PhotoBizX The Ultimate Wedding and Portrait Photography Business Podcast - 454: Christina Montemurro – How to combine wedding videography and photography successfully

454: Christina Montemurro – How to combine wedding videography and photography successfully

02/28/22 • 45 min

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PhotoBizX The Ultimate Wedding and Portrait Photography Business Podcast

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Christina Montemurro of www.christinamontemurrophotography.com was recommended to me by Jenny Stein, another podcaster, photographer and past guest on the show.

Jenny told me Christina is unique and offers both wedding photography and video.

I reached out to Christina for an interview after looking at her work, and in her initial reply, she said...

I'm not great with sales/profit/marketing. But I am good with efficiency/workflow/productivity. And I may be a bit unique as I'm pretty evenly split between photography and video.

I learned Christina has been in business since 2009, and most wedding clients spend between $3000 – $3500 USD.

That was enough for me, and my guess was there's more to discover about the business of this married mother of two, based in Pittsburgh, USA.

In this interview, learn how you can successfully combine wedding videography and photography into your business.

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

Who are Christina's ideal clients
How to recognise and find your target wedding clients
Using online wedding magazines to advertise your business
How to make your ad listing standout
Christina's photography and videography style
The importance of differentiating wedding videography styles from other operators
The number of clients Christina handles in a year
Why Christina doesn't love the business side of photography
The going rate for second shooters in Pittsburgh and when to hire one
How Covid19 impacted Christina's photography business
Dealing with clients who request a retainer refund
Why Christina prefers videography over photography
Is wedding videography as profitable as wedding photography
What drew Christina to wedding videography
How Christina learned the art of wedding videography
The challenges of shooting wedding videography
Software for cinematography post production
Christina's post-processing workflow
Christina's reveal sessions
How Christina organizes her photos before showing them to her clients
Christina's ordering system
Increasing prints sales by offering a limited discount
Christina's video editing workflow and productivity
Average time to finish editing wedding videos
The importance of using wedding video audio to bring stories to life
Colour grading and how to do it
Christina's thoughts on photography business longevity

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this interview – the full length and more revealing version where you hear the absolute best tips and advice from every guest.

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Plus special member-only interviews.

You can have time or you can have money but you can't have both. – Christina Montemurro

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. There are also FB live video tutorials, role-play interviews and special live interviews happening in the group. You will not find more friendly, more motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Seriously, that's not all.

In addition to everything above, you'll get access and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Christina 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 comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

I felt an obligation to the wedding industry to stand up for u...

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Christina Montemurro of www.christinamontemurrophotography.com was recommended to me by Jenny Stein, another podcaster, photographer and past guest on the show.

Jenny told me Christina is unique and offers both wedding photography and video.

I reached out to Christina for an interview after looking at her work, and in her initial reply, she said...

I'm not great with sales/profit/marketing. But I am good with efficiency/workflow/productivity. And I may be a bit unique as I'm pretty evenly split between photography and video.

I learned Christina has been in business since 2009, and most wedding clients spend between $3000 – $3500 USD.

That was enough for me, and my guess was there's more to discover about the business of this married mother of two, based in Pittsburgh, USA.

In this interview, learn how you can successfully combine wedding videography and photography into your business.

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

Who are Christina's ideal clients
How to recognise and find your target wedding clients
Using online wedding magazines to advertise your business
How to make your ad listing standout
Christina's photography and videography style
The importance of differentiating wedding videography styles from other operators
The number of clients Christina handles in a year
Why Christina doesn't love the business side of photography
The going rate for second shooters in Pittsburgh and when to hire one
How Covid19 impacted Christina's photography business
Dealing with clients who request a retainer refund
Why Christina prefers videography over photography
Is wedding videography as profitable as wedding photography
What drew Christina to wedding videography
How Christina learned the art of wedding videography
The challenges of shooting wedding videography
Software for cinematography post production
Christina's post-processing workflow
Christina's reveal sessions
How Christina organizes her photos before showing them to her clients
Christina's ordering system
Increasing prints sales by offering a limited discount
Christina's video editing workflow and productivity
Average time to finish editing wedding videos
The importance of using wedding video audio to bring stories to life
Colour grading and how to do it
Christina's thoughts on photography business longevity

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

Plus special member-only interviews.

You can have time or you can have money but you can't have both. – Christina Montemurro

Seriously, that's not all.

What is your big takeaway?

I felt an obligation to the wedding industry to stand up for u...

