Commercial Photographer: Your Guide to Marketing, Creativity and Growth is the essential podcast if you're a professional headshot photographer or brand photographer. Ready to achieve sustainable business growth? Each week, we share practical advice and actionable strategies to help you master your marketing, ignite your creativity, and build a profitable commercial photography business. Learn how to attract ideal clients, stand out in the marketplace, and build the business you've always wanted. Stop guessing and start growing with business help and guidance from industry experts.
Listen to episodes
60 recent
August 18, 2026Episode 3334 min
What Website Designers Wish Photographers Knew
Ever wondered why some photos land perfectly on a website and others just don't work, no matter how good the shot is? A brand and web designer joins the show to reveal exactly what she wishes photographers understood before they ever pick up the camera — from the details nobody tells you about to the compositional choices that make or break a client's site. If you supply images that end up on someone's homepage, this one could change how you shoot. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
August 11, 2026Episode 3218 min
Why Smart Photographers Get Ahead During the Quiet Season
The phone's gone quiet, inquiries have dried up, and it's tempting to treat this as dead time. Marcus disagrees — and he's using it himself right now to get ready for the September rush. He runs through the moves worth making while the pressure's off, from a proper look at whether your website still represents the work you actually want, to a low-key way of staying on past clients' radar without ever selling to them. There's also a blind spot most photographers don't think to check: whether everything with your name on it, from your website to your pricing document, is still telling the same story about your business, and why that consistency matters more than ever with Google and AI both scanning across everywhere you show up. Plus why the quiet season is exactly the wrong time to just watch videos about a skill instead of learning it properly, and the one planning move that saves your future self when September turns into chaos. For any brand photographer whose website has quietly drifted out of date, this is the nudge to fix it before the busy season does it for you. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
August 4, 2026Episode 3130 min
Making Networking Actually Work for Photographers Part Two
You've done the hard part, worked the room, swapped business cards, had the good conversation. Tony Bowler, founder of The Business Culture in Hull and East Yorkshire, is back for part two of our networking series, covering how to actually work the room without getting stuck at the wrong table, and why the two days after the event decide whether any of it was worth it. He breaks down the follow-up message that actually gets a reply versus the one that gets you quietly unconnected, why asking "what do you do" is the wrong question, and the slow-build sequence that turns a stranger with a business card into a genuine referral source. There's also a hard lesson in never judging a contact by their job title, and why the busiest-looking person in the room might be the one worth talking to. For any brand photographer building relationships in the local business community rather than just chasing bookings, this is the follow-through nobody teaches you. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
July 28, 2026Episode 3018 min
Why Most Brand Photographers Are Impossible To Tell Apart
Most brand photographers look exactly the same. Same portfolios, same Instagram grids, same prices, same everything — which means clients have nothing left to judge them on except cost. Marcus breaks down why this happens, why quietly copying the photographers you admire erases what makes you different, and the three questions that surface the one thing about you that no other commercial photographer can replicate. If you've ever wondered why some photographers charge what they want while others get squeezed on price, this is where you start finding the answer.
July 21, 2026Episode 2918 min
The Networking Prep Most Photographers Skip (Part 1)
Ever walked out of a networking event and realised nobody in the room actually remembers who you are? There's a reason, and it's usually decided before you ever step through the door. Which group you pick, how you introduce yourself, even what's in your pocket when you turn up — it all stacks the odds one way or the other. This week Sam pulls apart the groundwork most photographers skip: how to spot the right group for your business (and the red flags that mean you should walk away), whether to pay before you've even tried it, and how to build a 60-second intro that actually gets you referred instead of politely ignored. Part one of two — part two covers what to do once you're in the room. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
July 14, 2026Episode 2835 min
What It Actually Takes for a Photographer to Get Signed — And Paid — by an Agency
There's a number in this episode that'll make you rethink what your images are actually worth — and it's not about day rate. We get into the pricing conversation almost nobody has out loud, plus a straight answer to the question every unrepresented photographer wants to ask: what does it actually take to get signed? Beyond that, there's a look at what a real agency production involves once the cameras roll, an initiative built to open industry doors for people who've never had an "in," and a clear-eyed take on where AI actually helps a working photographer — and where it doesn't. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
July 7, 2026Episode 2722 min
The AI Shift Photographers Can't Afford to Ignore
Most photographers using AI are still just talking to it — asking questions, generating the odd image, having a chat. This episode is about the shift that actually changes your business: AI that does things for you, not just with you. Sam's been quietly testing this for months — handing over onboarding, follow-up, even parts of his sales process — and shares what's actually worked, what's overhyped, and the one habit that stops these tools from just telling you what you want to hear. If you've written AI off as a novelty, this might change your mind about what it's for. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
June 30, 2026Episode 2619 min
The Flash Settings Most Photographers Never Check
Most photographers using flash are leaving performance on the table, not because they're doing anything wrong, but because they don't fully understand what the numbers on their kit actually mean. In this episode, Marcus unpacks the physics of flash in plain English: what wattage really tells you, why flash duration is the spec that actually freezes movement, and how your choice of modifier is quietly affecting every shot you take. If you've ever wondered why your flash feels slow, why your action shots aren't as sharp as they should be, or whether spending more on a higher-watt unit is actually worth it, this episode will change how you think about your kit. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
June 23, 2026Episode 2535 min
How to Build a Photography Agency: Inside the Business of Commercial Photography Representation
What does it actually take to build a photography agency — and what can that teach you about building your own career as a brand photographer? Harry Rose founded Darwin Studio, a photography agency and production company whose photographers have shot campaigns for Nike, Google, Visa, the BBC, and Airbnb. In this episode, he traces the thinking behind how he built it — and why he built it the way he did. You'll hear why having a distinct photographic voice matters more than a packed client list when you're trying to get noticed. How chance encounters and voluntary work opened doors that cold outreach never would. And why the commercial photography world is far more insular than it should be — and what that means for photographers trying to break into it. If you've ever wondered how the industry really works behind the scenes, this one's for you. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
June 16, 2026Episode 2421 min
Offline Marketing for Photographers: What Every Brand Photographer Should Try Next
Marketing your photography business doesn't have to mean another hour glued to Instagram. This week, Marcus and Sam step away from the algorithms to talk through offline marketing for photographers — the kind that happens on dog walks, in coloured envelopes, and at the sort of business expo where someone's filling a jar with business cards for a chance to win a bottle of champagne. They work through the unglamorous middle ground between online ads and pure networking: physical adverts in the right (and very specific) local publications, why a splash of colour and a small sweet treat might be the most memorable thing to land on someone's desk, and how one photographer turned business directories into a genuinely useful mailing list. There's also a look at events of every size, from market stalls to full business expos, including a neat workaround for photographers who'd rather not work a stand on their own all day. And if you've ever wondered how a brand photographer can turn a local accountant into a steady stream of referrals, or how a single workshop landed Marcus a room full of new enquiries, this episode gets into exactly how that played out. Got your own offline marketing wins — or disasters? Get in touch via the website, drop a comment on Spotify or Apple, or send an email. Marcus and Sam would love to hear from you, and might cover it on a future episode. Download the free guide to Marketing and Creativity here
Is this your show?
Claim this listing to keep it up to date, reach guests who want to pitch you, and manage bookings with Guestify.
