Interview With Luxury Portrait And Pet Photographer Kirstie McConnell: How To Attract High-End Clients
In this exclusive interview, I speak with Kirstie McConnell. She is a renowned pet and portrait photographer and the creative force behind the Pet Photographers Club – a community and podcast which supports photographers worldwide through business and marketing education.
Having worked successfully as both a photographer and a trusted mentor to photographers worldwide, Kirstie knows a lot about marketing pet photography and luxury vacation shoots, and how to develop a thriving photography business.
And, as a seasoned podcaster too, I knew she’d make a great guest. She certainly didn’t disappoint!
Click this link or on the video preview below to listen to or watch my chat with Kirstie about building a successful photography business, the importance of community, and the nuances of marketing luxury photography services. Alternatively, you can scroll down to read the full transcript.
Kirstie has interviewed me a couple of times for The Pet Photographer’s Club podcast on the power of PR and also blogging and SEO (check out Series 9 Episode 6, and Series 15 Episode 9 for those if you’d like to take a listen).
We have also collaborated to create the Get Seen: A Guide to Press Releases for Photographers, and she involved me in her Virtual Pet Photographers Conference back in 2022, so it was lovely to be able to return the favour and put Kirstie in the spotlight in this new video series.
A pioneering pet photographer
At the beginning of our conversation, I challenged Kirstie to recall the very start of her photography career. She shared how her early exposure to photography through her grandfather influenced her career path.
She also talked candidly about her initial struggles, how she developed her first photography website and branding, and how third-party marketing partnerships proved to be a key strategy for her in the beginning. It was amazing to hear that some of those very first clients she secured are incredibly loyal and still work with her today!
She also shared her journey from becoming South Australia’s first specialist pet photographer (when pet photography wasn’t even a niche!) to more recently relocating to Italy and transitioning into family, travel, and vacation photography with her business Classico Portraits.
Photo marketing without relying on social media
Beyond our connections via the Pet Photographer’s Club podcast, I also had the pleasure of working for Kirstie in 2024, supporting her with strategic blogging, SEO and PR support. During our chat, I was thrilled to hear that her continued commitment to these marketing strategies is instrumental to the ongoing success of her business.
She vouched for the fact that content marketing still works, revealing how blogging continues to drive SEO traffic and convert portrait clients. Interestingly, she points out that through Google she can be found online by her target audience who are typically not using social media.
Watch the interview and subscribe for more
Catch the interview with Kirstie McConnell here on my YouTube channel or click on the video below.(If you enjoy it, please like, comment and subscribe while you’re there). Alternatively, you can read the transcript below if you’d prefer.
Thanks must go to Kirstie for all the great insights she shared during our chat. I hope you find our conversation interesting and useful!
LINKS & FURTHER INFORMATION
Kirstie McConnell’s Classico Portraits website
Classico Portraits on Instagram
The Pet Photographer’s Club website
The Pet Photographer’s Club Podcast
The Pet Photographer’s Club on Instagram
Video Transcript
Zoe: I’m thrilled to be speaking with professional photographer Kirstie McConnell. Kirstie needs no introduction. She’s well renowned in the photography world. She’s the creative force behind the Pet Photographers Club and the podcast of the same name, now in its 17th series. That’s a community that supports pet photographers worldwide through business and marketing education.
Back in 2013, Kirsty became South Australia’s very first photographer to specialise in pet photography. And then later, much more recently, she’s made a move to Italy, and now she’s a family, travel and vacation photographer.
Her business is known as Classico Portraits. She provides couples and families with incredible memories of their holiday anywhere in the country and she captures fun and relaxed moments against stunning Italian backdrops. Working as both a photographer and a trusted mentor to photographers worldwide obviously Kirstie knows a thing or two about marketing and how to develop a thriving photography business.
So Kirstie it’s an honor to have you here, welcome and thank you for joining us.
Kirstie McConnell: Hi Zoe. Wow. That’s quite an intro. I hope I can live up to it!
Zoe: Ha! So Kirstie, as I mentioned, you’ve done so much and you have supported so many hundreds of photographers, perhaps thousands through your podcast and through your membership. But how did it first get started? How did you find yourself in the photography world?
