Latest / Luxe & Legacy Podcast / Building a Luxury Photography Business with Confidence and Legacy with Shannon Griffin

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Building a Luxury Photography Business with Confidence and Legacy with Shannon Griffin · Luxe & Legacy Podcast

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Welcome to the Lux and Legacy Podcast.
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I'm Marie from Marie Elizabeth Photography.
And I am Amber from Light Livin in Photography.
We created this show for photographers who are ready to run a luxury business with clarity, intention, and elevated artistry.
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Each week we uncover the strategies behind high level brands from shooting and styling to client communication, to marketing, to designing heirloom products that increase your value.
If you want to attract aligned clients, produce, work with a recognizable aesthetic and build a business that supports the life you want, this podcast will guide you there.
Let's dive in.
Hey guys, be Before we begin our conversation today, I wanna share why this episode means so much to me personally.
Shannon has been someone I have looked up to for a very long time, not just for the beauty of her work, but for the way she has expanded my understanding of what is truly possible in this industry.
Watching how she approaches photography as art, how she honors legacy, depth and intention, how she fully believes in the value of what she creates and has profoundly shifted my own mindset over the years.
This conversation is an invitation to widen your lens.
To release ceilings you may not even realize you're standing under, and to imagine a business built on meaning, longevity, and artistry.
So we today, we are welcoming the very iconic, the very special Special.
Griffin to the podcast.
to the podcast.
Thank you for that introduction.
I was just like, wow.
Thank you.
I'm excited to be here with you guys.
1:53
Shannon was instrumental in my growth as a luxury photographer.
1:59
I remember seeing you on TMA or the motherhood anthology back in the pandemic when you had that $30,000 sale.
2:08
And I was just so inspired by not only your process, but the art of it all, and the idea that this isn't simply.
2:20
Getting photos done.
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This is art, an art that should be invested in like if I were to purchase from a gallery, and it made me view what I do in a whole new light and made me feel incredibly empowered as an artist.
2:37
So we are so excited to have you here to chat about your business and what you do today.
2:45
So for listeners who may be newer to your work and your business, can you share what your business looks like today, your process, who you serve, the kind of art you do.
Yeah, I mostly do.
I don't know.
I would say mostly boudoir, but I, I feel like it's pretty, even with family.
My clients, I like to say they're me, but wealthy, that's kind of how I, like, they, we share the same values, we share the same like.
You know, they want, they want the rawness of their family documented.
And they really value art.
Like one of my client, one of my boudoir clients who spent over 20, with 20,000 with me, she drives a minivan and she quit her job as a pediatrician to be a stay at home mom for her three kids until they started school.
She wears workout clothes like you would never know.
But she's someone who really was just like.
I want a session of myself.
This is a once in a lifetime thing.
And I think that too, a lot of people that come to me, I don't have a ton of repeat clients.
Like I have clients that'll do a boudoir session and then maybe refer me for family and stuff like that.
But I feel like the experience that I give is a, it's, it's once in a lifetime.
Or like if you're a family, maybe once every, like five years, like maybe when a new kid comes in the picture and you wanna invest again because.
It is a high ticket item.
It, it does take a lot of work in planning and I feel like a lot of times when people have young kids and new families that it, it might be a lot for them.
But yeah, I was a wedding photographer like so many of us were, and I was never high volume.
But I still, I was like, I, mean, I could show up and I'm good at it, like my work's okay, but I wasn't passionate about it.
And when I, when I photograph, especially when I photograph women, that's my niche.
I'm like, okay, I can do this.
I feel like I can look at it and go, I'm really good at this.
And I, I got to a place where I didn't feel like that was vain.
I was like, no, just stand in where you are and, and what you excel at.
And so I knew that I already didn't want to do weddings and it felt very much like a shot list to me.
And I was showing up and someone was writing the script for me.
And I was like, well, how can I do this in a way.
That I'm creating the art.
I want this to be where I'm, it's not just me.
I'm working with the client, but I'm kind of leading.
And weddings were not that for me.
And so when COVID hit, I only had two or three weddings on the book, but it gave me that space to step back and be like, okay, now I can't photograph weddings.
And I'm realizing I just really, and I was second shooting a lot at that point too to also make money.
And I was like.
I'm not second shooting anymore either.
Like I just want out of weddings.
I, I cannot, the stress, I'm not a night person.
I have high anxiety, I'm an introvert.
So weddings for me were just like a no-go.
And so I realized that I needed to completely change my process if I was going to be able to make the same amount of money that I was making in weddings, but also still be low volume.
'cause that's the kicker.
It's like you can make this photographing families and boudoir.
