makeup. We would have an incredible session, a lot of fun. Everyone was happy. And when she came back to see her portraits, she cried. She was crying and smiling and laughing. And she told me she couldn't believe herself how gorgeous she was. And it was such a special feeling that I, at that moment I understood this is really something I want to continue doing. My sale was $2850 and everyone was super happy about that sale. I had a feeling like she would even buy more and she wanted to pay more. But it was such a shock for me that I just, I feel like I stopped that sale at that moment. But that was a necessary experience for me as well to understand that this is something that might change my life, that might fulfill my life. I stuck doing weddings. And since then I see my clients leaving happy from my studio with their portraits. And it's getting better and better. And I just want to say thank you to Su and all the mentors and to this incredible platform for teaching us and making us believe that we can change our lives. But we can also do something good for other people and for everyone who doesn't believe that they can do $1,000 sales or more, just try, try and enjoy the process. Thank you so much again. Our next $1,000 sale is from Jaima Finney with Jema Finney Photography out of Louisville, Kentucky. So J Ma has been a full time photographer for just over two years and what she shoots most is headshots and personal branding. She did this shoot all around the city and they included pretty unique animal when it comes to doing a photo shoot. So let's listen to Jayma's story. Nikki. Hey there. This is Jema Finney with J M Photography in Louisville, Kentucky. Just touching base about my first thousand dollar shoot. So I want to say this. Last May, I got a note in my inbox about an inquiry. It was through Instagram about an inquiry for a personal branding shoot. So that's mainly all I'm offering is doing personal branding and headshots for people. The message was from a voiceover actor out of Atlanta, Georgia. Her name is Nicole. The message said, hey, girl, I don't mean to be a stalker, but I have been watching you in your work that you're posting and I have to book a branding session with you. I am updating my website and I have all these great ideas and I know you're the one who can pull it off. And so, yeah, so that was it. So I called her and we had a big discussion. Just kind of what she had in mind and what she wanted to make sure that I understood. As far as inspiration, I charged her a thousand dollars on the nose for the shoot. It included hair and makeup and location planning. We grabbed her an Airbnb. I think in total, we went to maybe four different places in the city. She wanted to include her kids. So we had two little kids. It was 100 degree day, so we were ducking in and out of coffee shops and she had, I bet, 25 outfits. So there was lots of outfit changes. But like the most crazy thing that she asked for, she's a farm girl and she wanted me to find her fancy chicken. Like one of those fluffy chickens with the feathers, crazy pretty feathers. Took me about six weeks, but I tracked down a fancy chicken and we had a blast. Like, it honestly is my favorite shoe and it's for a million reasons. I obviously it was a big one for me because it was the first one to hit kind of that $1,000 point. But also it just, everything felt good and it clicked in and we got the look and the feel and the locations came together and just the suite of images that I delivered to her were so beautiful. So I am absolutely, like, honored that she drove up here and grateful that she chose me and so happy that she could see the type of photographer I was then I could be a good fit for her just through communicating through social media. So that's the deal. And I hope that you're having a great week and thanks so much. I'll catch you soon. Next up, we have Danielle Jenkins with Danielle Nicole Portraits out of Dallas, Texas. So Danielle did photography just as a side hustle for about 10 years until she decided she was ready to legitimately have a full time business because her previous company had crashed and she discovered Sue Brice. While searching for a way to make a living out of doing what she loves, which is photography. Danielle ended up attending portrait masters in 2018, and she said it was the exact catalyst she needed to get her studio open and running. She opened her studio that's actually in her garage just over a year ago, and she already has had so many $1,000 sales. And Danielle mentions that during her first big $1,000 sale, she was incredibly, incredibly nervous. And let's find out why. Hi, my name is Danielle Jenkins, and I have a portrait studio out of Dallas, Texas, and my first experience with a big sale that was over $1,000. My studio, that I had converted a garage space into a studio, had only been open for a little over a month, and I had a client find me on Instagram, and it was for a maternity shoot, and I was so incredibly nervous the entire time. I wanted the whole thing to be perfect. And