What I Learned In My First Year As A Full Time Photographer – Fort Worth Wedding Photographer

I know, I know. This sounds so cliche, but I thought cliche would be a good starting point to just go up from. Saying no has always been hard for me. I’m the person that will say yes to every activity and responsibility to the point of a mental breakdown. And for the most part, I’m okay with that. But, in the past year I have learned that running a business means that you have to maintain a certain sense of sanity for your clients. And that’s freaking hard for me considering I want to take on every project possible.

When I first started photography as a side gig over 6 years ago, it was okay to take on every project, give huge discounts, and work with people that have a different vision from me. Now that I’m doing photography for a living, I’ve learned the importance of saying no to projects. Specifically projects that I don’t think are a good fit or that I don’t have time for. What no one tells you is that saying no becomes 10X harder when you know you’re turning away money. Don’t get me wrong, I would take photos for free if I could, and my clients are SO MUCH MORE than a paycheck to me. But I still have bills to pay and it’s scary to say no to something that helps pay those bills. But it’s SO IMPORTANT. Spreading myself thin has done nothing but hurt me and my clients in the long run. When I take on a client that I know won’t be a good fit, it’s unfair to me as a business owner, and it’s unfair to the client that wants something different than what I can provide.

All through life I was taught that a job looks like getting up at 8:00 AM, going to an office all day, and getting a paycheck every month. And we all know, that is definitely NOT what my job looks like. I’ll be honest, there are days that I sleep until 10:00 and don’t start working until after lunch. I don’t have someone to answer to, I get to work from my couch, and can wear whatever I want (usually a massive t-shirt and no pants). Its GREAT and I love it. But, when I first went full time, I struggled with feeling like my job isn’t an actual job. In a weird way, it became a huge insecurity of mine. I was hesitant to tell people that I was a photographer and that I owned my own business for fear of what they would think. I was defensive towards my family and friends when they talked about how my days were more relaxed then theirs. 

Then I learned to embrace my lifestyle. In the past few months I have realized that my job is just as much of a job as anyone else’s, it’s just way better. I’ve learned to be proud of the life that I’ve built for myself. Some people work for year to get the flexibility that I have. Just because I figured out how to build a business at 23 years old doesn’t mean that it’s any less of a business.

I knew I would be tired after a wedding, but then I had my first triple header wedding weekend and WOAH. If you’re a wedding photographer, you get this. Its like no exhaustion ive ever felt haha! 

When I started photography 6+ years ago, I was always doing something else. I was in school or had another full time job that constantly surrounded me with other people. And then i would just work on editing and stuff when i went home. 

What people don’t tell you about running a business full time is that it can be really lonely. I don’t have people around me every day at work. Im basically alone from 8-5 every day which can be really hard sometimes! Thankfully, this industry is full of people just like me that are dying for human interaction. So it’s pretty easy to find a coffee date or someone to work with a few days a week.

With clients, vendors, yourself, your family, SET BOUNDARIES. There have been nights when I accidentally work until 3 AM because I didn’t set a boundary for myself. I’ve learned to give myself a line and stick to it in literally every aspect of life but especially in my business. 

Some of the boundaries I set for myself is booking a certain number of weddings a month, blogging every wednesday, putting my computer away at 6:00 every night, setting deadlines for myself, etc. Boundaries are BY FAR the most important thing to me when working from home. Learn what yours are are stand by them.

When I first went full time, I thought that responding to an email 2 minutes after it was received was so important. I would get my laptop out at midnight just to get back to a client or respond to an inquiry.  

Since then, I have realized that no one is going to be upset if you wait until the morning to respond. Like, literally no one. If I am on my phone or computer and someone asks me a question after hours, heck ya i’ll respond! But if im in bed or watching a movie with my husband, I typically just turn off my notifications and turn them back on the next morning. Its healthy, you should try it.

I’m gonna keep this one short. I have made mistakes, like big mistakes (double booking an engagement session…yikes). Too many of my own tears have been shed over those mistakes. I am only human, I’ve realized this. You shouId too. Its okay to screw up, learn from it, do what you can do to fix it, get better and don’t make the same mistake again. The end.

THIS ONE, YALL. This one gets me fired up. There are some rude people in the world that just can’t be pleased. For so long I thought it was my job to make them happy and please them. 12 months ago I put so much effort into trying to win over the wrong people + clients. Now, I put my effort into the people that want to lift me up, not break me down. Actually, I run like a wild banshee from the people that I know can’t be pleased. The people that threaten bad reviews to get their way, pick apart my very standard contract, or tell me that I am not worth what I charge are not worth my time. And trust me, they aren’t worth yours either.

In October of last year, I set numbers for myself as far as how many weddings I wanted to book, how much money I wanted to make, how many followers I wanted to gain etc. Setting numbers as goals was so damaging to me and my career. It was so easy for me to obsess over the numbers instead of focusing on the things that were actually victories. Things like getting a new client that I really vibed with or getting published in a wedding magazine became irrelevant to me. Around June, I realized that I was focusing on all the wrong things and I changed my mindset. Since I’ve made that shift everything has been so much better and I actually feel successful.