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Empowered Coaching Sessions with Guest Rebecca Bloomfield
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Episode Summary:
In this heartfelt interview, Elena chats with Rebecca Bloomfield, a documentary family photographer in Connecticut, about her transformation from part-time passion to full-time business owner. Rebecca shares how enrolling in the Elena S. Blair Mastermind shifted her mindset, gave her clarity in her niche, and helped her build sustainable income with intention. From photographing schools to refining her documentary style, Rebecca’s story is a beautiful reminder that building the business you want starts with believing that it’s possible.
Whether you're feeling unsure about investing in your business, struggling with pricing or packages, or afraid to niche down, this episode will remind you that growth is available, when you decide to go all in.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- How Rebecca went from four part-time jobs to full-time photographer
- Why niching down into documentary family photography was both scary and empowering
- The power of setting income goals and working toward them with intention
- Ways to balance artistic fulfillment with client expectations
- Why time-based pricing might be holding your business back
Links & Resources:
Rebecca’s Website
Follow Rebecca on Instagram
Learn More About the Elena S. Blair Mastermind
Connect With Me:
Follow me on Instagram
Join my Facebook Community
Visit my Website for More!
Subscribe & Review:
If you loved this episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a review! Your support helps the podcast reach more photographers like you. 💛
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:01
Elena Blair
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Empowered Podcast.
00:00:01
Rebecca Bloomfield
Thank
00:00:04
Elena Blair
This is my second interview. My podcast has only been solo episodes until now, and I'm really excited to get started on interviewing people and working with people and coaching people live And so I went to my mastermind community, asked them to join first because we have such an incredible
Rebecca's Photography Journey
00:00:22
Elena Blair
community.
00:00:22
Elena Blair
So today I am talking to Rebecca Bloomfield. She is a photographer in the Connecticut area. and and ah she, what cohort were you in Rebecca
00:00:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
I was in cohort nine, and so i finished this past June.
00:00:37
Elena Blair
That's right. It was this year. I was thinking that. It was like is that at all it all kind of ah everyone becomes one group after after we retire. But so she was in cohort cohort nine. So that i'm we're currently in cohort 10. So the the one right before the one that we're in now. And um I really watched her blossom while I was working with her, really stepping into the niche that she wanted to step into really taking this seriously. So today we're going to talk about Rebecca and we're gonna talk about her business and I'm going to maybe answer some of her questions live as well. So Rebecca, why don't you introduce yourself to the podcast and let everyone know who you are where you live, what you do, all of that.
00:01:14
Rebecca Bloomfield
Sure. So I'm really excited to be talking to you I'm Rebecca. I'm a documentary family photographer in the northwest corner of Connecticut. So kind of the Hudson Valley, kind of Western Massachusetts. It's an interesting region. um and I, yeah, i before I did the mastermind, you to jump into that?
00:01:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
What it was like?
00:01:34
Elena Blair
Yeah, for sure.
00:01:34
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. i had a photography business as a super part-time side gig kind of thing. And I was working multiple jobs. and when I think of what the business looked like before the mastermind, it was really just like the early stages of a dream. Like I knew i could do more with it, but I didn't quite know to.
00:01:56
Rebecca Bloomfield
And yeah I think most people found out about my work through word of mouth instead of through, you know, Google and things like that.
School Photography and Business Growth
00:02:05
Rebecca Bloomfield
And i would go weeks, sometimes more without actually taking photos or touching my cameras. And so I had kind of irregular work and it felt a lot like a passion project. I knew this was a skill I wanted to build and then I had something I could offer people, but I didn't quite know how to get there.
00:02:27
Rebecca Bloomfield
And I knew I needed help. And I found you through Schooled, actually. And um that was a huge help to my business. I'm happy to share more about that.
00:02:38
Rebecca Bloomfield
But I knew that I could learn a lot more from you. And that's what brought me to the mastermind. Sure.
00:02:43
Elena Blair
Awesome. I don't think I knew you found me through school. Maybe I did. But yeah, if you're listening, I have a school photography workshop that helps photographers implement school photography effectively. So tell me, actually, let's just segue into that. How how is that functioning in your business right now? Are you photographing a lot of schools or what does that what does that look like?
00:03:01
Rebecca Bloomfield
So this year I photographed three schools. Last year I photographed one. And it was the kind of thing where someone I knew from yoga studio I go to, she found out that I that i did photography and she's an admin at a Montessori school and they were looking for someone new to do school portraits.
00:03:17
Rebecca Bloomfield
And so she asked if I did it and I said, yes, I can. And then I like Googled as much as I could to figure out how to do it. And of course I found you. And um you helped me figure out how to do it.
00:03:28
Rebecca Bloomfield
And I made money, you know good money with that first school. And now I have three schools. And I hope to, i want to keep it part of my business. I don't want to be the full thing. So maybe would
00:03:38
Elena Blair
Yeah.
Transition to Full-Time Photography
00:03:39
Rebecca Bloomfield
love, I think a sweet spot would be maybe four schools.
00:03:41
Rebecca Bloomfield
But um it's been, yeah, the course was incredibly valuable to me. And I'm super grateful for it.
00:03:50
Elena Blair
Yeah, cool. I love it it. Schooled is probably my most transformative pre-recorded class. i People take it, they do it, and they make money. like School photography is so profitable, but it also becomes like a marketing powerhouse because now you're a front and center with your target market, which is families who have kids. So.
00:04:12
Rebecca Bloomfield
And it's all these little details that are not complicated, like but they're just things I wouldn't have thought about on my own.
00:04:13
Elena Blair
It's awesome.
00:04:19
Rebecca Bloomfield
And so it really, it's a a steep but not difficult learning curve, that makes sense.
00:04:23
Elena Blair
Yes. Yeah. Volume photography. There's a lot of moving parts, a lot of things, file organization, order ordering at scale, all that kind of stuff.
00:04:27
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:04:31
Elena Blair
Yeah. And we break that all down. That's awesome.
00:04:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yep.
00:04:33
Elena Blair
I'm so glad that's how you found me. So you i you're a fairy. i ah Your story is one that I know will resonate with a lot of listeners because. um it's most of us kind of get into photography for a passion, passion based reason. You know, you're you love being using your camera. Maybe you're photographing your own family, whatever.
00:04:55
Elena Blair
And then there comes a time where you're like, well, I wonder if I could go all in with this. I wonder if this could be real. And I think that a lot of us i mean, I think everybody goes through that, I think. and But I think a lot of people don't believe that it can be.
00:05:11
Elena Blair
I think a lot of people tell themselves, this is never going to make real money. This could never be my full-time job. And they like keep themselves in that side hustle place or in that just extra income or a hobby that makes a little bit of money place.
00:05:25
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm.
00:05:26
Elena Blair
So what shifted for you that made you decide that you were going to go all in and and do it and really do it?
00:05:35
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, i I love thinking back on the moment that I decided to do it because it felt like i um if I, that this was my year to make it work.
00:05:46
Rebecca Bloomfield
And my drive is the freedom and flexibility that I will have running my own business and the joy I get from it being something artistic that brings meaning to people's lives.
00:05:48
Elena Blair
Thank you.
00:05:57
Rebecca Bloomfield
And i just financially had to figure out how to make it work within a year. And so i knew it could happen and I knew I needed to invest in something to make it happen.
00:06:10
Rebecca Bloomfield
And this felt like the right thing. So it was really a bit of like a a timeline that I that was not just random. It's not like I just made it up out of nowhere. It was really like, OK, I have a bit of a buffer this year to be able to put everything into this and get it off the ground.
00:06:28
Rebecca Bloomfield
And that was the yeah the moment I decided to do it.
00:06:33
Elena Blair
I love that. um
00:06:34
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm.
00:06:34
Elena Blair
the The interview that I did before you, it was exact kind of a similar thing. where where night And I think it's because it's a shift that happens for all of us that do it, where there is a moment that you decide. And there's the time before that moment. And then there's the time after. And it's really, it's all about that decision. It's all about believing in yourself and believing that it's possible.
00:06:54
Elena Blair
And that it it's really that simple. Like there is no, there is no secret. There are no unicorns, like because anyone can do it. You just have to decide that you want to do
Investing in Coaching and Overcoming Fears
00:07:04
Elena Blair
it. And you have to decide that you're going to put in the effort to, to learn how to do it because it is a real business that takes a lot of, um, business thinking. So we go into this because we're an artist, but then now you have to learn about marketing. Now you have to learn about client management. You have to learn about all of those parts. that make it a business, that make it profitable.
00:07:25
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm.
00:07:25
Elena Blair
I love that. um So, okay. one what i Another thing i want ah I want to hear from you actually about, i don't and and I don't usually ask people this, but like I don't ask my mastermind members this, but it's it's something that am curious about. is And and i I know my own experience in hiring coaches, but it is a very scary thing to invest in yourself, right? Which is what it is. When you're investing in a coach, and you're not investing in the coach. You're investing in yourself because you're saying,
00:07:53
Elena Blair
all right, I believe this is going to work so much that I'm going to pay somebody to help me. And there's always that um that little self-doubt in there that's like, but what if it doesn't work?
00:08:06
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm.
00:08:06
Elena Blair
And then I invested all this money and you know there's that that imposter syndrome that comes in. So how did you get over that? If you had that fear of investing in yourself, how did you get past that?
00:08:20
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, i i remember the exact moment I paid for the mastermind. And it was so I'm someone who has struggled with decision, like big decisions in the past. And this one was just felt really clear to me, i think, because like you said, it was a clear investment in myself. It's a it's Kind of my my big dream is that is the is you know financial freedom and flexibility and autonomy and you know being able to have the time and ability to go visit loved ones and do things I want to do. And I so already said some of this, but um i it was actually kind of a no-brainer. It struck me in the moment. I was like, this is really an easy decision, actually. It didn't feel heavy or complicated. i just...
00:09:07
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, i felt like a really clear investment in myself and i felt really excited about it it. actually didn't feel like a huge hurdle because the vision and the goal was so clear.
00:09:18
Elena Blair
Ah, I love that.
00:09:20
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:09:20
Elena Blair
i wish I wish that everyone um that was thinking about it had that clarity, had that clarity because our
00:09:24
Rebecca Bloomfield
Right. Right. I'm not always like that.
00:09:27
Elena Blair
No, a lot of people are like, I don't know if I can you know afford this. And it's, it's, up and by the way, it's not, it's not ridiculously expensive.
00:09:31
Rebecca Bloomfield
Sure. Yeah.
00:09:33
Elena Blair
There are some that are way more than mine, but, but it, but it is, it feels like an investment. And well that, that is but where, where you were. it's like, they, I think I always say this, the teacher shows up when the student needs the teacher.
00:09:45
Elena Blair
Like you're in a sea of, of content all day. All of us are. And then all of a sudden it'll be like, oh, there you are. This is exactly what I need.
00:09:53
Rebecca Bloomfield
yeah
00:09:54
Elena Blair
This is exactly what, I want to to take myself to the next level.
00:09:59
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. And I will also add, um it's not, you know, i I was on a tight budget. You know, the investment wasn't nothing to me. Like, it was you know, I was like, oh, I can do this or I can do this other, you know, thing that also means a lot to me.
00:10:13
Rebecca Bloomfield
So it's not like it was just easy money-wise for me. And it it was still an easy decision because it's, yeah, I just knew the value
00:10:20
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:10:23
Rebecca Bloomfield
or I sensed and yeah it felt that the value would be so worth it.
00:10:27
Elena Blair
Ah, I love that. Thank you. I love hearing that. So what I loved about working with you, um one of the things that that ah that stands out to me that I remember in what we were working on was your niche.