But it's hard to find that place where you're not volume like to being a family photographer, that's very, very difficult.
So I knew I had to find a way to do both, and so it was scary, but at that point, I think I was so over the wedding world and I so wanted to photograph wedding women in the way that I saw that I was like.
This is it.
I'm gonna put everything into this, and at this point I so badly don't wanna photograph weddings that I would rather get a job.
If this doesn't work out, I would rather find a job somewhere and work for somebody else.
And luckily it worked out.
6:27
It more than worked out really quick.
6:29
I just wanted to to hop in and say I feel you so deeply on what you said with the weddings, because I actually only second shot, a handful of times and was like, this is.
6:41
Absolutely not for me.
6:42
I am introverted, I'm artist.
know? Right.
You know, right away, like I knew, but it was like Kim talked about with the golden handcuffs from TMA.
She's just like, you know when you were, when I was getting out of weddings, I was starting at like 15 to 20,000 per wedding, and that's like, how could I say no to that? How can I do that to my family? And so I was like, if I'm gonna do this, I need to make sure that I have a process that's set up.
I don't wanna get outta weddings because they gimme anxiety to then be a volume photographer.
For, for families, that gives me anxiety.
I have to figure out a way to do this.
7:18
an artist.
So, but I knew, I knew going, and I never wanted to do weddings.
I went to art school and I graduated with a fashion portfolio like weddings.
But, you know, you, it's just easy.
It's easy to fall into it.
You're like, I can live anywhere.
I can have a family.
I don't have to hustle.
You have to hustle, but it's not like fashion photography.
And so I was like, okay, I guess I'll do weddings, and then just fell into it like so many of us do.
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Yeah.
7:42
I'm so glad you moved on that.
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photographers struggle with that idea of there there's no profit to be made in family photography, and so, so many go the wedding photography route or just stick with it, thinking that they can't make what they make in wedding photography, shooting families when, whereas you can make.
8:05
Significantly more.
8:06
You know, it's all about how you set everything shift.
Marie, were you in the wedding world? Like did you ever do wedding photography? We just did like some second shooting.
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That was basically Yeah.
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I photographed maybe one or two weddings by myself, so I don't feel like I was in the wedding world, but like you, I like knew right away.
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Okay.
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I don't like this.
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it really is a lot and especially like on your body and takes, you know, Yes.
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whole weekend.
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So Yes, I loved the.
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Beauty of it, of course.
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there Yep.
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much more to the job and to the day that it entails, and I didn't want that.
Well, I ask if you, but you've probably, even though you guys didn't really shoot weddings, you've probably seen this in groups, and this is something that happens all the time.
There's this weird disconnect with family photography.
Like I, I could never charge that.
It's just a family session.
They get it done once a year, like they won't come back.
And I'll see wedding photographers that charge like $20,000 a wedding and then they're doing family sessions for $850 all-inclusive.
So for me, I don't wanna say anything bad against weddings or wedding photographers.
I've been divorced.
Even my first wedding, I had a friend do it.
I never looked at my wedding photos.
My husband and I, my now husband, we got married in a courthouse.
I took up one photo on my iPhone, like before we left.
Like to me, weddings just like, yes, it's great to celebration the, it's great to capture the event, but.
I would spend so much more money on a family photographer.
'cause that's like, that's my child.
That's a, that's a season in my life.
So like this disconnect that people are like, well, people are gonna spend a million dollars on their wedding so they can allocate 20,000, 30,000 for me.
But I'm like, but at the same point, like.
When you start talking about your kid's only gonna be one years old once like that, that like, you're never going to get that again.
So I, I wish more people could change that, their mindset on like, I can't charge for this.
It's like, it's, you should be charging a ton for this.
Like it's e.
it's so valuable.
That perspective of okay, you get wedding photos and five years from now, you and your spouse will probably look, you know, relatively similar to how you looked when you got married, but from a newborn to a 5-year-old, much time passes, how Yes, like that yes.
a really wild perspective because it's, it's so true.
10:40
My husband, don't get me wrong, but 20 years from now, I don't think I'm gonna be looking back, gushing over her.
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Oh, look at us.
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I'm gonna be like, look at me if, oh my God, she was a baby.
10:48
Yeah.
just different for me, like to have my child catch, or just me like when I do boudoir, even when I do family sessions, it's so much about the mom.
I had six month pictures done and my friend, I had to have a photographer friend that was like, I'm taking photos of you.
And I was in so much, such deep depression that I was like, I don't want to get up and do this with her.
I'm not happy right now.
I don't want us to show in the photos.
And I'm so glad that I did it.
I, my friend was like, just do it.
Just do it.