Previous Episode

453: John Glaser – From photographer with a business to serious business owner

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

John Glaser of www.johnglaserphotography.com has recently transitioned from a photographer with a business to a business operator who manages a photography studio.

I first interviewed John a few months ago for episode 433. It was an eye-opening interview with a ton of positive feedback, and thanks to John for sharing his incredible results.

I asked him back onto the podcast to follow up and hear how things are going.

In an exchange of messages, he asked me...

...just curious what you are thinking of wanting to cover in this interview...there is so much...I went over $500k for the year.

I have my associate photographer doing most of our studio sessions, and my salesperson is making all of my sales.

I currently have them as contractors and am about to make them actual employees.

My salesperson did over $30K of sales in her first whole week on her own, which was a new studio one week record... to name some of the highlights since our last chat.

A year and a half ago, I would have been thrilled to make this in 3-5 years!

John went on to say... my business is doing its thing, and I am only shooting about 20% of the sessions and making none of the sales ?

Well, that's” more than enough to talk about!

It's great to have him back, and I know you'll love what John shares in this candid interview.

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

The changes John has made within his photography business
Does John still experience impostor syndrome with the success of his business
The importance of having the best client experience
John's work-life balance now, compared to 12 months ago
What made John's sales soar higher than he imagined
The need to send pricing before clients come in for their photography sessions
Setting proper pricing expectations
Booking cancellations are much preferred over clients who can't afford to pay
John's hiring process and the right questions to ask staff applicants
Hiring the right people to help with your photography business
Offering sales commissions and bonuses to your team
What to look for when hiring associate photographers
Where to look for when hiring staff and associate shooters
How to effectively teach someone to run your business
Should you show your real sales figures to your staff
When your team asks for time off
Why you should never allow clients to dictate your life
How John handles sales stuff-ups with his team
What changes in John's business can he attribute to his sales success
What packages to have for your clients
The need to have add ons as an upsell
John's average spend and goals for 2022
Offering hand deliveries instead of drop shipping

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

Plus special member-only interviews.

The biggest thing is client experience. If they have a bad experience, it doesn't matter how great the photos are, that's what they're going to remember. – John Glaser

Seriously, that's not all.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anythi...

Next Episode

455: Lindsay Walden – Building a luxury photography brand with digital file sales

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area.

Lindsay Walden of www.lindsaywaldenphotography.com is a Texas-based mother of three, newborn and maternity photographer who is not only super talented; she's also damn good at business. Lindsay has a sales average any photographer would LOVE, and her number one product is... the digital file!

I don't know about you, but the about page is my first stop when I visit a photographer's website. I want to know who's work I'm seeing and reading about.

In the case of Lindsay, visit her about page, and you'll know immediately... this is a professional photographer's studio. The lead image is a total WOW factor for photographers, and I'm sure clients too.

Check the pricing page, and you'll see her clients all attend a pre-session design consultation to discuss everything they need to know about their newborn or family session.

They learn about a booking fee starting at $350 and collections starting at $2900.

My next stop was her finished artwork page, where an embedded video says it all!

A mum sees her amazing photos for the first time, and her husband's expression tells you... he knows he'll be spending big today, no matter what his plans were before coming in. How could he possibly say no to anything after seeing his wife light up as she does.

In this interview, Lindsay opens up, and we go behind the scenes of her business to discover how she generates leads to happy clients collecting their artwork.

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

Offering hair and makeup add-ons to create an exceptional photoshoot experience
The importance of building rapport with your clients
Lindsay's revenue
The usual cost of running a successful photography business
Outsourcing
Factors that led to an increase in revenue
Creating a sense of exclusivity when building a luxury brand
Lindsay's after-sales strategy
Charging a high premium for digital files
Lindsay's pricing structure
You don't need to sell wall art to be successful
Is the photographers value really in the digital files
Lindsay's booking rate and inquiry process
The need to build value first instead of telling clients how much they will spend
What makes Lindsay's business model unique
Lindsay's target clients and where she finds them
Which is better, marketing to past clients or new referrals
Lindsay's strategy to have clients come back
How to create that deep connection with clients
Marketing strategies Lindsay applies to her business
Who is a better client? A newborn mom or a maternity session client

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

Plus special member-only interviews.

I never thought I would be good at sales but I'm good at helping and that's what good sales really is — just helping clients to achieve and get everything that they want and making sure they don't walk out the door with anything that they might have possibly wanted. – Lindsay Walden

Seriously, that's not all.