Pivoting into Brand Photography with Maddie Peschong

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

True to the title of this show, Brand Photography can help you get back to life How You Pictured It, when you first started your business. Maddie Peschong joins me in this episode to chat about pivoting from portrait and wedding photography into shooting for brands. 

We talked about:

• Skills needed as brand photographer vs. portrait 
• Prepping for brand photography sessions
• Helping clients understand their brand even if you don’t consider yourself a marketing pro
• Myths surrounding brand photography
• Benefits of brand photography

You can find Maddie’s Rebrand program at maddiepeschong.com
Or on Instagram @maddiepeschong

Find the video  version of this episode on YouTube 

About Kate

Check out Kate Online: Website | Instagram | Tiktok | Pinterest

Kate Hejde is the host and creator of How You Pictured It Podcast and Dear Kate Brand Strategy. She helps creative entrepreneurs and service providers create a profitable business that fits into their lives. With over 10 years of experience running her own photography business, while raising three kids, Kate believes that business is not one size fits all and that you define your own success.  Kate teaches through her podcast as well as through her signature course, The Website Launch Accelerator, done-for-you website designs, and 1:1 coaching.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Kate: All right. I am so excited for my conversation today with Maddie Peschong. We are gonna talk about pivoting into brand photography and kind of getting into that industry and how it’s different from portraits and weddings, um, and kind of all about that. So, Maddie, why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself.

[00:00:18] Maddie: Yeah, thanks for having me. My name is Maddie Peschong. I’m a brand photographer and coach based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I have been a photographer for about 10 years and a brand photographer for about five. Um, I never really felt like I fit in in the wedding and portrait world, and my background is actually in marketing and dig digital media.

So when I found brand photography, it felt like it was a really. Fit. Um, and it’s just been the, it’s, it has been the best transition, not just for my business, but also for my life. It allows me to work during the day, during the week. It’s wonderful. Um, I’m also, I’ve been married for about 10 years. [00:01:00] We’ve got three little kids, so they’re a big motivation behind wanting to protect those evening and weekend hours.

Um, I have a podcast as well called Take It Personally, and it’s all about personal branding. And then I also own a photography studio that we rent out to other photographers in our area because it’s mostly snowing in South Dakota at any given time.

[00:01:19] kate-hejdes-studio_maddie-peschong_kate_hejde-fsyn65hi0_cfr-synced_2023-mar-22-1823pm-utc-riverside-2: Yeah, that’s, that’s fun. Ugh, snow.

[00:01:22] Maddie: it’s great. It’s so fun,

[00:01:25] Kate: was like, no, two days ago I had the sunroof open and I’m like, I’m ready for 

Spring. Like not winter, spring,

[00:01:34] Maddie: Yes.

So

Yes, totally. I know today it was, it’s like 40

degrees I’m like, it’s a heat wave. This is great. I’m like, that is so pathetic.

[00:01:42] Kate: Oh yeah, it was probably 55 when I had my sun roof open in my car. . But it felt so good. I was just like basking in the sunshine.

But, um, let’s talk about where you started in photography and how you kind of ended up where you are now. [00:02:00] Tell me a little bit about that.

[00:02:01] Maddie: Yeah. So I started, my story I think is very similar to probably a lot of your listeners, to a lot of photographers. I started shooting, uh, for friends and family in literal back alleys of my hometown , which is so sketchy for like $50 a pop. Felt like that was highway robbery. Could not believe they were paying me $50 to shoot their family session.

Um, and every time I would go to one of these sessions, I. How will there ever be a day that I can adjust the i o and white balance and aperture and stop all at the same? Like I was like, there’s never, it’s never gonna

[00:02:37] Kate: still feel like that Like how did I get to this setting camera? ,

[00:02:45] Maddie: right? Yep. It was very much just fumbling through it. Um, but I, but I really enjoyed it and I always had a, um, I started photography like, Right at the end of college and then went right into, you know, real world, big kid [00:03:00] jobs. And so I always had a day job. So photography was a really great creative outlet.

