THE LATEST
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RUNNING A PHOTO BIZ
Traveling the World with (Nice) Cameras
It's no secret - Jeff and I have nice cameras. And nice lenses. It's kind of a requirement in our profession. It's also no secret that we like to travel. In fact, back in 2010 Jeff and I spent two months living in Singapore and traveling through Southeast Asia,...
Ira Glass on the First Creative Years
For anyone who has ever been a creative, my question to you: When do those years of disappointment with your work end and satisfaction with your art begins? Does it ever happen? Or is there always going to be a (healthy) disappointment? Whatever the answer may be,...
Inside Your Pricing: It’s Not About the Numbers
One of the topics that we get asked most about (and I mean most by a long shot) relates to how folks should price themselves in their photography business. And I get it. there's an authentic felt need for photographers to "get everything together" in order to book...
The Dark Side of the Lens
I found this video a while ago, and if I'm being honest, I go back and watch it all the time. But only if I'm being honest... It's a promo video of sorts for the acclaimed surf photographer Mickey Smith, but honestly it's more of an art piece than an actual promo...
Ten Must-Dos for Your First Year in Business
So you’ve decided to take the plunge and hang out your shingle as a wedding photographer, huh? First, congratulations. It takes a lot of courage to do that. Second, be strong. Because as much courage as it took to hang out your shingle, it takes even more courage...
Cut Your Culling Time in Half
Have you ever listened to a This American Life podcasts from NPR? If you haven't, then I congratulate you on your cool-ness. If you have listened to way too much NPR, then you are either an uber-nerd or a photographer that's editing. I happen to fall into both...
Freebie : Our Asana Social Media Calendar
grab our free SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR We use Asana to track all of our social media channels, so grab our sample calendar to see where to post and when. See How We Do It! We use Asana to track our blog, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, to make sure we're getting...
Stockshop Special Offer for Creative Rising Listeners
a special offer from SC STOCKSHOP + SOCIAL SQUARESSocial Squares is your secret weapon for an endless supply of gorgeous images for social media and beyond! Boss ladies like Marie Forleo, Jenna Kutcher and Julie Solomon love and use Social Squares images and we...
Freedom Edits Special Offer for Creative Rising Listeners
a special offer from FREEDOM EDITS Trusting your post production to someone else can be a difficult thing, but Freedom Edits has made the process of outsourcing our editing simple and enjoyable. We use them and love them! YOUR FIRST JOB, FREE. SERIOUSLY. That's...
KISS Books Special Offer for Creative Rising Listeners
a special offer from KISS BOOKS KISS Books is who we trust for our wedding and portrait albums, and we're head over heels in love with the quality, beauty, and hand-crafted process.50% OFF A GETTING STARTED KIT (Normally $300!)The Getting Started Kit includes...
Listen to Creative Rising
You can listen to Creative Rising anywhere you get your podcasts, but here's some handy links for you to get access to our podcast! Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher...
Shootproof Special Offer for Creative Rising Listeners
a special offer from SHOOTPROOF We use Shootproof to deliver gorgeous galleries, sell professional prints, deliver digital files, and provide an incredible experience to all of our clients! We love it and can't live without it! 3 MONTHS. ANY PLAN. FOR $1. That's...
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GRAB SOME TEA, SETTLE IN, & CHECK OUT OUR FAVORITE BINGE-WORTHY BLOG POSTS
HOW DO I GET MORE (AND BETTER) WEDDING INQUIRIES?
Every wedding photographer desperately wants to know the quick answer to this one question: “How in the world do I get more wedding inquiries???" So in this mega-post, I’m sharing how to build a solid marketing STRATEGY – the same one that has continually brought high quality wedding inquiries to our business for the past ten years.
SIX EMAIL TEMPLATES YOU SHOULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT
A full inbox causes so much stress in my life that it’s the #1 thing that pulls me away from important work. So what's my single most effective weapon against ‘email overwhelm’? EMAIL TEMPLATES. Here’s my pick for the six email templates that every wedding photographer should have in their business and why.
HOW TO SHOOT BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS IN HARSH SUNLIGHT
When it comes to lighting, wedding days are totally against us as wedding photographers. Most of the time, we’re shooting the First Look, wedding party and family portraits ALL in the harsh afternoon sun. So how do Jeff and I handle the tough light to shoot soft, natural skin tones in super harsh sun? Check out my six technical tips…
CREATIVE RISING
the podcastA show about what it’s really like to run a PHOTOGRAPHY business
We teach photographers to build life-giving businesses that they absolutely love.
About Us
We're Jeff & Erin
We’re Jeff and Erin Youngren – and it’s our mission to help you thrive not just as a wedding photographer, but as a business owner. It’s time to set aside the stress and comparison of a hustle mindset, and build a life-giving business instead.
We met in college, got married, and started corporate jobs before we discovered (and fell in love with) wedding photography. But like many creative entrepreneurs, we were booking anything we could, strapped to our laptops and living dangerously close to burnout.
So we dug in and learned how to build a thriving business that supports our dream life – instead of a joyless business that runs a stressed-out life.
Today, we photograph only 10 Dreamie weddings per year, but we also run two other wedding brands plus a commercial studio in San Diego, CA. And we do it by only working the hours that fit into our life. The other hours? We spend those living a joyful life raising our two beautiful sons, James and Samuel.
hugs,
Jeff and Erin