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah. So I’m pretty fortunate actually, I have to point that out that my grandfather was a photographer. And so subconsciously I guess, you’re influenced by people around you your whole life.
Without really knowing or appreciating, I was in front of the camera quite a lot. Because of him every single birthday, Christmas, he was taking photos of everyone just for fun, not as like a professional, but just because he appreciated the media, you know. So I was exposed to photography a lot through him.
Then it wasn’t until what I was probably 16, I suppose, year 10 at school that as my art subject at school, we did a part on photography and it was a film and we had a dark room at my school. (Now I’m showing that I’m older than my chubby cheeks!) Anyway, and so we were one of the last years to do darkroom actually. But anyway, so I got all excited and you know, I’m not really an academic kind of person, but I was definitely into my art subject. And so I got all excited and I called my grandfather when I got home and I said like will you take me out with your cameras? Cause he had a Leica and really nice gear.
So, yeah, we went out with some of his gear and he talked me through the basics of photography and I just picked it up like really quickly. And like I said, I’m not an academic. So like me picking up stuff isn’t necessarily like a given. But it just gelled with me and then I ended up having a lot of time off school because I was sick. And it turned out that when I went back to school, even though I’d missed so much of photography, like, the basics of the dark room and stuff, still, I was helping the other kids because I just managed to absorb it so well.
Anyway, I ended up spending the next three years of school just going into the dark room, like every single lunch, that was my happy place, you know? My teacher, when they closed down the dark room, he gave me all the chemicals. I was super fortunate.
So it really was a passion for me, which I guess is like most photographers. And yeah, I went on to study photography. I got my diploma and I managed to get a job well before I even finished my diploma, working for a small studio in my hometown that did high-end weddings and portraits and newborns.
And I worked there as an assistant and retoucher mostly for a little while. And yeah, that exposed me to everything. So I learned by observing mostly, and got up to date with current trends because we went to conferences and stuff like that. I improved on my editing because it’s not something we covered in my diploma. And then eventually my boss noticed that I kept taking the studio gear, which I was fortunate that I was allowed to do and photographing my own dog Flee Flee, who I still have here. She’s nearly 16. So that’s how long my photography journey has been going with pets, I suppose.
Yeah, so I was photographing her a lot. And then eventually my boss said that I was going to start photographing pets for the studio. And remember I wasn’t a photographer for that studio at the time. I was just assisting. And so that’s how it all began!
Eventually, I left there and I moved to Adelaide, South Australia and started my pet photography business there. That was quite a long introduction to my story. Sorry!
Zoe: No, it’s all fascinating! Some people find photography later in life, but it sounds like for you, it was literally there within the lifeblood of the family almost. And so it almost like it was a natural thing that you found your thing there, which is great. And to hear your story is brilliant! You know, it’s been 16-plus years since you started and you’re still going strong – it’s amazing!
After that experience that you’ve just explained, you went into pets at that point. Is that right to say?
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah, that’s right. So I was 21 and you know, all the confidence in the world of a 21 year old! Yeah. And I just picked up and moved like 1000 kilometres away with no friends, no family, nothing. And started my pet photography business. Fortunately for me, like I said, I had a pretty good foundation. I had a bit of a headstart guys. So, you know, keep in mind.
But fortunately for me, I had that background with my photography, like study plus experience. pretty much ideal. And also every single person in my family at the time. So this excludes two sisters and one auntie, but otherwise everybody else is self-employed in my family.
Zoe: Right. So…I thought you were going to say they all had pets actually! So, you had lots of pets to work with.
Kirstie McConnell: Well, they also do have pets! But, yeah, they’re all self-employed. And so I grew up like literally folding invoices and putting them in envelopes because, you know, this was back in the day, and sending them for my parents. I went to markets with my dad or expos with my dad and I was like selling things, so I kind of had this like real-life training of what business looks like.
And so for me to end up going into self-employment was not such a shock because I knew that there are ups and downs in business. I knew that you have to have proper processes in place. I knew that marketing was really important. I knew that pricing was important. I’ve had this really good base, this foundation.
