615: Blair deLaubenfels – Booking Luxury Photography Clients Starts with the Right Images—and Words

PhotoBizX The Ultimate Wedding and Portrait Photography Business Podcast

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26d ago 57:42

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Blair deLaubenfels of www.worldsbestweddingphotos.com and www.artlifeandbusiness.com was first interviewed for Episode 378 of the podcast, where she detailed the best ways to curate your portfolio to better market and promote yourself and your business.

She believes curation is the one big thing that can bring you bookings, recognition, and profitability with your photography.

Blair is the former co-owner of Junebug Weddings. The founder and editor-in-chief of World's Best Wedding Photos.

She’s written over 2,000 bios, created content for hundreds of websites, and is a regular speaker at top industry events.

In a recent email exchange, she wrote:

Since we last recorded in 2020, the wedding photography industry has been through many changes. There are new technologies and trends, and new challenges in terms of marketing.

I would love to talk with you about what has emerged in the last five years and how your listeners can boost their businesses now.

I was keen to hear more, expecting you'd feel the same, so I'm rapt to bring this interview to you.

In this interview, Blair shares how to book luxury photography clients and why it starts with the right images—and words.

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

Why your portfolio is your biggest marketing asset—and how to curate it with purpose
The massive industry shifts since 2020 that most photographers are still ignoring
How the elopement market has exploded—and why it’s a perfect fit for many creatives
The real key to attracting luxury clients (hint: it’s not just your images)
How to use your portfolio to speak directly to your dream clients
Why your words matter just as much as your photos when it comes to booking
The science behind first impressions—and how to win someone’s attention in seconds
How to define and connect with your ideal client more effectively
Why chasing trends can water down your work—and what to do instead
The power of consistent branding across your website, socials, and messaging
Why local referrals are still gold, especially for long-term sustainability
What AI can do for you—and what it never will
A smarter way to experiment with trends without losing your identity
How diversifying your work can stabilise your income all year round
When to invest in prestige marketing—and when it’s just ego spend

Blair deLaubenfels Photography Podcast

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, a fantastic back catalogue of interviews, and have ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Plus, special member-only interviews.

There's been a real explosion of elopement photography around the world that became huge during COVID and remains huge. – Blair deLaubenfels

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group, where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. The group also has FB live video tutorials, role-play, and special live interviews. You will not find more friendly, motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Seriously, that's not all.

Build your business around who you authentically are, because if you don't, you're going to end up getting burned out, and you're not going to like your own work. – Blair deLaubenfels

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.

Blair deLaubenfels Photography Podcast

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what Blair 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.

If you can get back to the people in 15 minutes, you're going to be the first person to get hired. – Blair deLaubenfels

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

How to Sell Like a Mofo – New Live Training for Photographers

If you’ve ever said “I hate selling”… this one’s for you.

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(Yep, the same legend behind “Advertise Like a Mofo” – Richard Grenfell is back.)

This live 2-part training is made for photographers who want to:

Feel confident on sales calls (even if you hate the phone)
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Session 1: Thursday May 15 @ 8am AEST
Session 2: Thursday May 22 @ 8am AEST
Replays available if you can’t make it live
Just USD$397 (price doubles after the live calls)
Register early and get “Advertise Like a Mofo” FREE (normally USD$197) or another awesome Masterclass.

Head here for all the details and to grab your spot: https://learn.photobizx.com/sell-like-a-mofo/

If you’re a working photographer and want to sell more without selling your soul — this training is for you.

Blair deLaubenfels Photography Podcast

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.

At the luxury level, the thing about luxury is, what makes it luxury, other than just the quality, is that other people can't have it. – Blair deLaubenfels

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 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 first photo they see, they're going to see it in much less than one second, and about 30% of people will decide whether to hire you right then. – Blair deLaubenfels

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.

Here are the latest reviews…

★★★★★ This podcast is a goldmine for photographers!

Via Google Reviews by Sydney Opera House Photoshoot expert, Sarah Gardan of Sarah Iris Photography, in Australia on May 2nd, 2025.

Andrew is absolutely amazing – his podcast is a goldmine for photographers at any stage of their business journey.

Every episode of Photo Biz Xposed is full of real, actionable advice, insightful interviews, and down-to-earth encouragement.

What sets Andrew apart is not just his deep industry knowledge, but the care he takes in showing up for his listeners week after week. He’s also sounds like a really great human being – kind, generous, and genuinely invested in helping photographers succeed.

Listening has helped me improve my marketing, refine my client experience and stay motivated. A must-listen for any photographer building a business they love!

★★★★★ All the questions you would want to ask

Via Google Reviews by Hunter Valley and Tamworth Wedding and Family Photographer, Eloise Moir, in Australia on May 3rd, 2025.

This podcast is full of relevant, super useful information with a range of guests specialising in all kinds of photography.

Andrew does an incredible job and asks all the questions you would want to, plus more I wouldn’t have thought of.

Recommend it to anyone interested in photography.

★★★★★ Totally 5 stars – if I could give more, there would be plenty more!

Via Google Reviews by Newcastle Commercial Photographer Linda Beks of ME Photography in Australia on May 2nd, 2025.

Thanks, Andrew. I have so enjoyed your podcasts and your friendly voice—it’s as if I have known you for years and years. You honestly get me through the most boring drives, as I always get to listen to your podcasts.

I have just been to the Philippines and every spare moment I listened to your interviews that I didn’t have the time for prior. I feel like I've taken you on an adventure too haha.

