Well, friends, the month of June has been an absolute whirlwind. At the beginning of the month, Nathan was in Alaska, and I watched my baby sister graduate, then drove back home to shoot a wedding the next day. Fast-forward one week, and Nathan left again on a two-week business trip. Meanwhile, I traveled to Washington, D.C., for Jasmine Star's workshop, then drove to Charlottesville the following Saturday for this one (with a portrait session in the mix as well). I have learned so much this month and loved every bit of it, but I am ready for July to have a much slower pace!
Tyler Corvin's workshop focused a lot more on the nitty, gritty not-so-fun but oh-so-necessary business side of wedding photography. There is so much to think about, from taxes to marketing to SEO and everything in between. As a photographer, the fun and exciting part is what everyone sees - portrait sessions, weddings, and travel. And then during the week is all the behind the scenes details that you do out of absolute necessity - sales tax, quarterly tax, website rankings, directory listings...you name it!
The Business of Wedding Photography covered everything from A to Z. Some of the most helpful parts of the workshop were things I didn't even know I had to learn! Tyler talked about how to set up your business, and since I just made the switch over to an LLC, I had no idea where to go from there! We talked about marketing yourself, both on social media and on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. We chatted for awhile about pricing and how to write contracts to make sure you and your client are both covered in case ANYTHING happens.
I could go on and on, but this workshop was invaluable to my business! As much as I would like to pretend that all I do is take pictures, that could not be farther from the truth. Having someone come alongside of you to make sure your business is set up to allow for steady, sustained growth is absolutely priceless. I am so grateful to have learned from Tyler, Jasmine, and Justin & Mary all in one year, and I can't wait to implement everything I now know as my business continues to grow!