And so even though it sounds crazy and it was a bit of a risk to just pick up at 21 years old and move across the country and start a business.
Zoe: …As a pet photographer, which was a new niche, it didn’t exist.
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah. A new niche!
Zoe: Yeah. And I can relate to that actually, cause my parents always had businesses. So I too was there stuffing paperwork. I did accounts and bits and pieces for them and data entry and stuff. So I think it does set you up for, “Oh, this is actually a possibility for me”. Whereas I think if you’re not necessarily surrounded by that maybe you don’t think it’s as achievable as it actually can be.
That’s really fascinating. So it sounds like everything came together, actually, the photography background, your love of pets and obviously having all of those foundations in place. So, tell us about how you marketed that business because, yes, you’ve got that experience, you’ve got that background, but how on earth did you get your very first client? Can you remember?
Kirstie McConnell: How did I get my very…actually, my first clients were before I left my hometown. And basically what I did was I connected with the local pet rescue. So I had this part of a part-time job at the time. One of my colleagues, I suppose you’d say was the fundraising coordinator for the local animal rescue. And we were chatting one day and she was telling me about the rescue, which I didn’t even know existed. And cause it was super small and it just started a few months earlier. And I said, what’s your best fundraiser? And of course, you know, in my mind, I was already like, d d d d d d d, like, how can I get in on this?
And she said, well, they’re really struggling and so on. And so I said, “Would you be interested in collaborating and doing something with photography, because maybe I can come up with some kind of idea?”. And she said, “Yeah, I think that the team would be”. And so I mulled it over for a while and I went back with a proposal which was to do a calendar.
And remember this is like 2011 or 12, maybe 2012. I don’t know anybody else at the time that was doing it. It was just like us working together, trying to figure it out, you know? Yeah. And definitely, if I did it now, I would do it really differently. But yeah, but at the time that’s what we did.
So we mailed letters of invitation and like a coupon voucher to anybody that had adopted a pet so far. And we offered them, I think it was like $75, maybe sitting fee. And for $75, they got a photo shoot and their dog in the calendar. And I don’t know, maybe like a five by seven print or something like that. And then people could purchase more if they wanted. Their audience was super small at the time. And I did not have all my ducks in a row.
Zoe: Right.
Kirstie McConnell: Certainly it was not as profitable as if I did it again now, but it was really good learning. And I did make a few sales that were in like the hundreds, a couple of no sales, I think. And one particularly good sale.
The interesting thing from that is that three of the people that I photographed for that very first marketing strategy have been like lifelong clients of mine since. Whereas I photographed them, yeah, like almost either yearly or biannually, I guess you say since then. And even though like my pricing has increased by, I don’t even know how many fold…a lot, they’re still my clients. And I think that’s really interesting because usually when you change price brackets, you lose a lot of your clients.
Zoe: Yeah. You’re moving up into a different sector of clientele. Oh, wow. That’s really cool. So what an endorsement for your services then! That’s really interesting. So that obviously got the foundations of the business going. So did you look to replicate that model with other charities, with other dog rescues, for example, or was it something that you just tried that once? And then you moved on to other things from a marketing point of view.
Kirstie McConnell: Thinking about it, I did do more partnership marketing, but not with rescues because I moved. And I remember, I reached out to quite a few different rescues or shelters in Adelaide. But you know, It doesn’t always, it’s not the right timing or, you have to wait until if they’re like a proper organization, you have to wait until they have a board meeting.
And anyway, I found it quite hard to actually make something happen. I did eventually years later. But so it wasn’t like the first few years anyway. In fact, the first few years in Adelaide were really slow and really hard if I’m honest. Because like I said, I was marketing my new business and a genre, an entire niche. You know, people were not looking for pet photography. I would have a stall at a market or or expo or something, an event, and people would be like, “Is this a thing? Do people pay you for this?”.
Which I think they still are in some parts of the world like that, but certainly Melbourne, Sydney, LA, New York, you know, it’s completely a known thing in big cities now fast forward a decade or so, but yeah, back then it was hard. So it was quite slow the first couple of years. And of course, I was new, I was 21 years old, and even though I had that kind of background in my family businesses, they were totally different businesses, none of which were luxury services like pet photography.
