Hello and welcome back to the podcast. I have been a little bit out of office because I lost my voice. I don't know how this keeps happening. It always happens in the summer. I'm drinking tons of water. I'm putting salt in it, and it's not working. So here I am. My voice is still kind of raspy, but we're just gonna go with it because I kinda wanna talk about something that I keep getting in my DMs when wedding photographers should be working on right now in their business to be attracting and booking h- premium, high-end luxury clients. You know what I mean. When we're mapping out the journey of what it looks like to go from the 5 to 7, the 8K to 10K and above kind of wedding journey, people feel very hesitant about raising their prices because they'll tell me I don't have a luxury portfolio Ah, and we all know what that feels like. When you take a huge price jump, the mindset goes crazy. The mindset's "Hey, abort mission. We are not safe. We need to change everything. We need to rebrand." we, as photographers, we have this cycle of "Okay, I can't just raise my prices. I can't just X, Y, and Z," insert 100 excuses here. When it comes to shifting your business to attract luxury, and above, there is one important thing that you have to do, okay? And that is elevate your portfolio. So it is a valid excuse. This one I will say is valid. Yes, you have mindset work to do. Yes, you have all the other things to do, but if your images are not conveying The value that you have invested in how well you can use your equipment, how well you can shoot in any lighting direction with any source of lighting. And couples will have these questions. They'll be like, "Oh how do you shoot in basements? Our venue has no windows, and I know most photographers need windows, and that's a deal breaker for us because we already booked our venue." These are questions that I have been asked, and I remember in the past when I didn't know how to use OCF, when I didn't know how to use on-camera flash, I would just stick it on and then put it on TTL and literally just pray "Okay, flash, you know what to do, because I don't know what to do." But when I got to a place where I was like, I need to learn the skills of using artificial light and natural lighting, I remember too, when I would say, oh, I can only shoot on cloudy days, 'cause I didn't know how to work with the sun. and when I elevated these skills and when I practiced until I obtained the skills that I needed to be able to work in any lighting situation, whether it's full sun, whether it's shaded, whether it's cloudy. And actually, no, cloudy isn't even my favorite light. It actually sucks the color out of everything. But you live and you learn. So having elevated photography skills is something we were not taught. We kinda just picked up our camera, we got scrappy, we charged for our work, and we raised our prices very slightly, and we got to this point, right? The point where you're, like, having to make a decision: Do I have the skills to be able to shoot a venue with no windows? Is that something we want to do? No, but you need to be able to have the skills to do that. You need to know how to use any light source, whether it is the sun, whether it's no sun, whether there is windows and isn't windows. And so that insecurity can make you feel like you're not ready to charge more because you don't know how to use any source of lighting to make a really good image. And it's also not about elevating your equipment. Actually, in this day and age, I feel like every camera is shooting crazy megapixels, and you're able to put your ISO up to 10,000 and above. In the year of 2026 as I'm recording this, I think that most cameras have the capability to shoot any situation, any kind of wedding, any kind of event. Now, inside of my course Lab 35, I do walk you through my entire lens breakdown. And while I do recommend having a 1.4, and if you can have a 1.2 lens, then you're gonna be able to shoot really creamy images. But other than that, the tech stack is actually really minimal. I'm a minimalist. I'm petite. I'm 5'2". I cannot and have not carried a bunch of equipment, maybe a backpack or two and a light stand or two, and that is it. And the light stand was usually for the reception, unless there was no windows available for the ceremony. But either way, you should be able to know, "Okay, this is the lighting we're working with. These are the tools that I need to bring. These are the settings that I need to do," and you should be able to adjust in your head and move forward from there So just having the basic skill of artificial and natural lighting will elevate your portfolio that much more. The second thing, consistent presets. I have been looking at portfolio reviews and giving them advice on how to curate this portfolio to appeal to a specific type of couple. And so when we're explaining this couple, for example, I'm like, "Okay, some of these presets are really green. Some of them are really peachy. Some of them are really flat. We need to pick a signature style to where couples aren't thinking, 'Oh, I don't wanna get that color. I kinda want this color.'" They should not be able to shop through your images and then ask you later, "Oh, Your client shouldn't wonder what kind of photos they're gonna get. There should be a consistent style across the board. And if you're gonna be charging 7K and above, consistency is key. A very well-curated portfolio is also key. Variety in your images and your poses. Are you telling a story as well as capturing the must-haves? Are you capturing details? Are you capturing elevated outfits? Are you capturing the guests? Are you