Plan Out Your Business For The Entire Year

Are you experiencing the photography-famine right now?

A great majority of photographers do. Yet it can be avoided very easily.

Most types of photography have seasonality to it. calendar

If you’re a wedding photographer, you may have highs and lows depending on the weather. Here in Colorado, the majority of weddings occur from May through October, with the occasional wedding around the holidays in December, and Valentine’s Day in February.

If you’re a family portrait photographer, a lot of photographs are done in the summer months to utilize the great outdoors, and around the holidays for gift giving.

In commercial photography, work is based on the energy of the business client you’re working with, and the budget for their fiscal year.

But it really doesn’t matter what type of photography you prefer. Instead your real question should be, “How can I stay busy year round?”

As exclusive wedding photographers, we were busy every weekend from May through the end of October. Those few months are beautiful in Colorado, and it’s easy to have an outside wedding and enjoy the Rocky Mountains. But when the snow flies the weddings stop. Rather than limiting ourselves to work those few months, we decided to focus on destination weddings. We didn’t just list ourselves as destination photographers and hope for the best. Instead we went and looked for a location that was opposite of our schedule. We found it in Phoenix, Arizona. Their busy season is from October through May – when it’s nice and not overly-hot.

Set up the entire year on a calendar, and realistically look at what you can do to capture attention each month. If you know from experience that very few wedding occur in your area during the winter and spring, go find an area where you can promote and find work.

And many industries need quality photographs every single month of the year. Babies are born 365 days – you can only capture a newborn in his or her first few weeks. Newspapers/magazines/trade publications are developed every single day. They always need quality photographs. People work with business advertising every single month – its just a matter of finding people when they are in planning mode.

Instead of doing what you’ve always done, plan out the year. If you see a hole, fill it with something new. The most creative of the bunch will survive. Will it be you?

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clientexperience@todaysgrowthconsultant.com' About Virtual Photography

We're the co-founders of VirtualPhotographyStudio.com and have been writing on this blog since 2004. We started Virtual as a way to help photographers stretch beyond a part time income, and develop strategies to become a Five Figure Photographer or a Six Figure Photographer. Ultimately its all about lifestyle, and if your goal is to live as a photographer 24/7, we think you should have the knowledge and the tools to do so. Welcome!