The Portrait System Podcast

Aamal Abed booked her Paris portrait retreat within 22 hours—but the work started long before she announced the trip. She joins Nikki Closser to share how a community built around celebrating women grew into portrait sessions, referrals and client retreats.After 15 years in corporate IT, Aamal made the move into photography and built Diamonds Portraits in Calgary. She explains how she created an empowering studio experience, found early clients through Facebook campaigns and developed a VIP group that welcomes women even before they book a session.The conversation covers consultation calls, session fees and print collections, client celebrations, and the practical choices behind retreats in Mexico and Paris. Aamal also talks candidly about slow seasons, public speaking, coaching and taking action while you are still afraid.In this conversation:Moving from corporate IT into a portrait business that replaced her previous salaryAttracting clients through Facebook campaigns, referrals and a welcoming VIP communityBuilding trust during consultations and explaining the investment clearlyCreating portrait retreats, including a Paris trip that initially filled within 22 hoursDiversifying through speaking and coaching while navigating seasonal slowdownsTaking the next step before you feel completely readyBuild your photography business with The Portrait System. Chapters00:00 Aamal’s portrait business and episode preview03:02 Leaving corporate IT for portrait photography11:08 Building a home studio and raising prices16:10 Finding portrait clients with Facebook campaigns18:43 Growing referrals through a VIP community24:12 Consultation calls, session fees and collections28:04 Replacing an IT salary and creating client retreats33:17 Filling a Paris portrait retreat in 22 hours37:05 Slow seasons, public speaking and coaching44:59 Nikki’s story behind The Light That Shines49:34 Taking action before you feel ready53:11 Favorite gear, life outside work and final advice

Kristina Svirskaite built her photography business from $150 sessions to an average of about $1,800 per client, all while keeping a full-time corporate career, raising three children, and working without a permanent studio. She joins Nikki Closser to explain how she made part-time photography fit the life she actually wants. Kristina shares what happened when the referrals that had sustained her business slowed down, why she returned to SEO and Google, and how clear website copy and transparent pricing helped attract clients who were already prepared for her rates. The conversation also gets practical about session fees and collections, selling albums and wall art in clients' homes, combining lifestyle and posed newborn work, creating relaxed family sessions, and building a proven pricing structure around limited time. In this conversation: Growing from $150 sessions to an approximately $1,800 client average Balancing a corporate career, three children, and four to eight sessions per month Rebuilding demand through photography SEO, Google, and consistent marketing Showing pricing online and attracting clients who understand the investment Selling albums, wall art, and acrylics without maintaining a studio Build your photography business with PortraitSystem.com. Use code PODCAST7 for your first month for $7. Chapters 00:00 Part-time photography is a real business 01:13 From $150 sessions to a $1,800 client average 02:32 Natural family and newborn photography without a studio 05:34 Balancing a corporate job and four to eight monthly sessions 07:40 Starting a photography business after becoming a mom 10:45 Why referrals slowed and consistent marketing matters 13:54 Photography website SEO and Google leads 15:30 Showing pricing before clients inquire 21:44 Collections, products, and a $1,800 average sale 29:18 Instagram strategy for attracting paying clients 33:40 Creating relaxed family and newborn sessions 42:55 Building a proven pricing model around real life

Rejection, unpredictable income and self-doubt can be harder to manage than lighting or posing. Photographer and filmmaker Ajani Charles joins Nikki Closser to talk about the mental side of building a photography business—and the relationships, routines and practical business habits that help him keep going.Ajani shares the story behind Project T-Dot, his long-running documentary project on Toronto's hip-hop culture, community and history. He explains why he stayed with it for 15 years before monetizing it, how commercial work supported him along the way, and what a personal project can offer beyond an immediate paycheck.The conversation also gets practical about finding photography clients: being useful, solving a client's problem, defining an ideal client and following up. Alongside those business habits, Ajani discusses the role that meditation, therapy, journaling and a trusted support system have played in his own life.In this conversation:Personal photography projects, long-term relationships and creative identityRejection, financial uncertainty and clearer business goalsRemembering your wins and finding support during difficult periodsMarketing through usefulness, trust and client problem-solvingIdeal client profiles, CRM follow-ups and consistent outreachBuild your photography business with PortraitSystem.com. Use code PODCAST7 for your first month for $7.Chapters00:00 The mental side of a photography business01:34 Ajani's start in art and photography04:10 Project T-Dot: photographing Toronto hip-hop10:11 15 years to monetize a personal project17:34 Rejection, money and creative-career uncertainty22:15 Remembering your wins when criticism sticks27:32 Meditation, therapy and journaling33:58 Photography marketing: trust and usefulness37:24 Ideal clients, CRM and follow-ups39:46 Taking action after a no45:27 Mentors and a creative support system47:51 Four final questions: routines, gear and getting started

