Building a Sustainable Wedding Photography Business with Susan Stripling

Hi friends! In this episode I’m sitting down with Susan Stripling to talk about what it actually takes to build a sustainable wedding photography business. Susan has been in this industry for over two decades, and her perspective on longevity, business, and staying relevant is grounded and honest. We talk about treating photography like a real business from the beginning, balancing creativity with structure, and why sustainability matters more than quick growth. Meet Susan: Susan Stripling has been photographing weddings, portraits, and theater for almost twenty-five years. Susan's work has been published in Inside Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Modern Bride, Town and Country Weddings, the New York Times, New York Post, Rangerfinder, and PDN. She's won multiple awards at the prestigious Wedding and Portrait Photographers International 16x20 print competition and holds the prestigious Grand Master Status at WPPI as well.She has been named one of the top ten wedding photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine. She is a Canon Explorer of Light and the founder of The Wedding School.In her spare time, Susan is a voracious reader, obsessive new scuba diver, sourdough enthusiast, lover of all horror movies, and inexplicably sleeps with the lights on.Connect with Me:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a Member of Summer School⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WPPI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get 20% off your ticket using code SUMMER26Subscribe ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to our emails for updates on all things Summer School!Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@summergrace.photo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@the_summerschool⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Shop My Products:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Summer Grace x G-Presets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠discount code: SUMMERSCHOOL)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pricing Guide⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Summer Camp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (2026)*Summer School is powered by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Narrative⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — the AI culling and editing tool I use that supports my workflow without replacing my creativity. Try Narrative for free today using the link above!Connect with Susan: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://susanstripling.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanstriplingphotography/