You’re maxed out, trading every weekend for income while not having much to show for it, right? Maybe you’re posting constantly and getting the bookings, but you’re wondering how other photographers seem to build real wealth that doesn’t require a constant trade of your time. If you’re ready to learn how one mom went from struggling with inconsistent bookings to hitting $22k months, booking out her year with Google ads, and even enabling her husband to quit his corporate job – all while spending more time with her kids – then this episode is exactly what you need. Listen to the episode below, or keep reading for a summary of what’s covered.
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Meet Trinity: From Struggling Stay-at-Home Mom to Six-Figure Success
Trinity’s story begins like so many photography entrepreneurs – with big dreams but little direction on how to achieve sustainable growth. As a stay-at-home mom running Stills by Trinity, she was juggling two young children while trying to build a photography and videography business that could actually support her family. After graduating from Texas A&M in 2021 with a health degree she never used, Trinity went full-time with photography in January 2022, determined to stay home with her son while building something meaningful.
But let’s be honest – going full-time wasn’t exactly what you’d call financially wise at the time. Trinity admits she was barely breaking even, sometimes not even turning a profit. Yet she knew that working for herself was the only way she could have the flexibility to take her kids to the park on a Wednesday afternoon and truly be present for those precious early years. The dream was there, but the roadmap to sustainable success felt completely elusive.
By early 2024, Trinity found herself in a place many photographers know all too well. She was getting ghosted constantly by potential clients, watching her income fluctuate wildly with the seasons, and feeling like no matter how much she invested in her business or how many different strategies she tried, nothing seemed to stick. The constant trial and error was exhausting, especially as a mom with limited time and energy.
The Turning Point: Why Trinity Chose Scale It
Trinity had been following my content for a while, watching as I shared behind-the-scenes glimpses of what a truly scaled photography business could look like. The moment that changed everything was when I posted from Japan, showing how I was still bringing in significant revenue while traveling for a month, eating ramen, and exploring with my husband without worrying about finances back home.
That post wasn’t meant to be a sales pitch – it was just me sharing life. But for Trinity, it became a powerful example of what comparison as a teacher (rather than comparison as a thief) could look like. Instead of thinking “she’s special and I could never do that,” Trinity thought “if Claire can do this and teach others how to do it, then I can learn from that too.”
When Scale It opened for enrollment, Trinity knew she wanted in. But sitting there looking at the contract and invoice, she found herself questioning everything. She literally told her husband, “I don’t think I am worth this. I don’t think the business is worth this because I continue to invest in it and I continue to try my own avenues and it fails.” It was her husband Noah who believed in her when she couldn’t believe in herself, encouraging her to take the leap.
Trinity chose the VIP option because she knew if she was going to do this, she was going all in. As she puts it, “We’re business owners. That’s how we do anything and everything. We pour our heart and soul into everything we do.” She wanted the full experience – the one-on-one time, the direct access, and the accountability that would keep her moving forward even when life got overwhelming.
The Scale It Experience: More Than Just Strategy
One of the biggest concerns Trinity had was time. How was she supposed to implement a comprehensive scaling program while managing two toddlers at home? This is where the structure of Scale It really shines. As Trinity explains, it’s not like a college course where you have to complete assignments within strict deadlines. Instead, it’s designed to give you the roadmap and then support you as you implement at your own pace.
There were weeks when Trinity would join our Q&A calls saying, “I listened to half of the teaching from this last week, I haven’t gotten around to it. But here are my questions.” And that was completely fine. She could circle back to the content when she had the time, knowing the support would be there when she needed it.
The program gave Trinity something she’d been desperately searching for – a friend and big sister in the photography business who could answer her questions and guide her through implementation. No more spending hours researching on YouTube and Google, trying to piece together strategies that might not even work. No more teaching herself the wrong way and having to start over. Everything was laid out step-by-step, from Google ads to SEO optimization to website improvements.
But what really transformed Trinity’s experience was the confidence she gained. As she puts it, “Confidence is the foundation all that sits on because if you get on a bride call, no matter how talented you are, how creative, how much gear you have, if you can’t enter that conversation knowing your worth, it’s gonna fall off every time.”
The Immediate Impact: $12K in One Week
The results started almost immediately. Trinity and I worked together on refining her pricing guide and inquiry process during her VIP sessions, implementing buyer psychology and sales psychology principles that would stop the ghosting she’d been experiencing so much.
After making those pricing guide changes, Trinity booked two weddings in a matter of one week, bringing in $12,000. This was while she’d been struggling with ghosting for months prior. The difference wasn’t just in the strategy – it was in how Trinity could now enter those client conversations with confidence, knowing exactly what to say and how to communicate her value.
But the wins kept coming. When Trinity moved during the program, we set up Google ads for her new market. Within three months, she booked an $8,000 wedding directly from those ads – a 20X return on ad spend. This wasn’t luck; it was the result of setting up the ads correctly and giving them time to work while having all the other business foundations in place to convert those leads.
Building Systems That Work: The Google Ads Success Story
One of Trinity’s biggest wins came from implementing the Google ads strategy I teach in Scale It. This completely changed how she approached marketing her business. Instead of being tied to Instagram 24/7, constantly creating content and hoping for engagement, Trinity built a system that brought qualified leads directly to her.
The results speak for themselves: 90% of Trinity’s leads now come from Google, with two to five inquiries coming in daily. She was able to book out her entire year using ads, which gave her something precious – time. Time to be present with her family instead of constantly grinding on social media.
But here’s what’s really powerful about Trinity’s Google ads success – she wasn’t just booking any weddings that came through. She was booking dream weddings, clients who aligned with her vision and brand. The foundation we built gave her the confidence to be selective, to turn away inquiries that weren’t the right fit, knowing that more aligned clients would come.
