Applications open · 12-month mastermind
Build a profitable photography business. Without burnout, confusion, or guesswork.
Elevate 360 is a 12-month coaching, course, software, and AI automation program built by a working photographer who runs a seven-figure studio in the trenches with you.
If you feel like you’re struggling
It’s not just you.
The photography industry is shifting fast. Here’s what the data actually says about the market you’re competing in today.
39%
of photographers reported revenue is down
Widespread challenges across the industry. The market is not the same one it was five years ago.
30-40%
income reduction for mid-tier photographers since 2020
CPI is up 25% over the same window. The math is getting worse, not better.
70,000
net new photographers in the U.S. by 2030
The market is going to get noisier, not quieter. The photographers who win will be the ones with systems and marketing.
52%
of photographers say it is harder to get clients than a year ago
From a 2024 Aftershoot survey. Inquiries and bookings have slowed even for studios that are actively marketing.
85%
of photos are now taken on smartphones
As phones improve, the perceived value of professional work shrinks. Brand, experience, and proof do the heavy lifting.
Big tech
is entering the photography space
Uber-for-photographer platforms (weddings included) are commoditizing the craft. They have more money and more people than you do.
Why most photographers stay stuck
Revenue is down. Competition is up. What worked five years ago doesn’t work anymore.
No Structure
You’re reacting instead of executing a plan. Every week feels like starting from scratch, and nothing compounds.
No Systems
Leads slip through the cracks. Pricing is inconsistent. Everything depends on manual effort, and you’re the bottleneck.
No Accountability
Nobody is guiding the strategy or holding you to the goals you set. Momentum fades, the to-do list grows.
What is Elevate 360
A 12-month coaching, course, software, and AI mastermind for working photographers.
Elevate 360 helps portrait and wedding photographers build profitable, system-driven businesses. It’s built for action-takers who are done guessing, done winging it, and ready to build a studio that actually works.
This is for you if
- Your work is strong, but your marketing and systems are holding you back.
- You’re willing to invest in your business and grow both organically and through paid ads.
- You want to be coached by working photographers, not marketing gurus reading from a slide deck.
- You want a real ecosystem: coaching, courses, software, community, and AI tools, all in one place.
This is not for you if
- You’re a hobbyist or brand new to the craft.
- You’re looking for quick hacks or passive content with no support.
- You want to skip the operational work and only do the fun parts.
- You aren’t willing to implement what you learn.
Why us, not the gurus
We aren’t marketing coaches. We’re working photographers who run an active studio.
Most coaching programs are taught by people who don’t shoot anymore (or never did). We run a seven-figure portrait and wedding studio with locations in multiple states. The tactics we teach are the same tactics running our business this season, with last week’s invoice as the receipt.
We’ve been coaching photographers since 2015. Elevate 360 is the first time we’ve assembled the entire ecosystem we wish we’d had when we started.
1,000+
Portrait sessions per year
50-100+
Weddings per year
$1M+
In studio revenue every year since 2018
Since 2015
Coaching working photographers
The six pillars of Elevate 360
The curriculum that builds the studio.
Twelve months. Six pillars. Each one ships a real asset to your business: a positioning statement, a pricing structure, a sales script, a referral system, a marketing engine. You leave each month with something you actually ran in your studio that week.
01
The Pivot
Decide what you’re actually building. Niche, market, ideal client, model. Every other phase falls apart if this one is fuzzy, so we get it right first.
02
Pricing That Converts
Build pricing prospects can buy and you can profitably deliver. Floors, ceilings, packages, and the math behind why most photographers undercharge by 40%.
03
Marketing That Fills the Calendar
The biggest pillar. Meta ads, organic content, referrals, and the local SEO plays that bring the right clients in volume.
04
The Sales System
A repeatable consultation that closes without pressure. In-person sales, qualification, and objection handling at every price point.
05
Delivering the Experience
What happens after the booking. Workflow, IPS appointments, reviews, referrals, and the small touches that turn one client into three.
