Montana Diaries Creative Business Blog

LEARN MORE ABOUT VIDEOGRAPHY FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

MEET EMILY KIDD

“I’m a destination wedding photographer and adventure-seeker. I love that my camera connects me to people in such a unique way. Photography started out as a creative outlet but quickly turned into a consuming passion. I get to hang out with incredible humans who are crazy about each other while seeing as much of the world as I possibly can. Getting to know my couples by grabbing a drink, exploring, and running around with them is one of the many reasons I love my job. I live for the funny, awkward, and sweet moments that depict the authenticity of your relationship. I want to catch the emotions and the details in a way that makes you pause every time you look at the photo and feel it all over again.”

EMILY KIDD PHOTO

A chat w/ Emily Kidd, traveling elopement photographer

Emily has always had an interest in both travel and photojournalism, but she wasn’t sure how to monetize these passions until she found elopement articles on Junebug Weddings. Seeing other destination wedding photographers’ work made her realize that the career she wanted was possible. For Emily, traveling and shooting is a lifestyle — she travels full time, planning her trips based on where she books shoots.
The portfolio building stage for Emily included a combination of paid work and workshops in destination locations — we chatted about the importance of portfolio building to build trust with potential clients/being able to showcase what you can do. Emily also mentions how important it is to make travel a part of her brand.
In order to become profitable and sustain her lifestyle as a full time traveling photographer, Emily continued to do styled shoots but also became serious about marketing and SEO. She took two courses on SEO and Pinterest — a combination of strategic blog posts and regular pinning is still the top inquiry driver for her business. Emily even gave me some great advice as far as creating guides to target specific locations goes; this is a great tip for every type of creative business so listen to the pod!
Emily also has an incredible podcast, The Road Created. She explained that she loves the medium of podcasting for her own learning, and I feel the exact same way. Emily is also passionate about helping other photographers reach their goals — she says if she can do it, so can everyone else.

I highly, highly, highly recommend this podcast episode for EVERY photographer with anyyyy interest in traveling! Emily is so full of amazing information and strategies for marketing for a traveling business, I’m so grateful for her honesty and I know this episode will help a ton of people. Be sure to let us know what you think after listening!

hey, photog friend!

If you’ve been wanting to learn videography with the gear you already own, I have a free guide just for you!

Resources

Emily Kidd’s Instagram

Emily Kidd’s Website

Shay's Instagram

SIGN UP FOR MY FREE MASTERCLASS: How to integrate video into your existing photography business without buying new equipment!

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography

FREE Online Video Starter Guide!

Join the Montana Diaries Podcast Community on Facebook!

Shayna Lloyd 8/16/22 Shayna Lloyd 8/16/22

33: Whole-heartedness and diving in head first w/ Devin from Backcountry Bohemians

DEVIN LARSON: Diving in head first in EVERYTHING she does, money mindset and business growth, launching an incredible FIELD GUIDE, and much more!!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…

1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy

2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment

3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!

DEVIN LARSON: Diving in head first in EVERYTHING she does, money mindset and business growth, launching an incredible FIELD GUIDE, and much more!!

psssttt…

join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!

Backcountry Bohemians Website

MEET DEVIN FROM BACKCOUNTRY BOHEMIANS

“Hiii, I’m Devin (she/her)!
I'm a creative soul with a love for life and adventure.
I’ve always been creatively minded and had a deep love for true connection between humans, the ones that give you butterflies and make you giddy. I believe at the end of the day, these connections, even the smallest ones, are what mean the most. Life is filled with these tiny moments and the fact that I get to capture them, stop time, and hand them onto you to be remembered forever means more than you may ever know.”

DEVIN LARSON

Helloooo and welcome back to the Montana Diaries Podcast, I’m Shayna and I’m so freaking stoked you’re here because today we have one of the most incredible creatives I know on the podcast, Devin from Backcountry Bohemians. Devin’s work speaks for itself, so if you aren’t driving, be sure to go check out Backcountry Bohemians to give a little context to Devin’s business and talent as she takes you through her business/life/creativity journey… if you are driving, just trust me that Devin is a true artist with a huge heart for her clients, and spoiler alert, it’s all rooted in reverence for the outdoors and adventure. Alsoooo she fills my “words of affirmation” cup in this episode by being way too kind about my course, Videography for Photographers, and I’m just bringing that up to say I didn’t ask her to do that or pay her hahaha! She is just that kind. 99% of this pod is not that, though, I promise. This is a must listen, creative friends!

