Marketing Your Refreshed Portfolio:
How to Attract Clients in the New Year
WITH BETHANY ELLEN
Let me guess: the last few weeks you’ve been exhausted. You’ve been covered in cookie crumbs, staring at your laptop until 2 a.m., editing like crazy, ordering everyone’s last-minute prints for gifts, and fielding every “hope you’re doing well! I’m just responding to that email from August asking for a quick favor!” Until you contemplate running away into the woods and never picking up a camera again.
You’re burnt out, you’re tired, and you need a break.
For some reason, all of that melts away on January 1. The new year sweeps away all the “bah-humbug” of the Christmas busy season, and you’re inspired once again to become a whole new person. To some, this looks like expanding your artistic skill set. To others, it looks like building a business that’s more sustainable and scalable. As you think about how to attract clients in the new year, one of the best ways to get started is by refreshing your portfolio and refining your photography marketing strategy.
How Can You Attract Clients in the New Year?
Regardless of your goals, you’re going to have a hard time leveling up if you don’t pay attention to your photography marketing strategy. If you want the year to bring the best it has to offer, you have to offer your clients your best in return. Let’s talk about attracting clients with an updated portfolio.
Studio Portraits with Floral Renaissance 1
Is Your Portfolio Updated?
First, you need to ask yourself: Have you updated your portfolio?
Marketing your refreshed portfolio is a key factor in attracting the right clients in the new year, as every photographer grows with practice. However, there’s a significant amount of growth that happens when you are the visionary, rather than the client.
If you need to build your portfolio, I recommend starting now. Don’t wait to start building that body of work as soon as possible. That way, when we charging through 2025, you’ll be ahead of everyone else who’s starting from square one. If you're looking for inspiration on how to build or update your portfolio, check out this BackgroundTown blog post for tips on creating a diverse portfolio. If you want to attract clients, a strong and refreshed portfolio is essential, and you’ll need to take the time to showcase your best work.
What Photography Marketing Strategies Should You Focus On?
After you’ve created some jaw-dropping images that stun both yourself and your clients, it’s time to address your photography marketing strategy. There are a few things to consider when building your photography marketing plan, and I’ll let you in on a little secret: few of them have to do with you or your skillset. You’ll find more success if you align with clients based on their mindset, emotions, and buying behavior as the seasons change.
First, consider this: the new year is a fresh start for everyone, not just photographers. People often set all kinds of goals on January 1. The best thing you can do to make yourself appealing and attractive to potential clients is to align with their goals. A lot of people have goals surrounding health & fitness, career, and financial matters.
Where does a photographer fit into those new year’s goals? This is where your photography marketing strategy needs to focus: serving your clients’ goals in a way that excites them to work with you and sets you a part from other photographers. For example, people working on health and fitness may want to showcase their progress through fitness photography. Or, for those looking to capture major life milestones, maternity and boudoir sessions can be perfect. Whether it’s studio portraits that highlight confidence or intimate maternity boudoir portraits that celebrate new beginnings, there’s a niche for everyone.
Classic Studio Portrait with Freisan Grey
Maternity Portrait with Freisan Grey
For health and fitness, a photographer fits right in. People start to see a noticeable change in their appearance when they stay consistent with a diet or workout routine. They often want to showcase that pride. You have the perfect opportunity to serve this type of client. Offer them a special price for booking a boudoir or fitness session at the beginning of the year, with the option to redeem the session at any time in 2025. This gives them a goal to work toward and secures you a new client sometime within the year.
People with career goals need you as well. Whether they’re launching a business, aiming for a promotion, or looking to expand their current opportunities, photography plays a big role in that. Can you create stunning headshots or provide an amazing branding session experience? I bet you can. Photography plays a big part in how others view us, but also in how we view ourselves. If you can boost someone’s confidence with business portraits, you can empower them to go out and achieve their wildest dreams.
Maternity Portrait with Freisan Grey
Lighting & Backdrop Seutp with Freisan Grey
Your photography setup also plays a major role in how clients experience their session. Using photography backdrops that match your client’s vibe—whether a sleek, minimal look for a headshot or something more intimate for boudoir—can make a huge difference. When clients see that you understand their vision, they’ll be more likely to book with you. The right photography backdrop, lighting, and atmosphere don’t just make your images pop—they make clients feel comfortable, confident, and excited to be in front of your camera.
People with financial goals aren’t as unserviceable as many might think. They may have more objections to commitments if they have a savings goal or a “no-buy” goal, but that doesn’t make them an unideal client. It just means they’re more open to paying creatively, and you might have the opportunity to be more flexible with mutual value. This is not mandatory by any means—you have the right to charge your worth in dollars. You have bills to pay too! But if someone is looking to save more money, is there something else they have that could benefit you? Could they barter services that would help you? Or offer a discount if they provide you with a certain number of referrals?
Once you understand the needs you can meet with your potential clients, it’s time for the harder part: putting yourself out there and presenting your work to those clients—and everyone else. I can hear the whining through the device you’re reading this on. UGH. You mean I have to SHOW people my PHOTOGRAPHY?? Yes. I mean that. You mean I have to SELL them something? Yes. I mean that. But the best type of sales are not cold messages or hard sells. It’s actually a simple recipe that you can follow throughout all of 2025.
How Can You Consistently Market Your Photography Services?
Consistency, creativity, and courage.
Consistency is the hardest one, believe it or not. You don’t get rock-solid abs by doing crunches when you feel like it. You have to maintain a routine, diet, and commit to that regimen until you see the results you want. The same is true in your business. You have to show up, even when the days are hard. You have to continue showing your work. Marketing your photography portfolio doesn’t end with posting one great image. Marketing is a game of eyes, and just because you post one really awesome image doesn’t guarantee everyone will stop and look. You have to continuously share your work until people start running into you and saying, “I keep seeing your work everywhere. You’re killing it!”
And they will—so long as you stay consistent.
Classic Studio Portraits with Freisan Grey
Creativity doesn’t simply apply to the images you are making; it also applies to where you’re putting your advertising. Social media is important, but it cannot be your only source of marketing. How are you generating word of mouth? Are you networking with other entrepreneurs in your area? A well-rounded photography marketing strategy combines both online and offline tactics.
You might find that a local gym owner would be willing to let you place ads in a new member welcome packet for your boudoir specials. A realtor might recommend you to print photos for their new clients—after all, they’re buying wall space for all those family photos!
Courage might feel hard at first, but eventually, it will become second nature. It’s terrifying to continuously present your work in front of people. But they are equally as courageous when they step in front of your camera. It takes a mutual vulnerability to complete small business transactions, even when we feel it shouldn’t. We bear our souls, and sometimes so do our clients. With the help of consistency and creativity, you'll keep showing up—even when it’s scary. You show up for yourself, so you can show up for your clients.
Along with presenting your work, you must have the courage to tell people about what you do. People love to buy from passionate individuals. Show them how much you love being creative and serving others. It will catch on, and people are likely to consider you when they need a photographer next!
Final Thoughts on Attracting Clients in the New Year
As we ring in the new year and you dust the cookie crumbs from your shirt that you haven’t changed in days, I hope you find yourself inspired to meet some kind of goal for 2025. I hope you take the time to develop a plan to achieve it and that you continue to build and work on marketing your refreshed portfolio that will attract clients throughout the year. But I also hope you take some time to be proud of everything you’ve done this year.
Remember, marketing can be complicated, intimidating, and expensive. But it can also boil down to key elements that are absolutely within your control and will help you bring in new clients this year.