And I'm so glad that I have that for me, yes, I love looking back at those photos of mavin myself, but just me being like.
I was there, I survived that it was such a blur, but I was still present for my child and I was a damn good mom.
To have that doc 'cause I felt like a failure that first year.
And then I'm looking at those photos and Mavis smiling at me and feel safe and happy and she's chubby and that was all my breast milk.
And I'm you did that.
You did that.
It's such an amazing feeling.
And those, those.
You know, if it wasn't a friend, I would've paid thousands for those.
I mean, you can't recreate that.
I'm married again.
I've done it.
11:51
I love that perspective.
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I won't.
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That's so true, and what a perspective you can bring to your clients.
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You know, like knowing you've been there, you've been through it, and being able to understand the importance of a season that someone might not see the value in right at that What is an average investment with you? What does it include? How do you help clients understand the value of what they're receiving beyond the images themselves? Great question.
My client average is 10,000.
I've had clients that pay, you know, five, around 5,000 to a client like you saw when you get on CMA.
Her total after her session fee was 40,000.
So like.
It just varies.
But I would say 10 is around my average, what they give in that.
It just varies.
Like it really, really depends on the client.
My $40,000 client.
'cause a lot of people are like, what does that include? So my session was 1450 and then she got, it was four.
Framed prints above her fireplace.
She got two metal prints for her guest bathroom.
One large metal print for her closet.
She got, I think it was a six image gallery wall for her in-law's house and then a four image gallery wall for her husband's house, ex-husband.
And then she got two boxes with matted prints in it.
What she got.
So really the $25,000 client I had, the boudoir client, she got a gallery wall that I think was seven framed portraits, and then she got two gallery boxes and And then does that So the way that I do it is whatever images they're investing in for their album or frame prints, they get the corresponding digital.
So she didn't get, they don't get all the digital, so it's whatever, whatever art that they're getting, they get the matching digital with that.
And then.
So as far as you said, like kind of educating them or painting the value, because I see a lot of people, you know, like, 'cause I use Muse and a lot of times they'll put on their website, like I use handmade frames in the USA, they're wood all of them are hand carved or whatever else.
I don't put any of that because I don't, I don't put the value on my products.
Like, yes, they're beautiful, but realistically, like my albums start at 6,500.
Could they get a beautiful album for 1500? Yeah, they could, but like I'm working with a designer who does everything custom, fully custom, and so the value is more on.
The, as far as the vision and what I'm gonna create for you, and then we're gonna talk about how you wanna display it.
And, everybody's so different.
There are boudoir clients, obviously that don't want anything on their walls, so they do albums or matted prints.
But my goal with every client's to get at least one portrait on the wall, especially boudoir, 'cause I wanna push it, I wanna, I wanna push that like level of vulnerability and I could never put that on my wall.
I'm like, yeah, you could, but yeah, you could.
So I think it's more just showing it on my social media, talking about it.
I talk about it all the time, even if I'm not showing, I talk about the value of like having printed tangible work and just being honest with them when they're well, I don't know.
I've always had the digitals.
And I'm like, what'd you do with them? And they're well, they're still sitting on my computer.
And I'm course they are.
You're never gonna, I don't print my own work.
I'm the worst at it.
Yeah.
That's kind of how I paint the bag.
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That's amazing.
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I I love that though.
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You get the matching.
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Digitals with the artwork.
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That way it's putting all the emphasis on the artwork and not having a million digitals.
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That's amazing.
Yeah.
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One thing I love about your work is that it feels very timeless and museum worthy.
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And when I think of you, I think of could be up in a museum showcased in that way.
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Do you have any tips for creating that feeling in your work that's very high end and timeless and.
15:46
There's a lot of, well, I've noticed a lot of like negative space and like an exhale from, from the busyness of a lot of people's feeds.
That's pretty.
I like the way that you said that.
That's beautifully put.
I don't know.
And I've had, it's so hard for me 'cause for years people are like, do you mentor on shooting bir? And I'm like, I don't know.
I'm quiet when I shoot and, but I do cuss a lot 'cause I get like really into it and I'm like, oh my God, you're so beautiful.
And I don't know, I just have such an appreciation for the female form.
I just think women and their bodies are just like, there are like, I mean they used to make statues about us, like we're just phenomenal beings.
And just also the resilience and the strength.
I really think like, not to get too deep in it, but I think going through my past marriage and going through depression and going through like not feeling wanted or seen by the one person that I was supposed to share that with, there was this depth of like, okay, if someone were photographing me, how would I wanna be captured? What would I want them to bring out in me? And I also think it's really.
By the time that I start photographing them.
