Renee Bowen of www.reneebowen.com first appeared on the podcast in our start-of-the-year predictions episode, where some of the world’s best photography business coaches shared their insights.

In that episode, she talked about AI fatigue and how clients are craving real, authentic content—content created by you to showcase your true self, not some perfectly curated, made-up version of you.

In her photography business, she specialises in high-end luxury branding and portrait photography.

With a psychology degree, she knows how to get inside her clients’ heads, tap into what makes them unique, and combine that with her incredible photography skills to create personalised, next-level work.

Based in Los Angeles, she’s a married mother of three, host of the Tried & True With a Dash of Woo podcast, photography business coach, and course creator.

From the outside looking in, she’s running a successful photography business focusing on headshots, personal branding, and senior portraits.

In this interview, Renee shares how to create a profitable senior portrait photography business by creating images that sell and shooting what teens want and parents buy.

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

• Real > AI – Emotion beats perfection. Clients connect with you, not a filtered bot.


• Luxury meets psychology – Renee blends stunning visuals with buyer behaviour to sell more than just photos.


• From accidental to intentional – What started as headshots became a multi-six-figure brand.


• Redefining senior portraits – Editorial-style shoots that ditch the cap and gown clichés.


• Built demand from scratch – Educated a market that didn’t know what it was missing.


• Teens want cool, parents want keepsakes – Speak to both and win the booking.


• Model teams = marketing gold – Teens do your promo for you.


• Social media shifts fast – Facebook had its day. TikTok is now. Stay ahead or fall behind.


• Selling didn’t come easy – But strategy beats sleaze. Always.


• What works there won’t work here – Your brand, location, and audience matter. Don’t copy. Customise.


• Albums sell. Digitals don’t. – Tangible memories = higher spend and happier clients.


• $3500+ sessions? Absolutely. – When pricing, products, and experience align, sales follow.


• Set the tone early – Clear offers, smart pricing, elevated experience from first touch.


• Selling starts at the shoot – Use psychology to plant seeds, not pressure.


• Teens + parents = different vibes – Master both worlds for effortless sales.


• Instagram is your storefront – If you’re not visible, you’re not viable.


• TikTok is the new Google – Know how to be found where Gen Z searches.


• It’s not your town, it’s your mindset – Small-town photographers can charge luxury prices too.


• Design it, then sell it – Show off stunning albums to inspire bigger buys.


• Partnerships that pay off – Cross-promote with vendors who serve your dream clients.


• TikTok tip: keep it real – Short, raw, unpolished content wins. Stop overthinking.


• Coaching that goes deep – Mindset shifts, strategy tweaks, real growth—for photographers who mean business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what Renee 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, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the member's FB Group. What are your takeaways? What do you plan to implement in your business based on what you heard in today's episode?

By the time, if I've done my job right, by the time they sit down with me and we're going over their images, they already know they're getting an album, because I have pre sold that album multiple times, unconsciously throughout the process. – Renee Bowen

If you have any questions I missed or a specific question you’d like to ask Renee or if you want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to comment inside the Members FB Group, too.

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