Even today, the day after arriving home, a 5-hour drive to Sydney for a day of headshots, you killed my time, totally loving it big time, and although being a professional photographer for over 20 years, I'm always learning something!

I also feel connected to the amazing photographers in your Facebook group; they and you are the best!

Again, big big thanks. Linda

Blair deLaubenfels Photography Podcast

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

Art, Life and Business Website

Blair deLaubenfels on LinkedIn

Blair deLaubenfels on Facebook

World's Best Wedding Photos Website

The World's Best Wedding Photos on Instagram

Episode 378: Blair DeLaubenfels – How to curate your way to photography success

Episode 168: Two Mann Studios – Careful Curation is the Key to Photography Success

Episode 012: Jerry Ghionis – Cooking Up Wedding Photography Success, Don’t Get Caught in the Fire

Episode 593: James and Schulze – How to break into the ultra-luxury wedding photography market

Curation is the one big thing to bring you bookings, recognition and profitability with your photography business. – Blair deLaubenfels

Blair deLaubenfels Photography Podcast

Thank you!

Thanks for tuning in. A big thanks to Blair for generously sharing this conversation—her perspective is a breath of fresh air in an industry that’s constantly shifting. She’s someone who’s not just watching the trends but helping photographers navigate them with strategy and heart. From portfolio curation to client connection and building a brand that truly reflects you, Blair packed this interview with clarity and direction. Hope you get as much from it as I did.

Don't confuse your hobby with your business. A business is a business, and you have to be 110%. – Blair deLaubenfels

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

Thanks, and speak soon
Andrew

Episode Transcript

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615: Blair deLaubenfels – Booking Luxury Photography Clients Starts with the Right Images—and Words

Andrew Hellmich: Today's guest was first interviewed for Episode 378 of the podcast where she detailed the best ways to curate your portfolio to better market and promote yourself and your business. And she believes curation is the one big thing to bring you bookings, recognition and profitability with your photography business. She is the former co-owner of Junebug Weddings. She's the founder and editor-in-chief at World's Best Wedding Photos. She's written over two thousand bios, created content for hundreds of websites, maybe even thousands, and is a regular speaker at top industry events. In a recent email exchange, she wrote to me saying, since we last recorded in 2020 the wedding photography industry has been through many changes. There are new technologies and trends and new challenges in terms of marketing. I'd love to talk with you about what has emerged in the last five years and how your listeners can boost their businesses now. I'm talking about the wonderful, experienced, talented, and great interview guest, Blair deLaubenfels, and I'm rapt to have her with us now. Blair, welcome back.

Blair deLaubenfels: Thank you so much, Andrew, what a sweet introduction. Thank you.

Andrew Hellmich: Look, it's a pleasure. What are the main things that you've seen that have changed since we last talked?

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah, so much, right? So people, gosh, what a challenging time COVID was, and now we have another set of very challenging situations going on geopolitically. So, you know, we've kind of gone from one pressure cooker to another, and there's been relief for many people in between. But there, you know, people had to rethink the way that they ran their businesses. A lot of people had to get much more serious about the structure and processes and how to do their marketing in order to come out of that COVID issue. Then we had a little reprieve. But it took a long time for people to start getting engaged again and starting, you know, to be involved again. And during this time, we had a ton of people enter the market. So that was already happening, but there's been a massive push to people to enter the market, and it's very easy to do nowadays more than ever, about the way that you show your website, your social media. You can seem like a very experienced photographer from a marketing standpoint, and you can find yourself in a lot of trouble putting that forward and then not being able to deliver. So I've seen, gosh, there's been so many trends just in a short amount of time. There's also been a real explosion of elopement photography around the world that became huge during COVID, and it remains huge. So there's lots of people marketing in that section. There's people who are still doing photo journalism mid-range budgets. A lot of new photographers have chosen to try to seize the luxury wedding market. So many of them have paid to be in Vogue and other magazines to sort of buy social capital. They've gone to a lot of high-end photo shoots, which are very expensive. So we have people entering the market spending a lot of money on advertising and photo shoots and things like that, to get into the luxury market, then finding out that if you're not a person who wants to work for the planner instead of the photographer, who doesn't want to take a lot of details, or who doesn't have a lot of connection with planners in general, in the relationships that you have, all of that money kind of goes to nothing. So my love for is always to make people successful because I love artists. I love artists of all kinds, and photography is my number one passion. I was a photographer for many years, wedding and portrait photographer before I launched Junebug. I always have my camera with me, and I think it's absolutely priceless what wedding photographers do. And also, really, I admire them so much, because there's so many different parts, right? You have to be a commercial photographer, you need to be a photo journalist, all of different things you have to do to be a good photographer, and you need to be a good person, right? And then you need to know how to run a business and deal with all the changing technology and all of those things. So I just have deep admiration for wedding photographers, and really just want to help them. So those are the main things I've seen those markets go in those different directions in the last few years. So I don't want to just go on and on. Let you ask me what you're interested in.

Andrew Hellmich: That's the review that gives us already so many things to explore. Before we dive deeper into any of those, can you give the listener an idea about what you actually do, like, what is World's Best Weddings? How do you bring in an income? And how do you work? What's your role in the wedding industry?

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah, so it's funny, if I actually would have stayed a photographer, I probably would have made way more money than I did. I made a good amount of money on Junebug. My journey was I started out in fine art school. I became a wedding and (Porsche ) photographer. I was very lucky to be able to do high-end weddings out of the gate, because of some connections. I enjoyed it immensely, and then I wanted to be sure that the people I was working with got good references to florists, to DJs, to all of those things, because I would just hate to go to a wedding and find someone disappointed. And my friends and I created a list of the best people in Seattle, where we live, and at the time, it was perfect timing for blogs. I went and bought a book called SEO for Dummies, and we went out of the gate. And timing was perfect for us. So we created a website that was very much about beautiful photography, and I created the contest called the best of the best and photobug and all of that because of my deep passion for it. And so it set us apart from the other places, because a lot of the media outlets, and they still do, and they did then, is they choose sort of a style that they like, right? So Martha Stewart, it's light and airy. It's been that for 20 years. Everything's a little over exposed. It has a certain vibe. Vogue goes through these wild swings of changes what they think is cool, and it sets trends that are sometimes horrific and sometimes actually cool and but people follow them and emulate them. And, you know, I have my feelings about that, so I feel. Oh, give me back on track here because I'm kind of, I'm thinking about so many things in terms of.

Andrew Hellmich: Yeah, I'm curious about, like, what do you actually do in the wedding industry now? How do you earn an income these days?

Blair deLaubenfels: Oh, yeah. So, yeah. So I'm so much about people having their distinctive voice and showing good photography and being able to recommend good people. So that's what Junebug was all about, right? And we decided to close Junebug. Just after many years of working together, some of the partners were ready to move on. And unfortunately, my only child died, and he was 22 years old. We still don't know what that was, died in his sleep. And so I took the money that I got from Junebug, which was really quite substantial, and I traveled in Europe for about three and a half years, and then I came back and launched the World's Best on what I had remaining, and COVID hit. And so that's been a labor of love for me. I actually don't make money from that, and we've turned down thousands of applications to join because I still am absolutely devoted to the idea that couples should have experienced good photographers at their wedding, because it is priceless to them. It can't be made back up. So it even though this is a labor of love for me, I was like, I'm not going to let it go, and I'll just use my consulting skills, which are, I've been writing since I was a little kid, and I've been curating photos for 22 years, and those are my two loves. And so I do that as a consultant, and I help people update their websites, create business plans, but mainly curate their work for maximum impact. So that's like curated so they can win awards, or they can get published, or they can create a portfolio and a home page that will get people to buy their work. And that's what I do most of and then, because I have just sort of a natural way with words and understand grammar and English very well, I often see there's a lot of issues that I see why I'm curating the photos. And then people say, can you fix that? And then I'll just rewrite the whole site for them on brand, right? So I think that is like, number one love is curation, number two is copywriting, but they're very close together.

Andrew Hellmich: Okay, that's interesting because I said in the intro that you know, you feel that curation is one of the best ways to get recognition, to be profitable, to bring in bookings, attract clients, but you're also a copywriter. So do you feel it's the photos or the words that do the converting? When someone comes to the website?

Blair deLaubenfels: Well, they must go together, and I think that's the thing. I honestly, I don't think I've ever seen a website that I couldn't improve, but most of them, I could improve a lot. And so a lot of times when people come to me and want to be on our site, I don't accept that application, because I don't feel like the user is going to understand what's going on when they get to their website, that they're not going to understand what it is that sets them apart, what kind of photos they can expect from their wedding. So I want it to be when somebody gets to their website, or that gets to their social media accounts, that they clearly understand this brand and they understand who they're dealing with, and you can't really do that unless your photos and your copywriting go together. And I would take it a step further with copywriting is that copywriting is there to support your photos because you're an artist, so even how long your paragraphs are, how big the font is, those kinds of things, everything should be supporting the photo. I'd like, right before talking with you, I was working with someone who had, they have beautiful photo, and then they'd have more text than it was necessary, and that would really run down the screen, and very much so on a phone. And I'm like, no, we need to tighten this up so the photo speaks. The whole point is to get the photo to speak and the copywriting to support it.

Andrew Hellmich: I understand what you're saying. Most websites, you know, someone will have, you know, a great hero photo at the top, or a little slide show at the top that will pull people in. Is that what you feel is what getting people over the line, those photos? Or do you think they have to connect? It's the words that actually make the connection.

Blair deLaubenfels: Well, okay, so the photos have to be on point for that ideal client. So the first photo they see, they're going to see it in much less than one second, and about 30% of people will decide whether to hire you right then. They don't know that they did, right? But if you sell them an emotional photo that is right on brand for you. So for instance, if that person is really wants to travel to somewhere spectacular in Europe, and they want this beautiful landscape shot, this epic sort of elopement, if you show them where they want to be and they connect with that, then they're going to decide to hire you before they read anything that you have to say. So, it's really photos do speak a thousand words in less than a second. So generally, what I do is I figure out I do all this work with the client before we ever even look at the photos, to figure out who is the ideal client for them. Then we go through and pick out the hero shots, like you were talking about. Then we pick out the first five shots are only for that ideal client. We'll take them on an emotional journey. So that first photo is going to either do a few things, either going to make them go, "Wow!", or they're going to say, "Ah", or they're going to say, "Yeah, I want to feel like that.", right? So there's these different emotional reactions we want to have from somebody. And you know, the client who wants the big landscape, you know, you want to show them that, but the person who wants to feel incredibly connected to their family, then it can open up with a shot where, you know, mom and dad are hugging them, or dad just saw her come into the room, and, you know, is blown away by seeing her in her dress, or these kinds of things. So once you understand what that ideal client is, then you can make that emotional connection. You make the emotional connection with the first photo, and then you take them on this emotional journey. So if you want it, let's say you're somebody who is specialized, and people love to party, you can have a great opening party shot. Then all of those other five photos are going to feel upbeat, but they're going to have that energy of, "Oh, this day is so fun!". Or, if it's a luxury person, you're going to want a photo where primarily the bride, you know, and I'm not being sexist here, but so a lot at the luxury end, there's a lot of women making those decisions, and they want, they spend a lot of money on items, and want to look a certain way. And so if you have that photo where the bride looks breathtaking, and there's this beautiful background, and then it's like, oh, and then she's swept away. And you know, all of this sort of perfume ad type stuff, right? That is going to completely connect with that luxury client. So it's always, it always comes down to your ideal client. Once you have that slideshow, then your tagline has got to go with that, right? So it would be really weird to get a party tagline under a luxury set of photographs. So I write completely differently for the party crowd, right? The party crowd is all about connection. It's all about fun. But at the luxury level, less is more. So when I'm writing then, I write a lot less text. It will be very much focused on sort of that, yeah, the swept away feeling, the graceful elegance. Things being very even more minimal with the photographs. How many you show?