I really enjoyed it. Um, so yes, was working with families, um, kids eventually started doing senior photography. And really enjoyed that for a while. Thought like, oh, maybe this is it. This is what I wanna do. And then as I got older and had less in common with seniors, it became, yeah. You know, I’m like, okay, like we’re not the same age anymore.

Um, I’m not like a cool older sister. I’m like, your mom. So . Um, so then that kind of shifted. I said, for a long time I would never do wedding photography, so I did couples but not weddings, and then eventually did wedding photography, . And really, I, I mostly did. Yes, because it felt like a, a fun challenge.

Like I felt ready for that next step. But also it was because I thought that that’s where the money was in photography. I thought that that was the next natural step to be able to, you know, theoretically work a little bit less, like be able to book something for $3,000 opposed to [00:04:00] 300. Um, and so I just thought like, okay, that’s it.

And I would have friends who would tell me like, they could shoot a wedding every weekend and not get tired of it. And I was just like, that is not, that’s not how I feel. I was starting, especially toward the end, was starting to get really resentful of the weddings that I had on my calendar. I would always enjoy them once I was there, but it felt like I was giving up a lot to be able to shoot these weddings.

And I kind of stumbled into brand photography without really knowing what it was. And it started when I was at weddings and I was working with other vendors, um, so the event planner or the venue coordinator. And then after the fact, I would send them photos that I took. of the wedding day, and some of them were legitimate wedding photos.

Some of them were kind of like mini brand sessions, right, where I’m shooting like the stationary or wide shots of the venue or the dress or whatever, and then sharing with the vendors after. And [00:05:00] that was so fulfilling to me that I could create something that could potentially grow someone’s business and make, make their business, make it easier for them to market their business.

I started to think, well, maybe there’s something here. And then around that same time, I started showing more of myself on social media. I started, um, posting more photos of like me at a laptop or me with a camera in my hand behind the scenes at a wedding, you know, asking people to take photos of me doing my job and then sharing those.

And people really started to notice. So my first brand photography clients were actually other photographers who were friends of mine and noticed what I was doing and asked if I could do it for them, and it just 

[00:05:38] Kate: fun. 

[00:05:39] kate-hejdes-studio_maddie-peschong_maddie-lx1890iwl_cfr-synced_2023-mar-22-1823pm-utc-riverside-1: from there. 

[00:05:40] Kate: when you are talking about brand photography, are you strictly doing like personal brand, like the people behind the brand? Are you doing like product photography, um, and that kind of like more commercial? I don’t know what’s the,

[00:05:54] Maddie: That’s a great question. Yeah. Com I say commercial brand photography. That’s typically what I refer to it [00:06:00] as. My favorite is personal brand photography. So that’s what I advertise. Um, that’s what I teach because I also think it’s an easier pivot for someone who considers themselves a portrait or a lifestyle photographer.

Um, you ha a lot of the time, like you have the, the base level skillset that you need to be able to make that work. However, there’s definit. I would say probably close to 50% of my business, maybe not quite that much. Um, on the photography side is actually more corporate and commercial. So, um, it’s a little bit more traditional headshot.

It’s marketing photography, so going into a business, a law firm, or an accounting firm, and taking photos of accountants or even the buildings themselves. . So you mentioned hu Oh, uh, product photography. That’s another piece of it too. I don’t do a ton of product photography and again, I definitely don’t advertise for it, but it’s a part of my business.

Um, so yeah, I kind of touch a lot of different pieces, but I love

personal brand photography 

[00:06:57] Kate: That’s cool. Um, well then [00:07:00] how big is Sioux Falls, South Dakota?

[00:07:02] Maddie: a hundred and, okay, yeah, I should know this. I think it’s 130,000

[00:07:07] Kate: Like would say it’s small or like pretty good size.

[00:07:12] Maddie: So it’s the largest city in South Um, it is. Okay. So just under 200,000. 

Um, it’s the largest city in South Dakota, but I would say it’s a small city. Like for South Dakota, it’s a city. It’s not big. Um, but that’s definitely something that I don’t, I don’t know. I think. Stumbled into it enough that I didn’t have time to really think through all of the ways it couldn’t work.

