#277: The 17 Clients Framework: How to Book Portrait Sessions by Spotting Life Moments
Worth Every Penny Joycast
Sarah Petty
5 • 3.3K Ratings
🗓️ 20 August 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Why are some photographers booking $10K+ portrait sessions while others struggle to get inquiries? It’s not luck, ads, or better gear. It’s strategy. In this episode, I’m sharing my 17 Clients Framework—the exact method I use to help photographers spot real-life opportunities that lead to emotional, high-value bookings.
Stop waiting. Start seeing.
• How to recognize 17 life moments that clients will pay big for
• The conversation formula that leads to effortless bookings
• Why solving emotional needs matters more than fancy marketing
The clients are already in your life. This framework will help you see them—and serve them—differently.
RESOURCES:
 Photography Business Tools to Get Started
INSTAGRAM – DM me “Conversation Starters” for some genuine ways to strike up a conversation about your photography business wherever you are.
www.photographybusinessinstitute.com/boutiquebreakthrough
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | How is it that some portrait photographers are making $2,000, $3,000, even $10,000 and more from a single portrait session? |
| 0:09.8 | While others with the same gear, the same talent, all the same equipment are barely getting inquiries. |
| 0:16.6 | It's easy to think, well, they have more experience. |
| 0:19.0 | They live in a city with more wealthy people. |
| 0:21.6 | Maybe they're running Facebook ads, and that's what gets them the large orders. |
| 0:25.4 | Listen, I've worked with thousands of photographers, and I can tell you, that's not actually the case. |
| 0:31.1 | Here's what most books photographers are doing differently. |
| 0:34.6 | They're not chasing clients. |
| 0:37.2 | They're spotting their potential client's life |
| 0:39.5 | moments and they're showing up as the solution. Because listen, when someone's life is changing, |
| 0:46.2 | like they're growing their family, they've overcome something big, maybe they're starting fresh, |
| 0:50.8 | they need to preserve a memory that they will cherish forever. But they don't always |
| 0:55.3 | know that. Here's the thing. It's more than posting for engagement. Start solving real |
| 1:02.8 | problems. One of my students used this exact approach and made over $15,000 from one single idea here. |
| 1:17.6 | Hey there. My name's Sarah Petty and I went from a stressed out, overworked mama with three babies to be named one of America's most profitable photographers without working my kids' lives away. |
| 1:23.6 | Now I'm the founder of the Photography Business Institute where we provide guided support |
| 1:28.9 | from start to finish, whether you're a beginner photographer dipping your toes in or a more |
| 1:34.3 | advanced photographer with big income goals. Each week on this podcast, I'll show you how to find |
| 1:40.9 | and serve photography clients in a world where we can keep you free thanks |
| 1:46.1 | to everyone having a digital camera in their pocket. |
| 1:50.3 | Take the first step to adding more joy and profit to your life by downloading your free |
| 1:54.7 | photography business tools at photography business institute.com. |
... |
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