There was a time I believed I had to show up online a certain way to be successful. You know the look: perfectly curated captions, a highlight reel of wins, and never a hair out of place. But, let me tell you a secret: I was exhausted. Every time I sat down to write a […]

If you are lowering your prices or offering freebies just to get booked, hear this: discounts do not create loyalty. Yes, they might fill your calendar short term. But research in consumer psychology shows that price-driven customers are the least loyal. They are far more likely to switch brands or service providers for the next […]

A few months ago, a new client messaged me saying she found me through an Instagram reel. Not a viral reel. Not even one where I shared a jaw-dropping wedding or artfully composed landscape. Nope. It was a reel of me, at my studio, with baby Lake in his carrier. She said she saw it, […]

When I started Studio 29 Photography back in 2010, the “goal” was simple: rank on Google. If I could show up when someone searched “Milwaukee family photographer,” I felt like I was winning. And it worked… back then. But here’s the truth I’ve learned (after 15 years, hundreds of sessions, and building a multi–six figure […]

Last week, ChatGPT-5 rolled out “personalities” and the internet did what it always does… picked favorites. But, I’m over here thinking, “Cool, but will any of them really help keep my photography calendar full so I can sip coffee with Caleb, keep Lake out of daycare, and sneak mid-day walks with my dogs??” Spoiler: not […]

Let me guess. You became a photographer because you love capturing real, raw moments, not because you were dying to write Instagram captions at 11 PM or dream up a blog post while editing a wedding gallery. And yet, here we are. Marketing your photography business online has somehow become a second full-time job. You […]

If you’re a photographer and you’ve dabbled with ChatGPT but haven’t seen a clear ROI…this post will show you how to stop treating it like a content crutch and start using it like a strategic booking tool. Because here’s the truth: ChatGPT isn’t just a shortcut. It’s the new search engine. Potential photography clients are […]

Let’s be real for a second. If you’re a photographer, your “lead tracking system” probably looks something like this: Scrolling through Instagram DMs, then digging through emails and hoping you remember to follow up later and sticky notes. So many sticky notes. You’re not unprofessional. You’re just busy. Between sessions, editing, blogging, sending galleries, wrangling […]

If you’ve spent any time online lately, you’ve probably noticed the internet is obsessed with acronyms. SEO, AEO, GEO, AISO… it’s like alphabet soup out there! And if you’re a photographer or creative business owner just trying to get seen online, you might be thinking, “Do I really need to care about all of this? […]

AI traffic is no longer a trend. It’s the next era of online visibility. Business owners who understand this shift will be the ones who participate in AI-powered conversations, while others are left scrambling for page-two Google results. If you’ve been laser-focused on traditional SEO, but here’s my advice: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the […]