it turns out they're still one of my most favorite clients. It was a husband and wife, and then they both came in for the maternity session, and we had a blast. We had so much fun. So I knew that the reveal was going to be just as much fun. I had done all the prep work. We have done the consultation. I had made sure to talk about all the pricing and everything upfront multiple times. So I was not nervous in a way that I thought they would not fully understand my pricing, but I was nervous because I was waiting to see if I was going to be able to make the sale after raising my prices. So turns out they ended up picking my middle package, which is $3,000. And once I accepted their payment and they left, I basically had a mini freak out and went inside, told my husband and my grandma how much money I made, and they could not believe it. And then I called my sister, then I called my mom, then I called my best friend, and I was so excited. And that was such a pivotal moment for me and my confidence, because I felt validated for the first time. And I was really able to take that confidence and know that if they were willing to pay me that amount of money for something that I created, then anybody would. So it really gave me the confidence to be able to not have my feelings hurt if someone didn't want to book with me. Before, I used to take it very personal, and now I realize, look, it's not personal. And if they don't book or if they don't buy, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're not good enough. It just means that you're not for everybody, and that's okay. So I really am so grateful for that. And I also proved to myself that I could do it. And so I believed everything that sue was teaching I saw all the other people in the group doing it, but I still hadn't done it myself. So I still had that little seed of doubt. But once I had that first sale, it was, it was a done deal for me. So that was my experience. And I've had many more $3,000 sales since then. I've even had a $6,000 sale, which was so amazing. But I continue to work towards keeping my average high and seeing how high I can push myself. So thank you. And that is my story. Ah, it's seriously so fun to hear these experiences. It's just the absolute best when other people are successful. And that's something we want everyone to achieve. And I have to say that having such a close personal relationship with sue, all she wants for her students is to achieve their goals. She genuinely puts her heart and soul into what she teaches and nothing makes her more proud than when someone is successful. And that's not coming from anyone except me. Seeing the behind the scenes of sue and you know, often with your mentor, your teacher, or you know, the people that you learn from online, you don't really get to see the behind the scenes stuff, you know, and she truly is genuinely the biggest cheerleader for all of the people that she teaches and it's just so refreshing to see it. So. Okay, our next story is from Rosa Sampolinska and she's located in Amosbury, Massachusetts, which is just north of Boston. Let's take a listen. Hi, my name is Rosa Sampolinska and I'm the owner of Rosa Sampolinska Photography. After years of using the basement of my house in my studio, co sharing other studio spaces with other photographers, I finally opened my own gorgeous space and I decided it was time to change my business model to an in person sales. And I went all the way. I printed out my pricing, I went to Home Depot. I bought three baseboards of which I attached to a wall. I painted it all black and created a beautiful black wall. I ordered my first studio sample portfolio boxes, I ordered mats. I bought gorgeous ornate frames and sizes I wanted to sell. I shoot glamour, boudoir and children. So I chose the best representative images for these re genres and I framed them and hung them on the wall and that was the first thing you would see when entering my studio, which was very beautiful. And when I found out about Su and watched her 28 days, I knew I was ready to go in with full force. I did not want to reinvent the wheel. So I decided to adopt Sue's pricing with no Adjustments. I just followed everything to the team. And one day, a mom of a 11 year old girl, that girl was a model. She found me on Instagram and after I posted pictures from a previous session with another girl, this picture actually won silver in the most Recent Portrait Masters in 2019. It was a picture of a girl with red rose in her hair. She absolutely loved photos and wanted me to take portraits of Isabella, her daughter, and she wanted a style photo shoot. We met for a consultation. I educated her on pricing and for wardrobe. We met at a local Halloween costume rental place and we chose five or six beautiful outfits from medieval to Victoria and a little bit of 1920s vibe, just different us. And this session was incredibly thoughtful and we created so many beautiful images. I don't have to mention how excited I was for the first reveal. That was my first reaction deal ever. But I also