The Troveman Heirloom Method.

Two tiers, mirroring your existing thinking

Basic Tier — $300–500 · The PWP Heirloom Edit

Just the editing core. Strips out marketing, client communication, and business-side material. For photographers who already have a clientele and just want to learn the look.

Includes: Modules 1, 3, 4 (minus 4.4), 5, and 6 (gear → shoot → cull → edit → print) · all technical PDFs · lifetime access. Excludes: Module 2 (client communication, wardrobe, vetting, pricing), Lesson 4.4 (48-hour clock + email templates), Module 7 (pop-up v2), Module 8 (Beyond the Heirloom bonus), 1-on-1 call.

Premium Tier — $850–925 · The Heirloom Intensive

The complete experience.

Includes: all modules (1–6 core + Module 7 pop-up v2 + Module 8 "Beyond the Heirloom" bonus) · all PDFs + email + selection templates + wardrobe one-pager + pricing worksheet + 48-hour selection-clock templates · honest framing on how you use Instagram (no full marketing playbook — see Module 2.3) · one scheduled 60-min 1-on-1 Zoom with you · lifetime access + updates.

The modules v1.1 — updated 2026-05-21 after the transcript diff

Module 1 — Gear & Foundation

From PDF 1, pp. 2–4. ~3 lessons, ~30 min total video.

Lesson 1.1 · Welcome + What You're About to Learn

• Your intro, your approach, what makes a heirloom portrait
• Open with the founding-mission line from Cohort 1 Session 1: "My biggest fear in making this course is that people would walk away and feel like they didn't get anything out of it."
• About-me story (5 generations Louisiana → A&M → Studio 77 → 6-month burnout → heirloom pivot) — pulled verbatim from Cohort 2 Session 1, most polished version
• Course roadmap + how to use it
• The promise: repeatable, consistent, branded look

Lesson 1.2 · The Gear List

• Camera (Nikon Z7ii), lens, SD card, on-camera flash + air remote
• Softbox, flash battery, stands, reflector, backdrop, ottoman
• Budget alternative for Profoto: Godox + a receiver. Used-gear note: B&H specifically cautions on used flashes.
• Fujifilm shooters: Profoto A10 for Fuji is $995 — cheaper than the Canon/Nikon version
• Iron or a clothing steamer for the backdrop
• Downloadable: Gear list PDF with Amazon/B&H links

Lesson 1.3 · The Software Stack

• Photo Mechanic, Lightroom, Photoshop, Pic-Time, Red Tree Albums
• Honeybook — client intake + CRM + proof-sheet portal (your actual day-to-day, surfaced across all cohorts)
• Pic-Time pro tip: built-in "favorites" sync with Lightroom (Allison surfaced this — you didn't know about it)
• Downloadable: Software list PDF with subscription costs + sign-up links

Module 2 — Working With Your Client (Premium only — 5 lessons)

Not in the PDFs — sourced from cohort Q&A across all 5 newly-transcribed sessions. Expanded from 3 lessons to 5 after the 2026-05-21 transcript diff surfaced this as your richest unrecorded material.

Lesson 2.1 · Setting Expectations + the Wardrobe Playbook

• How to frame the heirloom session vs. a regular portrait session
• Wardrobe playbook — smocked clothing with collar. Recommended brands: Little English (premium ~$120), Feltman Brothers (the OG), Peter Pan collars. Budget: Target ~$39 outfits.
• Colors that work: white, light blue, light pink. Anti-example: dark green polo ("looks funky with the heirloom edit")
• The "get dressed at the studio, not in the car" rule
• The what-to-wear collab video you wanted to film with a mom-client (Cohort 1) — folds in here once recorded
• Pre-shoot email template + the pre-session welcome blurb your admin sends
• Downloadable: Wardrobe one-pager (brand list + color guide + Target alternatives)

Lesson 2.2 · In the Room With a Subject

• Sweet-spot age: 10–12 months ideal · 16 months–2 years hardest (stranger danger) · range 10 months to 4 years
• Tips for shooting babies — warm-up on Mom's lap before the bench, 15–45 min sessions
• Tips for shooting older subjects (senior-portrait pivot — see Module 8)
• The kid-attention playbook: Mom behind the reflector (not the lens) · Bluetooth speaker with the kid's favorite song · FaceTime dad on a phone near the lens · show them their own photo on the back screen · let them press the flash once · no phones for parents
• The honest "Lord please let this go well" framing — destigmatize the unpredictability for the student
• Rescheduling policy — if it's not happening after 90 min, offer to reschedule

Lesson 2.3 · How You Market the Heirloom (short + honest)

This lesson is intentionally short. Across all 5 cohort transcripts you openly say you don't have a polished Instagram methodology — "I just post and it's fun for me." Not pretending you do.

