After 13 years as a professional photographer, Mac Dalton had photographed just about everything. Weddings, seniors, newborns, families, interiors… you name it. But even with all that experience, she still struggled to feel like an expert in anything.

Today, I'm chatting with Mac, a Behind the Shot student and current Rebrand member, about what it looked like to finally go all in on brand photography, build her confidence, and create a business she actually wanted to be known for.

Mac shares how she went from taking all kinds of photography jobs and constantly investing in education to finally finding the direction and support she needed to put what she was learning into practice. We're talking about what helped her make the pivot, why committing to one niche has made such a difference in her business, and how Behind the Shot helped her in this process.

We're talking:

• Why Mac still struggled with confidence after 13 years in photography
• How Behind the Shot helped her learn to plan and execute brand sessions
• The strategic free shoot that helped launch her brand photography portfolio
• Why niching down in your marketing doesn't mean you can never photograph anything else
• How community, feedback, and accountability helped her actually implement what she was learning
• Why a few slow months don't mean it's time to pivot again

Mac also shares how she's on track to make $10,000 more this year than last year, even after experiencing a slower season in her business.

If you've been photographing a little bit of everything, struggling to figure out your niche, or wondering if you're really ready to make the jump into brand photography, I think you'll find a lot to relate to in Mac's story!

Links & Resources

• 📸 Join the Behind the Shot waitlist! Doors open November 13, and waitlist members get 24-hour early access. This round includes my four-week Mini Session Challenge (November 23–December 18), three live coaching calls, and more!
• ✨ Rebrand: My 12-month program for photographers who want to attract and book more brand photography clients
• 📸 Grab the Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: www.maddiepeschong.com/shotlist
• 📝 Blog: More branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!
• Connect with Mac on Instagram or her website!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨

In 2021, I made $1,500 in one day shooting mini sessions. And my very next thought was, “If I can make $1,500 in one day, what else is possible?” Fast forward a few years, and I've turned mini session days into $5,000, $7,000, and nearly $7,000 again while working fewer hours. But here's the thing: mini sessions can either be a strategic part of your photography business or a quick cash grab that makes you look cheap (sorry, someone had to say it).

I know mini sessions can be a serious brand builder because I've seen it happen in my own business and with photographers I coach. But the difference comes down to how you position, market, and run them. In this episode, I'm breaking down the five things that helped me turn mini sessions into a repeatable, profitable offer that not only fills spots but also brings in full brand photography clients.

We're talking:

• Why offering mini sessions constantly can hurt your brand
• The pricing, boundaries, and structure behind my mini session days
• How one marketing shift added $2,000 to my mini session revenue
• Building a waitlist and sending personal invites to fill spots
• Why you can't quietly quit when bookings aren't rolling in
• Making booking seamless and increasing revenue through gallery upgrades

Links & Resources

• 📸 Join the Behind the Shot waitlist! Doors open November 13, and waitlist members get 24-hour early access. This round includes my four-week Mini Session Challenge (November 23–December 18), three live coaching calls, and more!
• ✨ Rebrand: My 12-month program for photographers who want to attract and book more brand photography clients
• 📸 Grab the Ultimate Personal Brand Session Shot List: www.maddiepeschong.com/shotlist
• 📝 Blog: More branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨

A client once told me she loved her brand photos, but six months later, she hadn't used a single one. Not on her website, Instagram, email, nowhere. And it's kind of embarrassing to admit because she paid me good money, the photos were gorgeous, and she had a great experience. So what happened?

I used to think that delivering a beautiful gallery meant my job was done. But if our clients aren't actually using their photos, they're missing out on so much of the value of a brand session. And that matters for us, too! Today, I'm walking you through what happens between the end of a shoot and the next time a client books you, because the gallery is the middle of the story, not the end.

We're talking:

• Why gorgeous photos don't always translate into photos clients actually use
• The resources I send clients BEFORE gallery delivery
• How to underpromise, overdeliver, and make your galleries feel more valuable
• Why culling your gallery might be your best positioning tool
• Gathering feedback, testimonials, and marketing gold from clients
• Staying connected and planting the seed for their next brand session

Links & Resources

• 💻 Join the waitlist for Behind The Shot, my course that walks you through how to price, plan, shoot, and deliver a brand session that gets your clients results. Doors open November 13, and waitlist members get a free training November 3, early enrollment access, and exclusive bonuses.
• 📝 Blog: Discover more branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨

A couple years ago, I treated myself to a boudoir session, and I'm still obsessed with the photos. But here's the thing: when I think back on that day, the first thing I remember isn't actually the photos. It's how I felt. I felt beautiful, taken care of, and like an absolute star. And that experience is why I still tell all my girlfriends they need to book a session with that photographer.

Your brand photography clients are doing the exact same thing. They're going to love their photos, but what they're really going to remember (and tell their friends about) is how you made them feel.

In this episode, we're talking about the wildly underrated experience on shoot day and how engaging all five senses can turn a great brand session into one your clients can't stop talking about. Because the experience is the transformation, and those little details are doing more for your marketing than you might realize.

We're talking:

• Why great photos are the bare minimum, not the whole experience
• The five senses and how they shape your client's shoot day
• Small touches that make a big impression
• Helping nervous clients feel comfortable and confident on camera
• How your client experience leads to better referrals
• Why the experience starts long before shoot day

Links & Resources

• 📸 Grab my free brand session shot list for 10 must-have shots that help you create more variety in your galleries.
• 💻 Join the waitlist for Behind The Shot, my course that walks you through how to price, plan, shoot, and deliver a brand session that gets your clients results. Doors open November 13. Waitlist members will get a 24-hour early access, plus a free training on November 3.
• 📝 Blog: Discover more branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨

“I would love to do a brand session, but I don’t even know what we would shoot. I just sit at a computer all day.”