00:10:39
Elena Blair
So um when you join the mastermind, we we talk a lot about getting very clear on your brand. which some people get clear fast. Some people take a long time and that's normal either way.
00:10:52
Elena Blair
Like there's no right or wrong. Some people are in the discovery phase a lot longer where you're kind of like, I'm going to do weddings. I'm going to do families. I'm going to do mini sessions. I'm going to do newborns. you know I'm going to do couples.
00:11:02
Elena Blair
Like it's everything. And that's fine. But you have to do that. You have to discover you know what what it is that you like.
00:11:08
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:11:08
Elena Blair
But you had this very clear vision and it's not just family photography. It's documentary family photography. And most of you listening probably know what that is, but it is a very specific type of family photographer.
00:11:24
Elena Blair
Like I'm a lifestyle photographer. There's no there's no question. Right. I don't I don't do documentary photography, but documentary family photography is a very specific niche. And um and you knew you wanted to do that.
00:11:36
Elena Blair
And we and I helped you to like brand yourself as that. And I actually would like to know how is that going?
00:11:43
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, so i um I definitely have that clarity of what where my my talent is. I think it's a documentary stuff and it's what I love doing.
00:11:54
Rebecca Bloomfield
And I think it's unique in terms of other photographers and what they're offering around me, at least. And i um it's mixed.
00:12:06
Rebecca Bloomfield
i So I have that clarity for myself and I still struggle a little bit with trusting that I will get, I will be able to get enough work from that type of photography.
00:12:19
Rebecca Bloomfield
Like I keep, I have been offering some, you know, a mix of just documentary sessions and um some shorter kind of mixed documentary plus some more guided stuff because people want their traditional family photos.
00:12:19
Elena Blair
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:12:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
So my, yeah, I definitely still struggle a little with like the trust that if I only offer what I want to be offering and what I think I'm the best at, that, you know, enough work will come.
00:12:46
Rebecca Bloomfield
And yeah, when there's a lot, there is a lot of demand out there and it's exciting seeing like ah SEO has been, I've learned so much through you about SEO. um My, you know, Google shows me to more people now. um And that's really exciting. i've gotten so many inquiries from strangers who found me on Google and I, um,
00:13:07
Rebecca Bloomfield
I, yeah, so that's all going in the right direction. I have a lot of momentum, which I'm really excited about. And I, yeah, I'm trying to figure out whether to keep offering like the sort of mishmash session where it's like, okay, this is what people want. I'll do i'll do the like, okay, everyone, smile.
00:13:27
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:13:28
Rebecca Bloomfield
Okay.
00:13:28
Elena Blair
And I actually don't think there's anything wrong with that happening at a documentary session, right? Like it's like you're mostly there to document, but you are going to get a couple of those just regular, you know, more boring family portraits just so that they have them.
00:13:42
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:13:43
Elena Blair
But what I would say going forward, you and you probably are already doing this, and i know that we've talked about it before, but is just make sure that all you're showing to the Internet, all that you're putting online is what you really want to be attracting.
00:13:44
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:56
Elena Blair
and that's that more documentary photography like like for my work i always say i take the money shot at every shoot where everyone's looking at the camera i don't show those though to the world because i want to be i want people to come to me for the more connected in you know moment driven stuff that i'm known for but i definitely take those photos i know so i don't think there's anything wrong with that part for sure and that's a normal you're you're in the very early early stages too it's very normal
00:13:56
Rebecca Bloomfield
yeah
00:14:17
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Yeah. Right. yeah
00:14:23
Elena Blair
to especially when you're going into a niche, it's very, very normal to have um ah a building phase, a building period where you are still getting the credibility ah for your business and for what it is that you're trying to be known for. And that takes a little
Balancing Niche and Client Demands
00:14:38
Elena Blair
bit of time. i mean, you're you're right on time. you're You're working on that actively. So...
00:14:42
Rebecca Bloomfield
Right. Yeah, I guess so it's good to hear. I would rather offer sessions that don't feel entirely aligned for me than have to do something outside of photography to like make ends meet, you know. um So yeah, everything being under the umbrella of photography feels exciting to me that this is like my full time work now.
00:15:04
Rebecca Bloomfield
But yeah, I also don't want to like make a name for myself as a photographer who's doing photos that I don't feel totally um excited about or like it's my best work or whatever.
00:15:04
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:15:19
Elena Blair
Yes.
00:15:19
Rebecca Bloomfield
is
00:15:20
Elena Blair
And that's where that's the phase that you're in. So just making sure that you keep that you keep showing what it is that you want to be found for, that you keep educating people about why that would be the perfect style of photography for them. And that's that's one thing that I think that documentary family photographers have to do even more than a more traditional or lifestyle type of photographer is that you have to really you have to, it's almost like, I'm going to give a non-photography example.
00:15:47
Elena Blair
Okay.
00:15:47
Elena Blair
So overalls, for example, were huge in the nineties, right? And then they went out of they went out of style and then all of a sudden I'm seeing nothing but overalls everywhere. And now i have like five pair, right?
00:15:47
Rebecca Bloomfield
Uh,
00:15:58
Elena Blair
That's like, that's what marketing is, right? So you, you have to put it, you have to put it out there and say like, I know that, Family photography can be done in two hours and or in an hour and be this, you know, whatever standard type of family photo. But here's why you would want me in your home for four or six, whatever your packages are, hours to document your real life, the real moments that are happening. And you just have to teach them that. It's like photographers who do family films as well. Like,
00:16:28
Elena Blair
I I'll say I'm personally still not convinced that I would want a family film of my family. Like, i I don't know if I would ever play it, but I could be convinced if somebody was able to bring that to my attention in all the ways that I needed to to learn about why it's what I want.
00:16:35
Rebecca Bloomfield
Ready?
00:16:42
Elena Blair
So you just have that. It's a little bit more of a, I don't know if i would say challenge, but a little more of a a a task for documentary photographers to explain that so that you reach people who are looking for a photographer for for their family and then they see what you do and they're like, yeah, i I need that.
