577: D’Ann Boal – Confident Pricing and Personal Growth is the Path to a $4900 Average Photography Sale

PhotoBizX The Ultimate Wedding and Portrait Photography Business Podcast

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D'Ann Boal of www.smittenandswoon.com is a phenomenal photographer — professional in every way. Beautifully lit family portraits with natural expressions that look to be so much fun to be a part of for her clients. She has a portfolio most photographers would swap theirs for.

It's part of the reason she is a pro photo ambassador, leads photography retreats, is an instructor at Click Photo School, and a mentor at Click Community. She also has a Master’s degree in education and became a 5th-grade teacher but picked up a camera after her son was born and never looked back.

I love that she shared with me that there have been countless struggles in her 13-year photography journey. She's lost memory cards, been yelled at by clients, charged too little and didn’t feel valued, given away too much and not been thanked, and taken bad pictures without a speck of good light… the list is endless.

She also says and believes that if you value yourself, your success will snowball.

In this interview, D'Ann shares how confident pricing and personal growth is the path to a $4900 average photography sale.

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

• D'Ann shares her 13-year photography journey with struggles and successes.
• D'Ann pricing has grown over time as they prioritize their personal worth and family values.
• Emphasizing the importance of starting with high prices to create an abundance snowball effect, leading to better images and more clients.
• D'Ann believes there is a limit to how much she can charge. Her current average sale is $4,900, and she could potentially raise prices next year.
• D'Ann aims to balance work and family life by setting a yearly cap on sessions and prioritizing quality over quantity.
• D'Ann aims to balance client sessions (40/year) with personal life, teaching, and other revenue streams.
• Discussing imposter syndrome, revealing its impact on pricing and the experience she delivers to clients.
• D'Ann shares how she became more confident in her photography business but still strives to learn more.
• The importance of finding a consistent location for photography sessions.
• D'Ann shares personal insights on her photography journey, including embracing natural light and using off-camera flash when necessary.
• Prioritising the task of providing beautiful light for clients, even in cloudy or rainy conditions, and finding creative solutions when necessary.
• Having a unique style and in-person sales sessions are key to increasing profitability.
• Developing a unique voice and providing value throughout the client experience can lead to high profits.
• Delivering a great photo shoot experience, including personalized prompts and addressing client discomfort.
• D'Ann’s approach to delivering a great experience for clients, from the moment they arrive to the final image.
• The importance of personalisation and creating a memorable experience for clients.
• Using clients' names to make them feel seen and build rapport.
• Creating meaningful moments by having family members express love for each other.
• Suggesting prompts to clients to help them express their feelings and create personalized art, such as compliments or emotions.
• Using humour and empathy to put clients at ease during sales sessions.
• Decision makers present at the session result in higher sales.
• D'Ann explains how she approaches photography sales, starting with a slideshow and then asking clients to choose their favourites.
• Highlighting the value of packages, which include a 20×30 print, 8-10 8x10s, digital files, and a beautiful album.
• Using Pixellu Smart Albums for album design, pricing, and client options, showing 20-60 images per session.
• Using Pixellu Smart Albums to streamline the album design process and save time and money.
• D'Ann believes photographers must value themselves and their work more to be profitable.
• D'Ann sees a lack of bravery in pricing and selling as a major obstacle for photographers.
• How D'Ann's photography business gets booked 12-18 months in advance, with 20-30 sessions booked by December.
• Due to Colorado's golden landscape, D'Ann pushes summer and winter sessions instead of fall sessions.
• Balancing work and family life as a busy photographer, sacrificing hobbies and personal time.
• D'Ann shares her marketing strategy, which involves not doing sales or promotions but instead focusing on building a client base that values their art and is willing to wait for a session.
• Mentoring and teaching services to help other photographers improve their businesses and marketing strategies.
• Recommending Google ads for fast lead generation for photographers.
• D'Ann shares stories of mishaps and mistakes in her 13-year photography career.

I've just always thought I want to charge what I feel like my time is worth and what it's worth to me to miss tucking my kids in or miss having dinner with my kids, miss having a sunset with my kids and my family. What is that worth to me and that is where I have put my baseline prices. – D'Ann Boal

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I never did promotions. I never did incentives. I never wanted to market that way. I did mini sessions maybe for two years and I realized those aren't the clients that are going to value me and that I can give a really high touch experience to so I dropped that. So part of my marketing strategy has been to not do sales, not do promotions. I want the people coming to me that really sought me out and were willing to wait and loved my art and weren't coming for some cheap freebie thing. – D'Ann Boal

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In addition to everything above, you'll get access to instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable, and build friendships with other pro photographers with motives similar to yours – to build a more successful photography business.

Ensure that there is no ceiling on what a client can purchase. So I never have a package that includes all the digital or that includes all the images in the album, because I want to give my clients the opportunity to purchase more if they have the means and budget and they want to. – D'Ann Boal

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what D'Ann shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, leave your thoughts in the comments below; let me know your takeaways and what you plan to implement in your business based on what you heard in today's episode.

The underlying theme within all my work is gratitude. I'm so grateful for my business. I'm so grateful I get to do this. This is such a fun job. I'm so grateful I get to be profitable and then teach others. – D'Ann Boal

If you have any questions I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask D'Ann, or a way to thank you for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

I check for any new iTunes or Google reviews each week, and it's always a buzz to receive these… for several reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes and Google are the most significant podcast search engines, and your reviews and ratings help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and, ultimately, a better show.

I'm not so focused on a number. I'm focused on the quality of life that I have. – D'Ann Boal

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google. You can leave some honest feedback and a rating, which will help both me and the show. I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast. Email me your keywords or phrases and where you'd like me to link them.

The biggest business tip I have for being more profitable is having in person sales sessions. So if you've got your voice developed and your art is unique to yourself and clients seek it out, and you do in person sales sessions, and your prices are high, and you're giving a lot of value within like welcome guides, and the products you're selling and in every step of the experience the client has with you, your profits are going to be so high. – D'Ann Boal

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy, and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has impacted you and your photography business.​

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

D'Ann Boal Website

D'Ann Boal on Instagram

D'Ann Boal on Facebook

Pixellu SmartAlbums

Profoto

How the Stylish, Breakthrough Z f Can Change the Way You Take Pictures…and Why You’d Want To – Nikon article Featuring D'Ann Boal

Romance, Light & Magic in Photographs with D’Ann Boal via Nikon Creators

Episode 087: Sue Bryce – How to Make Real Money From Your Photography Business Right Now

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening and for D'Ann's candid thoughts, ideas, and experience on getting confident with higher than average pricing and personal photography growth has been the path to a $4900 average photography Sale

The most powerful thing that a person can hear is someone saying their name. It makes them feel so seen. So I use their name right when I greet them. – D'Ann Boal

That’s it for me this week; I hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks, and speak soon
Andrew

The post 577: D’Ann Boal – Confident Pricing and Personal Growth is the Path to a $4900 Average Photography Sale appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.