Tell us about yourself! We’d love to hear about your family, hobbies, and favorite food- tell us about your favorite things!
I am about to turn 32 this V-day, have a boyfriend I just bought a house with and shared a 10th anniversary with on New Years, and we have 2 dogs together. I like to break out into crazy dancing and sing too much, sometimes wish my life was a musical. I love cheeseburgers, the rain, and cuddling :]
What is your favorite thing about being a photographer?
Making art.
What is the name of your company?
Boudoir By Elise
Talk to us about your life pre-photography (if applicable). Did you have a day job? Do you still have that day job? If not, when did you quit? If you did have a day job prior to becoming a full time photographer, what did you learn from your day job? Are there any lessons you learned that carried over into your photography business? Tell us the story that got you to where you are today!
I have been photographing for 15 years now, but only tried to make a go of it 5 years ago. I have had part time jobs off and on for the last 5 years or so, thats when I jumped into photography as more than a hobby. Before that, I had been a manager at several restaurants, worked in marketing for a bit, and tried to start a magazine (which was fun but didn’t get enough Ad $ to go to print before we were put on lockdown and it died), plus various other small side gigs along the way.
In 2019, I did a year long apprenticeship with an internationally awarded photographer and during that is when I decided I wanted to pursue boudoir, specifically, from now on and launched my boudoir website in 2020. I am on to my 3rd year shooting boudoir exclusively and just starting to break even every year, but still walking away from the year having made the most money I have ever made in a year. I am currently booked out 6 months, the most I have been booked out before and am excited about growing!
Can you tell us more about your photography business prior to joining Mastermind, what you did when you started, previous genres shot, clients per month/year, last calendar year revenue, IPS involvement, and average sale?
I think I bought this course in 2021, and to my shame I have still only gotten through some chunks of it here and there.I did any kind of genre I could get before I decided to do boudoir alone. My favorite besides boudoir is food <3Maybe 10-12 client per year lol.Not sure prior to the mastermind exactly how much I made from photography, at the time I didn’t think it was enough to care to keep track of how much I got from just my photography alone. I was in my first year of my boudoir biz and just setting stuff up when I joined. I don’t know how much I made that year before the mastermind but it couldn’t have been more than 3k for the whole year to be honest.Started doing IPS the year before I joined the mastermind but I started because I was watching Jenn’s free content.
Can you share some details about your work after joining Mastermind, including the first thing implemented, the current genre being shot, clients per month/year, YTD and monthly revenue, IPS involvement, average sale, and most purchased items by clients (digital, albums, or wall art)?
First thing I implemented was the pricing structure the year before I joined the mastermind, but I can’t remember what the first thing I implemented after I purchased it.Just Boudoir.Bookings have been spotty the last 2.5 years then this last fall I was booked almost 1 a week for the whole fall and am currently booked 1 a week solid for the next 6 months. 6 months ahead was my goal before stepping away from my current day job, I will be done working there in about a month or so.Lol well, last year I made about $35k but overall spent about $36k… yeah. Need to tighten up the ship more.Yes, doing IPS.Average sale is about $2152, I had a few $3-4k sales but they opted for payment plans so not much in the door right now.Albums and digitals mostly.
Do you have support staff? If so, tell us about them! For example- how many photographers, HMUAs, assistants, managers, etc. do you employ?
I have a beauty salon that I have teamed with for the last 3 years. I HAD a virtual assistant for about a year at one point but gradually she stopped doing the day to day stuff she was tasked with, made it look like she was doing things and kept collecting the money so I cut her loose. Haven’t found anybody even as reliable as her since then lol. The last assistant I hired found out she was pregnant after the first shoot and told me she got a full time job instead. Even the retouchers I hired didn’t do what they were supposed to do or messed up more images than they saved me time. I have tried 3 different marketers nothing came of those efforts either. I REALLY want to hire an office manager or at least an assistant but now I have trust issues about it. Wish I had another me. Anyway, other than the salon ladies who rotate depending on who is available, I have a marketing lady, for close to a year now, who is great and seems to actually be bringing me biz.
How much revenue total has your studio brought in since joining Mastermind?
Around 50k I believe.
What is your advice to photographers just starting out? What is your advice to photographers who are full-time and struggling? Remember your own journey – what were your biggest struggles and what you wish someone had told you? 🙂
Getting the financial side in place is a big one. Separating the payments we receive into different funds, budgeting, paying myself without draining any biz profits, etc.
What areas do you still want to grow in? Do you have any big goals that you are still looking to accomplish?
The financial side. I feel like I am so busy with the small crap, or the other things that I want to find someone I can delegate to, that I feel like I can’t get everything set.
What is your biggest accomplishment – work and non-work related? Since your studio became successful, what is the coolest thing you’ve been able to do?
After 10 years of living in a crap hole and 2 years of searching, we finally bought a house in 2022.
Please list any awards won and/or distinctions you would like noted in the article.
I have several awards for some paintings I have done but none for photography (yet).