Yeah. And so, you know, I had to find my, find my way of making it happen, but yes, coming back to your question, definitely. Partnership marketing was a big part of what did work but not necessarily with rescues or charities.
My first great partner in Adelaide was a dog groomer. And we did third-party marketing.
So she would send Christmas vouchers to her clients basically. And she had three salons and a huge list of VIPs. So that worked really well. Yeah, actually a big, big, portion of my clients in Adelaide over all the years was through third-party marketing.
Zoe: That’s interesting. And obviously a strategy that people can potentially go away and think about implementing themselves if they’re not already. I think that is key in my experience as well, not only in the pet world but in all aspects of photography, actually, there are always third parties that are relevant with a suitable client base that you can collaborate with and, you know, help each other essentially. And I see that working in lots of different ways. But it’s interesting that you started with that and that you found mixed success, but clearly learned a lot. Yeah. that’s really cool.
So what content-wise have you had to do to market your business? Because I’m presuming then that was one aspect of it – the collaborations and the partnerships. But you must have thought, right, I really need to get out there with a website. I mean, did you have a website at that point and how much content did you invest in at that point to get the word out?
Kirstie McConnell: Geez, Zoe! You’re taking me back a few years here. .
Zoe: Ha! I know!
Kirstie McConnell: Okay. So when I first started, I was under Kirstie M Photography. And then I very quickly decided that I was specializing in pets. And so basically in the beginning, like most people, I didn’t have much money, and so I couldn’t just pay for somebody to do my website or logo or branding or anything like a lot of people. So I just made do. I also had no idea how to build a website and things like Squarespace did not exist.
Zoe: Yeah, we have it so easy now compared, don’t we?
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah, yeah, and I also feel like old, not in age, but like in business years.Anyway, so yeah, I kind of fumbled with learning WordPress. Luckily I had a friend whose boyfriend was a web developer. So he helped me with the backend stuff. buying a domain, I guess, getting a host and like all of these things you have to do. Then email hosting.
Anyway, it was a nightmare because, you know, things were clunky and I didn’t build it well and nothing was done really well. So basically after about 18 months, I started to…or during that 18 months, I was saving portions of my sales to reinvest into my business, which of course we all want to do if we’re able to.
And so what I decided was my goal was to be able to afford proper branding and a proper website. And so that’s what I did basically. And I think around the same time as when I did the branding maybe is when Squarespace was a thing or I learned about it at least. And so it kind of all came together pretty nicely because I scratched around and collected some money. And yeah, like, guys, you do not need to do this. But I think, maybe then you did… I paid a graphic design studio to design my logo and help me with my branding, which became Bits of Burnout Photography.
And I love my logo, even still today, I love it, even though I don’t use it now since I rebranded again when I moved, but I really did love it. It was a lot of money. It probably didn’t help me get more clients, this logo, but what it did was it made me feel more professional.
Zoe: I was going to say, it gives you that confidence, doesn’t it, to go out there and you look professional. You feel awesome about what it is that you’re doing, so it’s an investment worth making.
Kirstie McConnell: I think so. And they also helped me with the colours and all of this kind of thing. And they told me exactly what the hex code was so the yellow was the same yellow, like no matter if it was printed or digital or whatever. And that’s something that I would have had to fumble my way of learning myself. So there was this kind of extra perks. So yeah, then I did create a website – a new one that was decent – I think. And I had this beautiful logo and colours. I had business cards and flyers and all of this stuff.
And then I started blogging. Although honestly, back then, I don’t really know why? Because nobody was searching for a pet photographer. It would have been smarter if I had used a proper strategy, like what you would teach Zoe, you know, like if I was blogging, not just about dog photos, but actually about the things that pet parents would search.
And that is what I do today actually, that strategy, like what you would recommend Zoe. But yes, back then I didn’t, I just put up photo shoots that I did and made a blog. Cause I thought I was supposed to put content out there, but you know, we all learn.