• Why the heirloom product (a tangible matted print) is itself the marketing — "Heirlooms gave me this tangible picture… now this is the product I'm marketing. It's not just me marketing a service."
• The Instagram-by-feel approach — what you actually do
• Privacy nuance: ask each client whether you can post; password-gated portfolio as alternative
• Friday-stacking pop-up model — see Module 7

Lesson 2.4 · Vetting Clients + Safety Practices (NEW)

• Why vetting matters — heirloom clients often come to your home or a private studio
• Your exact practice: Google every inquiry, check socials, look for a digital footprint
• The hard rule: if you can't find any digital footprint, pass on the booking
• TikTok-sourced inquiries get extra scrutiny — different demographic than Instagram
• What to do when something feels off: partner/admin in the building, public studio first time, filtering deposit

Lesson 2.5 · Pricing the Heirloom (NEW)

• Your pricing journey: $400 → $475 → $500 → $550 (current). Honest framing — you started underpriced and raised each cohort.
• What's included at $550: 3 color + 3 B&W virtual copies + 1 oval matted print. The included print is what makes it feel like a product, not a service.
• Sibling pricing: $175 per additional sibling — each gets their own print
• Extra digitals: $50–$75 per image. Extra prints: $75 each (cost ~$16, margin ~$59).
• Mini-session model for smaller markets: 5 sessions/day, ~$325 each — Hannah's farm-town Nebraska example
• Time-block reality: 5 hours/day blocked, 1 hour per kid; typical actual 15–20 min
• Pricing logic: "Heirlooms were my most premium product but I was charging less for them than a family session. That didn't make sense."
• Downloadable: Pricing-tier worksheet (your-market template)

Module 3 — The Shoot

From PDF 1, pp. 5–7. ~3 lessons, ~25 min.

Lesson 3.1 · The Set Up

• Backdrop placement (white front, black back — why it matters)
• Ottoman/apple box positioning
• Reflector right, softbox left, 2.5–3.5 feet from subject

• Aim the edge of the softbox at the subject, not the center
• The brighter middle of the softbox is aimed at the reflector — bounces back as fill
• Without this, the portraits look harsh — this is THE technique that makes the look soft
• Walkthrough video of building the pop-up set
• Downloadable: Lighting setup diagram (must show edge-of-softbox angle explicitly)

Lesson 3.2 · Camera Settings + Flash Settings

• Shutter 1/125–160 — never above 1/250 (flash-sync cap; above this the strobe doesn't sync)
• Aperture f/8 — non-negotiable (keeps mouth, nose, hair in focus when you focus on the eye)
• ISO 100–125 — bump for darker complexions rather than dropping shutter
• White balance: Kelvin manual, 5,200–6,700K range. "Shoot warm, edit cool" — bump warmer in-camera, pull back in Lightroom
• Profoto flash at 8.0
• Profoto built-in key light (model light) — leave it on continuously to help the camera pull focus in dark rooms
• Focus mode: Continuous autofocus with touch-to-focus on the eye. Not back-button, not manual.
• Catch lights at 11 o'clock or 2 o'clock in the eye
• Downloadable: Settings cheat sheet (with shutter-cap warning, Kelvin range, key-light note)

Lesson 3.3 · Shooting the Session

• Testing exposure
• Continuous model light for focus pulling (the Profoto key light)
• 15–45 min session length (typical actual: 15–20 min per kid)
• Don't preface what expressions to expect — telling parents "I want a smile" puts pressure on them and transmits to the kid
• The kid-attention playbook (see Module 2 Lesson 2.2)
• Rescheduling policy — if it's not happening after 90 min, offer to reschedule
• Reviewing as you go — showing parents
• When you have the shot

Module 4 — Selection + Proof Sheet

From PDF 1, pp. 7–8.