Drew Forsyth is an award-winning portrait photographer and director based in the North West of England, working with commercial and advertising clients across the UK and internationally. His work centres on people who've given everything to be extraordinary at what they do — from dancers with English National Ballet and musicians of the BBC Philharmonic and the Hallé Orchestras, to Nobel Prize-winning scientists, politicians, and performers at the height of their careers. His photography has been featured by BBC News, The Guardian, The Times, and Rolling Stone, and recognised by the Royal Society of the Arts. He's an AOP Accredited Photographer and Fellow of the RSA, and speaks internationally at events like Photo North, Pas de Deux Photo Conference, and the Royal Photographic Society.In this episode, Drew and Nikki trace his path from a JCPenney-style family portrait studio to photographing world leaders, Nobel laureates, and major corporate campaigns — and he breaks down exactly how he prices that work today. They dig into setting boundaries on set (and how to say yes to more without losing your mind), why those early "conveyor belt" studio years became his real technical training, and why he believes his biggest competition isn't other photographers — it's being forgotten. Drew also walks through how he actually quotes corporate jobs (day rates, itemized breakdowns, and the cautionary tale of a client who blamed him for "cheap-looking" dresses), how personal passion projects like his "Breaking Ground" series and a helicopter shoot over Manhattan became his best marketing, and the "Helsinki Bus Station Theory" — his framework for why so many photographers give up on their style right before it becomes distinctive.Topics covered:Setting boundaries with clients without losing bookingsWhy "conveyor belt" studio work builds indispensable technical skillsThe accidental path from individual sessions to corporate/organizational clientsPricing corporate shoots: day rates, itemized quotes, and scope questionsWhy past-client relationships and personal introductions beat cold outreachMarketing through consistent presence, not constant hard-sellingPassion projects as a client-acquisition strategyThe Helsinki Bus Station Theory: staying the course creativelyIf you're building a photography business, want to grow your portrait photography income, or are curious about how to make money from photography online, this conversation is packed with actionable advice. 👉 For more videos like this, visit: https://theportraitsystem.com/ABOUT THE PORTRAIT SYSTEM:The step-by-step system to turn your portrait photography into a profitable business.Build a solid foundation for the portrait business you want. Attract the right clients over and over again. Confidently create the work you're proud of. Streamline, scale, and grow with purpose.Join an international community of thousands of photographers learning to build and succeed in their portrait businesses.With hundreds of specially designed courses to help you create and grow a profitable contemporary portrait business.Whether you're starting out or scaling up, The Portrait System gives you the tools to build a portrait business that supports your life.FOLLOW US: JOIN The Portrait System: https://theportraitsystem.com/ FB: /theportraitsystem IG: /theportraitsystem

Caroline White has been a professional photographer for 21 years — starting as an actress shooting headshots on the side before a burglary wiped out her equipment and pushed her into photography full-time. Since 2011 she's averaged six figures a year shooting personal branding for women entrepreneurs and coaches, and more recently has pivoted into a passion project: underwater portrait photography.In this episode, Caroline and Nikki dig into pricing high-touch branding packages (from $2,500 simple sessions to a $20,000 two-and-a-half-day shoot), the "asshole insurance" strategy that protects her boundaries while letting her overdeliver for great clients, how AI is affecting (and not affecting) the personal branding photo market, and her transition from packages to in-person sales for underwater work — including handmade, rhinestone-embellished prints. Caroline also opens up about the near-drowning experiences that shaped her fearlessness in the water and her ability to help nervous clients feel safe underwater.About Caroline WhiteCaroline White is a Los Angeles and San Diego personal branding, portrait and underwater photographer with more than 20 years of experience, known for photographing entrepreneurs, executives and women building distinctive personal brands.Visit Caroline's website: carolinewhitephotography.comTopics covered:Building a 6-figure business without weddings or paid adsHow marketing lag works — and what happens when you stopAdd-ons that increase average sale (rush orders, retouching tiers, split-day shoots)"Asshole insurance": overdelivering for good clients, holding boundaries with difficult onesAI's real impact on personal branding photographyUnderwater photography: gear, safety, and working with non-swimmersTransitioning from packages to in-person sales (IPS)Handmade art pieces: painting on prints, Swarovski crystals, double exposuresIf you're building a photography business, want to grow your portrait photography income, or are curious about how to make money from photography online, this conversation is packed with actionable advice. 👉 For more videos like this, visit: https://theportraitsystem.com/ABOUT THE PORTRAIT SYSTEM:The step-by-step system to turn your portrait photography into a profitable business.Build a solid foundation for the portrait business you want. Attract the right clients over and over again. Confidently create the work you're proud of. Streamline, scale, and grow with purpose.Join an international community of thousands of photographers learning to build and succeed in their portrait businesses.With hundreds of specially designed courses to help you create and grow a profitable contemporary portrait business.Whether you're starting out or scaling up, The Portrait System gives you the tools to build a portrait business that supports your life.FOLLOW US: JOIN The Portrait System: https://theportraitsystem.com/ FB: /theportraitsystem IG: /theportraitsystem