Zoe: Yeah, absolutely. I think what you’re explaining is that you were fumbling through, but you know, that’s so true for everyone in business. And I think you come so far in this, in the years that you have a business and you look back and you think, gosh, I can’t believe that that’s what I did. Like you’ve already said, you’ve just got to… imperfect action I think is better than you know, trying to get it perfect. Because you’ll never be perfect anyway, while you’re learning, it’s all new, isn’t it? And it all sounds like you did all the right things and got started with content.
So, am I right to say that you’re passionate now about content in the sense that you’re blogging regularly with your current business and website and you’re gaining traction, you know, traffic through Google and organic means because of that? You’re continuing to invest in that and prioritise that in your business, aren’t you?
Kirstie McConnell: Absolutely. Yeah. Now, actually my clients are split almost 50/50 between SEO and third party marketing. So what I did from the very beginning still works guys. I just want to say this to the audience, the listener if you’re just stuck, you don’t know how to get clients in the first place and, getting traffic to your website does take time, find partners who already have an audience and see what you can offer them to offer to their clients. It has to be a win, win, win – like win for you, win for the client and win for the other business. But if you can make that happen, like that is a free way to get clients and it can be pretty instant. I mean, not one day to the next, but within a month or six weeks.
And so I highly recommend that strategy, but you don’t want to have all your eggs in one basket. And so third-party marketing is great and having as many different partners as possible obviously helps with that. But it’s also nice to have another completely different kind of marketing stream and also to attract a different type of client as well.
You know, my clients that come to me through third-party marketing, perhaps they weren’t actively looking. Fast forward to today where I’m running classical portraits and I live in Italy and my clients are mostly tourists, and I don’t speak Italian very well still. And so that’s why I’m not really targeting pets as much locally.
But for the families, yeah, the families that are traveling that I photograph here if they come through third-party marketing, a lot of the time, they’re not actively looking for a photo shoot when they’re in Italy. Maybe it hasn’t even crossed their mind that it’s an option, but then they’re given a voucher or a push from their hotel or whoever the partner is, and that’s why they ended up booking the shoot for me.
So maybe they’ve already paid for a lot of their trip and they weren’t planning to budget for an expense like mine, a photography experience. And so, you know, some of them end up being amazing clients and some of them are on my lowest spend end, which is around the 2000 euro mark, two and a half thousand euro, which to clarify, I’m travelling like a lot.
So that’s quite a low spend. So, you know, I want another avenue of clients coming in and the best for that for me is definitely if they come from Google, because those people are actively looking for a photographer at the time that they’re planning their travels, which means they’re allocating a budget for it.
And that’s where the content stuff comes in so strongly and why I’m spending so much time on it, even though, you know, it’s free and easy and hands off for me to go through third party because it’s just rinse and repeat. I don’t even have to talk to them basically apart from just saying like, “Hey, I still love you guys! Thanks so much!”.
You know, otherwise it’s hands off. Whereas blogging is, you know, it takes time, obviously. But for me, it’s absolutely worth it. I mean, I had just a few months ago, a client spend 12 and a half thousand euros who came through Google.
Zoe: That’s amazing.
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah. I mean, the average salary in Italy is like 1500 euros a month, so just put that in perspective. Yeah. I mean, that’s not every day that was like incredibly high spend. But if I didn’t spend time on my content marketing, so that’s blogging and getting guest blogs and stuff like that, then I wouldn’t be ranking on Google and she would never have found me.
And she would have probably spent instead 500 euros with somebody else getting a fraction of the service of what she wanted this particular client. And so I would have missed out on her. She wouldn’t have had the same experience because nobody else here offers the full experience that I’m offering.
Zoe: Yeah, you’re unique in that sense. Aren’t you where you are?
Kirstie McConnell: Exactly. And so, absolutely, I’m a big believer in content marketing. And I hope that like by sharing that, that little story that that can inspire somebody else to get into blogging and everything else.
Zoe: Yeah. Cause like you say, it takes time and it can be like the last thing on everybody’s priority list until you actually start getting results like that, you start ranking, you start seeing an increase in traffic and you start having people comment, “Oh, I read that blog…”. Someone said to me once, “I’ve read every blog on your website”. And I was like, “Really?” At that time, this was years ago…but you know, they were ready to work with me.