Lesson 4.1 · Culling in Photo Mechanic

• Download workflow (folder structure: Client Heirloom → RAW PICS → RAW PROOFS)
• Color selecting your top images (10–28 per kiddo)
• Why Photo Mechanic over Lightroom for this step
• Sidebar — why you don't tether-shoot: moms feel rushed when they can see every frame live; husband/grandparents need to weigh in async

Lesson 4.2 · Building the Proof Sheet in Lightroom

• Catalog naming convention
• Print module → 3×3 layout with file numbering
• Why 240 ppi specifically: low enough that clients can't blow it up and self-print at usable quality (protects the print sale)
• File-info labels enabled (so clients screenshot-share the right image number)
• Downloadable: Proof sheet template

Lesson 4.3 · Delivering the Proof Sheet (Premium only)

• Your exact email template ("I'm excited to share that your heirloom proof sheet is now ready…")
• Delivered through Honeybook (your CRM/portal of choice)
• Pro tip for Pic-Time users: built-in "favorites" feature syncs hearted images back into Lightroom
• What to do when they want changes
• Downloadable: Proof sheet email template

Lesson 4.4 · When Clients Go Dark — The 48-Hour Rule (Premium only — NEW)

• The problem: clients delay print orders for weeks/months; your batch shipping gets stuck behind them
• The policy: clients have 24–48 hours from proof-sheet delivery to send their 3 selections; otherwise you pick the top 3 as the photographer and that's what gets printed
• Your verbatim framing: "I'm about to put something in my thing where it's like, you have 48 hours to respond to your selection. Otherwise, I'm going to make the selection as the photographer, and that's what you're going to get sent."
• How to position this in the initial proof-sheet email so it doesn't feel hostile — it's a service standard, not a punishment
• Downloadable A: Initial proof-sheet email template — includes the 48-hour clause baked in
• Downloadable B: The "I'm picking for you" follow-up template at hour 48

Module 5 — The PWP Heirloom Edit (Lightroom + Photoshop)

From PDF 2 — this is the heart of the course. ~8 lessons, ~60 min.

Lesson 5.1 · Lightroom Base Edit

• Opening philosophy: "A lot of it for me just came with like moving dials. I've never used another person's preset. I've always just edited my stuff myself and I've just built presets over time." Encourage students to make the preset their own.
• Loading PWP heirloom preset
• Adjusting temp, tint, contrast, clarity, highlights, vibrance per-kiddo
• Two distinct cleanup tools (these are separate techniques, not the same): the AI Remove tool (Q shortcut, generates 3 alternates per click — pick the most natural), and the spot healing brush for smaller predictable blemishes
• Ethics-of-editing sidebar. Remove: scratches, drool, eye crusties, glare on tongue. Keep: skin texture, birthmarks, freckles, dimples, hair flyaways. Those are the baby's features.
• Downloadable: PWP Lightroom preset (.xmp)

Lesson 5.1a · Why Catch Lights Matter (60-second demo — NEW)

• Show a side-by-side: portrait with catch lights vs. catch lights removed
• The version without catch lights looks dead-eyed / unsettling — proves catch lights aren't a nice-to-have, they're load-bearing
• Demonstrate: select the catch light area with the eraser, fill, compare

Lesson 5.2 · The Masking Step (THE essential step — DO NOT SKIP)

• Select subject → invert to select background
• Exposure +1.0 to +2.0 · Contrast −55 to −60 (softens edges; lets hair flyaways come through naturally) · Whites 0 to +20
• Why we don't want the backdrop pure white: a slight gray gives a vintage feel that helps the heirloom blend together visually. Not a mistake — a choice.
• Before/after demo

Lesson 5.3 · Opening in Photoshop

• Right-click → Edit in Photoshop 2025
• Unlock layer, duplicate for the heirloom edit layer

Lesson 5.4 · The Blur + Sharpen Layers

• Blur layer: cheeks, forehead, bridge of nose, brush ~30%
• Sharpen layer: eyes, eyelashes, lips, nose tip, hair highlights, eyebrows
• Alternative path: do this in Lightroom instead. You admitted in Cohort 2 Session 2 that Lightroom's smoothing tool would work — you just default to Photoshop. For students more comfortable in LR, show the LR-only path as equivalent.