capturing family? These are really basic things that need to be included in your portfolio, because your couples are gonna be looking at your blog posts, at your galleries, and think to themselves, "Can I see my wedding in this photographer's photography style?" And the answer needs to be yes, if they're a perfect fit client. So curating a portfolio, elevated photography skills, a curated portfolio, and consistent presets, consistent color presets, and being able to edit any kind of skin tone. I did not know this was a luxury skill, but I am mixed, so I have had to learn from the beginning how to edit multiple types of undertones and skin tones. People should not look at your images and think, "Oh, I don't wanna look too light. I don't wanna look too dark," when they're looking at your Instagram feed and, of course, your portfolio. So these are also just some key things to keep in mind is my portfolio currently elevated where it's at? Where can I make some tweaks? And that's how we help you inside of Lab 35. If you're listening to this in real time that this episode came out, Lab 35 is open, $500 off, and it is my signature self-study wedding photography course that teaches you how to elevate natural and artificial lighting skills. You're gonna learn how to get inspiration from medias other than photography and wedding industry, and you're also gonna learn how to tell storytelling images, while being able to direct any kind of couple at any time, and that means introverts, that means extroverts. I have a whole lesson on photographing the wedding from A to Z and the kinds of images, vertical, horizontal, that you need to do. I give you my tech stack. I even have a bonus masterclass on getting started with film, all the different film medias I have used and loved. Yes, there's gonna be the Holga. Yes, there's gonna be the Pentax 365N. Film is not going anywhere. No matter how the trends shift in the industry, film is just so timeless, and it is so elevated, and the way that you will learn how to balance light, film makes you do that, okay? So you're gonna have to have a couple of tools. That is all laid out in that course as well, to be able to meter light, understand light, and make those beautiful, creamy images that we all love and adore. So the link is in the show notes. The doors are only open until July 10th, and you can binge it in a week. I've had students binge it in a day. It's only 12 lessons, it's all mindset shifts and basic skills that you can apply by your next wedding. So the reason why I'm launching this, I always launch it in the summertime because I know you guys are driving to sessions. I know you guys are booked and busy. This is the time where you have the most money to invest in your equipment. This is the time where you can binge lessons on the way to sessions, there and back. I have done the same thing. I have actually used this course for refreshes when I have gone a long period of time of not shooting. You get lifetime access to this course. That's a non-negotiable for me. I want you to be able to literally listen to an episode, change your mindset, change your point of view by the next session, be creatively inspired without ever looking on Pinterest or comparing with your competitors ever again. being able to be creative when you're photographing versus following trends and listening to what's hot right now, what's not hot right now, I just want you to think like an artist. All of my courses actually link to this. I want you to have an artist mindset, and I also want you to think of different ways that you can implement everyday things into your creativity, into your art. And a lot of people join this program when they are burnt out from doing rinse and repeat every single session, been there, done that. When they want to learn how to use artificial light, use on-camera flash, off-camera flash Play around with direct flash or just dabble a little bit in OCF, which OCF, I'm telling you, even with a one light setup, looks so cinematic. If you're a cinematic girlie and you're like, "I wanna make cinematic images. I want super moody. I want light and dark at the same time," this course is for you. Hop right into the lighting part of the course, and I promise you're gonna send me a DM and be like, "Allura, this blew my mind," and I'm gonna be like, "You're welcome." So jump in. Link is in the show notes. Enroll now before the price goes back up, and send me a DM when you do because I'd love to see your progress from before and after. You're gonna fill out an onboarding form where you upload before images, and then at the end of the course, you're gonna upload your after images after you've applied the simple 12 lessons that you can probably binge by your next session. I hope you guys have an amazing summer. I want to help as many people as possible up-level their portfolios, get their inspiration and creativity back, but also be able to use any part of this course, whether it's direction, storytelling, lighting, mindset, to be able to create their own signature style. And then you'll be able to curate your portfolio. I forgot to mention, we have some bonus classes in there. I have a bonus publication course in there if you want to curate your images for publication and submit them for free without having to pay. And also A bonus class on how to curate your portfolio that appeals to luxury clients. So definitely check that out. The price is going up after the doors close. I would love to have you inside. And see how you guys elevate your portfolios this summer at the busiest time of the year. Happy elevating, happy curating, and I will see you in the next episode. Bye.