Hey, friends, welcome to another episode of the Business Journey podcast, I'm Rebecca, and today we are talking about all about the behind the scenes and the making of my brand new membership Behind the lens with Rebecca Rice. This is one of those things I have been dying to share about, and I just haven't had time to, like, sit down and have this conversation. So I wanted to make some time in our podcast schedule to be able to just talk through this, because if you're new around here and haven't heard about behind the lens, basically behind the lens is a membership that I recently created. We are, what, like three months in maybe four? I don't remember. But this is a brand new membership that I created for family photographers. And the purpose is every month our photographers get a behind the scenes video of a real family session. I film me shooting a family session and then I have like a voiceover talking through decisions that I make, why I pose my clients a certain way, or why position them here for lighting things like that. And along with that, they get a master class, a business master class teaching something we've taught in all kinds of topics from, you know, Pinterest to flash to blogging. There have been so many awesome master classes. But I wanted to talk through, like, why in the world I made this membership? Because it is just something that has been on my heart for so long to do. And it was so exciting to finally, like, make this thing happen after literally like a year and a half of, like, wanting to pull the trigger and just not being able to yet. And so that's what I wanted to talk about today, is just the making of behind the lens. So here's a little backstory of where this first came about. So when I was first starting out in photography, it was really hard to find education specific to family photographers. Now, I learned from some incredible educators and they played a massive role in my business and helping my shooting get to where it is and just my business knowledge and things like that. But those educators were geared towards weddings and wedding photographers. Now, clearly, I was able to take the things that they learned and apply it to family photography. But I just felt like there is this void that you could find education about weddings. You can find education about, you know, seniors or newborns. But education about family photography specifically was so lacking. And so just from the beginning, I was so frustrated that I'm like, I know I don't want to do weddings. I've tried them. I don't enjoy weddings. I literally only shoot weddings if it's like a family friend. And they specifically ask me to because I just don't like weddings and I've tried sceneries. They don't like Seniors', which is funny because I used to be faster. So you'd think like teenagers is my job, which I love teenagers, but I just did not like shooting seniors. And so my love for photography really fell into the family niche and education for the fairly niche was so hard to come by. And so I knew I wanted to fill this void, especially as you know, I gained experience and became an educator. I'm like, what do I want to teach families in family specific education was what I wanted to teach. So part of this was birthed because I knew that it was lacking. And I say that was a year and a half in the making because I literally, like a year and a half ago thought about doing a membership and I knew that I just wasn't in the place yet to facilitate a membership. I was working full time. I had a little baby like, gosh, I had two babies. And I just wasn't in a place to be able to serve people super well every month. I didn't have the time or the emotional capacity. It was just so hard. And so I waited and waited and waited and waited until finally I reached a season where I knew that I could serve you guys so well with a membership. And so I was so excited to finally, like, make this thing happen because I had been wanting to for so, so long. So I started out because the education just wasn't available. The next thing that really came into play when it came to creating this membership was, as I was learning, I knew I wanted to shadow local photographers and be able to see family photography in action. And so I would approach local photographers asking them to mentor me, asking if I could just come along in shadow. And so many, like no one, would let me tag along or mentor me because I was direct competition. They didn't want to train their competition in their city. Like, literally that was their answer, like. Oh, I don't train anybody within a 30 mile radius or whatever. I'm like, seriously? And so I was forced to do a lot of learning on my own, a lot of trial and error and just figuring things out, because nobody would mentor me, nobody would sit down and show me the best poses for families or how to interact with a toddler that doesn't want photos done or, you know, all the different scenarios. I just had to figure it out because nobody would teach it to me. So I knew when I created behind the lens that I wanted there to be an element of this virtual mentorship. Right. A virtual shadow to come along with me to sessions and watch me shoot in real time. And the fact that I get to pause and teach and talk over what's going through my head and why I'm making decisions in real time, I feel like that's so valuable that even on like a real mentor session, I wouldn't be able to do that because I would be, you know, working with my clients and wouldn't be able to pause and say, hey, do you see how the light is coming through this way? That's why I'm going to move them or whatnot. Like I usually don't get to explain that in person while shooting. And so it's really awesome to be able to pause and explain what's going through my head, because I never realized how many, like, subconscious decisions are happening while I'm shooting until I sat down and was like taking notes, watching myself shoot and explaining to my husband, oh, I put them here because of this or oh, I said this because I knew that the toddler would, you know, react a certain way or whatnot. So there's just so many things that come into play there. And it was so awesome to be able to do that through the behind the scenes video. So not being able to find a mentor myself was a big player in this whole, you know, the birth of the behind the scenes videos. Another thing that really came into play several years later, obviously several, several years. And I wanted to create a resource that I knew the industry was lacking. And of course, it's quality education. But I wanted something so affordable because, you know, some courses are so expensive. I know I have expensive courses. And are they worth it? 100 percent? Yes, they are so, so worth it. But I know that they're not in everybody's budget. And so no matter what stage of your business you're in or what your budget is, I feel like every photographer should be able to access affordable education. So I wanted to include a master class with every month of behind the scenes videos in behind the lens, because I wanted to provide a space to have that affordable education. So in case I didn't know, my membership is fourteen dollars a month right now or still have. Our founding members rate sets are just a few months in and it's literally the cheapest thing in my shop. Like you can't find