Andrew Hellmich: Right

Blair deLaubenfels: It's more about, you know, as people have learned, it's more about as featured in Vogue, as featured in Elle. All this, you know, kind of what were the shoes she was wearing, what was the dress she was wearing. So the all becomes that kind of thing. But there's so many ways to be successful in this market, and the one thing I want people to do is just to stay with their distinctive voice, like what will sustain them and make them really happy about their own personal work. And then they can make the client around that, and then they can make the whole brand around that.

Andrew Hellmich: Okay, so the photographers that you're mainly working with or helping, are they trying to level up their business, you know, get into a whole new market, or are they just looking to capitalize on what they already do and do well?

Blair deLaubenfels: A few of them would like to get into different markets, but getting in the luxury wedding market, I'm always warning people, it is a different world. You are not working for the couple, you're working for the planner. So you're on a team, right? And the way that you behave, your etiquette, your dress, all of those things are very different, and there's a lot of very artistic personalities that are photographers, and they're not willing to do that. They don't want to do it, and wouldn't be happy. So if I'm helping them get into the luxury market, I also want them to understand the structure of working within it and be sure that that's a move they want to make. For the most part, the people I work with, love the work they do, and want to do more of it.

Andrew Hellmich: Right, okay. And just to be clear for the listener, are you generally working with photographers that have a revenue of, you know, let's say 200,000 plus, or 500,000 plus, or are you helping the $30,000 photographer that's looking to get to one and 200,000?

Blair deLaubenfels: Gosh, you know, it's everything. I have a mentee that was just here I was working with this afternoon. We actually have a trade that we do because she can't afford to pay me. But I've gotten her second shooting gigs with some of the biggest photographers in the world. You know, helped her in every aspect. And I would have assumed by next year, she'll be a very popular photographer. I think she has 19 weddings this year. But I've also worked with people that are big, famous names in the market. Some of them aren't as successful as you think, right? Might look like a lot of shiny from outside, but it may be true that they actually aren't booking weddings, or they're not booking them for as high as you would think. Then they've worked with people who you've never heard of, who work in, you know, middle America, and have thriving businesses because of the connections they have in their communities. So there's a lot of people like that.

Andrew Hellmich: Because with those three different examples. So the mentee that you were helping earlier, like, why do you do that? I mean, do you see something in her work that you think, well, she should be at this high level, but she's just not there. Do you see something in her work, in her personality?

Blair deLaubenfels: All of that, she has a really go to personality, right? She's a young, ambitious, really go to personality. And she does a bunch of social media work for me, in exchange, so I do like an hour of work for her, and she does like four for me, and she does a great job at it, and it's something that, you know, I can use my connections and my experience to save her time and money getting to where she wants to be.

Andrew Hellmich: Right, okay, that makes sense. So what about the famous photographer that you alluded to, or photographers that you know, from the outside looking in, they look to be doing incredibly well, but they're not doing as well as you might think. Is there a general reason why they're not going as well as what we think they are?

Blair deLaubenfels: Sometimes there's a lack of business processes, you know, there's too much time wasted on things. They can't shoot enough weddings, or they're a destination photographer, and they're spending a tremendous amount of time on the road, and they're not really paying attention to like, "Oh, I went to Italy, but then I spent another seven days there."

