Becca Lueck has been photographing families in the Portland, Oregon area for 16 years, but she didn't find lifestyle photography until year seven. Once she did, everything changed. We talk about the before and after of learning to fall in love with the work you're doing, how it changes, and how to keep it interesting.

Becca is the founder of Becca Jean Photography, a membership for family photographers, and a suite of courses covering everything from business systems to video. She's also been blogging and building her SEO for years, to the point where she can now publish a post and rank on the first page within days. In this episode, we talk about how she got there and how things look now. We also get into her video workflow — how she moves between photo and video inside a family session without losing momentum — and her honest take on where new photographers should put their energy.

Find It Quickly: 3:30 - Getting started 7:00 - Mini sessions and slow early growth 12:00 - Discovering lifestyle photography in 2017 20:00 - Client prep: email sequences other tools 27:00 - Styling guidance and client closets 30:00 - Adding video inside a family session 37:00 - SEO over Instagram 41:00 - Becca's membership 44:00 - Photo fuel: in-person events

Mentioned in this Episode: Becca's Membership: https://courses.beccajeanphotography.com/p/family-photography-collective

Style and Select: https://styleandselect.com/

Becca's CRM: https://17hats.com/

How Becca edits film: Adobe Premiere Pro

How Becca edits photo: Imagin AI

Tristin Tracy: @tristentracy_photography

Connect with Becca: Education: https://beccajeanphotography.com/education

Instagram: @beccajeanphotography Connect with Leah: PhotoFuel Retreat and Mastermind: leahoconnell.com/retreat Free resources: leahoconnell.com/learn

You're halfway into a session, things are flowing, and then — nothing. The energy drops, your brain goes blank, and you're thinking - WHAT NOW.

This is the final part of the four-part in-home family photography series, and I'm giving you eight specific moves to pull out when a session stalls or you need to jolt yourself in to a new perspective.

Stay to the end for a preview of what's coming this summer!

Find It Quickly: 2:56 - 1: Three focal ranges 4:37 - 2: Shoot through something nearby 5:34 - 3: Doorways 6:41 - 4: Invite music 7:55 - 5: Invite play 9:00 - 6: Look for the moment, not the space 10:57 - 7: Use furniture in non-conventional ways 11:38 - 8: Let the mess be the story 13:10 - Recap 13:43 - Series wrap-up + how to get the field guide 14:52 - What to expect next on the podcast

Mentioned in this Episode: In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguide Photo Fuel Retreat and Mastermind: leahoconnell.com/retreat

In Part 1, we prepped. In Part 2, we got the ball rolling. This episode is all about how to open your dang eyeballs, guide with your heart, and sink into a session that is less pose and more honest family gold. If you often leave sessions feeling like you checked the boxes but you never really GOT anywhere emotional, this is your next-level.

I originally learned the concept of "elements of family story" from Brooke Schultz, and Story Filters are my evolution of that over the last 5 years. They're themes you carry into a session like a scavenger hunt — lenses for seeing what's actually in front of you rather than hunting for your next pose. I'm sharing what they are, how they work in practice, and a two-step process for developing your own. It's the thing that made the difference between galleries that are fine and work that actually means something.

Find It Quickly: 1:49 - Introducing Story Filters (your personal in-shoot scavenger hunt) 3:37 - Story filter examples 5:06 - Filters in action: how they change the way you see and direct 7:52 - Why filters matter: seeing people not subjects 9:28 - Direction vs. documentary: finding the middle ground 10:51 - How to develop your own filters 14:09 - Series recap + next episode preview 15:03 - How to get the Field Guide for all these tips in writing to reference for your next shoot

Mentioned in this Episode: In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguide Episode 72: Part 1 — The Walkthrough Video: https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ Episode 73: Part 2 — The First 10 Minutes: https://leahoconnell.com/in-home-family-photography-series-part-2-the-first-10-minutes/

Also listen to: Episode 59 with Brooke Schultz: https://leahoconnell.com/episode-59-messy-action-the-artful-pivot-and-creating-from-the-inside-out-with-brooke-schultz/