Ivory House: Next Generation

Next Generation exists to close the gap between wanting to be a photographer and actually BEING a photographer. 

I started Ivory House in 2016. The myth is that I started from scratch and built a thriving six-figure business overnight. The reality is, I have my undergrad and graduate degree in photography and spent four years as the manager of a boutique photography studio. There, I shot around 125 weddings. When I started my business, I had a decade of education, mentorship, and experience behind me. 

I wasn’t starting from scratch. I was starting from experience. 

I am launching Ivory House: Next Generation to deliver education, mentorship and experience to our community’s next photographers. The demand for photographers is on the rise. I see the proof in my inbox and on my overloaded calendar. 

There is plenty of room in the market, but in order to carve a niche big enough to build a brand on, you need confidence, courage and consistency.

Ivory House: Next Generation lifts the veil on all my tried and true techniques. I will be teaching from my mistakes and successes, and how many of my mistakes led to my successes. As a team, we will work collaboratively to lay the foundation for confidence in your skills, consistency in your product, and courage in your communication. 

You will learn:

  1. How to confidently conduct yourself on a shoot, no matter what the universe throws at you. 

  2. Where you thrive as a photographer. Are you family-focused or entrenched in events? We experiment with many avenues and get a taste for what's lines up best for you. 

  3. How to create a consistent iconic style, one that is uniquely your own and easily recognized. 

  4. How to build a powerful, consistent brand, communicate with your ideal market and build a system that supports their rapid return to your business. 

Mission:

Ivory House: Next Generation exists is to empower the next generation of photographers with the education, mentorship and hands-on skills Whitney has proven it takes to build a successful business and a successful brand. We are building photographers who value impeccable customer service, unflinching quality and fast-paced critical thinking, along with photographic excellence and aesthetic uniqueness.

Who is this for?

Great candidates for the Ivory House build project are already technically proficient with their cameras. You want to build your brand and make a reliable income from your passion. You are in the practice of shooting and have worked with clients on your own. You know there are gaps in your knowledge. You don’t have the amount of work you’d like. Your results are inconsistent. You often find yourself in situations you are uncomfortable handling and you are looking for a mentor to take you to the next level. 

Welcome! I’d love to be your mentor. 

What do you get?

  1. 6 months of hands-on access and education from one of the leading photographers in DSM.

  2. A peer group, designed to support you in growing in all aspects of photography, business, and marketing. 

  3. Interactive Facebook group to post your work and receive feedback.

  4. Critiques to improve your shooting, editing and culling skills. 

  5. Support to create a final portfolio of 60+ images you can use to put your brand out there in the world! 

But really what do we get?

  • Six 3-hour in-person shooting sessions, planned and taught by Whitney.

  • Bi-weekly brand/skill-building assignments. 

  • One monthly critique (2 hours) and one monthly brand-building workshop (2 hours).

  • An interactive Facebook group where Whitney shows up regularly to communicate between sessions.

  • Support from the Ivory House team, Megan, a professional editor, and Amanda, professional operations manager.

Walk away with: A 60 image portfolio you can use to bolster your business on any platform, an online presence you can be proud of and confident to be a revenue-generating photographer and 50+ hours of hands on training. 

Styles Whitney will teach: 

  • Portraits

  • Personal Branding

  • Events

  • Seniors

  • Families

  • Couples

And last but not least, you will learn the intangibles of what it takes to do this work. Being a business owner is hard. It has been my greatest teacher and my biggest bully. It’s been my willingness to shift my mindset and reinvent myself that has kept me not only in the game, but on top of the game. 

When you join Ivory House: Next Generation, you sign up to have me as your mindset mentor. Because one thing is for certain, the battles in our brain are far bloodier and more confusing than the battles you will fight with your camera in hand. 

Choose this experience and you are choosing to take your desire. 

For me, photography is about illuminating and serving the person in front of me. This takes connection, compassion, the removal of my own agenda and deep confidence in myself that I can connect and deliver a high-quality product no matter the circumstances. While a love of the technical aspects of photography is critical, I find that love for people is the most important piece of the puzzle. 

It has also taken my unshakable belief that I have something unique.

And so I’m on a mission to find and foster like-minded souls, who know how to use their camera and are ready to take their skill, consistency and abundance of clientele to the next level.  

Is this the opportunity you’ve been looking for? Reach out and let's connect.