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Trevor Dayley of www.magnetmod.com and www.trevordayley.com posted something interesting on Instagram recently - it was titled

“If I Were the Devil Trying to Ruin a Photographer’s Career.”

He told me (and I can see) it blew up—and in rolled the DMs, shares and comments.

Turns out a lot of photographers are feeling what he put into words: Doubt. Burnout. That nagging feeling you’re falling behind, even when you’re doing good work.

He says it sparked some honest conversations.

To give you a little more background... Trevor was a full-time wedding photographer. Has been shooting professionally for about 15 years and has photographed over 500 weddings.

He was voted one of the Top 100 Wedding Photographers by SLR Lounge — take one look at his work and you'll see why.

He now has a job at MagMod, where he works with photographers to help them create better images and run stronger businesses.

In this interview, Trevor shares how to build a thriving photography business without the social media grind.



Here's some more of what we covered in the interview:



The mindset shift that helped Trevor stop chasing likes and start defining success on his own terms
How cutting back on weddings opened the door to more creativity, freedom, and genuinely better client experiences
Why showing vulnerability online builds stronger trust and deeper connections — with both clients and other photographers
Trevor’s refreshingly simple, no-pressure approach to mastering off-camera flash while shooting real weddings
The power of small, supportive peer groups (like Trevor’s “Breakfast Club”) to keep you accountable and growing fast
How he builds new referral networks from scratch every time he moves to a new area — without any awkward self-promotion
Why being real and consistent online will always attract more loyal clients than any perfectly curated feed
The gratitude habit that turns vendors, venues, and past clients into long-term advocates for your business
The YouTube educators Trevor recommends for levelling up your lighting, posing, and creativity
How focusing on relationships and community leads to the kind of success social media metrics can never match








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I think photographers need to stop worrying about the vanity metrics that when I say that, I'm referring mainly to, like subscribers, like the stuff that people see, like, oh, you know, he has 100,000 subscribers, and I only have 1000 for example. - Trevor Dayley
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