So what have I been doing since I launched my business with the mini sessions in the fall?
The fall mini sessions started my business up so fast! I gained a few regular priced bookings through those advertisements and I have been slowly building up my clientele.
I live in an area where it seems like there is a photographer on every street. There are a few very well known photographers in my area that get tons of word-of-mouth advertising and its been hard to really get my name out there much since my fall sessions. For example: someone posts on Facebook needing a photographer for an occasion and not even a minute later 15 photographers have jumped on the thread commenting their business! It's crazy!!
Being a mom of three littles, homeschooling, and just generally trying to run a household, I can't be on social media all day waiting to be the first person to comment on a post! So, by the time I see a post about a photographer inquiry I am usually way down the comment list, but I put my name and information out there anyways!
Christmas Time
Once November hit I decided to do what most photographers do and advertise for Christmas mini sessions. I made it super simple with props and picked a park I enjoy shooting at for the background. It was not a ton of work, but it was more than I was use to at this point, mainly because of the props. I set up the sessions so they were all done in one day giving me about 10 minutes between every session to reset the props and get ready for the next session. I did not book every session for this, and I was honestly okay with that because I learned some new things about the photography world through it.
- I do not enjoy props. I knew going into photography that I wanted my business to be centered around lifestyle photography. I wanted the over all environment to be as natural as possible to my clients whether that be their backyards, a park they love to visit, or a specific place they love the scenery. I wanted everything to be relaxed and comfortable! Props do not offer this kind of environment. For me, they were more stressful than they were worth. Even though I went pretty simple, they just seemed in the way of everything, and I did not like the whole setting up process.
- Mini sessions seem way too rushed. I have seen many photographers do full day set ups with mini sessions back to back. They fill up their calendar for that day with clients who get 10-15 minutes in front of the camera then its on to the next client. I realized through my Christmas mini sessions that this is just not my style of photography or the way I want to my business to be run. I send out questionnaires before my sessions to help me answer any questions and to generally get to know my clients. I genuinely want to know their likes and dislikes, what their expectations for a session are, do they love getting their picture taken or will they need a bit of help relaxing in front of the camera. I don't want to feel rushed with my sessions and not be able to have a conversation with my clients because I need to quickly get to the next person on my session schedule.
The New Year
Before the New Year I sat down and wrote out a bunch of goals I had for the upcoming year and my photography business. I looked at each month and wrote down three things I would like to get done within it. I came up with a monthly financial goal, a booking goal, and a learning goal. I was so excited to start out the New Year! I had taken most of December off to focus on my family and just relax during the season of Christmas and I was ready to hit the ground running again, just like in the fall.
After the New Year was rough. The weather was cold and unpleasant. I had zero bookings lined up, and little hope for anything new on my calendar during January. I was so discouraged! January turned into February and I had one booking. So I had to change my mindset. I had to realize that in the cold, bad weather months not many people want to stand in front of a camera! That makes sense, right? So, I decided to really dig into educating myself on different things that pertained to my business and how I can improve certain areas. I implemented new strategies and came up with new projects! I got excited again about my business and the potential it had!
Now
It is now mid-March and I am getting bookings again! It is still hard to put my name out there when I see so many others in the same business but I am becoming more confident. I constantly remind myself that my ultimate goal is to just be a blessing to my clients through the passion and talent God blessed me with. So every morning I pray over my business and the clients I am currently working with. It helps!
My business is slowly building and I am okay with that. I am figuring out what works and what doesn't, what I want to focus on and things I want to stay away from. Its hard work, and it takes time, but I am loving it!
