Cherie, owner of c. phelps photography, is the sole bread-winner for her family and runs her studio out of her 1800's farmhouse.  As an award-winning photographer, she tributes her success in the senior market to her insatiable appetite for education and learning. Over the past 14 years, she has invested her time and money into attending local workshops, national conventions and seeking out individualized mentorships with highly successful photographers in the industry.  This education has been vital to her achievements as a studio owner and helped her keep pace with the latest trends in today's ever changing Senior Portrait Market.  You can find her videos and blogposts at www.seniorsignite.com.

As an educator, Cherie is known in the industry for being a ‘One Woman Show’.  On a local level, she has taught fellow photographers ways to effectively ‘go it alone’ in their portrait business and shared her photography and editing techniques in a live demonstration format. On a national level, she is currently an educator and contributor for Seniors Ignite and is an ongoing speaker at their annual event, and has spoken in the past at SPA.  She has been a featured photographer for Sarah Petty’s, Joy of Marketing, a guest blogger for Seniorologie , and her images have been used for product marketing at Whitehouse Custom Color, American Color Imaging, and Graphic Authority.

After being contacted by numerous photographers who inquire about different aspect of how she runs her in-home studio, Cherie realized there is a need for this sort of specialized education.  Whether you run an in-home studio, a stand-alone studio, or don’t have a studio- she is excited to begin offering a variety of individualized, one-on-one mentoring sessions.

The simplest way to connect with Cherie and begin learning from her is by clicking the link above to sign up for her newsletter...it's may not delivered on a regular basis, but she promises it will be filled with useful information and links to her most current blog posts.

The next way is to be sign-up for one of Cherie's Learnshops.  There is nothing like being able to talk personally with another photographer, ask questions, get insight, and bounce ideas off them.  However, many photographers try to 'save money' by doing things by trial-and-error.  Unfortunately, this method wastes time, money, and the vital support of those you love.

Cherie's teaching approach is pretty simple: give honest, straight-forward, useful information that will help increase your knowledge in all aspects of the senior portrait business. To make this happen, she tailors her teaching for each client - covering anything from shooting and editing, client and business workflow, packages and pricing, portfolio review, to anything else her client needs help with.

mentoring learnshop

Together we will analyze your business, set goals and create a plan for success.  This one-on-one mentoring session is a great way to re-energize, get inspired, and take your business to the next level! 

$1200

• 3-month committment
• 3 hours of phone mentoring per month
• up to two emails per week
• homework to keep you on-track 

personal learnshop

Want to take your a personal, hand-on learnshop gives you an exciting opportunity to learn creative, fashion-inspired senior photography. We will spend a fun, informational, and productive day together - covering everything from image review and instruction to a hands-on photography session and workflow management that works for YOU.

$1500 - 10 hours of instruction

• intensive 4 hour one-on-one instruction focusing on high school seniors, image review, branding, marketing, pricing and a discussion on studio success
• 2 hour hands-on photo shoot with Cherie where she will explain lighting, posing, composition, her shooting process and answer your questions along the way
• 2 hour post-production workflow, as well as image editing tips and tricks
• 2 hour image review by phone from the edited images you took at our session
• beautifully created images by you to update your website or blog

"First of all let me say THANK YOU. You were extremely informative and gave me so much to think about.  I had so much going through my head after we talked and I was so pumped that I had to wake my husband up and share so much of what we talked about.  I have to say he wasn't quite as excited as I was at 1am, but this morning, when he was a bit more coherent, he told how excited he was for my business.

I could go on and on, but I want to say that I couldn't think of anyone better to mentor me on that call and I am so glad I had the chance to gain some of your knowledge.  Thank you a million times over."   Dawn S, Washington, DC

"I really enjoyed talking with you, and I felt that I could relate well to you as we are both one woman businesses. I think you did an excellent job of listening to me and taking what I said and condensing it into a few key points.  Having you synthesize my concerns into a few key points was helpful."  Annie G, Sewickley,PA

"Thank you very much for the engaging conversation last night. The old path I had been on became rutted and blocked with debris; You pointed out the new path and now it's time to get back on course."  Roxanne R, Fleetwood, PA

"I was so glad to have the time & experience talking with you yesterday!  I have already started with the homework you gave me (Canceled my SEO!) Lol.  I can't wait to chat again in the future!!  I am so excited to start building a successful business!" Drena S, San Antonio, TX