I was talking to a friend who is starting her own reflexology business out of her home and she was asking about really starting to focus on social media. It seemed like a bad time to be marketing a business during a time of so much uncertainty. I don't think that is the case AT ALL!!! There are so many people who run businesses out of their homes or are a company with two people as the "face of the franchise" as it were. If your work is put on hold, now is the PERFECT time to get going on your social media and blog. Yes, I said blog. We'll get there.
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Starting this business, I knew NOTHING about running a business. I was learning how to take photos and all the creative side of things, but the "brick and mortar" stuff... to be honest, I kind of avoided it for awhile because it was so overwhelming.
Most of these books aren't going to teach you accounting or how to get an LLC, but they are helpful to get an idea of running a business and relating to people because that's the whole point. The rest of it is moot if you can't relate to people well :) A few days ago, I posted about how I don't think there can be an over-saturated photography market. Most of the focus was on the client, but I talked a little bit about community as well. Today I want to focus in more on that community aspect and talk about why we don't need to be afraid of our so-called "competition".
I hope the last post of tips was helpful for you! In case you missed it, you can go back and read my last five tips here. I didn't want to overwhelm you in one post, so I saved a few more helpful suggestions for a second post. I hope these will at least give you a starting point if you have no idea what to do!
One of the hardest things I found when I started out on this journey was the over-abundance of choices. There are SO. MANY. OPTIONS!!! What do you do?
There is a reason for the options. Different people like different things. So the things I'm going to share in this post and in the future are the things that worked for me and I would recommend. It's here for those who want and need it. I learned about how important blogging was for my business pretty early on, thanks to Amy & Jordan Demos and their business course. I'd had a personal blog for several years, but it was all over the place. Now, I would be trying to focus a little more, so rather than jumping into five days a week (a la Amy&Jordan), I decided to start with three days a week. That sounded doable. At times, it certainly was, but other times, I struggled to figure out content and it was stressing me out. Things that stress you out are never good for your business. What could make this better?
Batch writing. This year, I participated in Shoot & Share's photo contest for the first time ever and it was really a neat experience. There are several things I really like about how it's run and I learned some things for myself and my own photography from participating. There were even some surprises!
I was meeting with a lady back in November and it turns out that she is a photographer as well. She isn't making it her career, but she has experience and insight which I am always happy to hear. She recommended that I get connected to a photo lab and told me of the one she has worked with. I told her I'd look into it and we parted ways.
I have an insane amount of respect for wedding photographers. After doing my second wedding, this one with a second shooter, I am even more convinced that I don't want to be a wedding photographer but I'm so happy there are people who love it!
For non-photographers, or photographers who haven't learned about light yet, it can be kind of confusing to hear about "good" and "bad" light. Now, I will preface this by saying that your style greatly affects how you view light. I am developing a style in which I like clear, bright, well-lit, faces and skin tones and that informs what I think of as "good" and "bad" light.
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Hi! I'm Sarah!
I am a natural light portrait photographer. I've been taking photos since 2014 and would eat a smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe for lunch everyday if I could. Thank you so much for stopping by. I blog about sessions, things I'm learning, stuff in my life, and information for YOU, my client. If you like what you see around the site, I'd love to work with you! I'd also love to connect with you on Instagram. I'm @sarah_jayne_photo :) Archives
April 2024
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