Andrew Hellmich: Right

Blair deLaubenfels: Right? Because it was fun. But at the end of the day, you still have to bring in a certain amount of revenue, so figuring out how to do that helping people figure out how to create other revenue streams in down season. You know, a lot of times you'll find out that somebody you say, "What do I love to shoot?" And somebody say, "It's really weird, I like to shoot food." Well, okay, so then why not shoot for cookbooks? Why not start something on the side? Maybe they want to shoot commercially, but they just don't know how to do it. And just giving them the encouragement to say, look, it's just about contracting all you need. Literally, in a weekend, you'll know how to do this. You can do this and pitch this. So helping people see what more they're capable of, and then really creating these very niche brands that are strong, so that people see the differentiator right away. And they're like,"I just want to work with them." One of the people I really like in terms of branding is just a fun couple in the UK, Emma and Rich, and everything about their website has this kind of almost hippie vibe. You know, everything's kind of these psychedelic colors, and it's just kind of crazy. But all the taglines, everything works. It's all cohesive branding, right? I don't just write for photographers. I also write for the primarily luxury wedding market for like florists and things like that. Photographers any market, but I work their luxury wedding market for other things, and having that exact tagline that drives them in and then shows like the work that backs it up, like it just having that niche, that feeling that you know exactly what brand you're dealing with, and nothing surprises you. None of the wording surprises you. There's no typos. There's nothing that stops the user from having the experience. And that's what I see all the times. I see people do good writing, but there's grammatical errors, there's run-on sentences, there's typos. So no matter how good you write, if someone's reading that, they're going to stop and feel confused just for that split second. But you never want your user to be confused about where to go or what they're reading. What about with that example, if people these days, you know, basically copy their copy, put it into ChatGPT and say, can you fix any grammatical errors? I mean, you're smiling as I'm saying it, but that's what people are doing. Wouldn't that give a pretty good result? Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, I love ChatGPT, actually, it's a great idea producer, and if you write, and especially if you pay the upgraded one, and you verbally ask it questions. And you just tell it to hold, you just say, "I'm going to just tell you all these things. And I want all this from you, but I know no feedback yet", right? "No nothing until I say 'done'". Then you get a lot of really good information. Like, if I want to write 20 ideas for a photo booth, I can put that into ChatGPT, and it will give me these wonderful things. However, it sounds so stilted, and it wants to say things like, "Oh, is this breathtaking this and that", has a lot of run-on sentences. It wants to do it like, almost wants to overthink. So, and I find that it's just a zero in the high-end luxury market. It says it's trying to do it, but it's just really overselling and try using a lot of, like, big words. I don't think it understands class structure.

Andrew Hellmich: Right

Blair deLaubenfels: The same way, I use ChatGPT for almost everything, and I end up just ripping a lot of it apart.

Andrew Hellmich: Right, okay.

Blair deLaubenfels: Because it just sounds so formulaic, but it gets stuff done faster. And I, one of the things I love it does for me is make hashtags.

Andrew Hellmich: Okay, for your social media posts.

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah, so I'll just put up my Instagram post and say, you know, here's the Instagram post, and what are the hashtags? And then I only have to add one or two, rather than, you know, make another 15. So that's really helpful for me as well. But people know when something is from the heart, and when it comes to photographers. I was just talking to a podcaster today that had me on a few months ago in the UK, and I'm doing the writing for his site. And what I'm doing is I'm taking the best of what he wrote, because that comes from the heart, and then, you know, really getting to know him and his ideal clients so I can write in his voice. But people know if it's not your voice, they know if it doesn't match the photos, something's not quite right.

Andrew Hellmich: Right, okay.

Blair deLaubenfels: And you know, GPT is never, it's never going to know, I don't think ever going to know people as individuals the way that real people do.

Andrew Hellmich: True, true.

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah

Andrew Hellmich: Okay, let me take you back to Emma and Rich, who you mentioned earlier, and you said, I think you said, you know, they've got that hippie vibe, and that's the sort of people they're trying to attract with a brand like that. Will they ever get to be high end? Because I feel like hippie isn't high end.

Blair deLaubenfels: No, they'll never want to be in the luxury market. They would, that's just not who they are at all. But they can charge on the high end of what they do. So they can charge in the mid-market at the high end. And so what I find in the UK, which is very different from the US, but in the UK, people are charging anywhere from 2500 pounds to 4000, sort of in that mid-market range. In the US, it's more 4000 to seven. But if they're doing 35 weddings a year, right, and they're running the business well, they can do okay. And also, if they're doing, especially if they're doing portraits, right, or they're doing other sorts of work during the off season, then they can easily make a good living.

Andrew Hellmich: So do you feel like the days of just focusing on the wedding genre are gone? Unless you are super high-end, like you need to supplement your income through the off-season or midweek?

Blair deLaubenfels: No, but you have to work so hard, if that's what, just what you're going to do like, I'm thinking of a woman here in Seattle. Her name's Sasha Reiko, and she just works like crazy. She's 40 years old and owns two homes. You know that she's, one of them she's paid off, and she's got a beautiful second home, and she's doing that all on just busting it in wedding photography. But she's doing, you know, two weddings a weekend, and packing, you know, and has a really brilliant marketing plan and keeps up with her past clients. It takes a tremendous amount of work, especially if you're doing it on your own in the wedding industry. That's why you have to be fired up. That's why I tell people you have to love the art you do, because if you don't, it's just not sustainable. You just, you won't have that excitement after the wedding to see your work. And if it's just rote, you're just going to get burned out and go, you know, get another job.

Andrew Hellmich: Yeah, that makes sense. And I think that's true as well. I think it's hard to be, you know, stay passionate about something you're just not passionate about. If it's just a grind and you're doing it just for an income that's very, very tough.

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah, nobody wants to be that way. And, you know, and I don't want to be discouraging, because I think photography, the skill itself, can be used in so many more ways than people think. I mean, just like, look what I did, you know, is like launched Junebug, and then have a consulting business and have World's Best and there's so much that you can do with your knowledge around photography. It's really just about how creative you can get and how much you want to work. So a lot of times when people say, "Oh, I have this horrible year in wedding photography", I just but "You're still a photographer, right? And you can still shoot anything." So figure out what else you love that you can monetize if it's low, and when things are great, then just shoot what you want to shoot. Just shoot weddings. But that's one of the wonderful things about being an artist, is you have this freedom to make decisions.

Andrew Hellmich: Yeah. I mean, I feel like I see this. I'm not sure if you see it as much, but I see a lot of wedding photographers moving into portraits, realizing that the turnaround time is quicker. There's less drama, there's less time between getting paid, and if you look at the hourly rate, it's probably more profitable for most photographers. Do you see that happening?