was so stressed because it was just a system that I never used before. And I remember I printed the images on matte paper on a Canon printer that I had at that time. And I remember vividly how I felt when I matted all of them and I put them on that wall and I couldn't stop staring. I was so, so proud. And finally the reveal day came. And when they arrived, I asked them to turn around. So what I do is I put the images on a wall, I cover them, and then I tell the clients to turn around after I uncover the review wall for the excitement and surprise. So when they had the first look, I saw that they really liked them, but they were both mom and daughter. They were both very reserved kind of people, so it was hard to read them. There was definitely no jumping and squealing. And I remembered Sue's voice in my head, say the prices and shut up and get out of your own way. So I did. After they had a few minutes to digest the pictures, I said, so these are all of your images. This is the top package. 20 images and it is $3,000. And I shut up. After about 10 seconds, the mother turned around, she said, we love all of them. And she took out her card. And I was startled. I was completely, completely caught off guard and I couldn't believe it. She bought my top package without even negotiating. And after they left, I sat down on the floor of my studio and I literally cried. Finally, what I had been working on for so long was paying off. I realized that the sale I just made was not an accident. It was a result of me working hard on all selling stages, from consultation, educating, providing exquisite service and experience during the session to the last stage, which was the reveal, I realized that the last stage directly reflected the quality of the initial stages. So I just needed someone in my life to teach me business. I had the artistic part covered. Business wise, I was like a lost puppy walking in the fog blindfolded until I found out about Sue. So for that, I wanted to thank you. Oh, wow. Rosa, we thank you so much for sharing your story and really for being part of the SBE community in general. It just means so much to us to know how much this education has helped you. And I have to say that I laughed when Rosa talked about how she remembered she needed to shut up and stop talking during the sales session because that's something that can be so hard to do, but it's so important to do when selling. Sometimes we're so nervous that we end up talking and talking and talking, and sometimes we talk ourselves out of a sale. So sue talks all about this in the sales intensive on the website. And I know I personally have learned so much from it, just like Rosa has. Okay, so next up we have Kelly Norcia, and that's spelled K E L L E Y N O R C I A. So Kelly Norcia photography and Kelly's located in Clinton, Connecticut. Her story really hits home about how profitable being a photographer can be. Here's Kelly's story. The first time I had a thousand dollar plus sale was in 2017. I had just found Sue Brice Education in 2016 and was feeling very much like a newbie. And I don't know that I had the value in myself. I didn't see the value in myself and what I was truly giving to people. I had a client come in who was a mom of two teenage girls. They were dancers, ballet dancers. And I took these beautiful shots of them. And when mom came to see the images, she came with her daughters. And the daughters fell in love with the images, and mom fell in love with the images. And at that time, my highest package was $4,000, and that included all of the images. And they spent some time looking through each of the images. And I remember feeling so nervous. And finally mom just turned and looked at me and she said, we'll take them all. And I maintained my composure, but inside I was internally jumping up and down and screaming and couldn't believe that I had just executed a $4,000 sale. And I remember feeling nervous as well because she was spending money for art that I had created for her. She has since come back. She just finished her second shoot with me, with her family, she has three children. Her two daughters came back with their son, and she came back for her reveal and looked at her images, and she ended up buying my highest package again. She bought them all. And she ordered wall art, which increased my sale to just over $7,000. Now, to put this in perspective, yes, that's a lot of money. And I was so amazingly grateful, but was so shocking to me was as a teacher, you know, I don't know what a $7,000 check looks like. That was more money than I could, and even the $4,000 check was more money than I had made in a month. And to have made that in an afternoon was mind blowing to me. Sue has really taught me self value and the value that I'm giving to others, and that is an equal exchange for what I'm giving them. They're paying me, and it's been an amazing journey. So that is my story. Thanks so much. Oh, wow. So, okay, so like Kelly mentioned, she's a teacher, and I have to say that I've watched her grow her business over the