What does it actually look like when a photographer commits to investing in herself? Year after year, one focused step at a time? For Lacee Smith, a portrait photographer based in Oklahoma City, it looks like doubling her client average in a single year, landing her biggest-ever sale at $7,000, and running a thriving business while homeschooling two little girls and working a few hours a week. Lacee joined TMA Community Manager Ali on the podcast to share what strategic photography education investment has meant for her business and her life.
The Strategy Behind the Success
Lacee launched her photography business while on maternity leave, and from the very beginning, she approached it with a ten-year plan. Each year, she identified one specific area of her business to focus on – camera technique, posing, SEO, blogging – and directed her time, money, and energy there. This year, that focus was in-person sales (IPS), and the results have been remarkable.
Her client average went from $1,200 in January to over $2,500 (effectively doublin) without adding more sessions to her calendar. She caps herself at eight sessions per month and turns clients away beyond that. The growth didn’t come from volume. It came from depth of knowledge and disciplined implementation.
When Ali asked her how she decides which education to invest in, Lacee’s answer was precise: she plans six months to a year in advance, researches thoroughly, and evaluates every opportunity against three questions. Does it align with the kind of business she wants to build? Can the educator actually demonstrate results? And will it improve her client experience? If all three answers are yes, she moves forward. If something is shiny but not aligned, she lets it go.
She’s also clear that financial investment alone doesn’t move the needle. “If you just make the financial investment and expect something to change without doing what the education is telling you, you’re not going to move the needle that way.” The missing ingredient, always, is implementation.
The Results That Speak for Themselves
Lacee went IPS six months into her business, long before she felt ready. She figured it out alongside TMA’s education on the topic, and she hasn’t looked back. This year, she had a week where she completed three large sales, one of them totaling $7,000, her biggest to date. The week after, all three of her ordering appointments came in over $2,000 each.
What’s striking about Lacee’s story is how much of it came down to mindset. When she first launched, she was convinced that clients in Oklahoma City would never spend serious money on photography. She had a mental ceiling, and she stayed under it. The shift happened as she did the work and began to see what was actually possible. “I had to make those mindset shifts,” she said. “And once I started shifting that mindset, it felt believable. And then it became believable and achievable.”
She opened her own studio in year two of business. Her ten-year plan had that milestone set for year five. The compounding effect of consistent, intentional education had put her years ahead of where she ever imagined she’d be.
And she’s doing all of this while protecting what matters most. She doesn’t edit in front of her kids. She rarely works weekends. She’s present for her family in a way she couldn’t be during her nursing career — and she now homeschools both of her daughters. Having the flexibility to be fully present has been one of the most meaningful outcomes of building a business on her own terms.
Why Community Changes Everything
Lacee was candid about one of her biggest fears before going full-time in photography: that she would feel completely alone. Running a creative business can be isolating. Stepping away from a nursing career, a team environment by nature, made that fear feel very real.
TMA addressed that fear directly. Being inside the membership gave her people who understood the specific roller coaster of building a photography business, who shared her values, and who genuinely cheered each other on. She swaps ideas with fellow members, works through client dilemmas, talks about products, and receives the kind of encouragement that reminds her on the hard days that she’s capable. She met one of her closest friends at a TMA retreat, and they talk almost every day.
“That kind of support is priceless,” she said. And for photographers building businesses from the inside out, that community layer is often what makes the difference between staying stuck and actually moving forward.
One of the most consistent themes inside TMA is that education and community work together. The content is only as powerful as your willingness to engage with it, implement it, and share what you’re learning with people who understand. Lacee’s story is a testament to exactly that.
Listen and Learn More
Lacee’s advice to photographers on the fence about investing in education is simple and direct: if the education aligns with your business, if the person teaching it can walk the walk, and if it will improve your client experience: do it. Show up. Put in the work. Apply what you learn. “Your financial investment will come back tenfold.”
Find Lacee laceesmithphotography.com at or on Instagram @laceesmithphotography.
Ready to build a business that reflects your own creative voice? The Motherhood Anthology membership gives you access to expert mentors, live coaching, monthly marketing suites, and a private community of photographers who are invested in your success. Learn more and join at themotherhoodanthology.com.
The Motherhood Anthology is a community and educational resource for photographers who want a profitable and sustainable business they love. With 15+ expert mentors and 7+ years of proven content, TMA helps portrait photographers build confident, thriving businesses through monthly education, mentorship, and a supportive community of 700+ members.