Blair deLaubenfels: Absolutely, that started happening years ago. And it is true. I have many friends who make much more money as portrait photographers than they do as wedding photographers. I also have lots of clients in the boudoir section. They're surprisingly making a lot of money. You think it would be so niche, but people there, there's not a lot of really good ones. So that's making, people are making good money doing that. Many people I know, I've gone into commercial photography, many, and even small, like things you wouldn't even think of like, there's a little town outside of Seattle called Snoqualmie, and it's very cute and charming. And the gal into a big wedding shooter there. You know, it rains constantly from November to April. So she has all these jobs where once a month, she goes into like a bakery or a woman's clothing store, and she takes all the commercial photos, and she gives them everything they need to put up on Instagram for the next month. And they sign up on a quarterly basis. And she's got all of this, like returning money, and she just goes in there and does these things through the year. And so if you have good connections, I mean, I think so much of photography nowadays is the who are your connections, whether it's connections with planners or it's connections with local businesses, with groups that you go to. One woman I work with, she gets all of her money from referral from just wedding group she goes to the, you know, whether it's like the international caterers association or whatever different kind of thing. She gets all of that through referral. So I think you have to match your art and your personality and just get creative and decide, "I'm not going to give up being a photographer. If that's what I love to do. I'm going to photograph whatever I have to photograph and stay afloat. And if what I want to do is weddings, then I just push on it, push on it, push on it. And good years, I'll be able to do that, and other years, maybe I won't, but don't give up." It's not a bad living if you're running your business well, it's not a bad living. But no, the only people I know that have ever gotten filthy rich on wedding photography are people that work for celebrities and celebrity planners, and then people who create product, or people that have really great education systems, like Two Mann, you know, where they've got a really smart and, you know, and expensive education system. So those are the people I see are like Jerry Ghionis, you know, with Ice Lights, and he's got, you know, reflectors, things like that, so if you have product attached as well. But again, that's one of the things I love. There's so many ways to approach this.

Andrew Hellmich: True, true. Blair, there was one other sort of category of photography that you mentioned earlier that we haven't discussed, and that was the one that you said, looking at them, you wouldn't know they're as successful as they are, and they're the ones with connections. You know, they're sort of flying under the radar a bit. I don't know if you use that term, but you said they're very successful, and it's because of their connections. Is that connections with planners or just in the community? What did you mean by that?

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah, so can be anything from, I'm working with a woman right now from North Carolina, and she's very attached to her church, and so she does tons of baptisms and confirmations and all of those kinds of things. And of course, those kids get older and they get married, right? And then when you're in that community, the families all know each other. So by the time you're shooting that, you know, the first kid's wedding that you shot their confirmation, now you're shooting all of them, and they're just coming and coming and coming. And the same thing is true, like I have a friend in the Muslim community, I have friends in the queer community. So if you have communities that you hang out in and those become your referrals for, like, lifelong referrals. Yeah, so depending on how you arrange that, now you can create your own community, right, where you like, do that through vendor relationships.

Andrew Hellmich: Right. Okay, so you're not talking so much then about, you know, having a relationship with a particular wedding planner who sends you a lot of work. This is more general, more broad.

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah, at the mid-market. At the high-end, you must have relationships with planners, because nobody plans their own wedding at the high-end.

Andrew Hellmich: Right

Blair deLaubenfels: So at the high-end, all of being in Vogue and all of that is not going to make any difference to your business in the long run, if you can't make relationships with planners.

Blair deLaubenfels: So that's why people go to these shoots, and they say they've been in Vogue, because they're courting the planner. And if they can get the planner to work with them, and they can get high-end planners to work with them reliably, then they don't have to do any other marketing, like, there's a couple in Los Angeles named Amy and Stewart, and they work for celebrity wedding planners, and they do zero marketing, zero like they're on World's Best but they, I think they're on there because they love me. I think they just, they love me in the in the brand, but they don't need any marketing at all. They're just busy all year long.

Andrew Hellmich: Okay. Are you familiar with James and Otto of James x Schulze?

Blair deLaubenfels: Of course, yeah, yes. Otto Schulze used to be on Junebug way back in the day, so when he was shooting, yeah, and then they got together, and they do a luxury education, right?

Andrew Hellmich: Yeah, and they do luxury weddings. I interviewed them not too long ago, but they charge $80,000 for their wedding photography. But they talked a lot about, you know, the only way that happens is through relationships with wedding planners.

Blair deLaubenfels: Absolutely.

Andrew Hellmich: And some of those, but they nurtured those relationships for years and years before they actually got bookings. But now they're coming.

Blair deLaubenfels: Yes. And John and Joseph are some of my dear friends in LA, they used to be in Seattle. Years ago, they would shoot 80-85 weddings a year. Now they're down in LA. They've got a whole slew of second shooters. They shoot for big celebrity planners. All of their stuff's on NDA, and they make so much money. It's just out of this world.

Andrew Hellmich: So is that a good market to try and break into? Or would you say, be happy in the higher end of the middle market, where it's less stress, less drama.

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Andrew Hellmich: So good. Well, one more thing I do want to ask you about paying to get into the luxury market that you mentioned earlier, before that, what is the best place for people to go and explore, to learn more about you, to potentially work with you to see what you do. Where should we go to do that?