last couple years. Her work is gorgeous, and she is getting so close to quitting her teaching job altogether to go full time as a photographer. And I'm just so proud of her. A lot of us at sbe, I think, can really relate to what she said about making more money in one sale than you can make in a whole month at a job that you've had. I know I certainly can relate because most of my photo shoot sales are more than what one paycheck was for me as a social worker. So I'm really glad, Kelly, that you brought that up and really appreciate your honesty around that. Okay, so our next $1,000 sale comes to us from Lori Cloutier with Ordinary Moments Photography. Lori left the corporate world to become a photographer, and she lives in a small village called Schaumburg just outside of Toronto. Here she is. Hi, Nikki. This is Lori Flutchier of Ordinary Moments Photography in Toronto. My first $1,000 plus sale came in 2018, and it started out as a free portfolio shoot that I wanted to do. I wanted to try a tulle skirt, and there was a dancer in town who was very lovely. She was 16 at the time. She came into my studio. Her mom came with her, and we did several different looks. We did a few different cool skirts. We did some casual shots. The contrast shoot against white, black, different colors. Her mom loved the process, had a great time doing it and helping me throw the skirts and whatnot. I had them back about two weeks later to do the reveal and the mum came on her own. The daughter didn't come. I had printed all of the images and had a portfolio box made up. I had an enlargement made because there was one particular image that I really loved and a framer in town was going out of business and had perfect frame for it. So I had that set up on an easel and the mom, the minute she came in the room and saw all the images around the room, looked at me and said, well, you know, I have to have all the images. She was overwhelmed with the shots that we got and we sat down and we did the reveal on the screen as well, the slideshow. And she was tearing up. She just loved it. I picked a song that her daughter loved and she bought my top package, which was at the time $1300. And I was overwhelmed to price it that high. I had no thought that it would, you know, that she would actually purchase it. And to encourage her at the end when she was trying to decide, I drew in a second shoot for her to use within the next year for her son because she had an 18 year old son. So she did. She bought the full package and came back just this year in August to. So it was a little bit over the year, but I let it slide. She came back and had her son shot in August and just picked her images last week and bought my top package again. So it was quite successful. It's the only in person sale that I've done. I haven't been shooting a lot because I was away for a while in the summer. 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. But both times with her, it's been very successful and now she has asked, do I get a free shoot with this package? And of course I Said yes. Okay. Because she wants to do a full family session. So I'm hoping for a third top package. And I honored the first price even though I have increased the package price because I realize 1300 isn't even enough. I've upped my price. But I did honor it with her for her son's package and I likely will do the same thing with her third package just because she's been such a good repeat customer and she sings my praises wherever she goes. She tells her friends about it. So anyway, that's my story. I wish I had more courage to do it more often and increase my prices for other types of sessions as well, but hopefully I'll get there someday. I love that. How amazing that Lori gave away the session fee for free initially, but she ended up with not only her first $1,000 sale, but another huge sale from the same client. And it sounds like there might even be a third one. So I just love it. And yes, Lori, we have no doubt that you will get there and you're going to continue to grow. Okay, so our next $1,000 sale is Brooke Bailey with Brooke Amber Photography in Chicago, Illinois. So Brooke just switched over to a sustainable pricing model last month and she already had a huge sale. Let's listen to her story. Hello, my name is Brooke Bailey. My business name is Brooke Amber Photography and my website is brookamberphotography.com My highest sale in 2019 was around the holidays. I was so proud to make a $500 sale. I was so excited. I called my dad to tell him my new Highest sale is $500. Dad. Little did I know my highest sale would quadruple in January 2020. Just a couple months later. I had a goal of making a thousand dollar sale. I even put a thousand dollar gift voucher on my vision board as symbolism. But I ended up making a $2,062.50 sale. This client was my first opera singer. She drove to me from another state for a personal branding photo shoot with me. She's changing directions in her career and she said this photo shoot was the first step. This was the first inquiry I ever got that