DEVIN FROM BACKCOUNTRY BOHEMIANS AT A GLANCE:

Hollyyyy hell, Devin is so effing candid about her creative business journey — this is a truly juicy episode that you don’t want to miss.
Devin is the queennnn of calling her shot — she won a contest to go to a photography workshop for free, bought a camera off craiglist, and told everyone from that point on that she was a full time photographer. We talked all about confidence and the concept of self-permission.
We both believe in the power of knowledge and continuing education — as Devin detailed her early journey of taking on every shoot imaginable and consuming every resource imaginable, I couldn’t help but comment on the power of hunger and directing one’s energy and focus toward where you want to go. Devin is a perfect example of how fast you can grow with drive and focus.
Devin tells everyone to read/listen to Get Rich, Lucky Bitch lol — we chat about our money mindsets and how we’ve come to think about money over the past few years.
We talk about making business align with lifestyle — Devin talks through getting clients on board with shooting the types of things she wants to shoot, which means outside activity-based shoots that show people actually DOING something.
Devin is always thinking about how to serve her clients + provide add ons that make their experience with her even better — she bought my course, Videography for Photographers, to provide personal films along with her photo galleries, and she has multiple rentals like backdrops, props, and picnics to add on to her sessions. I love that her business ideas are smart but also rooted in service.

“So, you’re like hanging out of your boyfriend’s car and it’s like, kinda getting dusky blue hour, and the lights of the city are on, and your favorite band is playing, and it’s a warm summer night...that, to me, is Super 8. If I imagine myself in that moment, it’s in Super 8.”

— Devin

I love the way Devin talks about Super 8 — it makes me think of how I want my elopement films to feel. I want that shaky, hanging-out-of-the-window footage and shots of the groom getting the same view with his iPhone and then cuts to him squeezing his partner’s hand while staring out at the mountains. I want to watch a film and remember how the day felt.
Devin knows the outdoors, makes incredible art with her photography and videography, serves the shit out of her clients — she’s who you want to learn from if you’re trying to break into the outdoor adventure space. She is launching a huuuggeeee, affordable guide that she’s calling Field Notes. RUN, do not walk, and snag the guide HERE.

Resources

Devin's Instagram

GET THE FIELD GUIDE!!

Get Rich, Lucky Bitch

Shay's Instagram

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography

Join the Montana Diaries Podcast Community on Facebook!

Shayna Lloyd 7/26/22 Shayna Lloyd 7/26/22

29: Creating a personal brand that grows with you w/ Rachel Traxler

RACHEL TRAXLER: On her business journey, developing a personal brand that grew with her business + life, bringing her husband on board, and much more!

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN…

1. Why video is KING online, AKA why YOU should incorporate video into your business strategy

2. The leg up that hybrid shooters have in the photo + video industries and why it IS possible to learn with your existing equipment

3. Action steps you can take RIGHT NOW toward incorporating video content!

RACHEL TRAXLER: On her business journey, developing a personal brand that grew with her business + life, bringing her husband on board, and much more!

psssttt…

join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!

Rachel's FREE Resources for Photogs

MEET RACHEL

“Hey, I'm Rach! I’m a photographer turned business coach helping photographers scale their business with strategy and purpose.
Having almost a decade of experience in the field, my heart has grown to serving and helping other photographers to grow through the struggles I went through myself.

Growing my business to an in-demand, successful,
6-figure, sought after traveling elopement business, I want to teach other photographers to do the same.”

RACHEL TRAXLER AT A GLANCE:

-We get right into chatting about modifying family life based on our businesses + defining what success really looks/feels like to us

-Rachel booked her first wedding over a decade ago, back when online education was notttt a big thing; she made the leap into full time photography in 2017

-She opens up about what was missing in her client experience at the beginning, and how overcoming her client experience gaps made her love + appreciate client experience even more and it’s now one of her fave things to teach.

-Fast forward four years, Rachel became an industry leader and expanded her business to include an associate team and is not focusing on education.

-We talk branding — voice, tone, aesthetics, and how Rachel made both sides of her brand truly reflect HER.

“When I dug into my personality — I found that I aligned my shooting + editing style with my personality and that’s when my branding clicked.”