And that for me was what moved the needle. It was the fact that they’d read everything that I had to offer online and much like they’re probably doing in your case, or certainly the articles that are of interest to them, but very much getting a sense of your vibe, your expertise, you know, you’re nurturing them if you’re doing the content properly, strategically, that is. You know, putting the idea into their head, but then also giving them compelling reasons as to why this is a great investment, showing examples, doing that whole nurture piece yeah, it really does work.
And I know people are out there still saying, “Oh, what’s the point of blogging, why bother? I’m going to just keep doing reels and get great visibility, for example on Instagram”…but I’m a bit like invest in your website, invest in your content and it’s great to hear that…wow. That result is phenomenal!
Kirstie McConnell: Well, yeah. And they’re different audiences, Zoe. I mean, this client that just spent that pack of money with me, she’s not on Instagram. She’s a grandma, she’s not on Instagram. She is not on TikTok. You would never, I would never would have found her in particular through any other avenue other than Google. Or if her hotel had have given, or her villa had have given her a voucher for me. They’re the only two ways she would have ever found out about me.
And I do believe, like, if I look back at my high-spending clients, they’re almost all the same. My second highest spending client she’s young, like, 40s, but she’s a high-level executive. She has zero time. The time that she has is spent with her son and her husband, and that is definitely not online. And the rest of the time she’s traveling all over the country because of her work. She’s not on social media.
There’s no way, even though she’s in the age demographic to be…like to a lot of my younger clients, I let them know, “Anything you purchase in print, you’re going to get as digital form”, ’cause that’s my pricing model. And I often then add, “So you can share on social media”, blah, blah, blah. And that client in particular that I’ve just mentioned the 40-year-old executive, she was like, “Oh no, we don’t need it for social media”. And that’s a common thing I’m hearing through my really high-spending clients.
They’re not coming to me to post something on social media because they’re not doing social media themselves. They’re not about sharing their life with the world. Other than like on their own walls where their real friends would come and see it. And so for me personally, knowing my audience and knowing the audience, I want to attract more of, there is absolutely no point in me doing TikTok.
And if you look on my Instagram, probably my last post was a month ago. Like I am super inactive on socials. I just put enough so that people know I’m still alive. And that’s all I stick to because I know my audience. And so instead of doing TikTok, which I would hate, it’s not my thing. I spend the time instead putting these blogs together, which by the way, is also not easy for me. Like I said, I’m not really an academic. I don’t really love writing or anything like that, but I look at it like a creative outlet and I try to get creative with it. I try to get fun with it.
I follow your formula Zoe. And honestly, I know, like I’m banging on about it, but it’s really, it’s been so great for me to find these extra clients that wouldn’t have come to me otherwise. And not just blogging, but also like the content on the website as well – I hired a professional copywriter and I’m really glad I did. That was money well spent. Sales pages, you know, just having like Well written, well-structured content that really answers people’s questions.
Zoe: And that is so true. Your website really tells a story. It paints the picture of why you got into photography, which we’ve touched on in this interview. But the fact that you are so passionate about capturing those family moments and, you know, that obviously molds nicely into your story as a business owner and what you’re doing now. And I think that comes across really well. It’s really compelling.
And I think like you say, that’s a great investment because that’s there then for people to really understand what it is you’re doing, why you’re doing it. And to really feel that passion and also get that connection between themselves and you just by purely reading that copy and seeing beautiful photography as well, of course.
Yeah, that’s fantastic, fascinating and really interesting to hear your take on social media. I bet there are some photographers watching or listening, they might be well invested in social media and wondering why if they’re trying to reach that more luxury high-end client, why they’re not getting those bookings.
So I think it’s, you know, important to be real about your ideal client. And, obviously with all marketing, that’s true, isn’t it? I mean, you’ve got experience now in different businesses in the pet world, obviously now in the luxury vacation photography industry, but also with your pet photographers club as well, because you’re doing the mentoring. So you needed to know who your clients were, what their pain points were and what they need and what they need to hear and see and feel throughout. So you’ve got such a breadth of experience.
Is there anything. In particular about the mentoring side of the business, that’s been particularly effective with regards to marketing, you’ve grown that to how many members do you have these days?