00:17:00
Elena Blair
This is exactly what I need. And it just takes a little bit more finesse, but you're you're going to get there. You will get there. So are you, you're able now to be, but to this is your full-time job.
00:17:11
Rebecca Bloomfield
This plus I have a little Airbnb. um So I, yeah, those things together are full time for me. Those are the only things I'm doing. And that's a huge change from a year, from a year ago, really. i had four part-time jobs,
Financial Goals and Mindset
00:17:27
Rebecca Bloomfield
I think. And yeah, it, it feels so good. I mean, obviously, you know, there are a million, you know, we wear a million hats as photographers and It's so sad. I enjoy all of it, almost all of it. um You know, when I'm doing like ah marketing for myself and my own thing um versus, you know, for a side job that just to support myself. So I love doing all of the random stuff that's involved in the photography business.
00:17:56
Elena Blair
It's fulfilling, right? It feels good.
00:17:58
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yes.
00:17:58
Elena Blair
It feels so good to have a business that when you sit down to work that you feel so good about it. It gets the best.
00:18:07
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, even the little minute details are like, you know, keyword research or whatever little things that aren't connected to the art so much feels I just see how all of it links back to the the dream, you know, and it's um it makes it all feel really satisfying and fulfilling, like you said, to be doing it.
00:18:26
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:18:27
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:18:27
Elena Blair
I always say, too, that the the business part of photography, of ah of a photography business, that is just as creative as the photography part of your photography business.
00:18:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm hmm.
00:18:39
Elena Blair
And when you can start seeing it that way, it's fun. Like marketing becomes fun and designing your website becomes fun and deciding how you're going to you know, bring the in the next wave of clients, it it becomes like a game almost.
00:18:52
Elena Blair
And it's in its creative. It's definitely we we use our creative brains in the business side just as much as we do in the taking picture side, I think.
00:19:01
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like it's something that my my brain really needs and thrives on to to get to be doing so many different things within one day or one week of of my business.
00:19:12
Elena Blair
awesome. I love that.
00:19:14
Elena Blair
That makes me.
00:19:14
Rebecca Bloomfield
I wouldn't want to be taking photos all day, every day.
00:19:16
Rebecca Bloomfield
You know, um yeah, the balance is good.
00:19:18
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:19:20
Elena Blair
Yeah, I love that. That's exciting. but You're in a very exciting time. That first couple years when things are really ramping up is is the best. And the fact that you're doing it full time, pretty amazing.
00:19:31
Rebecca Bloomfield
Thanks.
00:19:31
Elena Blair
Pretty amazing.
00:19:33
Elena Blair
and that Because that happened pretty fast. That happened fast for you.
00:19:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
Thanks.
00:19:36
Rebecca Bloomfield
I know. And I have to say there was something about, um, like I, over the course of a handful of months, let go of these other side jobs. And the last one I let go of during the mastermind. And I was, it was sort of like, you know, letting go of the trapeze and then you're in the air to catch the other one. I was like, well, this is how i think I'm going to make this work by doing it.
00:19:59
Rebecca Bloomfield
I'm not going to, um, yeah, like that I have to put in the time and get the momentum in the business before I really know if it's it's going to work. This is the only way to do it. So, and then I had the motivation and the the drive and the like um financial need to just figure it out. And the mastermind was super helpful with that. And I am really excited. I'm pretty sure I'm going to meet the goal that I set for myself in the mastermind, the financial goal. And you were really helpful in like,
00:20:29
Rebecca Bloomfield
yeah, just making me feel like, uh, the goal I set for myself was, um, possible and it was both a a stretch for me and, um, you helped me see that it was possible and it's actually happening, which I'm still kind of, um, yeah, i haven't quite, ah grasped or something.
00:20:49
Rebecca Bloomfield
It's like, it's process of like expanding my money mindset.
00:20:50
Elena Blair
that I love that.
00:20:55
Rebecca Bloomfield
You know, I, that's a huge thing I got out of the mastermind was just like the, expanding my sense of what's possible and yes financially but also just in terms of creating a life for yourself that you want.
00:21:09
Elena Blair
Yeah, that so that is something in listeners that you um that we do in the mastermind. Everyone gets a one on one call with me. And I always want I want everyone to get very clear on their financial goals because how a lot of us operate, some people operate like this for years as a photographer where they're like, oh, I made two thousand dollars this month. Oh, I made ten thousand dollars this month. Oh. And it's like really inconsistent.
00:21:38
Elena Blair
And it's very, you're almost like just taking what you get and hoping for the best. It's like a, you know, a wing and a prayer where what I want you to do, what I want anyone listening to do, what I want any photographer, even if you're, you're like, this is going to be part-time or this is my side hustle or whatever, even if that's what you're going to do, I want you to have an income goal.
00:22:00
Elena Blair
and then figure out what you need to do to hit that income goal. And for some people, that is like a really confronting process. I'm telling you, i I've worked with people who are like two, three, four, five years in, and they don't have a number.
00:22:15
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm.
00:22:15
Elena Blair
they're not They don't have a number that they're going for.
00:22:15
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm.
00:22:17
Elena Blair
And so i always, always, always do that with my students. I'm like, I want you to have a goal. And if you don't hit it it doesn't, it's not failure, but it's very rare.
00:22:27
Elena Blair
and and I've worked with hundreds of people now. So like, i well, like just over 200, I think it's very rare that my mastermind students don't hit their goal. And it's not, I actually don't.
00:22:38
Elena Blair
I wish it was because of me. And I mean, I'm there to help. But it's really, I think, because there's a little bit of magic in it, a little bit of you of of manifestation. But it's also just like if you say, OK, $50,000 is what I'm going to make this year. And for some people, they're like, I've never made that much money in my life. Some people, some people's goals, 200,000, some people's goals, 20, whatever. It's different for everyone.
