The Photography Business Secret Nobody Teaches You

How does a small photography business make $10,000 in seven days while other photography businesses with thousands of followers are struggling? This is the Cardi Method. It's easy to assume that having a large following means you're making bank, but in reality, only a few of those photographers with huge audiences are actually earning what you'd think. Even more surprisingly, some photographers only get a couple of hundred views per post yet generate over 15,000 per month, and some of those only started making pictures consistently a couple of years ago. Something doesn't add up, right? The secret that many photographers overlook. What's happening here is that successful photographers are choosing to take an option that many other photographers just ignore. It's fast, it's efficient, and it involves niching down instead of chasing the masses. Today, I'm gonna show you exactly how this works so you can do it too. It's a four-step process. One with a bit of an unfortunate acronym, but stick with me because I promise you it's a game changer. But before diving in, let me explain why most photographers end up spending years trying to make money, struggling, becoming slaves to the trends, and ultimately failing. Two types of photographers, the generalist versus the specialist. Imagine two photographers. We'll call them photographer one and photographer two. Both started at roughly the same time, but their strategies were completely different and so were their results. Photographer one has spent five years trying to build as large a following as possible. Finally, they've grown enough to just barely afford to go full-time, maybe even hire a bit of help. Amazing. Photographer two, on the other hand, they've only been at it for two years, but they're on the verge of quitting their day job and they're already paying an assistant and a retoucher. This frees up their time to focus on making money, not spending hours on the things that don't directly grow their business. In just one more year, photographer two will be making 10 times more than photographer one. But why? The trap of trying to appeal to everyone. Let's say both photographers are working in a similar niche like lifestyle or business portraits. Photographer one decided to appeal to as many people as possible. One day they're making family portraits, the next day they're covering events, and then they're shooting landscape. Their aim is to get as many clients and followers as possible by being flexible and varied. Photographer two, however, they asked themselves a different question. Who can I serve better than anyone else with my skillset and my experience? Then they committed to that answer and that answer only. They decided to focus solely on creating polished editorial style portraits for entrepreneurs. That's it. No events, no landscapes, no weddings, just entrepreneurs who want powerful professional portraits. By doing this, they built a smaller but more engaged following of people who have the same problem and want a consistent solution. Why specificity wins every time. Imagine both photographers' audiences as these two cups that I'm going to fill with Smarties. Photographer one, he's green. He's been focusing on filling his cup with all sorts of different colors, representing the various problems that their followers have. Some want family portraits, others want product shots, others need headshots. They're trying to appeal to the most amount of people, but because their audience is so mixed, any product or service they offer is only interesting to a fraction of those followers. And they're only able to focus a fraction of their time on each one of these colors, so they can only ever be average at any one of them. Photographer two, on the other hand, has a jar full of Smarties, but they're only one color. They represent the specific problem that they solve. That single color represents their specialty, their obsession. They only show one type of work. That's their expertise. They are experts in solving that problem. Their entire audience is made up of people who have that problem. That makes their earning potential not only easier, but far more lucrative. Because photographer one isn't seen as an expert in any one of those areas, the red Smarties aren't convinced and the yellow Smarties aren't convinced because there's simply not enough trust. This is why photographer one ends up having to lower their prices and it's harder to convince people to buy. And it even leads to either a race to the bottom or backlash with people feeling like this offer has no value and it's just a cash grab. Meanwhile, photographer two has cultivated trust around solving one specific problem. They're charging 10 times more for their services and they're getting 10 times the clients because they've spent time building up authority in their niche. Free content builds trust, paid content builds wealth. The key to photographer number two's success was creating a clear, specific offer once they had established trust. This offer could be anything from a specialized photo shoot, a branding package, business portraits, or even mentorship for entrepreneurs that are looking to enhance their visual brand. Whatever it was, it was designed to solve a specific problem in a clear way, which is why their audience responded with enthusiasm. The power of going that extra mile. Photographer two also went further in how they treated their clients. You can either give a Tiffany's level service or a Walmart level service. Photographer two took a great approach, whether it was sending a personal thank you note after a session, providing small little bonuses like a branded website with their images or a free 11 by 14 framed print, or even offering a free consultation on how to use their images effectively on social media. This photographer and those small gestures made their clients feel valued, not just another transaction, but as individuals who were truly seen and heard. This extra level of service makes photographer two stand out, stand out in an industry that's often transactional. It turns clients into repeat customers and enthusiastic refers. Clients feel compelled to tell their colleagues about the experience, which leads to more referrals and less time hunting for new clients. How do you make big money as a small photographer in 2024? Follow the P-I-S-S framework. Number one is problem. Identify a significant problem that you have the expertise to solve. It should be specific, but not too niche. You don't wanna say I help fidget spinner manufacturers in Alabama with social media images. Instead, you could say I create powerful brand imagery for small business owners. The problem you solve should be tied to a pain point, something that affects their brand's perception, their client acquisition, or their income. Number two is information. Provide valuable information for free. This is your content, whether it's a blog post, your Instagram reel, your YouTube videos, all your newsletters, or even all of these combined. Use these platforms to consistently solve the problem that your niche faces. Over time, this builds immense trust and positions you as the go-to person for that solution. And number three, the first S is solution. Create a product or service that directly addresses the problem. This could be a comprehensive branding photoshoot package, a one-on-one visual strategy consult, or a retainer model for your services of regular content creation. The key is to make the offer specific, targeted, and genuinely helpful. And the second S is service with a twist. Go the extra mile for your client. Surprise them with the level of care that you provide, send a thank you note, offer a small unexpected bonus, or provide extra guidance. That makes clients feel valued and drives referrals. All right, so we've covered how small photographers are making big money in 2024. But before you go, I wanna mention something important. I've developed a comprehensive six-phase system. If you're obsessed about becoming a professional photographer, my system walks you through everything from defining your niche and building a powerful portfolio to mastering the business side of photography. Go to thecardiomethod.com and see how I can help you. And if this video brought you any value, don't forget to hit the like button so YouTube pushes it out to more people. That way, I can help even more photographers on their journey. And if you're looking for more content to help you grow, watch this video next where I break down the anatomy of a photo shoot. Watch how I crush photo shoots with no studio in this next video here. I will help you level up your photography career if you watch that one. I'll see you there. Thanks so much for watching. Working a lot of purple.