As Trinity explains, “Instead of having eight brides where you really need every single one of them to book, you have 20 in your inbox. So you’re taking the right ones.” This shift from scarcity to abundance thinking changed everything about how she ran her business.
Scaling Beyond Solo Work: Building an Associate Team
Another major component of Trinity’s scaling journey was building an associate team. This is something many photographers want to do but feel nervous about, worried that clients won’t see the value or will be disappointed they’re not getting the primary photographer.
Trinity’s approach shows exactly why the right strategy and communication make all the difference. She doesn’t treat her team photographers as random people she found online. They’re friends, people she genuinely cares about and goes on coffee dates and vacations with. Every team member aligns with her brand, her shooting style, and her values.
When Trinity gets on a call with potential clients about an associate wedding, she’s not saying “I’ll find you a photographer.” Instead, she’s introducing them by name, sharing why they’re on her team, how long they’ve been there, and showing galleries of their work. She enters those conversations with complete confidence because she genuinely believes in the value her team provides.
The results speak for themselves – Trinity has never lost a sale when she wanted to book an associate wedding. Currently, she’s shooting about two-thirds of her 30 weddings this year, with her associates handling the remaining third. This gives her the freedom to be more selective about which weddings she personally shoots while still maintaining her income goals.
The Mindset Shift: From Reactive to Strategic
Perhaps the most significant change for Trinity wasn’t tactical – it was psychological. Before Scale It, she was operating from a place of desperation, hoping and praying for the next booking, lying awake at night worrying about paying bills.
Now, Trinity operates from a place of confidence and abundance. When Google ads had some issues and inquiries dipped temporarily, she didn’t panic or drop her pricing. She had the hard proof that she knew what her time and skill were worth. She had systems in place that she trusted would continue working.
This confidence shows up in every client interaction. As Trinity puts it, “Don’t treat these brides like they know what they’re doing because they don’t. This is the first time. I am the expert. They came to me because I’m the professional, so I can enter into this conversation like the professional that I am.”
The Financial Transformation: Six Figures and Beyond
Let’s talk numbers, because that’s ultimately what allows Trinity to provide for her family and live the life they want. Trinity hit six figures for the first time in 2024, which was her huge goal when she joined Scale It. But the growth didn’t stop there.
Her pricing now starts at $4,600, but on average, brides spend between $8,000 and $12,000 with her. Just recently, Trinity had a $22,000 month with two more proposals pending. These aren’t once-in-a-lifetime months – they’re the result of systems and strategies that consistently deliver results.
The impact extends beyond just Trinity’s income. The financial stability and growth from her photography business allowed her husband Noah to leave his corporate engineering job and join the business full-time. They’re now both able to be home with their kids, building something together while having the flexibility they dreamed of.
The Ultimate Win: An Italian Destination Wedding
One of my favorite parts of Trinity’s story is how she booked her first international destination wedding – and it perfectly illustrates how everything comes together when you have the right foundations in place.
Trinity had written in her journal about booking an international destination wedding, dreaming about what it would be like to be “such a big-time photographer” traveling abroad for work. That dream became reality when a couple who originally booked her for a Texas wedding through Google ads decided to completely change their plans and get married in Italy instead.
But here’s the thing – if Trinity hadn’t built such a strong relationship with this couple, if she hadn’t provided an exceptional experience up to that point, this could have been their perfect opportunity to end the relationship and find a local photographer. Instead, they couldn’t imagine getting married without Trinity there.
“Because we were friends, like me and my brides are like this,” Trinity explains. “So it was like, ‘I’m going to Italy. We can’t imagine you not going with us now. So come on, girl.'”
Trinity and her husband will be spending over a week in Italy, exploring the Amalfi Coast before and after the two-day wedding celebration. It’s a perfect example of how building genuine relationships and delivering exceptional experiences creates opportunities you never could have planned for.
Key Takeaways from Trinity’s Scale It Experience
- Confidence is the foundation everything else sits on – without it, even the best strategy won’t work
- Having step-by-step guidance saves years of trial and error, especially when you’re a busy mama with limited time
- The ads strategies I teach can completely transform your lead generation, moving you from constant posting to an autopilot, omnipresent marketing
- Building an associate team is about relationships and proper communication, not just finding random photographers
- Scaling isn’t just about making more money – it’s about creating the work-life balance that serves your family
- Investment in education pays for itself when you actually implement what you learn
- Having systems in place gives you confidence to be selective with clients rather than desperate for any booking
What’s Covered in This Episode
- How Trinity went from barely breaking even to consistent five-figure months as a stay-at-home mom
- The exact strategies she implemented from Scale It that led to immediate bookings worth $12,000
- How Google ads transformed her business, providing 90% of her leads with 2-5 inquiries daily
- Building and marketing an associate team that clients actually get excited about
- The mindset shifts that allowed Trinity to operate from abundance rather than scarcity
- How proper pricing and positioning led to her current packages averaging $8,000-$12,000
- The systems that allowed her husband to quit his corporate job and join the business
- Why investing in VIP mentorship provided accountability and personalized guidance
- How Trinity booked her first international destination wedding through relationship building
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- Join the Scale It Waitlist – Join for first access, exclusive discounts, and the free “From Reactive to Proactive: Your CEO Day Framework” (doors open again November 2025)
- Trinity’s Instagram: @stillsbytrinity – Feel free to DM her with any questions about her Scale It experience
Trinity’s story proves that scaling your photography business doesn’t have to mean sacrificing time with your family or working yourself to exhaustion. With the right strategy, support, and mindset, you can build a business that truly serves the life you want to live. If you’re ready to stop hoping things will be different and start making them different, Trinity’s transformation shows exactly what’s possible when you invest in yourself and take consistent action toward your goals.
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