00:22:59
Elena Blair
no right or wrong. They see that number and there's this like fear that comes up and the fear is so layered. And we do a lot of money mindset work in the mastermind because it's when you become an entrepreneur, all your money shit is going to come up. Like all of the sudden, every insecurity that you've ever carried with you about money is going to bubble to the surface.
00:23:18
Elena Blair
And so even just setting that goal, though, is very hard for people. Sometimes it's really interesting because And like you were like you were saying, it it you were like, I don't know, can I actually do this? And she's she's doing it, by the way, everybody, she's doing it. But once you see that number, then I'm like, okay, this is a neutral now. This is just a number.
00:23:35
Elena Blair
Here's what your what your offers are.
00:23:36
Rebecca Bloomfield
Thank you.
00:23:37
Elena Blair
Here's what your your diverse offers are. So for you, schools, and then this other offer, how are we going to do that then you reverse engineer it okay well it's this many sessions a month and usually the number of sessions a month isn't quite that scary as sometimes we have to raise prices but usually it's not that it's okay four or five whatever and then it's like all right now we just have to get those sessions now now how are we gonna do that it's really that simple it's a math equation and then those sessions start to come in you start figuring it out and then there you go it happened um it's it's it's so it's so
00:24:06
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:24:10
Elena Blair
ah interesting how just writing that number down, having that number makes such a difference.
00:24:17
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, absolutely. It made a huge difference for me. And I also, i you helped me learn some tools and systems to be able to like, if I look at my goal and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm, I might be like a few thousand dollars short or something like that. Um, I have some ways that I know i can in a short amount of time, um bring in some extra money, whether it's like a portrait pop-up or something like that.
00:24:43
Rebecca Bloomfield
Um, I have way more, options if I'm, yeah, really wanting to like meet a goal and I'm close and, um,
00:24:43
Elena Blair
Yes.
00:24:52
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, that that was a big thing I took away from the mastermind for sure.
00:24:57
Elena Blair
What I would challenge you to do now is in the next year, make the goal a little bit higher.
00:25:03
Elena Blair
and And you will hit it. You will hit it. it's but When you're in the first few years of business, you go up in revenue pretty quickly because you're usually undercharging a little bit and it's like you're still figuring things out and all of that. But it's really smart to like raise that goal. And there's it's something that I call abundance capacity.
00:25:03
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, yeah.
00:25:20
Elena Blair
And it's it's something that i that happens to me that I have to work on all the time, where I'll i'll realize year after year, wait, I've made the exact same amount three years in a row, doing seemingly doing more. Like what what's going on there? And i I feel like there's a little bit of a mindset thing, it's a nervous system thing where we feel safe with a certain number.
00:25:41
Elena Blair
and And we're almost afraid to go higher than that for so many reasons.
00:25:41
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:25:45
Elena Blair
it Taxes, do we have the time? do we ah And so your your nervous system sort of brings you back down to that safe number. And so you have to actually just ask for more.
00:25:52
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:25:54
Elena Blair
You have to set the goal higher and then you know do what it takes to get there. And a lot of times it's just a price increase, to be honest, when you're in the earlier stages. but
00:26:02
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:26:02
Elena Blair
But for some, it's it's more more offers or whatever.
00:26:05
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Yeah. And just having the feeling of like, wow, I am able to reach that goal that I probably, I felt like probably a little embarrassed even saying what my goal was like talking about money felt hard.
00:26:16
Rebecca Bloomfield
Um, am I asking for too much?
00:26:17
Elena Blair
Okay.
00:26:18
Rebecca Bloomfield
All that stuff comes up, you know, and then just having to nail down a number is super helpful. And yeah, like you said, capacity, I do feel like seeing that I can reach it helps make it possible for me to keep, um,
00:26:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
I don't know, receiving more. Like I i used to be a farmer, so I have like sort of land farming analogies. But like if you water really dry soil, it's not going to absorb any of the water.
00:26:45
Rebecca Bloomfield
And if you like trickle water in for a little bit, it's slowly able to then absorb more of it. And I i feel like that's me with money stuff, you know. um Good.
00:26:54
Elena Blair
that's a butte That was a beautiful analogy, actually. it's it's so It's true.
00:26:57
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:26:58
Elena Blair
And i um in the in the program and with students, i i if someone's starting at zero, let's say you've never made any money with photography, or maybe you've made like $5,000 or $10,000, even though I think it's possible for you to make $100,000 in your first year, ah if you set your goal higher than your nervous system can handle,
00:27:19
Elena Blair
If you you you self-sabotage a lot and you feel a lot of failure when you don't go
00:27:19
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm.
Balancing Artistic Vision and Client Needs
00:27:24
Elena Blair
there. Actually, I think I've probably used this analogy for you because I use it a lot in in the Mastermind. But it's I was once listening to this um fitness coach on a podcast and he was saying, you know, i was he was working with a guy that wanted to start running every day of the week. And the guy was like, okay, he's like, let's set a goal. what How many days a week are you what are we how many days are week are you running right now? And he's like, zero. He's like, OK, well, let's set your goal up running two times a week starting in this in this first six months. He's like, no way.
00:27:53
Elena Blair
I'm going to do seven, seven times a week. And he's like, no, we're going to start lower. And the guy pushed back and he set the goal of seven and he never hit it. Right. And then he stopped running again altogether. And it's kind of like that with money. It's like if you set it really, really high.
00:28:07
Elena Blair
when you're still at zero, your, your nervous system isn't regulated to that point yet. So it actually makes sense to do like a step system. And so usually it's like, if you're starting at zero, let's next year make 30, then the year after that, let's make 60.
00:28:15
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:19
Elena Blair
And then the year after that gets you to your six figures, it works a little better that way. And for the exact reason that you said, it's like, you have to expand to that next level of of wealth, that next level of income.
00:28:31
Elena Blair
And, um, and And you're more likely to keep going when you hit goals. When you hit goals, it's very satisfying. So then you're like, okay, now I can make it a bigger goal. Now I can make it a bigger goal. And it works a lot better that way to go up slower.
