Change is good... right?

I feel like I am coming out of hibernation. Although looking at the snow piled on my front lawn, maybe I should snuggle back down for a few more months. :) I have been trying to put this email together in my mind for a few weeks now. I am excited to open scheduling for 2013. However, I am approaching with caution for the sake of my family as well as my wonderful clients. I have realized a few important lessons over the past few months about running a successful business. It seems strange to think that you need to use caution when you have managed to create a business doing something you love. In fact, I have always thought it was nothing more than complaining to post about a busy life, a struggle to balance work and family, or challenges in learning to run a business. After all, I chose this. I worked for this. I wanted this. :) I've come to learn it is not complaining and it is because I have worked so hard for this that I have to consider all of those things for my "business" to be a success. Several months ago I made the announcement that I would be slowing my sessions through the fall and winter and not taking anything new. This was a desperate attempt to catch my breath and also catch up on a few things like... LAUNDRY, HOUSE CLEANING, AND LOVING ON TWO ADORABLE KIDS! Although I had plenty of sessions to keep me busy I did feel a sense of balance begin to restore to my every day life. I began to think about things other than apertures and f-stops. I stopped editing until the wee hours of the morning and started to find joy in things other than perfect light falling on an image. It felt good for a change. I realized that it was time to take a step back and something strange began to happen. My creativity began to grow. My love for this art (which I didn't even realize had diminished) started rushing back. Over the past few months I have grabbed my camera to capture candid moments of my children, I have raced outside in the early morning hours to catch the sun rise, I have stayed out in the freezing night long enough to capture the sun set... all things I hadn't done in quite some time. This is where things become tricky. When you create a business out of something you love it can quickly become too much of a good thing. Out of necessity it has to become a "business". It is no longer just a fun hobby that you can do as you please. You are making large (and I mean large) investments financially and you have to make a return on those investments which means thinking like a business person. You are also giving obscene amounts of time to this business which means obscene amounts of time away from the little people you love. You have to make this worth your time as well, which is where I started making mistakes. I needed to take on enough sessions to make these investments make sense. However, for the sake of my clients, taking on too many sessions only dilutes what you are able to give. It became a very tricky balancing act- which is what led to the hold on new sessions in 2012. I had myself running in so many directions (including running a preschool two days a week..which some of you may not have known about me). I just needed a few more hours in the day and I could have pulled it all off... ha ha! I know that I am not alone in all this craziness. In fact, I believe most of us are living this crazy life in some form or another. You rarely talk to anyone that you do not discuss the pace of life and the futile attempts to manage it all. I am not professing in any way, shape, or form to be any more busy than the next guy. We have all gotten ourselves into this mess of trying to keep up with the many, many things we do not want to see go in our lives. We are pulled in every direction and have some inner sense that if we are not going eight thousand miles an hour we are not doing our part to contribute. I am just learning that, for myself, it doesn't work. I am learning that a simpler life makes me a better me, a better mother, a better wife, and (guess what) A BETTER PHOTOGRAPHER... imagine that. And finally, back to my point... I am excited to open scheduling in 2013! I am making a few changes in how I take sessions as well as my pricing. I have gone back and forth for weeks as to how to structure my photography packages for 2013. One of my biggest decisions has always been rather to give the printing rights and disc with images. Many pros in the industry shun this idea. If fact, many of them will tell you that it is ruining the industry. I can not say that I disagree, only that I am struggling with how to handle it. We live in a digital age where my clients (and myself) want access to our images to use for blogging, digital scrapbooking, journal keeping, etc. I understand this, I really do. However, from the photographer side of things it scares me to death. The printing or using of images from a session is like the icing on the cake, and who likes to eat cake without icing... not this girl. It is the representation of my blood, sweat, and tears. It is a representation of many hours of learning and practicing. I want the prints to represent all of this hard work well. I cringe when I hear of prints being made at labs that are not up to par or images being made on an automatic printing kiosk. I know that these images will not represent the many, many hours that were put into them. This aside... I DO want my clients to fill their homes and walls with their images and for this reason (for the time being) I will continue to release the disc. I do hope that you will ask me to help you through the printing process and use labs that I recommend, please! Releasing the disc means that every image needs to be hand edited and ready for print. Anyone that has any photoshop experience at all knows that this means hours and hours of editing. Thus, my reasoning for making some changes to my pricing. I mentioned early the huge financial investment that comes with running a photography business. (Just ask my husband... he would be glad to fill you in, ha ha). The past few months have taught me to be wise with my time which has led to carefully calculating a business model and budget for 2013. My new pricing will reflect these business decisions. It has been one of the hardest decisions I have made with my business. I have had many sleepless nights over the past few weeks and worried over this a lot. I hate missing out on opportunities and want everyone to be able to "afford" pictures but I have to be smart about this as well. After paying a little over 30% in taxes on every session, paying for overhead, traveling expenses, etc. there has to be enough profit to justify the sacrifice I make in being away from my family. I have wonderful clients and friends and I am hoping that you can understand this. Wow! If you made it through my ramblings your attention span is much longer than mine. I debated about posting the reasoning behind my madness at all. Mostly, it was for myself. I needed to say it out loud, to admit that change was coming, and that it will be a good thing! I needed to make a promise to myself to find simplicity and I challenge you to do the same. My promise to you (my clients and friends) is a renewed 2013. I promise to give your session 100% of my heart and talent. By taking less sessions it will allow me to give the ones I do take everything I've got. I promise to continue to learn and grow with this art. I promise to try new things and to keep my creative eye well rested and ready to work. I am excited for 2013 and all it will bring! I can not thank you enough for your friendships and for trusting me with your most precious memories. I can not wait to work with you in 2013! Watch for a 2013 scheduling calendar and new pricing over the next few days. 2012 was the a giant leap in the world of weddings for me. I leave you with all of the wedding goodness that 2012 had to offer. I was blessed to work with these lovely couples and love that many of them became friends! Thank you 2012 and here's to an even better 2013!  photo 8x8gridaweb_zpsb98a38ad.jpg

5 comments:

Krista Payne said...

Thanks for this post Nicole! I liked hearing your ramblings, they make a lot of sense to me. Needed to hear this.

Nicole said...

Thanks Krista! It is nice to know I am in good company in the crazy life. :)

kelly said...

Nicole, you know how much I admire you. Good for you to do a hard thing- you are a great example to me and so many others.

the judkins said...

Amen. Amen! And AMEN!!!!!!! Good for you! This is absolutely the best decision you could make for yourself, as well as your clients. Wise woman you are;)

Skip & Angela said...

I enjoyed your post as well. You are such a great person, with such great perspective!