MASTECLASS ONLINE — 5 HOURS
Online
The Christmas
Business
Six modules to build, produce, and sell a complete Christmas season: from set concept to shot list, customer experience, and packages that increase the average sale.
6
Modules
5h
Duration
1st
Season
$60
Entry cost
Don’t miss your spot · Limited spots
From an improvised season to
a planned business
Christmas concentrates the highest demand for family portraits of the year into six weeks, and it almost always finds photographers without a system: the set is assembled on the fly, the schedule is filled without considering time constraints, too many photos are taken, and too little is sold.
The result is an exhausting season that generates little profit and leaves no structure that can be repeated the following year.
This workshop organizes that season as a business. Over five hours, it follows the same sequence as the real work—market, set, production, customer, workflow, and pricing—and at every stage provides the decision-making criteria behind the technique: not just how to light the set, but why that setup remains identical for six weeks; not just what to buy, but which elements are never worth buying again.
The result is an exhausting season that generates little profit and leaves no structure that can be repeated the following year.
This workshop organizes that season as a business. Over five hours, it follows the same sequence as the real work—market, set, production, customer, workflow, and pricing—and at every stage provides the decision-making criteria behind the technique: not just how to light the set, but why that setup remains identical for six weeks; not just what to buy, but which elements are never worth buying again.
OVERALL OBJECTIVE
Each participant leaves with the complete system for their own Christmas season:
set concept, budget, schedule, direction, lighting setup, post-production workflow, and pricing structure.
METHODOLOGY
Complete real-world case.
A Christmas set documented from beginning to end serves as the common thread throughout the six modules.
Demonstration and analysis.
Lighting diagrams, shot lists, and workflows are presented using the images they produced.
Guided decision-making.
Each module concludes with a decision that participants make for their own business, rather than with open-ended theory.
Numbers on the table.
Costs, time, and pricing are worked through using concrete figures, not generalities.
BY THE END, PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO
Evaluate the potential of the Christmas season in their market and set a target number of families per day.
Design a set with a coherent color palette, materials, textures, and scales, and budget it before purchasing anything.
Build the set with safety, customer flow, and workspace in mind.
Direct babies, children, teenagers, and large families using a shot list that guarantees variety without extending the session.
Reproduce the same lighting setup—power and distances—throughout the entire season.
Design the customer experience before, during, and after the session.
Execute a download, backup, selection, editing, and delivery workflow that saves hours.
Define pricing, packages, and additional sales of prints, albums, and products.
GENERAL SYLLABUS
Five hours, six
modules
The workshop follows the actual order of the business: first the market, then the set, production, customer experience, workflow, and finally pricing. Each module ends with concrete decisions that attendees can apply to their own Christmas season.
01 — Why Christmas? — 25 min
Market potential, types of clients, costly mistakes, seasonal mindset, and costs.
02 — Creating a Set from Scratch — 70 min
Concept, design, budget, and construction of the Christmas set.
03 — Session Production — 75 min
Planning, direction, shot list, and consistent lighting.
04 — The Customer Experience — 45 min
Before, during, and after the session: where many photographers lose sales.
05 — Workflow & Post-Production — 40 min
From download to delivery, using AI and scheduling apps to save hours.
06 — How to Sell More — 40 min
Pricing, packages, additional photographs, prints, albums, and products.
Program
DETAILED CONTENT — MODULES 1 TO 3
Step by Step
01 — Why Christmas? — 25 min
Objective: Understand the market potential
Why Christmas sessions are among the most profitable.
What types of clients look for these sessions.
Mistakes that cause photographers to lose money.
Seasonal mindset.
Costs.
What types of clients look for these sessions.
Mistakes that cause photographers to lose money.
Seasonal mindset.
Costs.
02 — Creating a Set from Scratch — 70 min
CONCEPT
Develop an idea with AI support
What makes a set memorable
Trends vs. timeless
Inspiration without copying
What makes a set memorable
Trends vs. timeless
Inspiration without copying
DESIGN
Color palette
Materials and textures
Depth and scale
Set lighting
Materials and textures
Depth and scale
Set lighting
BUDGET
How much to invest
Which elements are worth buying
What you would never buy again
Which elements are worth buying
What you would never buy again
03 — Session Production — 75 min
PLANNING
Schedule and time slots
Families per day
Ideal session time
Families per day
Ideal session time
SETUP
Organization
Safety
Customer flow Workspace
Safety
Customer flow Workspace
DIRECTION
How to break the ice
Young children and babies
Teenagers
Individual portraits
Large families
Spontaneous moments and emotional
portraits
Young children and babies
Teenagers
Individual portraits
Large families
Spontaneous moments and emotional
portraits
SHOT LIST
Moments facing the camera
Family combinations
Variety without losing time
Family combinations
Variety without losing time
LIGHTING
Lighting setup used
Power and distances
Consistency throughout the weeks
Power and distances
Consistency throughout the weeks
04 — The Customer Experience — 45 min
This is where many photographers lose sales.
BEFORE
Booking
Payments
Confirmation
Reminders
Payments
Confirmation
Reminders
CUSTOMER GUIDE
What clothing works
What to avoid
Schedule
What to bring
What to avoid
Schedule
What to bring
DURING
How to create a memorable experience
AFTER
Communication
Expectations
Follow-up
Expectations
Follow-up
05 — Workflow & Post-Production — 40 min
Module takeaway: How to save hours of editing during the peak of the season.
Download
Backup
Selection
Editing
Export
Galleries and delivery
Scheduling apps
Backup
Selection
Editing
Export
Galleries and delivery
Scheduling apps
06 — How to Sell More — 40 min
How to define pricing
What each package includes
Additional photographs
Prints
Albums
Products
What each package includes
Additional photographs
Prints
Albums
Products
ONE SEASON, ONE COMPLETE SYSTEM
At the end of the five hours, attendees leave with the set defined, the schedule organized, the shot list ready, the lighting setup established, and the pricing structure for their own Christmas season.