didn't start off with the question how much. She scheduled the consultation without even asking. During the consultation, before I was able to educate her on pricing, she said, this all sounds amazing. I'm so excited. Just let me know your pricing so that I know how much to set to the side. This was the moment I had the strength to give her a higher price list than I have ever given before. I had three price lists made at this point. My super low and unsustainable price list that I had been using all along. I had a dipping toes into the water type price list that was like a middle ground and then a third price list that is where I need to be. According to Sue Bryce's business model. I had only used the unsustainable price list up until this point. But this time I gave my middle price list. It topped out at 1300. The night before the shoe, I decided to write two more packages on the back just in case. She loved more images. I added a 1800 collection and a 2200 collection. I didn't want to be caught off guard. Unfortunately, I didn't get much sleep the night before the shoot, which resulted in anxiety that burned. Despite the anxiety, the shoot went better than I expected. Every step of the way, she expressed such gratitude. When she arrived, I went outside to greet her and help her carry in her opera gowns. She exclaimed, give me a hug. I feel like we're friends. During the photo shoot, I was guiding her through poses and we were connected and in flow. When she said, you know what? This is an amazing process. Everything. I'm really enjoying this. All her compliments were really important and helped to confirm that I am exactly where I need to be. At the reveal, she was overflowing with graciousness. I was planning on only getting like 10 images, but I can't narrow them down anymore. These images are so good. My last Opera headshots were 10 years ago and I look even better in these than I did in those. Do you take credit cards? Because I have to have all 15. This shoot was a game changer for me. It taught me that the IPS business model does work. I had only heard others success stories up until this point, but had not experienced it myself. It taught me that there are people that will not only value portraiture, but will also invest in it. This photo shoot taught me that I am good enough as I am, even when I am weak and crippled with anxiety. It taught me that I truly can build a career that's saturated with creation. After my client left, I fell on my knees and prayed. All I could think to say was thank you. I also called my dad again. When he answered, I blurted out, dad, ask me my new highest sale. He laughed and lit a cigarette and asked, what's your new highest sale, Brooke? And I told him, $2,062.50. Okay, so I completely teared up at the end when she said she called her dad Again, it just sounds like they have such a close relationship and how wonderful that she gets to share her success with them. And that just really, it just hits me right in, like, all the feels. I love what Brooke did there with her pricing too, because instead of focusing on how this client might not buy a package, she actually considered what if the client wants to buy more than what she had listed on her pricing already? And I have to believe that having that shift to positive energy helped her so much with her ability to provide great service to this woman and make this amazing sale. All right, up next we have Pauline Sewer with Pauline studio. And her $1,000 sale comes from a small village near Strasbourg, France. And she's a young mom and she runs her studio out of that small village in France. So let's listen to Pauline's first $1,000 sale story. Hello, Nikki. My name is Pauline Sur and I'm a portrait photographer at Pauline Studio. I'm very lucky because surprise was the reason I started a photography business. I just did what she teaches, and my first client came for a portrait shoot. It was my very first sale and it was €2,800. I remember the woman very well. She contacted me on Facebook saying we talked at a networking event and that she never had a photoshoot, but her biggest dream was to have beautiful picture of Ursa. She went on about how ugly she is and how she never looked good in photographs. The funny thing is, I never went to the networking event she mentioned, but I talked her into believing she could be beautiful in picture because she was actually beautiful. And she booked me. I did just that. I made her feel beautiful and confident and she wasn't planning to spend that much money with me, but she loved the picture so much, she bought a few extra to give to her three children. I was so scared. It was my very first day. I was scared she would ate every single picture and she wouldn't buy any. When she took my biggest package, I was so, so excited. When she asked for extra copies for her children, I couldn't believe it. She paid me in full. She wrote a 2,800 check right there. And I don't think I actually realized what happened until the money was actually on my bank account, you know, and it's funny