We know each other on such a deep level, and I think there's a, there's, that's a big part of it is that I kind of let them lead I have and what I tell 'em, I was in the first like 15 to 20 minutes, I'm going to lead you.
I am going to put you in certain poses that I know are beautiful.
I never start with them looking at the camera.
'cause I, it's such a vulnerable thing to have that eye contact.
And so I'm Walk away from me.
Twirl.
I'm gonna get you like putting your hands up, laying on the bed, whatever else like.
I let them kind of let that guard down and then every time she naturally gets into it, like, you're gonna find your rhythm.
Even women that are like, I'm not sexual, and I'm timid, and I'm like, just wait.
Because there's so much more to it than just being sexy.
Like, you're going to find this rhythm.
And so I think that's a big part of it.
And I, and I talk about a lot.
I was photographed a couple of times.
Like photographers would travel through Tallahassee when I was living there and they'd be like, would you model for me? And I'm like, I hate being in front of the camera.
But there was one who used film and I would be feeling myself and like, get into the groove.
And then she'd be like, okay, one, two, 'cause film's expensive, right? And she would make me hold it.
And then I get out of it.
So I tell people all the time, like when somebody's feeling themself, even if it doesn't look good, let them go.
Like, take some photos, whatever, just let them finish it and then get into the next thing.
Like don't ruin someone's groove.
So I think that's a big part of just kind of following her lead when you photograph her.
Women, know what they're doing.
Like I.
18:35
that.
18:37
Is there anything specific? 'cause your work is very empowering to women and that's one of the things I love as well.
18:43
Is there anything direction wise, other than like kind of letting them lead and be comfortable and natural, is there anything you verbally say that's that's kind of helping them feel more empowered? give them permission.
To, I think if I had, like, I think that's another reason I don't use a client wardrobe.
There's a few reasons for B, for boudoir and for family, but I think a big part of it is like.
Fashion is such a big part of my life and it gives me my confidence.
Most of the time I dress like a boy.
Most of the time I am in like boy clothing.
I dress like Adam Sandler, like my husband and I joke all the time, but like I know what I feel sexy in.
And so I think giving women that permission when they reach out to me, they're like, well, I don't really have a lot of lingerie.
And I, and I'm like, you could wear a dress, you could wear jeans and a and a white tee like.
We have this thing in our head that we have to be like this victorious secret vixen in order to have these beautiful photographs.
And it's like I have women that are like, I think I'm most confident, fully naked or under the sheets.
And I'm like, okay, so that's your session.
Like it doesn't, it doesn't have to be.
And I let them know too, I'm like.
If you're on the fence on if you wanna do full nudity or even like your boobs or anything like that, let's start out, I'm not gonna show these to anybody.
So if you have your boobs out, like I don't want you in the middle of the session to be like, oh my gosh, my nipples out.
If it's out, I'll, I'll call.
I'll be like, Hey, let me just fix this for you.
But I never stop 'cause I just won't show you those photos if you don't want those photos.
So I think it's such a safe space for women that it's like they don't have to worry about like, oh my gosh, you know, something showing.
It's just yeah, and, and I will show you some of the photos and if you don't wanna purchase those.
You don't have to, and no one else is going to see them.
So I think really, really creating that space on the front end and just reassuring them that it, that's where we get it.
When you're that comfortable with someone, you're gonna get those kind of photos.
20:40
I love that.
What visual cues do you think photographers often overlook that like immediately elevate? Or lower their perceived value of their experience or their work.
Is there, are there specific things that I.
mind with that? That's a tough one because, you know, we're all about aesthetic as photographers, but I also, some of my favorite shoots have been like in a motel and it's been not the best lighting and it's grungy, so I don't, I think it's more about the e, the emotive side of it.
I think.
I think it's so much about what you don't show.
It's the curating, right? Like you, they tell wedding photographers, especially like you don't have to show every wedding.
So I think it's really that.
I think when, when I'm doing it, I shoot a lot more than I show, and it's that curation of just like, I really do.
I think it's the curation that makes it feel more elevated and really the emotive side of it that makes it feel more elevated.
Yeah, I can totally see that.
So when clients first come to you.
What do they, what do they believe that they're purchasing? Like are they all in on artwork right away? Are you, you know, leading them down that journey, convincing them? Where are they at the Are these people that have already booked with me, or are these people who are inquiring.
I would say a client who has just booked with you.
Okay, so once, if they've booked with me, they're already all in with the artwork because they know my process at this point, and they know they can't get the digitals without artwork.
So at this point, when they've booked me, like they know they're going to be getting either a matted prints, framed art, or an album.
Those are the only three things that I offer.
So, yeah, they're, they're bought in.
It's more.