Blair deLaubenfels: You can either go to World's Best Wedding Photos. There's a Contact Us at the bottom. You can write to me there. You can follow us on Instagram, write to me there, and then my consulting company is called Art, Life, and Business. And so it's just Art Life in business.com, and it's got a long name, but as I said, I believe in making everything holistic, and so when you work with me, it's about those three things, right? It has to be about all three of those things,

Andrew Hellmich: Art, Business and Life

Blair deLaubenfels: Because otherwise I don't think it works

Andrew Hellmich: True. With the World's Best Wedding Photos is that a marketplace for people looking to find and hire photographers. Or is it something else?

Blair deLaubenfels: Yeah, it is. So we have a directory for that, and we do the curation for it. So we build these really nice listings and profiles for people. And of course, we have a blog, and all the kind of things that a normal business that is pushing to couples would have. We also have a really highly searchable gallery. And so one of the things we do that other companies don't do is when we get a photo, we optimize it a lot of different ways. So we create a new URL, a new file name, we tag it for over 300 different categories, whichever ones it fits in to have this very deep database. And then it makes it easy for me to go in, like, for instance, this week's Instagram contest is the groom and his guys. And so I can go in and I can find that from 10s of 1000s of photos and choose the top 10 for this week that are just right in that niche category. And so we do a lot of promotion. We do welcome reels for everybody who joins, and then we do a lot of promotion on social media, and we're able to do a lot of it at a high level of curation, because it's pre-curated. So every single photo that goes on our site I curate, and it doesn't go on the site unless I've already think it's good. And so then I have this great database to promote people from.

Andrew Hellmich: Okay? And so not any wedding photographer can be listed there. Can they?

Blair deLaubenfels: Oh, no, no, no. People think I'm nuts. We've turned down over 3000 applications. We have 360 members. I probably wouldn't even have to do consulting, if I would just take the people that apply. But no, they have to be working three years full time. Have done at least 50 weddings, they have to show us they apply, and then I go through their website and all of their Instagram, you know, I literally read their whole website to see if they can come on, see if it's good, if I think something's missing, even if it's like just a big disconnect on the website, but I think their portfolio is good, I still don't accept them, because for me, I just put myself in a couple shoes. And so if the couple is going there, I want to know that when they get there, it's going to make sense to them, and that it's not going to reflect badly on me that I'm recommend it.

Andrew Hellmich: With Art, Life, and Business, like if you're going to do rewrite or help me with my website, do I answer a big questionnaire first, or do you just go to my website and start like working on it? How does that process work?

Blair deLaubenfels: Well, I give people the option either to answer the questionnaire or just to meet with me for free before we start, because I usually like to have a 30 minute conversation about the ideal client. Once I understand the ideal client and I understand what the goal is for that person. So let's say you want to move in another market for three years, or you're moving from Australia to the US. Or I want to understand, first of all, what is your ideal client right now? What do you want to do right now? What do you want to do three years from now? And so that is really important to me. And then I kind of like, want my client to convince me, because I don't want to create anything that they just think they want. I want to know they really want it, you know, because sometimes people feel like, "Oh, I'm going to go to commercial because I don't have enough money and I'm going to do that now". But I wanted them to convince me that they want to do it, because I don't want people to spend time and resources going after something that won't work for them. So for me, it's better if we talk. I prefer to just jump online and, like, get into that. And so then I know, okay, whatever we're creating is really, really what you want, and then I can go full bore into it. I also do a lot of SEO for people. I think some people feel like they have to do it. Some people don't need to. It just depends on who you are. Some people SEO is vital for their business. So I always, I look at that too. How much do they need that? How much do they need traffic from Google? Frizzy, I was just saying with Martin Cheung, he doesn't need any traffic from Google. He already has a ton of work, but he works, he does video with his wife, and that's not really on the site yet. He's not really getting enough video booking. So we're going to, you know, try to move for that fun party vibe and bring the video in. But somebody else might be, oh, they really have a chance to nail the market in Buckinghamshire, like, you know, right? Not in London, because I'm never going to tell anybody I can get them on, you know, number one in London, they take hundreds and hundreds of hours of work. Sometimes people live in a small enough place, or a niche place, or a high end zip code, and I can get them to page one. And so I'm like, "Okay, let's talk about that. Would that be relevant for you?"

Andrew Hellmich: Right. I just want to take you back to the copywriting for one second Blair, because I understand what you’re saying about the SEO, and I know how competitive those big keyword phrases are, but with the copywriting, are you writing? Let's say you're redoing my website. Are you writing in my language, or you purely writing for my ideal client in the language they want to hear?

Blair deLaubenfels: I'm writing for your ideal client in your language.

Andrew Hellmich: Okay, right. So that's why we have to have the chat and do the questionnaire,

Blair deLaubenfels: Absolutely, because I could write for your ideal client, but if it's not your language, there's a disconnect when they meet you and book you.

Andrew Hellmich: Okay. Because I imagine males talk well, I know they do talk different to females.

Blair deLaubenfels: Oh, absolutely. But almost every photographer, most of the decision is made by women. So, but you don't want to then start writing in a feminine voice. That doesn't make any sense, right? But you also, so what you want to do is, and you're not going to write a bunch of flowery words and things. That's not generally how men talk. But what I want is I want no disconnect. So when I talk about cohesiveness, there's zero disconnect. So if you write the website and then you jump on an online call with that person, you don't want to shock that person like, "Hey, wait, you sounded like this super cool party guy, and now you're all buttoned down. "What?

Andrew Hellmich: Yeah, okay.

