551: Josh Beaton – How to use your photography to finance a passion project and get paid

Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area

Josh Beaton of  www.joshbeaton.com and www.thetweenesteemproject.org creates and photographs luxury portraits with an edge. If you check out his clean but attention-grabbing website, you'll see he is one of Chicago’s Premier Portrait Photographers.

His portraiture has a distinctive, dark, romantic look, and it's easy to see why clients would be drawn to him and his photography.

What's interesting about his journey is this is all relatively new! He only recently left his full-time job and has gone all in with his photography business, including taking on a lease for a new and large studio.

Josh popped up on my radar when Premium Member Kerry Struble emailed me to say…

Hi Andrew!

Have you heard about photographer Josh Beaton? He runs a teen-empowering non-profit called The Tween Esteem Project and just had a beautiful gallery show.

It's not just a portrait promotion, but rather, an entire program for underprivileged teens and teens that have self-esteem issues, struggle with bullying, addiction, etc.

There's a whole self-help component that includes connecting with a mentor, social media training, and more. He's actually started a legit non-profit organisation!

That was enough to have me reach out to Josh for this interview, where he shares how he was able to use his photography to finance a project that helps underprivileged children in his community and, hopefully, the country. At the same time, being paid for his photographic skills and mastery.

Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:

• From Employee to Creative Boss: Discover how Josh transitioned to full-time photography, defying the “starving artist” myth.
• Beyond the Benjamins: Learn their fulfilling approach to business, prioritizing artistic expression over fixating on specific revenue.
• Scaling Up Your Studio: Overcome pricing, marketing hurdles, and explore expanding your space to cater to a specific niche.
• Finding Your Signature Style: Unleash your creative vision! See how Josh draws inspiration from iconic photographers to attract clients who crave modern aesthetics.
• Boudoir Bonanza: Step into the world of boudoir-inspired photography! See how Josh empowers women aged 30-45 to celebrate life's milestones.
• Six-Figure Vision and Beyond: Learn about Josh's business goals, from expanding art sales to breaking the six-figure barrier, and discover their insider networking tips.
• The Power of Connection: Leverage groups like the Chamber of Commerce and BNI to open doors and explore new photography avenues.
• Giving Back with “The Tween Esteem Project”: Be touched by their non-profit offering free photoshoots to underprivileged children, and hear about their ambitious plans for nationwide expansion.
• Sustainable Giving: Learn how Josh seeks grants for long-term support while prioritizing community involvement over corporate sponsorships.
• Free Confidence Boost for Teens: Witness the impact they make by offering complimentary photoshoots to struggling teens with a streamlined application process.
• Turning Snaps into Support: See how Josh organises charity events featuring donated prints, leveraging community engagement for impactful fundraising.
• The Lens of Self-Esteem: Get inspired by their ded ication to using photography to boost self-esteem on a national scale.
• Empowering Youth with Passion: Be moved by their unwavering commitment to helping struggling teens and tweens, and prepare to be inspired by their openness to growth opportunities for even greater impact.

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, a fantastic back catalogue of interviews, and have ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Plus, special member-only interviews.

My business wasn't ready when I took the jump. I just, you know, jump and the net will appear. We kind of really leaned on that. — Josh Beaton

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group, where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. The group also has FB live video tutorials, role-play, and special live interviews. You will not find more friendly, motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Seriously, that's not all.

In addition to everything above, you'll get access and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything from what Josh shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, leave your thoughts in the comments below; let me know your takeaways and what you plan to implement in your business due to what you heard in today's episode.

I don't want to lower my price, because I don't want to devalue the work. It's a lot harder to go from $100 shoots to $10,000 shoots versus, you know, kind of just going a little bit in the middle there. — Josh Beaton

If you have any questions I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Josh or if you want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

I check for any new iTunes or Google reviews each week, and it's always a buzz to receive these… for several reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Moving into my new studio was a little overwhelming when I first moved in. — Josh Beaton

Secondly, iTunes and Google are the most significant podcast search engines, and your reviews and ratings help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and, ultimately, a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes or https://photobizx.com/google, and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show, and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

I haven't done boudoir, but my guess is that I would look for a boudoir client that really doesn't want to take their clothes off. Right? And then like that's okay, great. — Josh Beaton

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast. Email me your keywords or phrases and where you'd like me to link them.

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy, and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has impacted you and your photography business.​

Here is the latest review…

★★★★★ Mind Blowing!

Via the PhotobizX Members Group by Luxurious St. Louis Boudoir Photographer, Matthew Kauffmann, on February 1st, 2024.

Regarding the recent AI for photographers training delivered by Brianna Shrader.

This was absolutely mind-blowing. Completely worth 12x the cost of admission!

Registrations are open to anyone looking to up their sales game!

For any photographer to succeed in business, you need to be able to confidently consult with your clients on what works best for them.

Yes, that means sell.

Sell with integrity.

Sell with purpose.

Sell with confidence.

Sell with the ‘helping’ mentality.

How do you get better at selling?

Instead of stumbling through to see what a solid process may be for you, learn from someone who owns a company that has sold more than 5 million dollars (US) in digitals and products for clients internationally.

If you've always wanted to be better at sales, OR YOU HAVE A STAFF MEMBER who needs to be better, don't miss this training.

Our GUARANTEE to you: Take this training, and if you don't get enough value to increase your csales, let me know I'll happily refund you.

For more details and to register, click here:  https://learn.photobizx.com/sales-masterclass/

If you'd like to hear more from Audra before registering, check out her recent PhotoBizX interview here.

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Josh Beaton Website

Josh Beaton on Facebook

Josh Beaton on Instagram

The Tween Esteem Project

The Tween Esteem Project on Instagram

The Tween Esteem Project on Facebook

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening, and thanks to Josh for sharing his thoughts, ideas, and experience on launching and building a non-profit based on photography to help underprivileged teens.

These kids walked in to pictures they've already seen with their drawers on the floor. And their mums were crying and I couldn't understand it at first. — Josh Beaton

That’s it for me this week; I hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks, and speak soon
Andrew

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The post 551: Josh Beaton – How to use your photography to finance a passion project and get paid appeared first on Photography Business Xposed - Photography Podcast - how to build and market your portrait and wedding photography business.