We were lucky to catch up with Miranda Baxter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Miranda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Photography is such an interesting industry. So what makes a profitable Photography business? In short: a business that works FOR YOU instead of YOU working for IT. As an entrepreneur, time is money. So setting up workflows and automations is a huge step toward being profitable since your business is doing the work for you. However, if all it took to be profitable was to set up a Client Management Software and email triggers, being profitable would be a lot easier.

I believe the biggest challenge to profitability within the Photography industry is OTHER photographers.
Wait! Don’t stop reading yet.
This isn’t about competition or even market saturation! It’s about highly talented and experienced photographers charging very little for a luxury service (and I don’t just mean those in the “luxury market”). Photography is not a necessity to live; so it’s often purchased with excess income, this makes it a luxury.

Imagine how confusing it is to the consumer when one very talented photographer charges $800 for a 30-minute family session, and another similarly talented photographer charges $300 for a 1-hour family session. As a photographer, I see the quality difference, I also see how one offers a superior experience, but does the consumer?
Maybe. Maybe not.
Often, all the consumer sees is the price tag, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, they then become conditioned to expect that they can get a talented photographer for cheap. They start to believe that the luxury experience and product of a professional photographer for a budget price is the norm. They start to believe that those charging “an arm and a leg” (their words, not mine) are ridiculous -and here’s the kicker- BECAUSE THEY CAN GET QUALITY FOR CHEAP.

But the budget photographers will burn out. In order to make enough to churn a livable wage, they will be over worked and stretched thin. There is a reason that higher-end photographers stay in business longer- they have a business that works for them, they don’t work for their business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi! I’m Miranda! I own Miranda Renee Photography LLC. I specialize in weddings but also photograph families, businesses, and events. I boast a warm and bright editing style for couples and families looking for joyful and candid images all wrapped up in a luxury photography experience.

I actually started my business in the wedding industry (my primary focus) when I was 17 years old- 11 years ago, yikes! I shot my first wedding for $20 and I’ve been in love with weddings ever since! Though I’m based in the Boise, Idaho area, I have shot all over the US: Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Ohio, Mississippi, Idaho, New York, Texas, Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and even Guam, and Canada!

Many of my couples and families come to me and have never been in front of a camera, or they feel very awkward in front of the camera. So, I work with them to create natural-looking images that reflect them and their relationship; not just a Pinterest inspiration board. I think a lot of times, the groom and groomsmen don’t like their photos taken because they think it’s boring. But boys, just you wait until I have y’all laughing and joking around; it’ll be so easy, I promise! I also help my couples make their wedding day a breeze with custom timeline creation.

You can hire just about any talented photographer in the area and be happy with the results. There’s a few things I offer that makes me stand out. First being my editing style. My editing is true-to-life with warm tones, proper skin colors, and bright whites. It isn’t super light and airy, it isn’t dark and moody, it isn’t totally saturated and bold. The second thing that makes me different is the custom experience I offer. From custom package creation and payment plan schedules, to tons of open communication with my clients. You will know ME and I will know YOU because you are more than a paycheck.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

There is one big thing that has helped me build my reputation within the Wedding Photography market in Idaho. It is relationships with other vendors. And I mean going above and beyond, not just the “It’s me. Hi. I’m the photographer, it’s me.” I mean: setting up a tour with the venue before the wedding if you haven’t been there before, offering to do a few photos for the venue during the tour FOR FREE, connect with venues and planners for styled shoots and content days, and lastly, for the love of all living creatures: GIVE THE VENDORS PHOTOS FROM THE WEDDING.

They will use the photos, they will love the photos, and most importantly, they will love YOU for the photos. Then when someone has been eyeing a venue and they see your gorgeous photo of the venue, they also see you’re tagged in the post. So they follow you because now they know you have been to the venue and love your work there. Huge huge networking and marketing opportunities are left on the table when you don’t give vendors photos of their contributions.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Oh goodness, just about every wedding illustrates my resilience. Haha! But beyond the resilience needed for weddings (constantly adjusting to new changes and last minute hiccups, dealing with real and raw emotions that can cause conflict, de-escalating a bride who’s brother is late to the wedding and she’s about to lose it, shooting 2 weddings in a weekend, traveling the day before and after a wedding, etc.), let me explain my personal resilience and how it affected my business.

In January 2023 I was hospitalized following many scary symptoms for the past 4 months. As you may know, peak engagement session is November through February and I basically could not market or do anything for my business because I was so sick. I literally thought about quitting because I basically had nothing booked for 2023, nor the energy to do anything about. To be honest, it was embarrassing and SO hard to see all my photographer friends booking up and I had literally every weekend open. I now realize it was a Godsend though. After receiving treatment and a diagnosis, I bounced back quickly and started booking weddings and sessions for 2023, and 2024. I won’t get into the nitty gritty of what all I went through, but it wasn’t pretty, and if it wasn’t for my support system and my God, I’m confident I wouldn’t be writing this today.

This time in my life taught me a few things: 1) Time is precious, use it how you want and how you feel called. 2) No amount of work could ever replace time with my son. 3) I need to take my health seriously so I can be around for my family AND to serve my clients. 4) If God calls you to it, He’ll bring you through it. 5) My business and my couples were there, ready to book, when I was ready to take them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mirandareneephotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miranda_r_photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirandareneephotos
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/mirandareneephotography/

Image Credits
All photos by Miranda Renee Photography LLC