When they, when they book me, it's more, I'm gonna kind of give you a range of what you'll probably be spending.
So that's just the part that, that they don't know.
So by the time we get to the ordering session, they're probably going in saying, okay, Shannon told me I would be spending around like 10,000, 15,000, but I let them know it could be more, could be less like if you wanna take some things out.
So it's kind of just like they know they're investing, but they don't know exactly how much they're gonna be investing.
Yeah.
Do you do anything to emotionally guide them towards artwork? With that, I mean, I know 'cause you're not salesy, you're not like Yeah, because I hate being sold to.
I freeze.
I'm like, ooh.
I don't know.
I think just so excited.
It's the trust.
I've talked about this before.
So that boudoir client that spent $25,000 with me, we were down to two options for her wall gallery, and I showed her two different designs and we both, one was, I think one of the de designs was like 21,000 something and one was 17,000 something.
And I was like, I, the $17,000 more.
Like, there's something about the way that like spatially, it looks on your wall and I like this layout better.
And she's like, yeah, I agree.
So like.
That's how you do sales.
Like, I'm not trying to be like, oh my gosh, I could get, you know, $3,000 more out of her, whatever else it is, it's that full.
This is what I would hang on my wall.
This is how I'm gonna guide you.
So I think they just get really excited about that trust.
Also just showing them, like even if they are like, I don't know if I'm gonna do wall art.
I'm like, okay, well just send me pictures of your walls.
And if they don't, I just use stock images and I show them and it's the first thing I show them during their slideshow.
When I'm like, okay, we get on Zoom and I'm like, are you ready to see it? I'm so excited to show you.
They're like, yeah, and I pull up the Fundy slideshow and right when we're ta, like we're still talking, and then you can see this like framed art gallery and it's them, and it's the first time they seen their photos and they're that's my living room.
That's, they're like, oh my God.
Like they, I'm like, just wait.
Then we go through like the whole slideshow.
So like they're just already like, I have to have that on my wall.
'cause that's the first time they're seeing themselves and it's on their wall in a frame and it's like, bam.
I have to have that.
I love that you show them the mockups before they see their images.
I had definitely not thought about doing that.
Usually I'll do the mockup after.
After they've said they want frames, because most of my clients get albums, but I'm gonna start doing the mock up.
And then do you have them send them the picture of the wall before you've done your ordering appointment? Realistically, it takes me three to four days that I'm just sitting there.
'cause I'm a perfectionist.
And then I'll also, like, I have a Pinterest board that's like wall art inspiration.
When I'm, when I'm going through Pinterest, I'll see something in somebody's home and I'm like, oh my God, that's the coolest mat.
Or, I love that layout and it can be really different.
So I'll pull stuff up like I did one where she sent me two different rooms.
But like it was her bathroom and then her bedroom was back here.
But I was like, okay, well when you're looking at your bathroom, you can see the art here, and then you can see it right there.
So I'm thinking, I wanna do, so I'm looking at like, I wanna know what it's gonna look like from here.
So when you're standing in the bathroom, like I'm fully thinking about like every angle and every view.
But yeah, I do, I do that first.
Even if they say they don't want art, but also, again, you gotta think I'm charging that $1,500 up front, and that's part of it.
I don't mind making the mockups because I'm like, they've paid me to show them how they should display it.
'cause so many people don't know how.
And like I said, I get overwhelmed.
There's too many options, too many photos to choose from.
So the way that I do it is I show it first and I say, okay, what we're gonna do now is you pick out, out of these five different layouts that I showed you, don't worry about the photos that are in it right now.
We're going to go through all of your photos.
First, I want you to select the, the layout that you like most.
Then we'll pick your favorites, and you can pick which ones you want in here.
So then by the end, I'm like sliding photos in and it's really hard for them to be like, you know what? I'm not gonna get that.
And plus I've already kind of told they've, if I've given them a range so they're not like, oh my God, and they get my full investment guide before they even book me, I send it to them.
'cause I'm like, I know that you're ready to move forward, but I want you to have a day with us.
Like I tell them, I'm like, I want you to have a day because the last thing I'd want us to sit at this ordering session and you love 60 of them and you can only afford 10 of them.
Are you ready to say no to 60 images? Take some time to think about it.
Wow.
I love that.
And there's so much confidence in that and belief in yourself that like it's, you're not stressed about booking them, you're just like.
I'm here and I know I'm amazing, and if you wanna come back, great.
If not, that's okay.
I mean, think about, think about any luxury brand, like Yeah.
is not, when you walk in, Hermes is not like, well, if you get this, you get this.
Or, Hmm.
you know, if you book today, you'll get the, they're like, come back when you're ready to purchase.
Like.
