New course · Founding price
The Business of Portrait Photography
The strategy, decisions, numbers and systems I used to build a portrait photography business from scratch and book 155 paid sessions in my first full-time year.
I did it as an Englishman in the Czech Republic, with no local network, no Czech, and no plan B. This course is the blueprint for how.
Founding price. It goes up to $349 after launch. Lifetime access.
The advice you’ve already heard
You know the slogans. Nobody shows you what to actually do.
That last one grinds my gears every time. None of these are wrong, but none of them tell you what to do on Monday morning when your calendar is empty and nobody in town knows your name.
This course is the actual strategy, decisions, numbers and systems I used. Everything is taught in the order it happened, so you can build your own version of it wherever you live.
Where this comes from
Starting from zero in a country where I couldn’t speak the language
In March 2013 I left my IT job in London to build a portrait business in the Czech Republic. I didn’t know anyone. I couldn’t hold a conversation in Czech. There was no existing client list to bring with me and no backup plan if it didn’t work.
I didn’t get there by going viral or by posting every day. Before I photographed a single paying client, I studied the local market. Then I built a brand people would remember, priced myself to get through the door, and built the partnerships and word of mouth that filled my calendar.
I’ve kept the real numbers in. You’ll see what I’d do again, what I got lucky with, and exactly what I’d do in my first 90 days if I started again today.
The curriculum
Eight modules, in the order it actually happened
Each module is one stage of my first year. You can take it at your own pace and apply each stage to your own market before moving on.
MODULE 1The Reconnaissance PhaseHow I mapped the market before I photographed a single paying client.+
5 lessons in this module
MODULE 2Visual Identity & Brand PsychologyWhy the brand came before the portfolio, and how colour psychology shaped everything clients saw.+
3 lessons in this module
MODULE 3Market Entry Pricing StrategyWhy I started below market, the risk that came with it, and how I knew when to charge more.+
4 lessons in this module
MODULE 4The Vendor & Collaboration NetworkThe partners who sent me clients faster than any ad ever did.+
3 lessons in this module
MODULE 5Analog NetworkingHow being the foreigner in the room turned into an advantage.+
4 lessons in this module
MODULE 6The Social Media BreakThe one post that took off, and the pattern behind it that you can repeat on purpose.+
4 lessons in this module
MODULE 7Local Sponsorship & Referral LoopsVouchers, tagging and the referral chain that kept bookings coming in.+
3 lessons in this module
MODULE 8Systemizing Year One Into Repeatable GrowthThe full timeline, what was luck and what was system, and your first 90 days if you started today.+
4 lessons in this module
Is it for you?
Built for photographers whose skills are ahead of their bookings
You can already take a good portrait. What’s missing is a way to get the right people to book you. If you’re starting out, starting again in a new town, or stuck at a handful of sessions a month, this course is for you.
This course is for you if
- You’re starting a portrait business, or restarting one somewhere new
- You have no network to lean on and need to build one from nothing
- You want real numbers and decisions you can copy and adapt
- You’d rather follow a sequence than piece together tips from ten places
It’s probably not for you if
- You’re looking for a posting schedule or a follower growth plan
- You want lighting, posing or editing training (that’s what the membership is for)
- You’re hoping for a shortcut that doesn’t involve putting in the work
What those sessions turned into
Portraits that ended up on clients’ walls
Every one of those bookings was a real family trusting a photographer they’d never heard of. These are a few of the prints my clients have hung at home.
Enrol
Get the whole blueprint
A one-time payment gives you lifetime access to every module, and to every update I add later.
- All 8 modules and 30 video lessons
- The real numbers, decisions and timeline from my first year
- Your first 90 days, laid out step by step
- Beyond Year One bonus lesson
- Every future update to the course at no extra cost
The price goes up to $349 once the founding period ends.
Questions
Before you enrol
How is this different from the membership?
The membership teaches the creative side of my work, like light, colour, composition and editing. This course is only about the business side: how I found clients, priced my work and built a calendar that stayed full. You don’t need the membership to take it.
I don’t live in the Czech Republic. Will it work where I am?
Yes. What you’re learning is the process I used to read a market I knew nothing about, and that works whether you’re in a big city or a small town, at home or somewhere new.
Do I need a big social media following?
No. I didn’t have one. Social media plays a part in Module 6, but most of my bookings came from research, partnerships, word of mouth and referrals.
How is the course delivered?
Inside your account on this site, as 8 modules and 30 video lessons. It’s self-paced, so you can work through it as quickly or slowly as you like, and you keep access for life.
If I could do it from zero in a new country, you can do it where you are.
Get the strategy, decisions, numbers and systems behind 155 paid sessions in my first full-time year.