because it's hard for me to believe people repay that kind of prices. Yet I made two other sales which were €900 and €2,300. It's really amazing. And I'm so thankful for what sue teaches because, you know, it works. Pauline, that is Such a beautiful story. It's so common that women don't believe they can have photos they love and feel beautiful in. And you did that for her. You made her feel beautiful and you made her feel proud of her photos. And I'm just so glad that you shared that part of it. And yes, what sue teaches does work. Here you are in this tiny little town in France doing the work and growing your business, and it's so wonderful. Next up, we have Emily Drew from Pleasant Grove, Utah. And Emily's been a photographer for 10 years, but she spent a lot of that time charging so little that she was really burned out and unhappy. And she ended up switching over to Sue's business model just over a year ago. And she told us it's been absolutely transformed informational for her. Let's listen to what she says about her first $1,000 sale. Hi, my name is Emily Drew. I own Emily Pearl Photography. My first thousand dollar sale was a boudoir client. I had actually only ever done one other boudoir shoot before, and it was actually her friend that had recommended me to her. And when I did her consultation over the phone, she said that she was on a pretty tight budget in that she was a single mom, recently divorced, had been through some things in her life that she was just really wanting to celebrate herself. And I told her, you know, I know you're on a budget. I'll do my best to work with you. You know, let me know how much you can do and I'll see what I can do for that price, basically. And so she paid her session fee and she came in for the shoot and she was nervous. She was nervous about her body, she was nervous about the whole thing. But luckily I was able to help her to be comfortable and to realize how just incredibly beautiful she was inside and out. And it was such a fun shoot. We did a lot of pinup style poses and outfits and some other things, and it was just so much fun. And when she came for her reveal, she brought her friend that had referred me to her as well as her daughter and her daughter's friend. And they were all just blown away by the images. And it made me feel so good that they were so excited that they loved all of them. She was so happy, she was crying. And it was just incredibly powerful to have her feel that beautiful and that confident in her own skin. And the coolest thing is that she turned to me after I'd showed her all the images and had a minute for it to sink in, and she said, Emily, you were worth all of this. And I'm going to pay your full prices. I'm going to make it work because you, I value what you do. And that was my first ever sale at my new pricing Sue Rice model pricing. And it just made me realize that what I'm doing is important and that my work is valuable. And the sale, I still just gave her my bottom price package sale, which was $1,200, and I gave her more for that than what I do now. But she was so happy and she wrote me later and it's actually a testimonial that I have on my accordion card. And she said, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You helped me see that I am pretty, desirable and worthy. You helped me see me. So thank you again. You'll never know just how much this meant to me. So it was an incredible shoot and it definitely launched me into being confident in what I. What service I provide to my clients. Thanks. What I really love about Emily's story is that she proves that how you make someone feel during their photo shoot is just as important important as the photos you take. And it's pretty amazing how not only was Emily making her client feel confident, but in turn, her client was doing the same for her and building her confidence in her skills. So pretty cool story. So our next $1,000 sales story comes from Johnna Marcus from Santa Cruz, California. And she started her career as a documentary and theater photographer. And she said she's so thrilled to just really have come full circle. And now she gets to offer fashion inspired contemporary portraiture. So really cool how it all came together for her. Let's listen to her first $1,000 sales story. Hi, my name is Jonna of Janna Marcus Photography in Northern California. When I first started working with Sue's model of pricing, I had a shoot scheduled for an older client. I was messing around with my pricing, wasn't really sure where it was all going to land, but I just took the plunge. I charged the $600 session fee, and the woman came in. She had a wonderful shoot. Everything went well. And then I spent the next week retouching 25 images for her to choose from. I was super nervous about the reveal because I had never done one before, and it seemed to be just taking a huge amount of work. You know, I was like, oh, my gosh, is showing somebody 25 images I've spent all week working on really going to equal a big sale? I really didn't know. I had never done this before, so. So I