Blair deLaubenfels: You know this makes sense all the way through. And what I love to hear from people is, what are the adjectives you use? What are some of the phrases you think that you use frequently? What kind of, you know, when they explain to me? And a lot of times I'll record what they say, and they'll say these little snippet things that are just brilliant, but they don't know how to turn that into writing, but that's the way you talk. That's your phrases. Those are the things that you use. And if I can use as many of the kinds of phrases that you use, and have those go to the ideal client, when they come to you, it's all going to make sense. And then they're going to say, "Yeah, I thought I was going to hire him. And now I'm yeah, I'm definitely going to."

Andrew Hellmich: So good. All right, this is perfect. I'll link to both the websites in the show notes to accompany this audio. The very last thing I want to ask you, because I know we've got an overtime already, and I can see it's even getting dark where you are right now.

Blair deLaubenfels: That's right

Andrew Hellmich: You mentioned earlier, you know, paying to get into luxury. And I think you use advertising in Vogue as an example. If I have the work to support it, is that a good idea? Or is it just never a good idea?

Blair deLaubenfels: Oh, if you have the work to, well, first of all, getting the work to support it often means having a high end wedding or going to a fashion shoot. If what you want to do is to be in the luxury market, you understand all of the trade-offs that you're going in, and that's the distinctive voice that you want to have and where you want your business to go, then it does make sense. But you just have to understand the whole package that you're buying into is when you're buying to be advertising in Vogue. You're not spending $500, you're spending 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of dollars. And when you're going, I mean, it can be 15, $20,000 to get a real wedding in there, and then you're going to these fashion shoots, and the fashion shoots can be six, $7,000 a piece. So it has to make sense that you're all in because that money has to be regained, you to have a business, right? Otherwise, you have a hobby that you spend a lot of money on. So those are the things I try to tell people. Don't confuse your hobby with your business. A business is a business, and you have to be 110% in.

Andrew Hellmich: A high-end brides or brides-to-be actually flicking through Vogue and potentially calling or booking or inquiring about those photographers that advertising in there?

Blair deLaubenfels: Yes, but what they're doing is, when they see the Vogue icon and it says published in Vogue, they're making a decision, a lot of times this will be less true over the years as this gets more out, because Vogue didn't always do this, or Elle, or, like all the big magazines do this now, but they didn't used to. So there's still a perception that they're not. And the couples are still having that perception of, "Oh, wow, that's really prestigious". If the couple cares about prestige, right? If they're spending a ton of money, let's say, you know, at the high-end, they're spending a million dollars plus. I mean, I should shoot weddings like that. And they really care about prestige. They're inviting business colleagues, you know, the whole it's a very different thing, if they're doing that, they care about that stuff. And so that social proof can be a big differentiator. It also can be for the planner, because the planner wants to be featured in Vogue. So if you've already been in Vogue and you have a connection with the editor there that you can then put another wedding into, right? They care about that, because every planner wants to be in Vogue, right? Or they want to be "Yeah, for here it's Elle, Vogue anywhere in the world." Elle, Martha Stewart, those are still running the game in terms of the luxury market. There are some other outlets I think Over The Moon is doing pretty well, but yeah, you always have to be speaking to this one niche of people and doing everything in your business to attract that one niche. And it's you know, again, as I say, if it's not authentic, you will not be able to continue it.

Andrew Hellmich: Beautiful. Blair, that is a perfect, perfect place to leave this. This has been fascinating. It's been enlightening. It's been educational. Thank you so much for giving up some time and for being here and sharing everything you have. It's been a real pleasure again.

Blair deLaubenfels: Oh yeah, thank you so so much. I so appreciate you having me, and it's yeah, very much pleasure to speak with you anytime.

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The post 615: Blair deLaubenfels – Booking Luxury Photography Clients Starts with the Right Images—and Words appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

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615: Blair deLaubenfels – Booking Luxury Photography Clients Starts with the Right Images—and Words

PhotoBizX The Ultimate Wedding and Portrait Photography Business Podcast

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published 26d ago

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She believes curation is the one big thing that can bring you bookings, recognition, and profitability with your photography.

Blair is the former co-owner of Junebug Weddings. The founder and editor-in-chief of World's Best Wedding Photos.

She’s written over 2,000 bios, created content for hundreds of websites, and is a regular speaker at top industry events.

In a recent email exchange, she wrote:

Since we last recorded in 2020, the wedding photography industry has been through many changes. There are new technologies and trends, and new challenges in terms of marketing.

I would love to talk with you about what has emerged in the last five years and how your listeners can boost their businesses now.

I was keen to hear more, expecting you'd feel the same, so I'm rapt to bring this interview to you.

In this interview, Blair shares how to book luxury photography clients and why it starts with the right images—and words.

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

Why your portfolio is your biggest marketing asset—and how to curate it with purpose
The massive industry shifts since 2020 that most photographers are still ignoring
How the elopement market has exploded—and why it’s a perfect fit for many creatives
The real key to attracting luxury clients (hint: it’s not just your images)
How to use your portfolio to speak directly to your dream clients
Why your words matter just as much as your photos when it comes to booking
The science behind first impressions—and how to win someone’s attention in seconds
How to define and connect with your ideal client more effectively
Why chasing trends can water down your work—and what to do instead
The power of consistent branding across your website, socials, and messaging
Why local referrals are still gold, especially for long-term sustainability
What AI can do for you—and what it never will
A smarter way to experiment with trends without losing your identity
How diversifying your work can stabilise your income all year round
When to invest in prestige marketing—and when it’s just ego spend

Blair deLaubenfels Photography Podcast