something in my shop for fourteen dollars, especially not at the value that I provide. And I know that it's, it's, it's worth way more than fourteen dollars. I've had people that have told me that I'm crazy for only charging fourteen dollars for the masterclass and the behind the scenes video. I mean it's a lot, I get it. But the reason that I keep it so low is I want it to be affordable for everybody. That's like a dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Right. Like most people can afford. Fourteen dollars and the education that you get for it is way, way beyond that. And so I wanted to just provide this resource that could be so helpful for anybody, no matter where they are in their journey. So behind the lens was born. Now I'm super excited because as this has been going on, I've learned a lot and, you know, been able to tailor the the content really towards you guys, those of you that are behind the lens. And it's been so fun to, like, adjust and see, like, what are you guys wanting to see? So like, for example, when we first started, you know, people know that I work with toddlers a lot. So our first session was a family session with, you know, parents and a baby. And then we had a lifestyle Newborn session the next month and then we had a family session on a beach. And then this month we have a mommy and me like Green House session. It's so cool. And so as we're doing this and as I'm filming, I had students asking for, you know, a session with adult kids or a smash cake session or whatnot. And so I already have those lined up like here in a couple of minutes, we're having a session with adult kids, how to pose them. We have a smash hit coming up next month. And so I'm able to tailor it to you guys and what y'all need, you know, especially like learning how to shoot. It's cool because we're able to showcase not only different types of families, but also different types of locations. So like the very first month we shot in a cul de sac, like literally off the side of the road in our neighborhood. Like where? Our town. How it was and we made it look like magic. It looks like this beautiful open field and you would never know it was literally on the side of the road. So we've gotten really creative. There was one month where we shot a lifestyle Newborn session inside a house that was very, very dark, like very dark inside. And it was rainy and it was just a gloomy day. And so I was able to show how I use Flash to maneuver inside of that dark environment. And so that was really helpful. And then like a beach session, I know several of you guys are, you know, in beach areas and shooting at the beach is not always easy. And so getting to, like, watch me shoot at the beach is so helpful for y'all. And not only that, but in the masterclass person, we're able to tailor that to what you guys need to. I know some of you have been asking once you saw the beach and you're like, Rebecca, can you please show us how you edited this? So that is its own master class that is coming up, that I'm going to literally show you how I edit that beach section, which was so stunning. And so it's just awesome to be able to tailor it to like literally what the members are wanting and needing to learn from. So that's one thing I knew when I created this. I wanted this resource to be, you know, one that was fluid and not super structured, but fluid enough that we can add to it and, you know, tailor it to what students are asking for. So I know we're just a few months in, but I'm so excited for all of the lessons we have coming up because it's just so, so awesome. So all that to say that is like the why behind, behind, behind, behind. That's the why why I created this resource, because I am just such a huge believer in it. And I know that it's something that this industry needs. And so I've heard so many photographers who are in like KJL access, which is basically like what I'm doing for weddings. And Caitlin James does an excellent job, but she only shoots weddings and engagements. And there are people that were like, can I please have a cocktail access? But for families. And when I saw that need, I knew that this would be the perfect thing to step in and fill that void. So it's been incredible. And thank you so much for our current students. We have over 400 members there right now and it's just been so awesome. And so each and every one of you that you share with others, when people are asking for help and things like that, it's just so helpful to help us grow the way that we have. We're literally like a few months in and we've been able to I guess we're in our fourth month and we've been able to break the 400 mark. We're going to have 500 members soon. And that's just unthinkable. I would have never imagined that this would grow so fast, but it just goes to show how needed this resources. And I love that I get to help step in and fill that gap. So if you're listening and you're not a part of buying the loans, now is the time you want to jump in. Right now, we're still running our founding members rate. You can find all the info at Rebeccaricephoto.com/behind-the-lens. If you go to my website on the photographers page or my shop, you'll find it. And I'm also going to link it in the show notes here, but definitely go check it out. Go join. It's going to be the best fourteen dollars month you ever spent. You can join monthly cancel any time, except our students love it so they hardly cancel. And I tell you, you're going to love being apart. Not only do you get into are the behind the scenes video every month and the master class each month. But you also get access to our student Facebook group, which is I love my community. I brag on our Facebook group all the time because I know that solid Facebook communities are really hard to find and ours is the best of the best. We just have some incredible people in there that are so encouraging and uplifting that truly believe and community over competition. Of course, we encourage each other to grow and be better, but we do so in a way that is kind and encouraging and uplifting. So not all communities are like that, but ours is. And so by joining behind the lens is the cheapest way to get into our student community. And it's just incredible to be a part of. So if you want to check that out again, a link in the show notes. But Rebeccaricephoto.com/behind-the-lens. Let's jump in right now for founding members. Right. I don't know how much longer we're going to keep the founding members rate going, but at some point it will go up and you will not be able to get in the cheap again. So don't miss it. It's going to be awesome. And I can't wait to see you inside. Those of you that are already members of the Behind the lens, I'm so glad today you got to hear my heart behind the making. And just thank you so much for trusting me to pour into you and just investing in yourself and your education, because that is going to go a long, long way. So that's it for today. We're going to go ahead. Close out, but we will see you again next week if you have any questions along the way. Feel free to find me on Instagram at Rebecca Rice photography you can do to me. It's really me. And they're responding. So if you ever want to chat, I'm there and I would love to chat with you. I hope you have an awesome, awesome week. We'll see you next week. Bye, guys.
Episode Transcript