I mean, Yeah.
just, and there's no, and then I never have buyer's remorse.
That's my other thing is like, I don't want someone a year later to be looking at their gallery wall and be like, oh my God, I cannot believe I spent $30,000 with her.
Like I could have spent that on something else.
I want them to come back five years from now and be like, this is still my favorite.
Like, I'm obsessed with it.
I, I love that.
And so I, I find it really interesting that you don't really focus on.
Like these are custom, because that's something I find myself is, is Yeah, you wanna explain it away and as soon as you start justifying or explaining something, their confidence in you starts to go like this.
Yeah, because And that's like.
my head, I'm like, are so expensive.
Let me explain why.
I know.
And if you, and if you talk to anyone who's like really in sales, you hear like, well, you wanna be with them when they hear the price because you wanna be able to like deflate it or be like, well, this is why.
And I don't, I'm like, okay, you're probably looking at 15 to 20.
Like, are you good with that? And then I, it's silence because I feel like as soon as you're the first one to talk, their confidence is like, like, why do you have to explain to me why I should do this? I'm like, no, spend this 'cause I'm worth it.
You're gonna, you're gonna be glad that you did this.
Perfect.
Go ahead Marie.
Was there a point your career where this level of investment started to feel normal and aligned Not, and not intimidating at all, or have you always just super confident? I have not been super confident, but I think, I don't know, when what I said when that happened in 2020 and I just threw everything at the wall and I was like, okay, this is the only way I'm gonna be able to get outta weddings.
I think it was almost.
Not, it wasn't just a desperation, but I also had social proof.
Like I was a part of some groups where people had even bigger sales and I was like, okay, like, and some of these were very old school like studio photographers, like you think like eighties, like.
Sears portrait, but they're making like $50,000 senior session sales.
And I'm like, okay, I know that I could get this.
It's, so much of it is business and it's not the actual photography.
And so a lot of it was social proof.
And then when that happened, I was like, okay, my own social proof, like there's no going back.
And no, that's, that's the only $40,000 sale I've had.
I haven't had one since.
But like now, knowing I could.
And now my goal is like, what if I could do a hundred thousand? Like, why not other people have done it? And so I think that's the big thing.
And, and yes and no with the confidence thing.
Like I've, I've been doing photography since I was 16.
I went to school with it for it.
Like I had a passion for it and I knew it's what I wanted to do.
And I'm also so stubborn.
I'm like, I have to make this work.
I can't work for other people.
Like someone tells me what to do and I'm like, mm-hmm.
It's not happening.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it's, I think it's a lot of that, and I just wanted people to value me, like art is so, so many people are starving artists, and so many people are like, well, I could get that for cheaper.
And I mean, it's a whole other conversation, but especially now with ai, like I, I, so many people fear it, but I'm the opposite.
I'm like, it's time to raise your prices.
It's time to be high level service, because people are going to be longing for that, longing for it.
Yeah, absolutely.
People are, they, they want real, and you know, it's kinda like when you go to a restaurant and it's food directly from a farm, you know, like people want that connection component yes, to know it's yes.
Yep.
good And that's something I'll spend money on is some food.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
because people go to McDonald's still doesn't mean there aren't people wanting that.
A beautiful high service.
A high luxury service type of food.
Yes, good a hundred percent I love that.
Were there money beliefs or fears that you had to consciously work on yes, yes, yes, yes.
I come from, I'm from Georgia originally, and then we moved to Jacksonville when I was seven, but my dad.
Worked for UPS for many years and then he was an entrepreneur when I was in elementary school.
He like started his visits.
My mom worked for a company.
She just retired in December.
She worked my, my and my sister's entire life.
I'm gonna be 43 in April.
So like both my parents worked.
And you know, back then we were middle class.
Now we would not be considered that.
But like, I just, it was very much like you work hard, you keep your head down, you retire one day.
And so there was a lot of, especially being a woman, a lot of.
Justification.
Like I had to justify why I want a lot of money.
Like, it's like, well, why do you need this? Why isn't this good enough? Like it's, it's pretentious of you or you're, you are like taking advantage of people.
And I, and I, it took a lot for me to get out of that mindset of like, I can demand a lot of money and I should.
And I think what really helped, I, I read some books and I listened to podcasts, but I think what really shifted for me was.
I wanted, I, I'm, I hate when people say I'm an empath, but like I do care deeply about people.
I do care deeply about my community and, and I was getting frustrated with the fact that I'm like, I never have money to give.
I never, like I want to do something for other people.
And then I was like, well, if I make a lot of money.
I will give that back.
So I deserve to make a lot of money.
'cause there's a lot of people out there that make a lot of money that do nothing with it.
