One Year in the Studio!! - My struggles and successes
It is with incredible gratitude that I can now celebrate one full year as a studio photographer! I actually cannot believe it. Ha!
How it started.
I have been a photographer for 11 years and always had the desire to try a studio space one day. Well, after having two kids and dealing with the uncertainty of a pandemic, I realized that outdoor shoots were just too unpredictable for me. I needed an environment that I could control, consistent lighting and scheduling, and a little boost to try something different for my work.
I wanted to feel empowered and creative again.
A studio space seemed like the perfect option for me and WOW have I been blown away by the response from all of you - past and new clients.
Thank you!
If you want to read more about why I made the switch to studio photography, click here.
If you want to hear some pretty honest thoughts about my struggles and successes, continue on… ;)
My personal struggles.
Now, let me be very honest here. I’m not really sure if it’s very “business savvy” to be this open, but here’s the real truth.
Starting a new business adventure in the middle of a pandemic was incredibly wild and scary for me. I jumped in full force without a lot of marketing experience and boy did it shake me.
Before our second baby was born, I was shooting full-time with a waitlist. I naively thought I would just pick where I left off after my second maternity leave and all of my regular (outdoor) clients would follow me straight into the studio. I thought they would all think it was the coolest idea ever. I mean, there are 100 other photographers in my county that all shoot outside. To me, studio photos were unique; they were innovative! Of course I’d start back with a bang and be booked up in a couple weeks.
Nope.
Apparently, I wasn’t as cool as I thought.
I had inquiry after inquiry and rejection after rejection. A lot of people who I considered dear clients for the last 7 years in Bluffton kinda washed their hands of the whole studio thing and quickly moved on to other photographers. Now, hear me when I say that I totally get it! I LOVE golden hour light. I LOVE photos by the ocean or in the tall grasses of a field. They bring out such incredible emotion to an image. BUT, I wanted to try something different for this Beaufort County photo market.
So I persevered with the few clients that said yes to a studio shoot and trusted me to capture the same beautiful emotion that I have been shooting for over 10 years. The numbers were small, my confidence wavered constantly, and I struggled to know if my decision was a good one. There were some really tough days for me and for my family at the start of this first year.
In it all, God was still good.
At the beginning of 2021, I was feeling incredibly discouraged. I went to my husband and mentioned a photography business/marketing workshop one of my favorite photographers was teaching. I told him that this HAD to work or I was just going to throw my hands up with the whole thing. I took a leap of faith and invested in this course and prayed A LOT.
I became a photographer because I was good at taking photos not because I was good at business. I had no prior knowledge of how to run a company. My word, I had a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy and was moving toward licensure as a practicing therapist before becoming severely burnt out. I guess I should have known that one day my creativity, organization with my finances, and popularity with high school senior girls would only get me so far. (I’m chuckling at the hilariousness of this!) So I enrolled in the class and within a month my first Google search inquiry made it into my inbox.
It worked!
Do I know everything there is to know about marketing or business? Uh, nope. NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Am I as busy as I hope to be? Almost. :)
Do I feel encouraged and inspired as an artist? YES!!!
And that is what I consider a successful first year, my friends!
Thank you.
To my close friends, thank you. Thank you for praying for me, bringing the wine, and listening to me wine through my insecurities.
To my sweet kids, I hope you only remember the good parts of 2020/2021 with me. EEEEEk. Thank you for loving me as your Mama and saying the word “studio” in the cutest ways!
To my beloved Nikon D3s, oh man, thank you! You shot my first wedding in 2010 and you are still going strong on year 11! Please never die, I love your coloring so much. Plus, I have no idea what other cool new cameras are even out there anymore. I’m not ready to try and be gear relevant again. Keep on keeping on, sweet shutter.
To my incredibly kind and patient husband, THANK YOU! You have heard it all and still you stayed. HAHAHAHA! I know you wondered what to say, when to say it, when to just listen, and when to offer snacks and drinks. You nailed it and I truly would be in a puddle somewhere if you hadn’t pushed me to stay the course. You are the coolest.
Lord, thank you for your faithfulness and care for the small things. You are the reason that I live and breathe and have the ability to take photos.
Alright 2021/2022…
It’s time to find a bigger studio space!