06
Scale and Systems
Hiring, delegating, and the tech stack that lets you step away from the camera without revenue dropping. The dual-model studio at full speed.
What’s included
This isn’t a course. It’s an entire ecosystem.
Elevate 360 is designed to grow your business from the ground up. Coaching, courses, software, community, and AI tools. All in one program.
12 Months of Live Coaching
Bi-weekly live broadcasts with replay on a rotating set of topics: marketing funnels, sales scripts, pricing, ads, IPS, systems. Implementation walkthroughs, not lectures. Q&A every session.
1:1 Business Audit with Michael
Your kickoff call. Michael reviews your studio, your numbers, and your goals and tailors the coaching path so you get the most out of the program.
Ad Swipe Files
Plug-and-play ad creative, copy, and targeting we’ve already tested in our own studios. Skip the trial-and-error and run the campaigns that work.
The Complete CRM
Full Elevate 360 CRM included. Calendar, payments, contracts, SMS, email, funnel builder, automations, social planner. One login. One bill.
Full Course Library
Over 200 hours of training videos covering wedding photography, marketing, booking, pricing, sales, editing, and operations. Updated as the industry shifts.
Exclusive Members Slack
Direct line to the coaches between calls. No waiting two weeks for an answer when you’re mid-launch.
Hours of Real Sales Recordings
Watch actual virtual sales appointments and consultations end-to-end. See how it’s done with real clients, not actors.
AI Tools and Templates
Pre-built AI prompts and agents tuned for photographers: inquiry replies, ad copy, content drafts, client follow-up, review responses. New tools added monthly.
The complete platform
Every tool you need to run a modern studio. Included.
Most coaching programs hand you a list of tools to go buy. Elevate 360 hands you the full software and marketing platform, pre-configured for photographers, included in your membership.
One login. One bill. Everything talks to everything else, so your calendar, payments, CRM, marketing, and automations all live in one place.
- Calendars and online booking
- Payments and digital contracts
- SMS marketing and broadcast
- Built-in email marketing
- Funnel builder for your website
- Forms and applications
- Automated review requests
- Social media planner across platforms
- Visual automation builder (if-this-then-that)
- AI agents that run your studio
New for Elevate 360
AI automation built for photographers.
We’re building AI tooling directly into the Elevate 360 platform to automate the parts of your business that eat your week: inquiry replies, lead qualification, follow-up sequences, content drafting, review responses, and post-session client care. The same automations we’re running in our own studio.
Inquiry handling on autopilot
AI replies to new leads in your voice, qualifies them, and books the consult. You step in only when the lead is ready to buy.
Content generation and scheduling
Captions, blog posts, email sequences, and SMS campaigns drafted in your brand voice and pushed to your channels on a calendar.
Client communication and follow-up
Review requests, gallery reminders, anniversary touch-points, referral nudges. The relationship work you forget to do, done for you.
Imagine this
Twelve months from now.
Your calendar is filled with consultations from the right kind of clients, brought in by marketing that runs even when you’re on a shoot.
You’re selling confidently, without discounting or chasing anyone for a yes.
Your systems are doing the busywork. Bookings, follow-ups, contracts, payments, reviews, all moving in the background.
You know what to do next, and you have a team of coaches and a community of working photographers in the room with you when you don’t.
You feel like a real CEO. Not just a creative hustler.
The other option is twelve more months of the same. Same frustrations, same numbers, same questions. Where will you be?
Apply for Elevate 360
Tell us about your studio.
Every application is reviewed personally. We’re picky on purpose. We’d rather take fewer photographers who are ready to do the work than fill seats.
Step 01
Submit your application
Takes about five minutes. Be honest. The more we know, the faster we can tell you whether this is right for you.
Step 02
We review and respond
Within 2–3 business days. If you’re a fit, we set up a call to walk through next steps. If you’re not, we’ll tell you why and point you somewhere better.
Step 03
You start building
Kickoff call with Michael, immediate access to the ecosystem, and your first bi-weekly group call on the calendar.