Archives for 2015

Look at your current schedule. Are you behind or overwhelmed by all your responsibilities? Do tasks keep appearing on your plate, creating business bottlenecks, and stopping you from focusing on success photography business items because you have no time to work on them? These business bottlenecks can range from administrative duties, to blogging, to email organization, to anything else which takes you too long to accomplish.

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During the wedding day, there are various resources involved in making sure everything runs smoothly for the bride and groom. In addition to you photographing the happenings of the day, multiple vendors take care of the cake, flowers, decorations, and music. These vendors are people you should get to know and create lasting relationships with. Not only can they help you meet ideal clients, they can become friends who support what you do and help you get through the longest wedding day shoots.

An important vendor involved in the day is the wedding coordinator, who has been working with the couple from the beginning to help their vision come to life. Jessica Gillon, owner of Events by Design, compares a coordinator to a producer or director of a movie. The star of the movie has great ideas but may not have the ability to make them come to life, but the producer or director can help their vision happen. Among other important decisions, a wedding coordinator helps the bride and groom choose the perfect vendors, which includes the wedding photographer!

Since wedding coordinators are a large part of the day, it is important for you to build a relationship with them. Not only is the coordinator someone who can make it easier for you to shoot the couple and their wedding party, they are powerful referral sources for your business. When you connect with the wedding coordinator, they get to know who you are and can help match you with the perfect couple. Here are some of Jessica’s tips to help you make the wedding coordinator your best friend.

Follow the Timeline

Because the wedding day can be chaotic, the wedding coordinator helps the couple create a timeline which helps everything run smoothly. This is a detailed list of everything happening during the day, such as when the bride and groom get ready, what time they should arrive at the ceremony, and when they should include each activity within the reception. There are also specific details included in the timeline of when you should arrive and start shooting the couple and their wedding party. [···]

When you decided to become a wedding photographer, the decision came with a lot of responsibility, as well as a bit of pressure. As your brand continues to develop, it is important to have a dedicated workspace for your business. This is somewhere you can be yourself and feel inspired to successfully run your photography business. Your office should be a stress-free work environment which helps you be the best business owner possible. The more comfortable you are in your space, the better work you will produce. To help you get started on your office design, we put together a list of 11 industry pros who have successfully created an office design to help them stay consistently inspired in their business.

1. Stephanie Messick

When creating a design for your office, it can be necessary to separate your business from your personal life. Developing a space for your business that is it its own can help you focus on achieving your goals. If your office is in your home, perhaps you can make it a room in which no one else can enter besides you and any clients you meet. In addition to creating an office focused on your work, it should be a place you love to be, as well as a place your clients are excited to visit. This can assist you in motivating yourself to accomplish the necessary task your business needs to grow.

Destination Wedding and Portrait Photographer, Stephanie Messick, has an office design that is dedicated entirely to her business, rather than splitting her personal and workspaces. When you create an office similar to this, you can create a space that drives you to do some of your best work.

Now that off-season is officially here, you have the opportunity to take a step back and breathe. Although your business could always use adjustments and improvements, it is important for your well-being to slow down a bit. Busy season can take a toll on you, so this is the perfect time to regroup.

The off-season allows time for you to revitalize yourself as a photographer and business owner. One of the top qualities of a successful business owner is the desire to learn. During this time, you have the chance to attend photography workshops and seminars, network with local photographers and vendors, and read as much as possible. Because understanding how to approach the next busy wedding season is crucial, we put together nine books you should read during the off-season.

1. START

Written by Jon Acuff

With an ever-changing industry, you may feel as if you need to revamp your business and try a new strategy. After all, the same techniques you used years before may not be what gets you to the next level this year. Making large changes to your business can be challenging and frustrating at times, especially if you are not finding success right away.

Related: Are you setting achievable goals for your business?

Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters helps you to achieve your goals in an efficient and timely manner. Using the five stages most people go through in life, Acuff provides actionable tips to speeding up the process of making your business awesome with limited roadblocks.

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