Kirstie McConnell: The Pet Photographers Club, it’s really a side hustle, a passion project, honestly, even still today, 17 seasons on. That’s how it was started. And I’ve recently really brought it back to that, like I’m viewing it more as a hobby again now.
Whereas before, like there was a period because, you know, I’m not photographing and I think, you know, we all go through different relationships with our businesses. And yeah, with the pet photographers club, definitely it was a bit… it was taking up a lot of energy for a little while. You know, because I was stressed about how can I keep making sure I’m providing great content when I’m not really photographing pets much anymore. That was something that was really stressing me. But anyway I am still photographing pets when I go back to Australia and every now and again I get to photograph pets here, which is pretty cool as well.
I just did one a couple of weeks ago and it was really fun. This amazing golden retriever in the middle of the historical centre in Lecce, which is in the south of Italy. And anyway, it was just really beautiful and fun. And, also with the Pet Photographers Club, with the podcast, most of the information, well, it’s not me sharing advice. I’m just the host. Right. And so it’s other experts. So that’s all fine.
But also a lot of the information that the guests are sharing is relevant to all kinds of business. And in fact, for Classico Portraits, I pick up lots from the Pet Photographers Club that I implement in my business now, even though my audience is parents.
Anyway, so now I’ve kind of in the last, I don’t know, year, I suppose I’ve kind of found my love again for the Pet Photographers Club. I think I needed a little break from something.
Zoe: That’s great to hear. I mean, 17 seasons in, I mean, goodness me, you’ve been doing it for a while. So I think you can be forgiven for having your interest ebb and flow because that’s like you say, it’s a big time commitment to create content, even if interviewing people, you know, setting it up, doing the Production behind the scenes, the editing, the publishing. I mean, all of this content, it does take time and it’s a fantastic resource, isn’t it? For not only the podcast listeners who are getting it for free, but also then you’ve got your community, as you said, and the constant need to provide value for them as paying members. It’s, it’s tough. Knowing what you know now, would you endorse the membership model still?
Kirstie McConnell: Oh, definitely. If somebody is wanting to create a community or something, yeah, absolutely. I mean, like I said, it’s a passion project. It always has been. Back when it was the two of us, neither of us put in the time or money investment to really grow it into like a proper business, because it was never that, you know, and, as you can tell from this interview, my photography is my main income by many fold.
And I feel like if I was to split my time evenly between the two, then I believe my mindset would have to change and the Pet Photographers Club would not be a passion project anymore. It would have to become a proper business. And I feel like that’s not fair on the members or the listeners because that’s not what it was ever about. And I do believe that it would change for them and I don’t know for me, I get enough out of it. I mean, yeah, there is a membership and that covers the cost of, you know how it is, subscriptions and all the things to run it.
Now I’ve made it easier. Like I said, I’ve refound my passion for it. And so one of the things to help with that was to ease kind of the time commitment. And so I have an editor that edits the podcast. So, you know, the cost of the membership covers that and all of these kinds of things.
So back to your question, if somebody wants to start a membership, do I recommend it? I think yes, but know what your goal is. And if it’s to make money, that’s totally fine too. I mean, that’s cool. Just be honest with yourself about that and put in a strategy that’s going to make money. For us, back then when we started it, the photography community was pretty small, but growing really rapidly. And so we wanted to be part of that instead of all of us, like, you know, there was just me in Adelaide, there was Caitlin in Melbourne, there was I don’t know, Charlotte in Brisbane, like whatever, there was just like one of us per city. And so it’s not like we could go out for coffee. And so our goal was like, bring those people together…
Zoe: ….create community.Yeah.
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah. And feel like, Oh, we’re not alone. And to share what we knew and to have other people share what they know. And I’m trying to keep it that way because that’s how it started. And it was for me, myself, I wanted that, you know, and that’s why we created it. And so, just, I think, know what your goal is, like anything, isn’t it?
Zoe: Same with any business, know your ideal client. Know your goal. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I’ve created similar, not similar because it’s very small scale but communities are what it’s all about. I mean, I’ve created a group locally when I first started out…I’m in Dorset in the UK and I created a PR freelancer community for that very reason… to connect with like-minded people and to give each other support, it was never a business. It was never a paid thing. It was just free meetups.