So once I did that, I was like, okay, like we're gonna make a lot of money so that I can give it back to other women and children in other communities.
So I think that mindset shift, shift was huge.
And then what people say, like if I'm discounting and not charging when I need to, I'm taking money outta my family's pocket.
I'm not gonna do that to my daughter.
Yeah.
not happening.
So, but I also like there's a place for everybody.
I like that there's low budget photographers because there's people who don't make a lot of money that deserve photographs.
So this thing where people are like, yeah, raise your prices.
I'm like, if it's working for you and you're happy, go for it.
Like, I, I think there's a place for everybody and I I these people that like get down on other people like you.
Do you do what works for you.
I think there's a place for everybody.
Agree there.
There can be a successful volume business model like that can Yes, successful, but there's people who are volume that make so much more money than I do.
Like it's, it's.
It's what we talk about all the time.
You're enough value.
Like I know where I am and I know in this season I don't wanna hustle.
I have a 4-year-old, every time she has a day off school, the school's closed for a holiday.
My husband's a lawyer.
He doesn't, he doesn't have that ability.
And not only do we not really have ability here to watch her.
But it's like, I want to be that person.
If she's sick, I wanna stay home with her, like I wanna be with my kids.
So I, she's at a daycare that's 30 minutes away from us because it's the only one that we could find coming outta COVID that wasn't on a wait list.
And now she we could get closer, but she has friends there and I trust her teachers.
And so it's an hour round trip, twice a day.
I'm in my car for two hours.
I can do that.
And so.
For me, it's like, this is my enough.
Am I making what I hope to make? Like maybe a couple years from now? No.
But am I able to be there for my daughter in the way that I want to during these formative years? Yes, absolutely.
100%.
Yeah, it's whatever works for you and resonates with you on a, on a soul level and what makes you happy, so Yes.
perfect.
So you see so many photographers in this industry who are immensely talented and maybe they want to raise their pricing, but they're stuck.
Like what do you think is like the biggest reason that they stay stuck at a lower price point? Limited mindset.
It's, it's not living in that abundance of, like, my husband really shifted.
I'm a pessimist by nature, like full pessimist.
I am my mother.
But I'm always like, what? I'm always what if? What if? What if? Like what if they say no? What if this? And he is like, just the energy you're putting in, that could be, what if they say yes? And I was like, like, it's so simple.
But that mindset shift of like, yeah, what if, and my thing is just like.
Try it out slowly.
Like if you're afraid to raise prices, try something new.
The next like five inquiries and see what happens.
Like raise your prices.
If it doesn't work, then you can always go back.
That's my thing is like we own our own business.
You can always try new things out and go back.
I'm also like very privileged in the fact that this did work out for me and that I have like I edit on the side.
So when I'm having slow times, I'm editing for other photographers, like full.
I like to be transparent with that because.
I know not being volume based, I'm gonna have months where I'm like, okay, I need to make sure that three months from now I'm still gonna have money in my savings account.
So like I need to hustle, I need to go ahead and take some editing clients.
So I'm privileged in that I can take those risks and I can take those chances.
But also I feel like we got into owning our own business for a reason, right? And that's so that we can take those chances.
And the reason I love doing it this way is I have no cap.
I am not all inclusive.
I do not have, if you spend $5,000 with me, you get all the digitals.
Like I am not capped.
Like people could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars with me if they wanted to.
If someone had five homes, let's go.
Let's do it.
So I think that's the big thing for me is it's exciting 'cause like my husband makes great money, but he works for somebody.
Like he has a cap and I'm like, I don't have a cap.
And that's so cool.
So cool.
So amazing.
What you said earlier about like you get to choose what to do with your money really resonated with me because I think, especially when it comes to women, like a lot of us have grown up with this notion that a lot of money equals greed or a lot of money is bad, you know? And so, For women though only for women.
right.
And course.
Does it? He's just waiting for his family, right.
He's providing.
Right.
And of course, so many of us in the motherhood photography world are women.
So what would you say to a photographer who loves luxury imagery, but feels guilt or fear around charging higher luxury prices? I think it ties back to it's your, it's your why.
So I know for me, I tell people all the time too, like.
If you're not charging what you need, and I hate, like, charge your worth, right? Because what's your, you're, you're priceless.
Like there is no, and it's so like, okay, and when you're starting you're like, can you just gimme a number? I don't know what my worth is.
I don't know yet.
And my thing is, is like I have my costs and then I have my like.
I wanna be more expensive like I want to be, I am the most expensive in my area.
I wanna be the most expensive, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that because my other thing is.