was super nervous when the lady came back for her reveal. And I literally memorized Sue's script and then just went for it. And the lady came, she looked at all her beautiful pictures up on the wall. And the most important thing I learned from sue was to not say anything, to just back up and get out of my own way and let the client just absorb the images and absorb the experience and just wait to see what they say. So I did, and the woman loved them, and she bought all of them. Now, I was still messing around with my pricing, so I gave her all 25 images for $2,100. So that plus the session fee equals a $2,700 sale. And I've since then sort of evened out my pricing. But it was my very first reveal ever, a year and a half ago with my superized pricing, and it was amazing, and it made a huge difference. And I can't thank sue enough for all of the advice and all of the great information she gives us. So you can do this, too. You just gotta practice your script, have beautiful pictures for your client to see, and it'll happen. Thank you so much for sharing, Jonna. You know, I actually remember feeling the exact same way during my own first big sale. And I was so relieved that I had to like a script to rely on. And, you know, you eventually tweak it to make it your own. But it's just so helpful to have a guide go by when you first start out selling. So thank you for sharing all of that. Okay, up next, we have Kate Styles from Richmond, Virginia, and she shares a really beautiful story. Let's listen. Hi, I am Kate Styles, and I am the photographer at Kate Styles Photography here in Richmond, Virginia. And I want to share with you guys the first time my IPS sales hit over $1,000. It was actually about four months after I found Sue Bryce, and her education program is absolutely incredible. I'm a boudoir photographer, and so I knew IPS was exactly the last piece that I needed to have that final connection with my clients. So I was really excited to start implementing that into my shoots and experiences for my clients. This client, in particular, contacted me in November. She had recently just lost 100 pounds. She was also really struggling with her marriage and just wanted to celebrate herself, which is something I talk about all the time. The one thing that really struck me about this client is when her and I talked about incorporating heirlooms into her session. She told me how she was so excited to finally wear her great grandmother's necklace. She had just been dying and itching and trying to find the right time to wear it. So she actually brought that in as well as her saxophone, which absolutely blows my mind. I'm not instrumental in any way. And so incorporating that into her boudoir session absolutely was so much fun. Her and I connected on so many levels, just about creating an inspiration and what makes you happy. So her and I had an incredible time from the first initial contact all the way through her session. And the part that I absolutely loved about her reveal session, she actually brought her mom in with her. Now, mind you, I shoot out of my home. And so when you come, sometimes my children can be heard in the background because they're downstairs. And they absolutely thought it was the cutest thing ever. And the other part that's really cool is that when her mom came and we started going through her images, not only did my clients start crying, just tears of joy, but so did her mom. And her mom said, I know that you and I talked about a budget limit before we came in here, but we can't leave without these. And so her and her mom together bought twelve hundred and fifty dollars worth. And that was the first time I had ever sold over $600. And I kid you not, I was in tears after they left. I went downstairs to my husband after they left, and I came to him and I said, oh my gosh, this is actually working. This is actually going to happen. They saw the value in what I saw in her. And, wow, this is actually happening. I mean, I told her the price. I was firm on the fact that I was really happy about it. I felt like she got that, and she felt like she got that. It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen. And since then, my business has been skyrocketing since. So I hope you can find courage in this too, because it is absolutely incredible. Kate, that was such a great story. I'm so glad you shared the details of shooting at your house, because it just goes to show that you don't need a big fancy studio to make this work. And actually, our next story comes to us from Shara York in Moncton, New Brunswick, in Canada. And she's also a great example that you don't need to be in a huge city or have all the fancy things to have great sales. So here is Shara. My name is Shara York, and my business is my beauty photography. And I just wanted to share. I had watched Sue Rice on Creative Live, and I got super excited. I went out. And I got a studio right away. My very first voucher client came in. We did a shoot. My walls weren't painted. I had nothing set up. The studio was barely even viable. And