— Rachel Traxler

Rachel has recently shifted to a coaching business education model, and she knows her stuff — she offers manyyyy free + paid resources for photographers, so check them out at the links below!

Resources

Rachel's Instagram

Shay's Instagram

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography

Join the Montana Diaries Podcast Community on Facebook!

Shayna Lloyd 11/22/21 Shayna Lloyd 11/22/21

21: Pinterest Strategy for Creative Business w/ MY Pinterest manager Teresa Dietrich!

In episode 21, I’m talking with MY pinterest manager Teresa Dietrich about her journey to becoming a Virtual Assistant-turned Pinterest Strategist, her client workflow, and tips for creative entrepreneurs like you to create your own Pinterest workflows. We dive DEEP into the WHY behind Pinterest as well as the how, so be sure to listen alllll the way to the end so you can implement all of this goodness into your own business.

“Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app.”

When head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said that via an IGTV video this summer, I watched as photographers freaked the eff out on photography Facebook groups, on their stories, and yepppp my DMs.

Sooo… I wrote a free guide for YOU, photog friend. This guide is a DEEP DIVE into video marketing for photographers — not only do I provide tangible, actionable strategy for batching video content for YouTube, IGTV, Facebook, TikTok, and Reels, but I take the time to discuss the WHY of it all. Aannndddd this isn’t one of those guides where I throw up information on you that you have no hope of implementing during your busy photo season — I’m a working videographer and photographer, so I freaking get the struggle to implement a content creation strategy. As always, I’m here to meet you where you’re at with what you have

Teresa Dietrich: All about outsourcing Pinterest, the process of working with a VA, and creating a strategy that drives tangible results

psssttt…

join us in the Facebook group, your space for talking all things creativity + business!

TERESA DIETRICH

Starting a VA Practice

Teresa and I chatted all about the inception of her VA business — she took us through early client acquisition, to working with those first clients, to finally niching down to Pinterest. Teresa’s personal experience will be helpful to those who want to become a VA as well as business owners looking to work with one for the first time.

The Process of Outsourcing Pinterest

Soooo many creative business owners want to outsource things like Pinterest, but the thought is intimidating for them. Part of that intimidation is that they don’t know how the process works. Here is how it works with Teresa:

Fill out an inquiry form. You’ll talk back and forth about how everything works, and ask any questions you might have.
Schedule a call to make sure you vibe with the person you’re outsourcing tasks to!
Agree on services rendered, payment, and get a contract in place.

Creating a strategy for Pinterest

After the agreement is made, it’s time to create a Pinterest strategy that aligns with your goals for your business. This isn’t about pinning pretty things and increasing vanity metrics that make you feel good — it’s about driving real, tangible results like email list building. Remember: You OWN your email list, but you don’t own social media platforms. Your marketing strategy should really focus on driving the needle forward with things you own.

Pinterest isn’t a social media platform in the way that Instagram and Facebook are — Pinterest is a search engine that people use in order to find inspiration, tools, and things to buy.

When I’m looking at our analytics every month, I’m looking at the email list to see if it’s growing. What Teresa is looking at are analytics related to Pinterest itself like impressions, pins, and clicks to see what is resonating with people so we can make more of that.

5 Steps to DIYing Pinterest if you Aren’t Ready to Outsource

Clearly outline your goals: figure out who you want to find your pins, how you can help them, and where you want them to go.
Keyword Research: Keywords are specific words that show Pinterest what your content is about. Collect keywords based on existing pins that people are searching for.
Creating Pins: Create graphics that encourage people to click!
Schedule out pins: We use Tailwind to schedule out pins in advance so that you’re consistently posting on Pinterest without having to think about it every single day.
Create systems for batching Pinterest-related tasks: Take specific days to block out time to look at your analytics for the last month, create content, and schedule pins.

Work with Teresa

If you’re interested in outsourcing your Pinterest, be sure to check out Teresa on Instagram!

Get a shout out on the pod!

Be sure to rate and review the Montana Diaries podcast on Apple Podcasts to get a shout out on the pod! Just be sure to include your Instagram handle in your review so we can say thank you on a future episode — your reviews help us so much to get more amazing guests, climb in the charts, and continue to serve you!

Resources

Teresa’s Website

Teresa’s Instagram

Shay's IG

FREE Starter Guide for Photographers Ready to Learn Videography