[00:07:37] Kate: Right, 

[00:07:38] Maddie: I just kind of made it work as I went. But as a brand photography coach now, that’s something that I hear really often is like, well, I can’t make this work cuz I live in a small town and. . It’s really surprising when you start to think about it, how many different businesses can benefit from brand photography.

Really all of them. [00:08:00] And businesses exist everywhere, you know, not just in big cities, small towns much smaller than Sioux Falls, 

have businesses, you know, 

[00:08:08] Kate: yeah. So what other fears do you ha hear from people about making that kind of pivot, and how do you kind of tell them that it’s okay?

[00:08:16] Maddie: Yeah. Honestly, I think one of the biggest misconceptions is around the word like nicheing. People really love to freak out about that. Um, because one of the things that I’m very passionate about is making sure that if you want to shoot brand photography, and if you want to have that really elevated and focused experience, you have to be very aware of how you’re positioned.

And I used to say, I used to like really, really refer to it as like how, how you’re nicheing. But it’s not really about nicheing. It’s not really about only shooting one thing for the rest of your life, it’s just making sure that you’re marketing yourself and positioning yourself in the right way. Um, so a lot of the time, I mean this has a lot less to do with.

Past clients [00:09:00] and more to do with future clients. And oftentimes photographers are really nervous that they’re like letting down their past clients that have gotten them to this point and they’re thinking, well, if I’m going to, you know, pivot or niche into brand photography, what does that mean for those clients?

And so that’s something that we have to, you know, kind of talk through. Um, because really when it comes down to it, it, it’s a limiting belief. It’s a pressure that we’re putting on ourselves that our clients are not putting on us most of the time. Um, and also you are the boss. You get to decide what this looks like.

And so if that means that you’re a brand photographer who is still shooting a handful of families every year, because you can’t imagine not working with families that you’ve worked with for forever, that’s great. Like you should do.

[00:09:45] Kate: Yeah. Yeah. Do you have any students that are not fully pivoting and like continue to advertise for multiple things?

[00:09:55] Maddie: Yes, I do. Actually, I have one student in particular who’s killing it [00:10:00] at this. She is a, she’s actually, she has established a very impressive portrait studio specifically. Uh, marketing to like motherhood, so newborns, milestones, maternity, that sort of thing. And then she wanted to do brand photography, which those two, those feel like two very different things.

And she has done such an amazing job of getting really thoughtful with like, what’s 

the, so I have a big Taylor Swift fan. 

[00:10:28] Kate: Oh yeah, I know. I’m like, at some point we’re gonna have to talk about Taylor Swift because I 

definitely spent Saturday night watching the TikTok live stream for 

[00:10:38] Maddie: yes. Who didn’t? Right? Well, one of, I, I love like bringing this up because one of Taylor’s, um, songs that I love is called Invisible String, and it’s like the, this invisible string that like connects you. It’s a love song, so connects you to another person. But in the case of business, I always think of like, what’s the invisible string that connects all the different pieces of your business?

Like if you are super passionate [00:11:00] about new barn photo, and brand photography. What’s the, what’s the common factor Right? What’s that? Invisible string. And so we have done a lot of work around what that looks like. She also, um, worked with a really incredible like copywriting and messaging person. Um, and she just shared her web new website with me the other day and I was like, this is how you do it.

Like this is how you position yourself in a way where you are able to really. What seems like two different audiences, but they actually have a lot more in common than think, so it’s totally possible. Yeah, it’s very cool.

[00:11:36] Kate: Yeah. I have, um, ,I’ve dipped my toe in branding brand photography a bit, and so my website is mostly family and newborn. And then I have a button that says, your business is your baby too, to kind of 

[00:11:50] Maddie: Oh my gosh, 

[00:11:50] Kate: pull that. Yeah, . 

So tying that, you know, um, connecting that, that’s my invisible string is that, you know, these are the things 

that you care for.

Your

family, [00:12:00] your baby, your business. So, um, 

[00:12:02] Maddie: I love 

that. Very 

[00:12:04] Kate: Yeah. I, well, and I think it can be so rewarding to have different niches or different, um, you know, genres of photography that you do because it’s so different creatively to a brand

session versus a portrait session. Um, 

how do you prepare for those different types of sessions?

