Andre Brown is an Atlanta, Georgia, based portrait and wedding photographer, highly sought for his award-winning style. Brown also teaches online and in-person courses on topics like like how to optimize your photo business for more income, creating winning workflows, and how to have successful romantic destination shoots.

When Brown visited The Portrait System Podcast last year, he spoke with host Nikki Closser about how setting goals motivated him to optimize each lead he brought in and thereby increase his income. Brown accomplished that optimization through automation. Realizing that simply offering clients his most basic service was leaving money on the table, Brown created his own sales and marketing software, SnapFlow that works with his CRM (Client Relationship Management) software, enabling his clients to add in genres and services without him even asking. This simple step can have the effect of increasing a $5,000 or $6,000 shoot into an $8,000 to $12,000 shoot.

[Read: How to Enhance Your Photo Client Business Online]

But Brown doesn’t leave his selling up to automation, and he credits in-person sales with increasing his sales average tremendously. One to two weeks after shooting, Brown invites his clients back to the studio for a viewing, hosting them with champagne, wine, sparkling grape juice, and what he calls his bootleg charcuterie board (because he makes it himself). Then, using N-Vu software, he is able to optimize that interaction by creating an invoice for his clients’ selections, sending them the invoice, and receiving their payment on the spot.

Below you’ll find Brown’s bonus Q&A where he emphasizes the importance of optimizing your photo business for more income.

What has been your biggest breakthrough in business?  

Putting together my workflow strategy. After I mapped it all out and put everything into place, I was able to nearly triple my income without doing much more than I was already doing. 

[Read: Time-Saving Automation Tricks for Portrait Photographers]

What is your average sale currently?  

For Portraits, $3650. 

For someone starting out on their photography journey what advice would you have for them?  

Start out with IPS (in-person sales) in the beginning instead of shoot and burn. Your bank account will thank you in the long run. LOL 

Do you regret any decisions you have made in your business?  

Not starting out with an IPS Strategy.  

[Read: What a Profitable In Person Sales Photo Session Looks Like]

Everyone has a favorite shoot – tell us about yours and why it’s your favorite.  

My group maternity shoot. It was one of the first shoots that I conceptualized and executed the vision. This image ultimately became the highest scoring image in the WPPI competition in 2022 and came in 1st Place in the maternity category. 

Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?  

Continuing to educate photographers and helping more people gain the confidence they need to grow their businesses.