North Sullivan of www.thephotostudio.com.au has spent over 40 years behind the camera, shooting some of Australia’s largest advertising campaigns.

These days, his focus is portrait photography — but what he’s built is far from a typical portrait business.

We’re talking about a studio business with close to 80 staff, reported turnover upward of $10 million, and — at the time of recording — more than 150 Meta ads running.

There are three incredible-looking studios built inside retro warehouses, based in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

I’m excited to learn more about this impressive business, the man behind it, and how North made the shift from high-end advertising photography to building one of Australia’s most recognisable fashion portrait studio brands.

In this interview, North shares how he reinvented his photography career, the business model behind The Photo Studio, why experience and ethics matter in high-ticket portrait sales, what it takes to manage a large creative team, and why imagination, passion and originality may be the real defence against AI.

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Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area Alex Vita of www.foregroundweb.com helps photographers turn their websites into enquiry machines. He’s worked on hundreds of photography websites across more than 25 countries — building them, auditing them, and showing exactly what’s working… and what’s costing photographers enquiries. I first interviewed [...]

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Vincent Pugliese built a successful wedding photography business with his wife, Elizabeth, and in under four years used it to pay off all their debt — including their home.

But the more interesting part is what happened next.

They walked away from the business.

Not because it failed, but because it had done what they needed it to do.

In this interview, Vincent shares why more bookings and more revenue don’t automatically create more freedom, how photographers can use their businesses to build long-term options, and why relationships may be one of the most valuable assets you can develop.

This is a conversation about money, freedom, content, connection and building a photography business that supports your life — instead of quietly taking it over.

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Ryan Erickson is back on the podcast after first appearing in episode 587, and a lot has changed.

His mobile pet photography business in Colorado grew by 50% last year, hitting $315K in revenue — with much of that growth coming from 42 in-person market events, Instagram ads, and same-day in-person sales from inside his custom-built photography trailer.

But this conversation isn’t just about growth.

Ryan opens up about what it really takes to keep pushing a business forward, where burnout started to creep in, why he’s looking at outsourcing more of the event work, and how he’s thinking differently now about freedom, sustainability, savings, and what the next phase of the business should look like.

For photographers chasing more leads, better clients, higher sales, or a business that doesn’t wear them down in the process, this is a really honest and practical conversation.

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Most photographers are chasing leads.

Posting, boosting, tweaking captions… hoping something sticks.

Stacey Rolfe built a business doing the opposite.

Instead of chasing new clients, she built a system that brings people back—year after year.

Last year:

75–80% of bookings were returning clients
25–30% came from referrals
And the rest? Mostly warm leads

No ads. No pushy sales. No complicated funnels.

Just systems, clarity, and an experience that makes rebooking the obvious next step.

In this interview, Stacey breaks down exactly how it works—and why most photographers are making things harder than they need to.

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Shawn Black built one of the most successful boudoir studios in the US — photographing over 125 clients a year and generating close to $450K in revenue at its peak.

But when bookings dropped by nearly 50%, it forced a shift in how he approached marketing, sales, and client experience.

In this interview, Shawn shares what’s changed, what’s no longer working, and how he’s adapting to keep his business profitable — while increasing his average sale.

The post 668: Shawn Black – Boudoir Photography Business, Pricing & IPS Strategy appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area Johl Dunn of www.johldunn.com will be familiar if you’ve been listening for a while. He’s been on the show before… and so have many of his clients. He’s featured in our predictions episodes and delivered training on pricing, lead generation, and [...]

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Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area Tracy Goodwin of www.captivatetheroom.com is a voice expert, coach, author, and podcaster who’s spent nearly 30 years studying how we use our voice… and what really happens when the pressure is on. She believes your voice is the most powerful — [...]

The post 666: Tracy Goodwin – Why Your Voice Is Costing You Clients (And You Don’t Even Know It) appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.