00:28:44
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, and it takes you know a lot of intention and um good money practices and all that stuff to like help yourself expand in that way. um Yeah, but it's cool to to see it happen.
00:28:59
Elena Blair
Yeah, good for you. Congratulations. um
00:29:01
Rebecca Bloomfield
Thanks.
00:29:02
Elena Blair
We do a lot of money mindset work in that mastermind. I think I already said that. but And i I don't talk enough about the fact that i I'm a life coach. I i took a certification for it i don't talk about it enough. But um the money mindset stuff is so important because when you become the steward of your income, when you are the person that is going to be bringing it in,
00:29:23
Elena Blair
It just brings up so much of your money issues. All of us have them, by the way. Every person alive, whether you grew up wealthy or poor, has money mindset issues, has money that money stories that are circulating and driving the entire money map of your life.
00:29:27
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:39
Elena Blair
like it's It's got to be explored. It has to be healed. You have to heal your money story. And it's an ongoing process. It's an ongoing process for sure, but it's so expansive when it happens.
00:29:53
Elena Blair
It really is.
00:29:54
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, it's such a foundational thing to to explore. It's hard to imagine doing the work without exploring that stuff first. you know
00:30:03
Elena Blair
Yeah, so many people don't. lot of people don't even know about it, about money mindset and and the money stories and all of that.
00:30:06
Rebecca Bloomfield
Right.
00:30:09
Elena Blair
So i's I love it. I think it's fascinating. It's a fun it's a fun thing to learn about about yourself and a little scary sometimes. But yeah, totally, totally.
00:30:17
Rebecca Bloomfield
Always more to learn about ourselves.
00:30:20
Elena Blair
So what tell me, um you know just live on the call, I would love to help you work through anything that you're that you're pushing up against right now. what's What's working for you right now and what's not?
00:30:32
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. um Okay. What's working? I mean, yeah, SEO stuff. I feel super clear on like um how to yeah, the sort of behind the scenes stuff on the website, um messaging on my website, what I'm putting out there, what kind of yeah, what of my work I'm showing to people, like you said, to try to track the right clients, um all of that's going pretty well.
00:30:54
Rebecca Bloomfield
And I, yeah, I guess we we did touch on this before, but the like, what to say yes to what to say no to thing, like I think, also related to manifesting stuff, sometimes saying no to things helps open doors for other stuff.
00:31:08
Rebecca Bloomfield
Like I have just decided I'm not going to do weddings anymore.
00:31:09
Elena Blair
Yes.
00:31:12
Rebecca Bloomfield
and That makes you know, I feel a little nervous about it, because that can be a good chunk of money. But um I feel pretty clear that it's not the right fit. um But yeah, the, I still struggle a little with like what, ah what packages to offer, how many sessions, I don't want to overwhelm people. I don't want to offer too many. Sometimes simple feels better. So I feel a little stuck with it. And I know there are some ways I've found some clarity in terms of like, you know, wanting to lean into the the documentary stuff and put only that out there. But I, I think I just still feel that pull of like, but
00:31:51
Rebecca Bloomfield
also offer people what they, what you know you can get hired for. Like, um there are plenty of people around here who want family photos. And so I keep, I just have this little, you know, voice that's like, just keep offering the like sort of shorter, a little more traditional sessions. um Cause it's scary to not, I guess.
00:32:10
Elena Blair
Yeah, I see.
00:32:11
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:32:11
Elena Blair
that Well, what, how, how ah often are you booking the documentary sessions?
00:32:19
Rebecca Bloomfield
I, okay. So I've been offering, i haven't done any of the full day, um you know, day in the life ones. Um, but so I've been offering two hour ones. Basically I took out the half day cause I wanted to simplify and how many have I done? I've done maybe, don't know. Um, definitely fewer than the one hour sessions, maybe up to 10 them.
00:32:43
Elena Blair
Okay.
00:32:43
Rebecca Bloomfield
ah Yeah. And then I started offering over the summer, someone reached out and was like, I don't know if my kids can hold it together for two hours. Is there any way you would offer a one hour? And so I, you know, came up with a one hour option um for her and then ended up just offering it in general. And that's what ended up getting booked way more.
00:33:04
Rebecca Bloomfield
um And they were a mix of documentary, even though I say they're documentary and this is good learning for me to just be way more clear about what that looks like.
00:33:15
Rebecca Bloomfield
But some ended up being, you know, families kind of standing together and, or even directing me a little bit being like, oh, did you get that over there? Oh, can you get one of us here?
00:33:26
Elena Blair
Um, yeah.
00:33:28
Rebecca Bloomfield
um Which is not when I do my my best work. I can do it though. I've also gotten better, I think technically with taking photos and I can get beautiful shots of people that are a little more traditional or even gently guided still look a little candid.
00:33:44
Rebecca Bloomfield
um so I can do it and yeah.
00:33:47
Elena Blair
So what I would ask. um And i i I see the friction point for people with young kids where schedules are busy and you you are wondering if two hours is, it's just about the time, right? So i'm I'm wondering though, if in that one hour session that you do, if you're able to produce a gallery of mostly documentary photos, because you probably are.
00:34:15
Rebecca Bloomfield
I can, and I have. It's true. It ends up being a little, one hour is not enough time to really, like usually people kind of want to do something like they'll wander around a park and I'll sort of follow them around. Or it's not usually an in-home one.
00:34:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
um It's kind of like they want to have the a photo session and have it feel like a photo shoot.
00:34:33
Elena Blair
Okay.
00:34:38
Rebecca Bloomfield
um
00:34:38
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:34:39
Rebecca Bloomfield
that's That's not in their words, but that's how it feels. Yeah. So it feel it just doesn't seem like the same kind of documentary to me. So it might, it's definitely a lot of candids.