[00:12:24] Maddie: So at this point I only do brand um, but I have quite the prep process and it looks a l I mean, obviously I used to shoot different types of photography and my prep looks much different now than it used to. I would say I used to be set up in a way in pr, I would say. , probably most portrait photographers are like this, where the bulk of work comes at the session and after.

For brand photography, it’s re, it’s the reverse of that. The bulk of the work actually comes before with all of the prep and communication. Um, timeline preparation shot lists, like [00:13:00] you really want to make sure that that is very, um, just determined before you start shooting, um, for multiple reasons. One, it makes the shoot a lot easier because you’re typically trying to get a lot done in a sh in a shorter amount of time.

Um, you. Probably don’t have time for like a full day or a two day shoot. So you have to be efficient. But two, it allows you to really set expectations with the client because this is an investment in their business. They do want to use these photos and should use these photos to make them money. And so you have to be really clear on like, what story are we telling?

How is this going to affect their bottom line and what are the shots that we need to be able to do that? Um, so I think that’s a huge reason too, as to why when we’re done. with a photo shoot. Um, once in a while there will be shots where a client will say like, oh, you know, we forgot to get this, or I forgot to mention this, but for the most part, like they’re getting exactly what they expected to be getting, um, which also makes it a lot, [00:14:00] it makes their client experience that much better too.

So, um, so yeah, it’s a lot of communication. It’s a pretty robust questionnaire. It’s usually a Zoom call or two walking through. Uh, what’s the end goal of this session?

Yeah. 

[00:14:16] Kate: do you feel like you have to have a lot of like marketing kind of prowess and understanding of marketing to be a brand photographer?

[00:14:25] Maddie: I don’t, and I think that that’s another misconception that people have or, or nerves that they have, is like, well, I’m not an expert in that area, so how am I going to be this for my clients? I think the thing you have to have as a brand photographer is curiosity. I have had. Many conversations with clients who need brand photography for their business.

And I don’t understand their business at all, but I’m really nosy and I really like to ask questions and I’m very curious. Um, and that’s how I’m able to make that work. And that’s what I teach my students as [00:15:00] well. Like if you can be curious and if you can, if you genuinely like want to make. , if you genuinely want to serve this business owner and help them, that’s really what it comes down to is like, let’s get really curious and ask those questions because that’s what’s gonna help you put together a really great shoot.

Um, I also think brand photography makes you a better marketer and makes you better at branding because even just doing the day-to-day of, like planning a shoot, shooting it, editing, delivering, just by doing. Seemingly basic things, you’re doing a lot more and you’re spending a lot time in the branding world than the average person is.

And so I do see a lot of brand photographers who slowly over time, like their confidence really increases in that area, which

is really cool to see.

[00:15:48] Kate: Do you feel like it’s a different skillset shooting wise than portrait and wedding photography, or do you think a lot of that transfers over? How do you feel about that?

[00:15:58] Maddie: I think a lot of it transfers [00:16:00] over and I know that there are other educators in the space who, who kind of say the opposite of that. Um, and I definitely think that there’s differences, certainly, but I think that if you have an established like style, you know what you’re doing with a camera, you know how to work with people, you.

you can probably be a really great brand photographer. Um, it, one of the biggest changes is instead of just showing up and shooting based on emotion, you’re shooting with a goal. And so making sure that you’re asking the client right from the get-go, like, what is the goal six months from now? You have your photos, you’re using them.

Like, what does success look like for you in that scenario? Um, and you’re shooting for that. . That’s, that’s like the biggest difference. But yeah, if you understand, like I will say something that I was able to fudge for a really long time as a portrait photographer was not understanding lighting and. , you have to spend some

time in area, , 

because you’re going to have [00:17:00] situations where, like yesterday I shot, it was such a cool session, um, but it was for like an kind of an aesthetics business.

Really gorgeous new building, but like drop ceilings, black walls. And I was like, thank God I know what I’m doing.