Lesson 5.5 · Crop + Generative Expand

• Crop tool to center subject in middle quadrant
• Generative expand for the backdrop fill (no prompt needed)
• The "BOOM" moment
• Why you don't have to compose perfectly in-camera: generative expand is a safety net. Don't stress framing during the session — get the eye, you can rebuild the rest.

Lesson 5.6 · The Heirloom Oval Shape

• Solid Color fill → white
• Layer mask thumbnail, brush sizing with bracket keys
• Black foreground to erase, white to add back
• Brush settings walkthrough
• Final shape: the iconic Troveman/PWP oval

Lesson 5.7 · Saving + Returning to Lightroom

• File → Save → autopopulates back in Lightroom
• Right-click → Create Virtual Copy for B&W
• B&W edit button in develop module
• Contrast, highlights, shadows, blacks adjustments

Lesson 5.8 · Final Images Review

• What "done" looks like
• Common mistakes + fixes
• Side-by-side: color vs B&W virtual copy

Module 6 — Delivery + Print Production

From PDF 2, pp. 17–28.

Lesson 6.1 · Exporting from Lightroom

• File → Export · custom naming · Quality 100 · 300 ppi
• Folder structure: Client Name → Final Edits

Lesson 6.2 · Uploading to Pic-Time

• Why Pic-Time, gallery setup
• Final gallery email template ("Howdy CLIENT NAME…")
• Add-on prints for grandparents ($75 each for 8×10 oval matted)
• Downloadable: Final gallery email template (Premium only)

Lesson 6.3 · Print Prep in Photoshop (Oval Mockup)

• Open Oval_Heirloom_MockUp.psd
• Drag image above oval, below "Rectangle 1"
• Center in oval, transform/scale
• Downloadable: Oval_Heirloom_MockUp.psd

Lesson 6.4 · Cropping to 5×7 for Red Tree

• Why 5×7 (matches Red Tree template — WYSIWYG)
• Snap-to-guides crop workflow

Lesson 6.5 · Exporting Print-Ready File

• File → Export → Export As · JPEG, highest quality

Lesson 6.6 · Ordering from Red Tree Albums

• Account setup at redtreealbums.com
• Matted Prints · HAHNEMUHLE BRIGHT WHITE · 8×10 mat
• Upload, add to cart, ship

Lesson 6.7 · Receiving + Shipping

• Inspecting the print on arrival
• Reusing Red Tree packaging + bubble wrap + bubble mailer
• The Target $3-frame hack: drop each print into a cheap $3 Target frame before packaging — meaningfully reduces transit damage and feels like a tiny upgrade to the unboxing
• Red Tree turnaround: ~10 days standard, +$25 for rush
• Non-oval prints: Red Tree only does mounted ovals; use Artifact Uprising or Pic-Time for plain prints
• Shipping cost typically $12–18
• Final hand-off email to client

Module 7 — Your First Heirloom Pop-Up (Premium only — Optional v2)

Skip in v1. After the transcript diff: you mention pop-ups across all 5 transcripts but haven't built a productized pop-up system — it's stories more than a taught system. Worth doing in v2 once you've run 3–5 more pop-ups and have playbook material to film.

• The Friday-stacking model (your actual current practice): block 2 Fridays/month, admin auto-sends those dates, do 4–6 sessions in a day
• Pop-up format: 5 families in a day, single location, group pricing
• Setup logistics · marketing locally · pricing models

Module 8 — Beyond the Heirloom (Premium bonus — NEW)

Net-new module surfaced from cohort Q&A. Three different students asked whether your setup works for non-heirloom work. The answer was always yes — same Profoto, same softbox, different post-processing. This module unlocks adjacent revenue for students who already paid $897 for the Intensive.