00:34:53
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, majority candids, even if we're meeting at a park or something. And then
00:34:57
Elena Blair
So I wonder if you, cause because are your longer in documentary sessions meant to be in home?
00:35:02
Rebecca Bloomfield
yes, in home or, you know, somewhere else they love if there's, yeah.
00:35:06
Elena Blair
needs all
00:35:07
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:35:08
Elena Blair
I wonder if you could try, just see if it would, it how it would feel for you, see if it would feel aligned for you. If you could and grab, you know, get one family, maybe do this one for free, or maybe not, maybe just the next one that comes your way.
00:35:23
Elena Blair
But if you could go into the home and see if one hour, if you could produce a documentary gallery in a shorter amount of time, because,
00:35:32
Rebecca Bloomfield
Hmm.
00:35:33
Elena Blair
And so ah i'm I'm not saying to change your whole practice because I know that for some people, like there are documentary photographers that like move in for the weekend. Like I know that this is definitely,
00:35:44
Elena Blair
So, ah that you know, there is a market for it. You have to find it. But if you are trying to sort of hit the balance right now while you're growing and still want to feel fulfilled as an artist, like if you the way that I'm like, it's you know coming to me in my brain right now, channeling in is could you say, I'm going to have a really great intake form that is going to a explain to them my style, but also maybe we pre plan And maybe that's going against your, you know, your style.
00:36:12
Elena Blair
But we we say, going to come into the home and we're going to pre-plan three different activities that you're going to do during that time. And and maybe instead of saying one or two hours, just the session is going to 60 to 90 minutes and give them like a time frame and then say in that time, we're going to
00:36:18
Rebecca Bloomfield
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:36:29
Elena Blair
bake cookies, read your favorite books and take a bath. I don't know. I'm just making up. you You'll be better at this than me because this is what your vision is. but um and then And then in the last 10 minutes, I just want to photograph you guys in your living room you know or whatever, or in your backyard. And so may almost giving it a little bit of like a...
00:36:47
Elena Blair
script, not ah or a ah not a script, but like a, it's almost like the, what is the word I'm thinking about for movies? A screenplay.
00:36:57
Elena Blair
You know, you're almost like saying, this is what we're going to do, and then it's going to, but it's going to unfold naturally, and I'm going to document it well and do it in a shorter amount of time, rather than just making it long and waiting for moments to unfold, sort of being
00:36:59
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:37:13
Elena Blair
in control of it that might make it so you can do it in the shorter amount of time it still feels aligned to your your artistic vision but you're playing on their insecurity about time being too much
00:37:24
Rebecca Bloomfield
yeah I think it's also, it's so funny because earlier today I was working on like a list of things that I could tell clients to maybe do with their family. If they're not quite sure what to do during a documentary session, like exactly.
00:37:35
Elena Blair
so i think
00:37:37
Rebecca Bloomfield
Take bath is a great one. I'll, I'll add that. But um yeah, like make make something in the kitchen, pull out a favorite book, you know, wander, wander around outside with your kids, that kind of stuff.
00:37:48
Rebecca Bloomfield
Because I think it that's help It helps people envision what the session could look like. And it also helps them see that like all that stuff that they probably do on a regular basis is what I want to photograph.
00:38:00
Rebecca Bloomfield
um
00:38:00
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:38:02
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, but that's a good idea to try the like 60 to 90 minute, what can I get in in that frame?
00:38:08
Elena Blair
Yeah, just to see if, cause I bet you could produce a gallery that felt aligned with your who you are as an artist in that shorter amount of time and without having to be there as long. And so that might that might help to, again, remove that friction. The people who are like, oh, the time is the the time is an issue for us. It's not necessarily that we don't love the photos. We want that, but we want it in a shorter amount of time. I wonder if you could do that.
00:38:32
Rebecca Bloomfield
yeah
00:38:32
Elena Blair
And I mean, I think you could, i think you probably could. and mean And maybe even, like I said, not not putting a time limit on it, just saying ah an approximation. And that's that's better too, because you want people to be paying you for your talent, not your time.
00:38:42
Rebecca Bloomfield
yeah
00:38:45
Elena Blair
So then it makes it, like, I think it would make it, like it's almost like for my newborn sessions, like sometimes they last two hours, right? Because it's a newborn session, it's in the home, the baby's crying or whatever.
00:38:56
Elena Blair
And so I always just say that, you know, the sessions last anywhere from 60, to you took one to two hours is what it usually is. depend And so that they if I said, like some newborn photographers, you know, if it's like, if I said four hours, they wouldn't book me probably, not my ideal client anyway.
00:39:11
Elena Blair
They don't have that kind of they don't have that kind of time.
00:39:11
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:39:13
Elena Blair
So that might be a way to sort of work that.
00:39:14
Rebecca Bloomfield
And do you think, yeah, if I were to say like one to two hours, do you think, how do I um educate people so that they're not like, wait, so I pay you the same amount of money for, you know, what if it ends up being an hour versus two hours?
00:39:29
Rebecca Bloomfield
Like, how do I get them out of thinking?
00:39:31
Elena Blair
So this is why I actually rarely think it's a good idea to put ah your packages to be time-based. So when, and I have, I don't remember what your packages are, but when when I'm looking at people's pricing and I see package one is a short and sweet session at 30 minutes and package two is a storytelling session at two hours and package three is the adventure session at four hours.
00:39:40
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:39:56
Elena Blair
don't I'm just making that up, but what, that you're exactly right.
00:39:57
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:39:59
Elena Blair
What the client does there is they start thinking of you as an hourly hire.
00:40:04
Rebecca Bloomfield
Right.
00:40:04
Elena Blair
And so instead, what's better, what better language to use is this session lasts around and say that.
00:40:05
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:40:14
Rebecca Bloomfield
yet
00:40:14
Elena Blair
and And then from there you say, i you know, you tell them like, well, we will know when the session is, when it's time for it to end. um When I know that I've got everything that I need.