[00:17:15] Kate: yeah. No, absolutely. I, I’ve gotten myself into a situation where it was like, I brought light, but 

not the right light, and it was like, 

[00:17:25] Maddie: been there. Yep. And you? Yep. Oh, it’s the worst. It’s the worst. Just knowing that like, these are not gonna turn out how I want them to, or I’m gonna have to spend way more time editing. . So that’s an evolving process. And I don’t say that to scare anybody because I have done the exact same thing as you, Kate.

Like there you, there are sessions you learn 

[00:17:45] Kate: Yes, .

[00:17:47] Maddie: Um, but I will say like, I think that that’s another differentiator between someone who just kind of offers brand photography and someone who has more of that, not even necessarily specialty, but someone who really wants to like differentiate [00:18:00] themselves as an understanding of like, what kind of artificial light do I need to pull in at certain.

[00:18:05] Kate: Yeah. Yeah. 

So when it comes to, um, figuring out what their goals are and like their actual, like branding, do most people come to you with, um, an idea of who they are as a business and what they wanna say?

Do they have that clarity and that 

messaging kind of down? 

[00:18:22] Maddie: I would say it’s pretty 50 50. I definitely see that as part of my job, um, to kind of pull that out of them. There are definitely times where people will come to me and I can tell brand photography is a little bit like.

It’s too early in their process to be thinking about something like that. And so sometimes I will refer to like a brand designer, like somebody who can really help with that, like messaging and clarity. Um, but oftentimes that is, uh, partially part of my process and it’s part of a questionnaire that I send them and it asks them everything from the basics of like, what are your colors and, [00:19:00] you know, who’s your competition?

And, um, what, what are the services that you offer? To more in-depth questions like your, uh, the, the messaging that your business is communicating and the people that you’re serving and why you’re different and why they need you, and what are their struggles. Um, so that is. Certainly a part of my process with every client.

Sometimes I’ll need to pull in other service providers because I understand like where my skillset lies, but I definitely see that as part of my job because it makes my job so much easier if we all understand that.

[00:19:35] Kate: yeah, yeah. Um, doing web design now I can see like people come in and they’re like, I have never thought of this. Like, never 

thought about. 

[00:19:43] Maddie: Yes. 

[00:19:44] Kate: how I’m different or what I do or like, you know, it’s interesting to see how everyone’s at a different stage and just introducing that concept 

even is interesting.

[00:19:54] Maddie: Yeah, I actually had a podcast call interview, um, the other day with [00:20:00] a past client of mine and she is a copywriter and she was talking about her process now when she onboards clients and she said, she’s like, actually, I. Changed my process after working with you because some of the questions that you asked me I hadn’t thought of before, and they were so helpful and I was

like, that is the nicest thing anyone ever said to me

Like for someone else who works in branding that. So I was like, okay, I think it’s working. This is.

[00:20:27] Kate: That’s so cool. Yeah. Yeah. I love when people are like, oh, that’s a great question. I really wasn’t, I don’t know. I haven’t thought about that. It’s like, yeah, it’s a good question. Let’s try to find the answer 

[00:20:39] Maddie: That 

[00:20:41] Kate: Yeah. So it is really cool to, um, help people find that that part of their. their business and help them get it out there.

Like, I did a brand session recently for a consultant and it was so much fun to like help her figure out who she wanted to show up as online, um, [00:21:00] and how we wanted to portray that and all of those fun things. It’s really, it’s just a totally different use of your creative brain than 

going there to shoot the emotion.

You’re right. Like 

[00:21:10] Maddie: Yes. Yeah, it really is. And so often what I have found, like, yes, there are definitely times when it makes sense to pull in other service providers, but like you said, oftentimes it’s just asking the right question and then. just kind of allowing space for them to like process or verbalize some things or bounce ideas off of you.

Like people, especially those who, um, have been in business for a while, they do know their businesses, but they need the space to like really

think and talk about it.

[00:21:39] Kate: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that that is so important. That’s that just having somebody, um, to bounce your ideas off of in business is huge. And 

having like that community and just, you know, each other around too, to, to talk business is really cool. 

What are the benefits of pivoting to brand 

photography as you see [00:22:00] it? 

