An Unscripted Podcast for Photographers

Chelsie Lumen and her partner, Tori Lumen, are a queer and non-binary photo and video team based in New England. They started their business, Lumen Studios, five years ago. Today, they’re multi-award-winning wedding videographers with a knack for making people cry tears of joy every time they watch one of their creations. Today I sat down with Chelsie, and we discussed what it means to be an affirming LGBTQIA+ ally, and how this helps you attract queer clients too. We talked about inclusivity, growth, and responsibility, and she shared some stories about how she’s come up against all of this in her own life.Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thelumenstudios/Blog - 23 Ways to be an Affirming LGBTQIA+ Ally:https://thelumenstudios.com/attracting-lgbtq-clients-without-a-model-call/Blog - Representation without Tokenism:https://thelumenstudios.com/representation-without-tokenism-a-wedding-vendor-guide/List of LGBTQIA+ Friendly Wedding Vendors:https://thelumenstudios.com/lgbtq-friendly-wedding-vendors

Often featured on our feed and in the Unscripted App for Photographers, Marina Williams is a Utah-based portrait photographer making a name for herself on and off social media. During lockdown, she was left without subjects to photograph and locations to shoot them in – forcing her to turn the camera on herself. Spontaneous and resourceful by nature, she took a less-than-perfect scenario and used it to drive her creativity in different directions. Using bed sheets as backdrops and the glass from picture frames as light modifiers, she learned about the art of self-portraiture and the importance of slowing down.Marina’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinawphoto/Marina’s website:https://marinawilliamsphoto.com/Join Marina’s Patreon community:https://www.patreon.com/madetomakePhotos by attendees of Marina’s ColorPop portfolio weekend: https://www.instagram.com/shotatcolorpop/

Molly Grunewald is a powerhouse boudoir and wedding photographer, co-founder of Voyage Photography Workshops, and a passionate business educator. In this podcast, we discussed self-acceptance and the power of boudoir photography, a topic super close and personal to Molly’s heart. In a world that teaches women that their bodies aren’t good enough, the work of boudoir can be really powerful in helping us heal. Molly shares tips on how to help your clients feel more comfortable, talks about boundaries around photoshop, and discusses why being vulnerable is a key part of asking others to be, too.Links:Female Empowerment Photoshoot by Molly Grunewald:https://www.unscriptedposingapp.com/blog/woman-empowerment-and-boudoir-with-molly-grunewaldVoyage Photography Workshops:https://www.instagram.com/voyageworkshops/Molly’s Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mollgrune/Molly’s Boudoir Photography:https://www.instagram.com/boudoirbymoll/

This week, we sit down with Anni Graham, an insanely inspiring photographer who shows people the kind of freedom that’s possible in a photography career. Having booked elopements everywhere from Patagonia to New Zealand to Bali to Bend, she has a keen eye for both landscape photography and portraiture, blending the two so seamlessly it’s almost as if the landscape has a personality in and of itself. Join us as she takes us on a trip down memory lane to a life-changing weekend spent camping in the mountains and how this led to her rediscovering her ‘why.’ In this episode, we talk about the importance of self-awareness, how introverts can better show up in an extroverted world, and how embracing change can help drive your success. In the hour that we spend together, Anni generously shares stories, lessons, and tangible tips for new photographers to create a nourishing and sustaining business for themselves.Presets | @annigrahampresetsEnter the code TAKE20 for 20% off Anni’s Iceland Pack in the Unscripted App for PhotographersAnni’s newest presets are a collaboration with Meridian, and they’re called Lumine PresetsEducation | @immersed_educationhttps://annigraham.com/www.instagram.com/annigraham/

Magi Fisher is an experienced photographer, entrepreneurial business coach, attorney, and creator of two successful businesses: Magdalena Studios and The Artist’s Lawyer. She joins us on the show today, and we’re so glad that she’s here now (more than ever) because since the pandemic ruined all of our lives last year there have been all sorts of new buzz words and legal questions swirling around the creative industry. There’s no fighting it, our lives have been changed forever – and it’s super important that photographers are clear so they can be confident that their work and their business is protected. Did you know that if you’re just starting out, you need a contract now more than ever? More on that in the podcast. Me and my very non-legal creative break learned a lot during this chat with Magi, and I hope you do too! Check out her website here: https://magifisher.com/And her Insta here: https://www.instagram.com/magifisher/And for an exclusive discount on all of the wonderful legal resources in her shop, use the code unscripted at checkout.

Seven years ago, Emily Magers was just making her start as a photographer and feeling all of the (totally normal) overwhelming feels about how to engage contact with new clients. Now, she’s a six-figure wedding and elopement photographer teaching other photographers how to do it too. In a few short months, she’ll be coming out with a bunch of educational content that centers on the client experience. In this podcast, she lets us in on some questions you need to have in your pre-shoot questionnaires, why contact forms are about more than you think, and why she feels like she’s never “arrived”. Check out her website and Instagram here:www.emilymagers.comhttps://www.instagram.com/emily.magers/

“2020 was the strangest year,” said Brittany Boote (and everyone ever). But now that things are opening up again, we’re faced with a whole new set of challenges. How do you stay true to your ‘why’? How do you center yourself and your needs in the structure of your business? And how do you stay inspired and confident when the whole world around you is crumbling?In this episode, multi-award-winning wedding and engagement photographer Brittany Boote talks about what it feels like to be on the path to burnout, and how she leveraged the global pandemic to restructure her life and her business so it now supports a healthy and authentic version of success. She shares actionable steps to avoid burnout, tips on how to stay inspired, and new and refreshing approaches on how to shoot a wedding.Check out her website and Instagram here:https://www.brittanyboote.com/https://www.instagram.com/brittanyboote/

Are you spending hours trying to figure out the best way to reply to an email? Wondering how to convert inquiries into sales? Finding that clients have the complete wrong expectation and you have no idea where it came from? Well… when’s the last time you reviewed your client experience workflow? Chances are, having gaps in your workflow has led to some of the most avoidable problems and headaches in your business. Rachel Traxler is an elopement photographer, business coach, and educator helping photographers scale their business with strategy and purpose. In this podcast, she gives us some answers. She tells us what she wishes she knew when she first started out, talks about the turning point that led her to realize just how important the client experience was, and shares some actionable steps for photographers designing their workflows from zero. We’ve learned that with the correct client experience, you’ll see an increase in demand for your services, be able to bump up your pricing, and grow and expand beyond what you thought possible! There was an insane amount of helpful content in this episode. Our brains are exploding – to help you out, we made a worksheet to help you implement some of these steps and see results ASAP! Want to hear more from Rachel? Check out her Instagram or wrap your ears around her podcast!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racheltraxler/Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gold-biz-podcast/id1553374027"

Lauren Phillips of Love Her Wild Photography built her business on survival. Young, sleeping on friends’ couches, cleaning toilets, and needing to support her daughter, she created a Go Fund Me page to buy her first camera. Fast forward seven years and she’s at the helm of an incredibly successful business, with clients who fly her all over the world for her signature brand of vintage vulnerability. In turn, she creates the kind of work that is a perfect antidote to the airbrushed perfection we often see on our feeds these days - a treasure trove of moments where everybody can see their life reflected back to them in the most beautifully imperfect way. In this episode, Lauren talks to us about the importance of breaking the rules, taking photos for yourself, and how all of the wonderful and difficult moments of her life bring her closer to her clients.