I did this first shoot, and I just. Just was full of so much excitement, and so. And I just couldn't wait to do the genre. And I did my first sale at. With this beautiful lady, and I sold $3,000, which blew away our. Our average at the time, I think, for portrait shoots was 400. And we were making. My husband and I are wedding photographers, and our average for weddings was, I think, was around probably 2, 503 grand. And so it just blew my mind. I had never had a sale like this, let alone for portraits. And in fact, it would have been higher, but I convinced her not to buy one because the package was a package of 20, and she wanted 21. And I was like, well, I'll just cut this one because. Because, you know, you want to go for the 20, and that's the package. Instead of just being like, yeah, upsell 20, 21, of course. Anyway. But I just wanted to share it because it was like. It was Sue's formula, and she. She said it was doable, and immediately was doable. And it just blew my mind because I. I live in a tiny city in Canada. Our province, the province of New Brunswick, is one of the lower socioeconomic provinces. And here in this tiny city, we had implemented Sue's formula. And immediately our first sale was $3,000. And it just was wild. So that's my story I wanted to share. Thank you so much, sue and Nikki and everyone who is a part of sharing Sue Bryce's business model. Thanks so much. Bye. Thank you so much, Shara. Honestly, hearing positive feedback like that really means so much to us. And just to know that the S BE model works no matter where you are, I. I'm sure it just helps a lot of people who are out there listening now. So really appreciate you just giving us that feedback. Okay. Our next story is from Crystal with Lovebird Photo. And bird is actually spelled with a Y just for reference. And she specializes in modern glamour portraits, personal branding, and headshots. Let's listen to her first $1,000 sale. It's super inspirational. Hey, this is Crystal out of Atlanta, Georgia, with Lovebird photography. My first $1,000 sale. It was actually my very first sale after taking Sue Brice education. I think that I had been studying with sue for probably about two weeks, and then I booked the shoot. A friend of mine had actually paid the session fee for her sister to have this 40th birthday photo session. And it was very simple. I didn't have much. I think I had just bought myself a pair of B flats and I set up everything out of her house. I did not have a studio or anything. I didn't have a wardrobe. I brought my own clothes from home. We got her dressed up. My best friend came and did the hair and makeup for her and she was so excited. We took some beautiful pictures of her in her living room and then a couple pictures of her were her kids and her husband outside. And I don't know what to expect. I was so scared of my pricing at first so I think my lowest package was like $300 and my highest package was a thousand. Well, come to find out she saw them and I was supposed to be showing her 25 images and I ended up showing her like 30. Well she bought all 30 so I could have probably got more money but I just chickened out and said hey, you can have all 30 of these for $1,000. And she said okay. And it was like nothing. So that was my first thousand dollar sale. The great thing about it was that, you know, it goes to show that it doesn't matter who your client is, if they value what you are offering then they'll pay for it. She was a schoolteacher. Yeah, her husband was works in it but you know, they weren't rich people, they were average working class people. But she never had done anything like that. She loved her photos, she loved her presentation and she felt that it was totally worth it. And that was my first thousand dollar sale and I have very rarely sold under a thousand dollar sets. I just love this story. Crystal, thank you so much for sharing and I'm so glad to hear that you continue to be successful with these big sales. I think that's so important for people to hear that, you know, when people share their first $1,000 sale, it doesn't just stop at that. This continues to go and grow. I mean your business can continue to just blossom and your average sale will keep going up as you do the work and as you do this more and more. So I'm just really glad you brought up that point. And you know, also I hope something you've taken away from these stories today is that everyday people will find value in what you do when you provide great service. So take beautiful photos, make your clients feel truly amazing. And you know, again, like you heard from everyone today, it's having the business model in place that can truly put you at industry standard for pricing. You can get there I promise. Just like I said last week, we love when other people are successful and that is something we want everyone to achieve and you can do this. 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 sue brice education.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 once again that's Sue Bryce education dot com.