If you’ve done brand photography for more than a week, you’ve probably heard some version of this. And if we’re being totally honest, you may have thought the same thing. What ARE we supposed to photograph when someone’s entire job lives on a laptop and inside their brain??

The answer isn’t figuring out how to make a laptop look more interesting. (Because the laptop is never going to be that interesting.) The question is: how do you photograph an IDEA? In this episode, I’m walking you through the process I use to turn what a client believes, talks about, and wants to be known for into actual shoot concepts that feel specific to them and their brand.

We’re talking:

• Where to find the ideas your client talks about over and over
• Turning concepts into props, actions, and settings
• Why the same idea should look completely different for different clients
• Running every shoot concept through your client’s personality
• Why creative direction happens before shoot day, not while you’re scrambling for ideas
• The laptop’s rightful place in a brand session (spoiler: it’s not the main character)

Links & Resources

• 📸 Grab my free brand session shot list for 10 must-have shots that help you create more variety in your galleries.
• 💻 Join the waitlist for Behind The Shot, my course that walks you through how to price, plan, shoot, and deliver a brand session that gets your clients results. Doors open November 13, and waitlist members will also get a free bonus training!
• 📝 Blog: Discover more branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨

Picture this: you finally get your first real brand inquiry. You’re so excited… and then you go to write the proposal and realize you don’t really have a starting point. So you open your wedding pricing guide and start shrinking things. Eight hours becomes three. 600 images becomes 60. You send it off, it looks professional, and then… silence. Or they come back asking, “Okay, but what if we only did an hour and a half?”

I know this is how it goes because it’s exactly what I did when I started brand photography. But it took me way too long to realize that the structure was actually the problem. Wedding pricing is smart for weddings. Brand photography is different. In this episode, we’re going one layer back to look at where our pricing habits come from, why hours and image counts don’t communicate the real value of a brand session, and what to do instead.

We’re talking:

• Why selling hours makes sense for weddings—but not brand sessions
• The planning and strategy you’re probably giving away for free
• Why your clients need fewer choices, not more packages and add-ons
• The problem with making clients decide how many hours, images, or locations they need
• The “so what?” test for turning features into actual value
• Why confidence in your pricing starts with your process

Links & Resources

• 📸 Join the waitlist for Behind The Shot, my course that walks you through how to price, plan, shoot, and deliver a brand session that gets your clients results. Doors open November 13, and waitlist members will also get a free bonus training!
• 📝 Blog: Discover more branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨

Someone is going to sit down at her kitchen table in the next few months, make a list of everything she wants to do for her business in 2027, and realize she really needs new photos. Come January, she may start looking for a brand photographer. Are you ready for what happens when she finds you??

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about marketing lately, and for good reason. But you can’t pour marketing juice into a leaky cup. More inquiries are great—until the process those clients enter isn’t giving them the experience or the photos they came for.

In this episode, we’re looking at the part of your business that happens after your marketing works. I’m walking you through four questions to help you audit your client process before Q1 gets busy.

We’re talking:

• Whether your pricing makes the value clear—or leaves inquiries overwhelmed
• What your past galleries reveal about how you plan sessions
• How both you and your clients feel during a shoot
• Whether clients are using their photos, rebooking, and referring others
• Why you need actual numbers for this audit, not just vibes

Links & Resources

• ✨ Over the coming weeks, we’ll go deeper into pricing, planning, shooting, and delivery. I’m also opening the doors to Behind the Shot November 13–20. Join the waitlist to get a free training before doors open and access to the waitlist bonuses.
• 📝 Blog: Discover more branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨

A couple weeks ago on this very podcast, I said referrals are not a marketing strategy. And because nothing is ever black and white in my brain, the second I said it, I thought, “Well… they can be, though.” 😅

Here’s what I realized: referrals haven’t gone away. They’ve gone digital. “I’m going to send you her Instagram” is the new referral. Someone hears your name from a friend, past client, or business owner they trust—and then they go look you up. They binge your Instagram. They read your website. Maybe they listen to your podcast. And what they find online can either build on the trust that referral created… or make them question it.

For brand photographers especially, that matters. You’re asking people to trust you with their brand, which means your own online presence is doing a whole lot more than just looking pretty. That's what this episode is about.

We’re talking:

• Why word of mouth has officially gone digital
• What referrals are actually doing after they hear your name
• Why “hot mess” isn’t a strategy for brand photographers
• The difference between being yourself and intentionally curating your brand
• How your online presence can shorten the time it takes someone to trust you
• Why building your brand before you have more time and money isn’t backwards—it’s how you get there

Links & Resources

• ✨ Join me for Invisible to Inquiries, my upcoming masterclass on September 10 (at 12pm CST) about building a brand with a backbone, getting visible, and turning that visibility into inquiries
• ✨ Learn more about Rebrand, my group program where you get content reviews, marketing and business coaching, and support in becoming a booked out brand photographer. Learn more here!
• 📝 Blog: Discover more branding tips and marketing tools to grow your brand photography business
• 💬 Episode ideas?! Connect with me on Instagram!

Let's Connect:

• Website: maddiepeschong.com
• Instagram: @maddiepeschong

If you loved this episode, leave a review! It helps other photographers find the show and keeps us creating content you actually want to hear.🎙️✨