5 Things That Worked for My Business in 2014

Last year at the end of 2013 I attended Mary Marantz’s “What’s Next Getaway.” It was such an amazing afternoon meeting lots of other wonderful women who are in the photography business and hearing other people’s hopes, dreams & struggles. It forced me to take a hard look at my business– what worked and what didn’t– and think about my short & long term goals, and dream big! So at the turn of a new year, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what worked & didn’t work in 2014 and what I can do to grow & improve in the new year. First, let’s take a look at what worked in 2014. This is not to pat myself on the back for you all to read about (because there certainly were lots of things that didn’t work too!), but I’m hoping that if some photographer out there is reading this and struggling with a similar thing, I can give you some shred of insight.

1. Converting to the Shoot & Share Model for Portrait Sessions

First of all, you might be asking, “What the heck is shoot & share?!” Basically it’s a business model for photographers who charge more up front so they can freely share the high-resolution images with their clients. My first year in business, I used the traditional business model of a session fee & selling prints and digital files separately. In that year, I realized something about myself… I am NOT a saleswoman and perfectly comfortable admitting that! This model was also consuming too much time & energy that was preventing me from growing my business in the way I wanted to. So in 2014 I switched to the Shoot & Share model and now I use PASS for all of my portrait sessions. It  has helped to streamline my workflow and I couldn’t be happier with this decision!

2. Attending the Katelyn James Photography Workshop Experience

In 2013, I attended my first photography workshop with Abby Grace Photography. It was such am amazing experience that I knew I wanted to attend another! In the early months of 2014 I researched lots of different workshops & conferences and all of my research and recommendations kept coming back to Katelyn James! In September I attended her 2-day workshop in VA and it. was. INCREDIBLE. (If you missed the recap, you can see it here!) I seriously don’t think my brain has ever been so full after 2 days. Kathleen is such an incredible photographer, teacher & woman and I learned SO much from her that has already improved my work & client experience.

3. Blogging About Personal Things

One of my goals for 2014 was to grow my blog to be posting on a regular basis & post about things other than weddings and portrait sessions. So I starting writing about personal things and business related topics. This has allowed my brides & portrait clients to get to know me on a more personal level. After all, if they’re trusting me to capture their big day shouldn’t they get to know a bit about me?! Specifically, I’ve been writing about my husband’s journey from medical school to residency in a series called, “Road to Residency” and there has been such an outpouring of support.  I feel like we have a new team of cheerleaders and I’m excited to continue writing about our journey in the coming year.

4. New Logo

At the end of 2014, I had the pleasure of working with Krista A. Jones to create a new logo. My original logo was a template I bought offline and was great for my first year in business, but after the 2014 season and a further developed since of style, I knew it was time for an updated look for KDP! I wanted something that was sophisticated, but still friendly & welcoming. Krista nailed this right on the head and I absolutely love the new logo!

5. Instagram