Similarly with my PR Savvy Photographers Facebook group, it’s just trying to bring people together and to help them connect and learn from each other and, you know, that was the origin of that as well.
And I think that is important, but of course, as the host, you benefit from the visibility in the industry, which of course, you’ve got, as I said in the introduction…such a great profile as a result of constantly supporting and mentoring photographers and your peers, which is very commendable and you’ve achieved so much. Wow, 17 series and you know, a successful membership too.
You know, it is not easy. As we’re clearly talking through, the challenges are there. But you’re very well renowned and very successful. So it’s so well done to you for sticking with it and long may it last!
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah. Well, like I said, I do enjoy, I mean, now after a little bit of a up and down kind of love, hate thing for a few months, I do enjoy it. And it’s usually when I’ve had a break from recording that I start to like overthink it. But then like, I’ve recently just done like a whole bunch of recording and l love it because you’re in the flow. And I get to ask the questions that also I’m interested in, that’s not just for the audience.
And so, yeah, it helps my business Classico Portraits. It makes me feel less lonely because I’m actually chatting to like another photographer that gets it.
Zoe: Interaction with people, you know, shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s so important, isn’t it? And I think we’re all as it, as solopreneurs, behind our screens working away a lot of the time. Photographers obviously are interacting with clients. But yeah, it can be lonely, can’t it? And yeah, I can see the value of that. Definitely.
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah. So it’s nice to be back in the flow.
Zoe: Yeah. Nice. So maybe it’s just the fact that you need to work, as you do, in seasons with the podcast, you know. You just take breaks from it to keep that passion alive. And I think we can all relate to that, we’re not all wanting to blog every five minutes, but you know, if we get into a flow, a creative flow with it, we can actually potentially create more content and then take a break and then come back to it. And I think that’s totally normal and realistic. We can’t all expect to be consistent machines when it comes to in fact any aspect of our businesses, can we? It’s a creative process at the end of the day.
Kirstie McConnell: Absolutely. And I think being honest with yourself about what your schedule looks like as well, can help with that because I’m coming into my quiet season now for my photography. And so it makes sense that I’m seeing less people. I’ve got less work and so not money-wise, just time-wise I’m talking about, and so of course, now I have kind of mental capacity to put back into the Pet Photographers Club and so then it’s nice for me to have an interview and chat with somebody. So I think, moving forward, I will try to do this, like try to do a run.
You’d think after 17 seasons, I would have learned this by now, but apparently it’s all new! I think I would try to repeat this again, like, you know, not try to record during my peak season for Classico Portraits because that’s when it becomes a bit like a stress.
But yeah, now that it’s quite season for Classico Portraits, it’s nice to have the time to put back into the Pet Photographers Club. So I’ll probably try to just avoid that peak season moving forward for recording.
Zoe: Yeah. And I think photographers who are trying to fill their diaries can totally relate to that in that sense. You are naturally going to have busy periods, seasonal periods perhaps. And it’s being aware of your boundaries, being aware of your energy and, just being kind to yourself and remembering that, yes, this is a business, but actually, you’re the, you’re the centre of it. And if you’re not happy and healthy and functioning then everything’s going to be impacted.
So yeah, listening and being in tune with yourself and what your priorities are at the time. And those priorities change, don’t they? So yeah, be kind to yourself. That’s what I suppose we’re saying ultimately, isn’t it?
Kirstie McConnell: Yeah, absolutely.
Zoe: Kirsty, you’ve shared so much. Thank you. You’ve been really generous talking about when it all started for you and then also to talking about your more recent projects and endeavours and it all sounds fantastic. It’s so great to hear that content is playing a huge part in helping to drive traffic and generate clients for you. Long may that continue as well.
So, thank you so much. Obviously those listening/watching can find more about Kirsty at classicoportraits.com and also the petphotographersclub.com. So do check out her work and thank you ever so much again, Kirsty. It’s been a joy to speak to you today.
Kirstie McConnell: Thanks Zoe, always nice to chat with you.
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