Lesson 8.1 · Corporate + Commercial Headshots (Same Setup, Different Edit)

• Same Profoto + softbox + reflector — only the edit changes (skip the heirloom oval, skip the masking step)
• Real examples you've shot: F45 gym team headshots, city tourism marketing, restaurant marketing
• Pricing differences vs. heirloom (commercial commands its own rate)
• Why the heirloom edit doesn't translate to a professional headshot (you said it would "look like an obituary photo")

Lesson 8.2 · Food + Restaurant Marketing

• Same Profoto, slightly different angle + distance
• Restaurant interior + plated food examples
• How to position the heirloom-photographer skillset to local food clients

Lesson 8.3 · Golden Years Sessions

• The product: heirloom-style portraits for older subjects (your 95-year-old church-lady session; upcoming ranch couple with interior-designer daughter)
• Why this is the most emotionally meaningful work — and the most likely to end up as the final portrait the family has
• How to approach the conversation with an older subject vs. a child
• Lighting + posing adjustments (less of the kid-attention playbook, more "let them rest into the chair" pacing)
• Pricing as a premium tier ($800–1,200 range — you're still figuring this out)

Bonus · The 1-on-1 Call (Premium only)

After completing the course, premium-tier students schedule a 60-min Zoom with you. Held async via Calendly link inside the member dashboard.

Suggested structure (give this a sanity check):

• 5 min: intro + what they want to focus on
• 15 min: review of their first heirloom attempt (sent before the call)
• 30 min: their questions, your edits
• 10 min: feedback on their marketing/pricing/business setup

What we'd film fresh vs. reuse

Reuse from existing cohort recordings (the 8 zoom videos)

• All live-demo screen shares — lighting setup, Lightroom walkthroughs, Photoshop oval work, Red Tree ordering. Your existing demos are gold. Pull the best 5–10 min clip per topic.
• The "before/after" reveals
• Your verbal explanations during the demos

Film fresh (you-to-camera, white backdrop, 5–10 min chunks)

• Welcome + module intros
• Gear walkthroughs (you can be holding the gear)
• Module 2 content — wardrobe, kid playbook, vetting, pricing. Largely net-new, very little prior recording.
• The edge-of-softbox setup video — must explicitly demo the edge-vs-middle angle. Not captured cleanly in any of the 8 existing recordings.
• The catch-light demo for Lesson 5.1a — quick before/after visual
• Module 8 (Beyond the Heirloom) lesson intros — short framing for each adjacent product line
• Closing / "what's next" segments

You mentioned preferring teaching with 2–3 friends in the room as a "live" audience — keeps your cadence natural. Plan the recording days around bringing friends in.

Assets you need to produce or share

Asset	Status	Notes
PWP Lightroom preset (.xmp)	TODO	Critical — core deliverable
Oval_Heirloom_MockUp.psd	TODO	Critical — core deliverable
The setup video — must demo the edge-of-softbox rule	TODO (needs reshoot)	Net-new requirement from the transcript diff — not captured cleanly in existing recordings
Pre-session welcome blurb / email	TODO	Your admin already sends this; just needs to be shared. Surfaced in Cohort 2.
What-to-wear collab video with a mom-client	TODO	You mentioned wanting to film this in Cohort 1 — folds into Module 2.1
Pricing-tier worksheet (student template)	TODO	Ezra to draft based on Module 2.5 numbers
48-hour selection-clock email templates (A: initial, B: follow-up)	TODO	Ezra to draft based on Lesson 4.4 framing
Example proof sheet	Done	Already in PDF 1
Email templates (proof, gallery)	Done	Already in PDFs
Logo + brand finals	In progress	Week of May 25 with your designer
8 cohort recordings	✅ Done	All received + transcribed as of May 21, 2026
Friends to be your "audience" during fresh recording	TODO	2–3 people, summer scheduling

Open product decisions

1. Drip release vs. all-at-once? Recommend all-at-once for v1 (matches the "intensive" feel + your existing cohort model). Drip can be a v2 lever.
2. Community component? Discord/Circle/Slack channel for students? Adds value to premium but is ongoing maintenance for you. Recommend NOT in v1 — revisit at 50+ students.
3. Certificate of completion? Easy win for the premium tier. Branded PDF, generated on completion. Recommend YES — minimal effort, real perceived value.
4. Refund policy? 14-day money-back, full refund as long as <30% of lessons watched. Soft framing on the sales page so it reads as confidence-signal not fine-print. Enforceable via Cloudflare Stream watch tracking.
5. Cohort vs. evergreen? June is the last live cohort, then evergreen. Recommend keeping ONE annual live cohort at premium-plus pricing ($1,500–2,000) for the people who specifically want live access — keeps the live model alive without it being your weekly job.