Peter: I’m joined by John Moler of John Moler Photography. We’re going to unpack how John grew his wedding photography studio to $100K since the start of this year, in about five months, while booking packages around $10K for photo only. John, introduce yourself.

John: I’ve been doing wedding photography for about eight years, and I’ve worked with Peter and his team off and on since around 2021. It’s been great learning the ins and outs of everything, including things I didn’t know I needed help with.

Peter: Where was the business when we first connected?

John: We first spoke over five years ago, when we were living in Omaha. I was just starting out, and things were beginning to pick up when COVID hit. We officially started working together a couple of years later, after we moved to Colorado. I was booking $3,000 to $4,000 weddings, maybe a handful a year, and getting a few inquiries a month, if that. Bookings weren’t consistent. We were doing around $50,000 a year, and last year we did about $80,000. We also had two young boys during that time, so I was a new parent and a stay-at-home dad for most of it. My wife works from home, so she helps too.

Peter: What were you doing to get clients back then?

John: Honestly, not much. I was posting on Instagram and doing some organic work. Before we worked together, I was kind of a starving artist. I’d post my work and hope someone saw it. I also used The Knot, but a lot of those leads ghosted or were price shopping.

Peter: I talk to people all the time who are really talented and passionate about the craft but just don’t have enough people coming through the door.

Peter: Did you ever try SEO?

John: No. I’m sure it helps, but it seemed like such a long-term play, and I didn’t have the money to spend on it. I needed bookings now.

Peter: That’s wise. A lot of photographers spend so much time and money on their website and SEO, and it doesn’t pay off when they need inquiries now. For someone in your position today, SEO would make sense, layered on top of a system that’s already repeatable and profitable. But I’d never replace what’s making you money.

Peter: At the end of last year, your goal for this year was $100K. Where are you now?

John: This year, I’m at $101,100. I have seven weddings booked for 2025, and they average just over $10,000 each. I was trying to run ads on my own, and the course goes in depth on that and helped a lot. But managing ads while watching two kids wasn’t something I could do. This year, you’ve been running the ads, and I hired a VA, so I have a team behind me. I just take the calls and shoot the weddings.

Peter: We teach people how to run ads too. You can figure it out, but people don’t realize how much work it is. You have to look at it and test things every day, and that depends on your lifestyle and whether you want to be doing it.

John: The big thing this year was getting a VA. I can’t message leads all day while watching two kids. So my VA messages leads and schedules calls, and I hop on when I’m able. It took some working together to iron out the kinks, but it’s been amazing. I found a company that charges by the hour. I have my VA for about 15 to 20 hours a week at around $12 an hour, so roughly $1,000 a month. They’re overseas, so sometimes the wording is a little off, and there are teaching moments.

They message leads through a Google Voice number, and it’s all synced with my calendar. I take calls Tuesday through Thursday, 9 to 5, so Fridays and Mondays are free for other work or travel, since I travel for weddings quite a bit. I’m with the boys all day, so sometimes they hop on calls with me, which probably helps. When we can, my wife and I switch off so I can sneak away.

Peter: What does editing look like?

John: Last year, with a new baby, I had an editor. Our youngest is two now and more independent, so this year I edit when I find time. It takes me about five or six hours per wedding, broken up over the week.

Peter: Some people take 30 hours to edit a wedding, thinking more time will let them charge more. When you have kids, you’re forced to become so much more productive, because you’d rather be with your family.

John: That’s a big reason I wanted to offload work to other people, work less, and charge more. If I were charging $3,000 a wedding, I’d have to work two or three times as much to hit this goal and be gone every weekend. With kids, I don’t want to do that.

Peter: What has enabled you to sell photo-only weddings at $10,000?

John: I was also taking a branding course that emphasizes keeping your branding cohesive across everything. I hired someone to redo my whole website, redid my branding, and deleted everything off Instagram to start over. Now everything I show is what I want to attract, and that helps with the Instagram ads, because couples see a clean portfolio that makes sense. I also cut a lot of copy. Sometimes saying less says more. Luxury brands don’t have much copy on their websites.

Peter: We carry that same branding into the ads. We also pre-qualify couples on budget. We don’t tell them it’s $10K on day one, but they know it won’t be $2K or $3K. Then we drive them to your Instagram, so by the time your assistant reaches out, they’ve seen your work and been somewhat prepared for the price.

Peter: Does your assistant talk about price?

John: No. When I was messaging leads, I didn’t do much small talk. I tried to get them on a call as soon as possible: “Hey, this is John with John Mueller Photography. You’re a finalist for [the offer].” They’ll say, “Thank you, I’m so excited,” and I’ll reply, “We’re doing video calls with all the finalists to go over details. Would Monday at 9 or 3 work for you?” Usually they say yes, and I send a calendar invite. I wrote an SOP so my VA has a script to follow and can make it their own.

On the first video call, I tell them we don’t have set packages. We can customize coverage to whatever they’re looking for, like rehearsal dinner coverage or a second photographer. We walk through the wedding weekend to see what they’d need, since a lot of couples haven’t thought about it yet, and I explain why they might want a second photographer. I take notes, and at the end I ask, “What’s your photography budget?” to see if we’re in the same ballpark. If they ask, I tell them we start at $8K. If it’s a fit, I set up a second call and build a custom proposal from everything we talked about. That second call is maybe 10 or 15 minutes, because we’ve already covered everything. If they’re willing to show up for two calls, there’s a higher chance they’ll book.

Peter: What percentage of people get spooked when you tell them $8K?

John: Probably 90%. But you only need one. I do about three or four calls a day, and I’ve had 14 bookings since the beginning of the year. If we’re not a fit, I say, “I don’t know that we’ll be the best fit, but if anything changes, I’m always here to help.”

Peter: People don’t understand the reality of the hard work. If you charged $5K, you’d close more bookings, but that’s not what you want. Fewer people stay at the Ritz-Carlton than at a Super 8. And every one of those weddings builds the portfolio that attracts more of those couples, gets you in front of those venues, planners, and bridal parties, and keeps referrals cascading.

John: I spoke with a planner who only does five weddings a year. She just needs five yeses.

Peter: What would you tell someone doing $50K or even $100K a year who wants to book at the $10K level?

John: At that level, your job as a photographer isn’t the photography. Everyone at that level is good. You should have that down by now. Your job is getting in front of people through networking and marketing. That’s the biggest hurdle. Get more people coming in that you can talk to and book.

Peter: What’s been the most helpful thing we’ve done together?

John: Showing that it’s possible, and the way you break it down in the course. If you stick with it, it’s a numbers game. You have to do so many calls to make it happen. And this year, having you run the ads.

Peter: Sometimes people join masterminds with established luxury photographers. Their advice is good, but those photographers have 20 years of word of mouth and relationships. Even with your luxury branding, you’re still booking almost everyone from paid ads on Instagram. You still need leads. I see people spend a fortune on a rebrand and a perfect Instagram feed and get two or three inquiries a month.

John: That stuff is important, but if you’re not marketing it, no one will see it. Big-name photographers are already known, but when you’re starting out, nobody is searching for your name.

Peter: It’s not either/or. It’s both. What would you say to someone on the fence about signing up with us?

John: Don’t be on the fence. Just do it.

Peter: And what’s next? You hit $100K. Are you done?

John: You’ve got to keep going and see how far you can take it. I’m on pace for over $200K, so that’s the next big milestone.