With Laura Esmond

About With Laura Esmond

With Laura Esmond is the unfiltered podcast for women growing creative businesses while raising families and raising themselves. I’m Laura, a mom of three, educator, coach, and photographer. After scaling a portrait studio to multi–six figures in under two years, I realized success without purpose feels empty. Now I help photographers and creative entrepreneurs build businesses that are profitable, sustainable, and aligned with real life. Each week you will hear real talk, mindset shifts, and stories from women entrepreneurs who know the messy middle of business and motherhood. No filters, no highlight reels, just honest conversations to help you grow with confidence.

Publisher

Laura Esmond

Category

arts · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Aug 2025

Latest episode

14 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

37 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Jul 2026

   The Four Mental Tools That Keep Portrait Photographers Going

   In this episode, we're talking about something every portrait photographer will face at some point: hard seasons. Maybe you're struggling to book clients. Maybe you had a session that didn't go as planned. Maybe you're feeling discouraged, questioning yourself, or wondering if you still have what it takes. I've been there more times than I can count. This episode was inspired by a friend who's preparing to run the Leadville 100, one of the toughest endurance races in the world. As I thought about the mental preparation required to finish a race like that, I couldn't help but see the parallels to running a business. Because the truth is, building a photography business isn't just about learning marketing or sales. It's about learning how to keep going when things get hard. Today I'm sharing the four mental tools that have helped me navigate difficult seasons over the last 26 years. These are the tools that have helped me push through setbacks, quiet the negative self-talk, and stay in the game. If you've been feeling discouraged lately, I hope this episode reminds you that you're not behind, you're not incapable, and you're certainly not alone. In this episode, we'll talk about: Why you should expect hard seasons instead of fearing them How your response to setbacks shapes your future Why taking one small step is more powerful than chasing the entire plan A better way to use visualization other than a vision board A simple way to organize your thoughts when you feel overwhelmed Why adversity isn't working against you. If this episode encouraged you, I'd love for you to share it with another photographer who might need to hear it today. Until next time, keep building the business and the life you've been called to create. Connect with Laura: https://www.lauraesmond.com/ (https://www.lauraesmond.com/) https://www.instagram.com/lauraesmondeducation/ (https://www.instagram.com/lauraesmondeducation/)

2. 

   30 Jun 2026

   Why Some Sessions Feel Like Magic (It's Not Luck) with Morgan Williams

   You know those sessions where everything just flows? The light cooperates, the kids cooperate, you and your clients are completely in sync, and you drive home thinking that was magic — I could never repeat that. Morgan Williams doesn't accept that. She says the magic is repeatable. But only if you understand what actually created it, and that answer goes deeper than your prompts, your presets, or your Pinterest board. It comes down to knowing your purpose as a photographer, the thing you specifically were created to make, and building every piece of your business from that place. Morgan is a family photographer and educator in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the founder of Flourish, a five-month mastermind and retreat that helps photographers uncover their creative purpose and build a business around it. In this conversation, we get into why so many of us are tending to all the little pieces of our businesses, the fonts, the editing, the client emails, the marketing, without a thread holding them together, and what changes when you find that thread. In this episode, we talk about: The difference between your style, your voice, and your purpose — and why purpose has to come first Why your work gets easier to price (and easier to sell) when it's something clients can't get anywhere else The magic sessions: why they happen, why we let them stay a mystery, and how to make the feeling repeatable The reflective work of studying your own sessions to find what you're actually meant to create Morgan's favorite client questionnaire question — the one that turns a family's ordinary daily rhythms into art How purpose becomes your filter for trends, so you stop getting tossed around by every industry shift The industry-wide lie that your work has to look a certain way to be "luxury" or to work with in-person sales Why income level doesn't determine what a client will invest in photography — and who Morgan's clients actually are Time management for photographer moms: brain dumps, hour-by-hour assignments, and why Morgan finally gave herself permission to add five hours of childcare a week Working on your business versus working in it — and protecting the deep-focus time where momentum actually happens Flourish enrollment for the current cohort has closed, but the next cohort opens for enrollment in October 2026 and begins in January 2027. Join the waitlist here: https://morganwilliamsphoto.com/flourish-waitlist (https://morganwilliamsphoto.com/flourish-waitlist) Connect with Morgan Williams: https://morganwilliamsphoto.com/education/ (https://morganwilliamsphoto.com/education/)

3. 

   16 Jun 2026

   When Everyone Seems to Be Moving Faster with Laura Gattis

   A few months ago, portrait photographer Laura Gattis called me and said the words so many of us have felt but rarely say out loud: I am really struggling. She had just come home early from an industry retreat, and over the next two weeks, a string of small moments stacked up until she found herself at an awards ceremony with tears streaming down her face, asking herself what she'd done with her life. Here's the thing. Laura has run a thriving portrait business in Tampa for over 13 years. Her clients adore her, her black and white childhood portraits are unmistakable, and she built all of it while being fully present for her kids. By every real measure, she has succeeded. But comparison doesn't care about real measures, and in this episode, Laura gets honest about imposter syndrome, the feeling of being left behind in the photography industry, and what finally lifted the weight. In this episode, we talk about: The retreat, the group text, and the awards ceremony — the story of how comparison quietly became a depression Laura didn't see coming Why "what have I done with my life?" had nothing to do with what she'd actually built Redefining success when yours doesn't come with a stage or an award Choosing family first in your photography business — and why Laura says it's a choice, not a sacrifice How Laura handles social media as a photographer who never built her business there Her surprising strategy when she feels insecure about another photographer (it involves becoming their friend) Protecting your Instagram algorithm and your peace Why vulnerability and real community are the antidote to working on an island Connect with Laura Gattis: www.lauragattisphotography.com, | Instagram @lauragattisphotography

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

10 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Contact With Laura Esmond

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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