I, I have really thought about what I mean, like I, I've told you guys I should a max set of two sessions a month and that, in that, I have a high commission fee.
But in that, I've baked in like the, I've talked about the day after my session, I lay in bed all day and I bedrock and I watch Netflix, and I don't feel guilt about it because I've charged for it.
But my thing is if I don't charge what I need to charge.
If I get burnt out and I end up quitting my business or not making enough money to make my business, then there's no me creating that experience for women and for others, and so.
I, you know, that could sound vain, but at the same time, I know how life-changing these sessions are, and so I want to be, I feel like I have a calling to do this.
I feel this is, it's so ingrained in me and I am so passionate about it, that we're all put on this earth to do something and I feel like this is what I'm supposed to do, and so I, I have to charge, like if I'm taking a max of two sessions, I have to hit a certain number.
To pay my bills, have my savings account, have my Roth IRA account, like all of that stuff.
So I think it's just a mindset shift, fully a mindset shift of like, what's your enough, your why, and what are you gonna do with this money? And yeah, I wanna make a lot of money and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
Nothing wrong with that.
Nothing wrong with that.
It is why you are such an idol and someone that we look up to in this industry, and you're expanding things for other people.
You're expanding our minds on what's possible.
So, okay, our last, Go ahead.
I, I say the, and I, I say this all the time, like it's weird and I felt weird at first where I'd get it on TMA or when I mentor and I'm like, oh, I have a $25,000 sale.
Oh, I just did this wedding for 19,000.
And I'm like, no, say the numbers because I need other women to hear.
I, I had people doing it for me and.
Mostly men.
It was mostly men that were saying it.
But I was like, okay.
But not only that, it really gets you more confident when you have to say the numbers to your clients.
Like now I can just like, okay, you're gonna spend around 15 to $20,000 and it's nothing to me anymore.
Nothing.
At first I was like, and now I just like word vomit.
Yeah, it's gimme $20,000.
You good with that? And then, but I don't, I took the emotion side out of it because I know what I have to make and I know what, I know what I'm worth, like.
I know and I know people will pay it because it's happened.
That's my other thing.
Exactly.
So inspiring.
last question.
If you could.
If you could go back and speak to your younger self at the beginning of this journey, what would you want her to know was possible? Oh man.
I think the, the, the flexibility and.
You know, Rede redefining my why, 'cause it changes so much.
I think it's, it's okay to have the really hard seasons.
It's okay to navigate in other ways.
Like, I was really ashamed at first when I was like, oh, I'm editing on the side.
And then I'm like, why am I, I'm making money for my family? Who cares how I get it? There is no shame in that.
And it keeps me able to, to like only take on the clients that I want to.
Could I go back and charge less? Could I take on the, could I email those old clients that were like, I love your work, but you're too, your, the investment's too high.
Like, I could, but like, what would that do to my soul and what would that do to the clients that are willing to pay that amount of money? I, I would be a shell of myself.
So I think just kind of giving myself that grace of like.
You know, your business is gonna change a thousand ways and that's okay.
And like talking about it is okay, and saying it out loud is okay.
And you're not a failure for admitting that.
Sometimes you have really hard months, sometimes you have amazing months, so, so I think that just like the vulnerability of it all.
Amazing.
Well, thank you so much, Shannon, for being here.
We are so, so grateful.
Please let our listeners know where they can find you.
Super easy.
It's just shannon griffin.com
and then my Instagram is Shannon Griffin.
I do have some mentoring that I do one-on-one.
But it's just, it's about my process.
It's about all that stuff, and it's definitely not for most people.
You've gotta be established and you can be ready to do like.
High end sales and like very custom stuff, so yeah.
Yeah, it's, a few years ago and it was amazing.
So it had a, it had a big impact on me.
thank you.
I love you guys.
We love you.
love you.
You are so inspiring.
As I said, I.
think you don't realize like how much you impact other photographers because you are showing so many of us like what is possible and that there is no cap.
And not only with the money side of it, but with the art and the impact you can make on people's lives, and that is so, so beautiful.
So thank you.
So true.
Okay, you guys, if you're listening and this episode stirred something in you that feeling matters.
Not every conversation is meant to give you a checklist of what to do.
Some are meant to shift your internal ceiling, to remind you that there's room for depth and restraint and legacy in this industry.
So take a moment after listening and ask yourself.
Where you might be playing small, where you might be underestimating the value of what you create.
Building a business rooted in intention and longevity is not about rushing.
about alignment, it's about trust and believing that your work is worthy of taking up space.
So until next time, thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you so much for spending time with us today on the Luxe and Legacy Podcast.
We love being part of your journey as you build a luxury photography business that feels aligned and elevated.
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Bye.