00:40:27
Elena Blair
And it's it it that's how exactly how I word mine.
00:40:27
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:31
Elena Blair
Like it's, um my sessions are really only about 45 minutes. I'm pretty fast, especially cause I use two cameras now. So I don't ever have to like stop to switch lenses. So I um i always say sessions last around an hour and that's what we say.
00:40:45
Elena Blair
and if it And sometimes they go longer. Like sometimes kids are difficult and it goes a little longer, but usually it's done in about 45 minutes. So, and i I learned that because one time And I used to say 90 minutes that my session but earlier on, this is a long time ago, it's probably 10 years ago, I used to say 90 minutes and We had a super cold morning. I still remember the session. It was twins. And the the babies were miserable because it was so cold. And we were done in 30 minutes. And I had a full gallery in 30 minutes, like for sure. And then the mom texted me later and said, you know, since we only did 30 minutes, do you think you could come and do the additional 60 minutes in our home so that the babies aren't so cold?
00:41:28
Elena Blair
And I learned then, right then, that you can't put a time on your packages because they will do that. They will 100% do that.
00:41:35
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:41:36
Elena Blair
So i would I would say that would be a shift I would make in your in your language is to make it around a certain amount of time rather than give it a time.
00:41:45
Rebecca Bloomfield
yet it's Yeah.
00:41:45
Elena Blair
Because they're paying us for our talent, not our time.
00:41:46
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:41:49
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yes. That phrase has really stuck with me.
00:41:50
Elena Blair
Yeah.
00:41:51
Rebecca Bloomfield
It's like, yeah.
00:41:53
Elena Blair
Now for wedding photographers, and you're you used to do weddings, there is a time component because, and and by the way, even my friends who are wedding photographers are like, it's so annoying.
00:41:53
Rebecca Bloomfield
thank
00:42:03
Elena Blair
They booked me for the 12 hour one and I'm just sitting at this party taking the same photo over and over again, right? Like they almost wish that they didn't have that too. But for wedding photographers, it's a little different because it is like,
00:42:12
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:42:15
Elena Blair
Some people only need a four hour, you know, stint and some people need the eight hours. They want you there while they're getting ready and they want you there for. So that makes a little a little more sense to put time on it.
00:42:26
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah, of course.
00:42:26
Elena Blair
But but that's also ah such a higher price point to you're making four to ten thousand dollars.
00:42:30
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:42:31
Elena Blair
So it's like that really makes a little more sense. But when it comes to family photography, i feel like I really feel like it's a bad idea to put time on it.
00:42:40
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Okay.
00:42:41
Elena Blair
Yeah. So and and and then that just it gets you out of any of those sticky situations if that ever happens.
00:42:46
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Yeah. No, that makes so much sense to to get clients out of thinking of just how much your time is worth.
00:42:54
Elena Blair
Right. Right.
00:42:55
Elena Blair
And then so much, ah so much more happens after those two hours too, all the other things that go into client management, like editing and everything else. But
00:42:55
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
Achieving Goals and Looking Forward
00:43:03
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yes. yeah
00:43:04
Elena Blair
yeah.
00:43:05
Elena Blair
um Well, I am super proud of you. i'm ah Congratulations. And what she is saying, so she this is, if you're listening to it next year, this is 2025. She started at the beginning. She was in the cohort that started in February, ended in June, and hit her income goal. And that's what I always tell my students is that my goal is for you to hit your income goal within 12 months of working together. Because it means some people hit it in five. Actually, have a current member who is when we did her, so it's, it's November when I did her one-on-one call in September, i was like, all right, you have to make $20,000 more to hit your goal. And she's like, that's not going to be possible in the next three months. and i was like, it is it's fall. Here's how we're going to do it. And we like looked at all her things and did the math and, and she has surpassed that 20,000 extra. She is 20. She is like waste. She way surpassed it. i actually just shared this in Instagram stories. um And anyway, so it's possible to make that your income goal in the five months that we're working together. But for most of us, from all the all of the money stuff that Rebecca and i have been talking about, it's a little bit of a step system. You've got to grow your belief. You have to get the offers out there and all the things.
00:44:14
Elena Blair
and It takes about a year. And that's exactly what's happening with you. It's like, it's going to be almost a year since we started working together. And the in the program, I want you to have a runway.
00:44:25
Elena Blair
Like we're going to, I'm going to hold your hand and then I'm going to push you off into the, on, in your plane and you're going fly it by yourself after we're done. And that's what I want is for people to get to that income goal in about 12 months.
00:44:33
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah.
00:44:36
Elena Blair
And you have, which is amazing.
00:44:37
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Well, thank you.
00:44:39
Elena Blair
Yeah, congratulations on that.
00:44:39
Rebecca Bloomfield
You made it possible.
00:44:40
Elena Blair
Well, Rebecca, tell people how they can find you because people are going to be, and she's very talented, a very talented photographer. So tell them how they can find you.
00:44:49
Rebecca Bloomfield
They can find me on Instagram, Rebecca.Bloomfield.Photography or just RebeccaBloomfield.com.
00:44:58
Elena Blair
Awesome. And we'll link that in the show notes as well.
00:45:00
Rebecca Bloomfield
Yeah. Thank you so much, Elena.
00:45:02
Elena Blair
Yeah, it was so nice to connect with you. Are you coming to the retreat in January?
00:45:05
Rebecca Bloomfield
like sure am. Yeah.
00:45:06
Elena Blair
Oh, sweet. Okay, yay. Good. Well, then I will see you in Palm Springs.
00:45:08
Rebecca Bloomfield
I'll see you in Palm Springs.
00:45:11
Elena Blair
All right, everyone. Thanks for listening. Thanks for being on, Rebecca. You're awesome. I'm so proud of you.
00:45:15
Rebecca Bloomfield
Thanks so much, Elena.
00:45:16
Elena Blair
Bye. Have a great day.
00:45:17
Rebecca Bloomfield
Bye. Bye.