[00:22:00] Maddie: Ooh. The biggest one, and probably one of the big drivers for me starting out was reclaiming my nights and weekends. That was how I knew that wedding photography, cuz there were times that I really did enjoy wedding photography and I had fantastic clients and wedding photography and the money was great, but the ours sucked.

Like I just couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life giving up nights and weekends for a paycheck like that just did not feel right. Um, so that’s a big one. Like being able to really to work during the week, during the day to have true business hours. Like that’s, that’s a game changer. Um, I also think.

Not that portrait. Clients aren’t excited when they get their photos back and don’t love their images. They absolutely do, but there is something so incredibly fulfilling about working with another business owner. So like that makes it cool too. It’s like business to business. Um, with another business owner who sees the value [00:23:00] in what you’re offering and is so excited to like, use these photos in their business to grow their business.

Like, there’s just a, it’s a different kind of appreciation and a different kind of client relationship. Um, To be able to really play a pretty intimate role in helping someone’s business grow. It’s, it’s so fulfilling. I absolutely love that. Um, and I, I, honestly, the variety, like, that’s something that I didn’t know that I would ever say because I am like, I, so.

Niche as a brand photographer, but I actually, my days look very different every day, every week my clients look different. Um, I love personal brand photography, but actually late last year I had virtually no inquiries for that type of service. I think a lot of service providers, uh, small business owners were really scared about a potential recession and it just, like, everything just dried up.

It was really scary and. The [00:24:00] people p paying my bills were my corporate clients who needed headshots and marketing photos and being able to kind of take something that is considered a a bit more traditional and say, okay, these guys hired me for a reason. How can I put my spin on this? And how can I turn this into a really unique and cool session where I’m doing all those same things that I’m doing for a personal brand session?

and just kind of, you know, like taking it up a notch from what they maybe are used to for their corporate headshots. That was actually a really fun and exciting challenge too. Um, so yeah, the variety is awesome. They’re, I never thought that I would enjoy shooting corporate headshots, and I really do like, it’s a, it’s a great part of my business.

Yeah.

[00:24:43] Kate: Um, with, we talked a little bit about, um, having like your distinct style, do you feel like you have to adapt your style a little 

for brands? 

[00:24:55] Maddie: Yeah, this is such a good question. So I think that with [00:25:00] brand photography more than other types of photography, it’s not uncommon to have client, actually, I was just voice messaging with a client who has a project coming up and she’s like, I need, like, the direction that I’m getting from the designer that I’m working with is that we need a little moodier, like maybe some black and white, which I typically don’t do.

Um, so it’s a lot less uncommon in brand photography to have direction like that. 

I will say, I think if you position yourself in such a way, if you market yourself, like if you are really doing the brand work for your brand too, those requests are fewer and farther in between because people will hire you for your style and for how you work.

Um, but I never take offense if people want me to edit a little bit differently. That’s something that. From the jump. Um, and most of the time it’s, you know, status quo, but I always get kind of excited if they’re like, you know, we kind of do need to do a little bit, like a little darker or have more black and white options or, you know, whatever it might be.

I think [00:26:00] it’s a really

fun challenge.

[00:26:01] Kate: and leads to that variety like you were 

saying, like 

[00:26:05] Maddie: Yeah, 

[00:26:06] Kate: Very So tell me about your 

program that you have coming up, launching soon. 

[00:26:11] Maddie: Yes. So I run a group program called Rebrand. It’s for photographers with established businesses who want to pivot into brand photography. It’s a 16 week group coaching program. So it’s a really great mix of both curriculum and coaching. Um, it’s not like a course that you, uh, you know, kind of purchase and then you don’t have handholding from the instructor.

It’s kind of a hybrid in that way. Um, so I, I, I really enjoy that. I really like getting to know everyone. Who’s inside. Um, and we really focus on four different areas of a brain photography business. So one, uh, the first one being lead generation. So helping people feel very confident that their business is ready to handle leads coming in, and that those people who are coming in are in a place.

Where they’re ready to buy. So, [00:27:00] um, easy to understand pricing structure, c r m, lead process, email workflows, that type of thing. So making sure that like the maybe stuff that doesn’t feel quite so sexy is in 

a really good spot marketing. Yeah. And then positioning is another huge part of it.

We will answer the question that every new brand photographer has, which is, where the heck do I find clients and are there enough clients? Will they keep coming? Um, so really understanding how clients find you, how they decide to work with you, um, and then making sure that what they want matches the work that you’re providing.

Um, so a lot of positioning talk here, like how are you showing up online? What’s your social look like? What does your website look like? Um, then we talk about market. And I show them how to turn their really daily tasks into marketing that sells for them. So we’re not adding extra stuff to your plate.

We’re, um, we are using what you’re already doing to market your business. And then the last thing is client experience. So my [00:28:00] goal here is, To transform their current client experience from like erratic and inconsistent to something that is really consistent and turns into, or really a marketing machine that turns their current clients into future promoters of their business.

So not only do they have, um, happy clients, they have happy clients who are like talking about that to other people and then getting more

leads that way.

[00:28:23] Kate: That’s very cool. I was actually gonna ask you about repeat clients, um, because we did talk about families that have been with you for years and you wanna keep, do you have that with brand 

photography? Two businesses that come back? 

[00:28:36] Maddie: definitely. Yep. And I think it depends on how you set up your business. There are brand photographers that offer like subscription models for this exact reason. Um, I will say most of my clients, especially on the personal brand side, are very busy women. And so, It’s actually really appealing to them to not have to schedule a session every three months.

Um, so typically with my clients, I’m working with them every year, [00:29:00] every 18 months or so. Certainly there are some that they work with me one time or more sporadically. Um, corporate clients are actually really fantastic repeat clients, uh, those who need consistent headshots, team photos, marketing images, that type of thing.

So there’s actually a lot more consistency to brand photography than 

you would initially imagine. 

[00:29:20] Kate: Yeah. You 

would think it’s like a one and done kind of thing,

[00:29:23] Maddie: It’s, yeah. and not at 

all. 

[00:29:26] Kate: that they’re referring people. That’s huge because 

marketing can take up so much of your time. And when you have 

those, like it’s easy to, easier to keep a client than to get a client is 

the like the thing, right?

[00:29:38] Maddie: A hundred percent. Yes, exactly. And if you can figure that out, like how to serve them in a way to just like impress the pants off them where they can’t help but refer other people to you. Like that’s really cracking the code. And so that’s a

big focus of

[00:29:52] Kate: Very cool. So when does the program start? 

[00:29:54] Maddie: So the program officially starts on April 5th.

That is our first call. [00:30:00] So we’re, I’m accepting people, enrolling people right now, and a anyone who’s interested. I’m very active on Instagram, so you can always send me a message there and I can send you, um, the link for show notes

and stuff too.

[00:30:12] Kate: Perfect. Do you wanna share where we can find you 

online in general? 

[00:30:16] Maddie: Yes. So I am at Maddie Peschong basically everywhere, but Instagram is where I primarily hang out, so, um, that’s where you can find 

[00:30:24] Kate: Wonderful. And your website is maddiepeschong.com. 

[00:30:27] Maddie: exactly. 

[00:30:28] Kate: Perfect. And rebrand. Is 

rebrand easy to find on your site? 

[00:30:32] Maddie: It is, it’s maddie pong.com/rebrand.

Very creative.

[00:30:37] Kate: No, it’s perfect. Easy, right? We wanna 

[00:30:39] Maddie: easy. That’s Yes,

[00:30:42] Kate: Well, thank you so much, Maddy. It was so great talking to you and your program sounds amazing. So much help. For anyone that’s looking to kind of get that life back of the nine to five kind of dream right of 

working and working 

while your kids are at school, that’s the 

best 

[00:30:59] Maddie: that’s the [00:31:00] dream. Yes. Thank you so much for having me, 

[00:31:01] Kate: Yeah. Thank you. 

I really loved this conversation with Maddie, and I think it stays true to the, how you pictured it name, talking about building your business so that it fits your life and how you can do creative things, ] and have this creative business that’s fulfilling while also still maintaining kind of the lifestyle that you wanted when you first started your business.

If you enjoyed this episode, please make sure to rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and give us a follow. It was so great chatting with you. We will talk to you next week.