In this photography business Q&A session, I share the answers to a few questions asked on Instagram. Hit play below or scroll down to read the post.

Hello, friends! We’ve got some pretty awesome topics to cover today!

1. How do you find balance in the photography busy season?

The first thing I want you to do is just, take a breath. It’s gonna be okay. You’re going to get through this. I’m going to give you some tools to help you walk through this. 

The next thing I want you to do is a brain dump. This doesn’t need to be color coordinated. It doesn’t need to be pretty. It doesn’t need to be organized. Just get it from your brain onto paper. I do not want you to do this exercise digitally because there is power to physically writing it out on paper. Now, I want you to look over that list and put an X through anything that falls into one of these categories.

1. If it happened in the past and you can’t change it

2. If it is happening in the future and you have no control over it but are worried about it.

3. Anything that is not urgent.

At this point, the only step left on your brain dump list should be urgent, action required items. With what is left, you are going to prioritize the list from what has to happen first to what can wait a couple of days. I encourage you not to add to your list. 

If you are so overwhelmed that you can’t even create a plan of action to give yourself some brain space and find balance. After you have created this list I want you to find an hour or two for yourself. I know you just created this list of action items that are extremely urgent in the next few days. You can find an hour. 

Do something that is completely for yourself.

Something that is just for you that allows your brain and your nervous system to just chill out.

Then start tackling the urgent to do list. You’re going to be able to get through it so much faster because you removed all of the stuff that didn’t matter. You have a clear action plan and you’ve given yourself some breathing room!

2. Do you send your photography clients any type of review form?

Yes! I have a canned email that I send about a week after a session that has a link to my Google review form. The key is to have hyperlinked your Google review form because you don’t want them to have to work for it. 

Make sure that you are utilizing your Google reviews. Those are great things to screen capture and share, to have posted on your website, to use the text in your email newsletter or wherever you want. They are great marketing material! 

3. I’m doing mini sessions in the studio for the first time. Any tips for posing families in a photography studio setting?

Working with a family in a studio should be no different than working with them anywhere else. If you have prompts or poses that you love with your families outdoors, those can 100% work in a natural light studio setting. So, bring those with you. Based on the ages of the kids in your family, pick two or three great prompts and that’s what you’re going to do for every single mini session.

Yes, you are going to feel like a repetitive robot. But remember, each family is only looking at their images, they are not looking at everybody else’s images. They don’t care if you did Ring Around the Rosie with every single family. They just care how cute it is with their kids. Mini sessions can be crazy, there’s a lot going on and a lot of moving parts. You don’t want to get tired at the end of your day and have that deer in headlights moment of, “What do I do with them?” 

4. What do I say to moms that are asking when photos will be ready right after a photography session? 

First, this shouldn’t happen because you should be setting expectations ahead of time.

You’ll want to set these expectations at every single touch point you have with them. This is part of your relationship with them.

You don’t want them asking, you want them to have that information before they can ask it. You want to always over-deliver on the amount of information you have for them. This will not only set you up as a professional, it gives them trust in you.

If you are not currently setting expectations with your clients ahead of time, I want you to just answer the question truthfully and firmly and hold onto your boundaries. If you are so behind in your edits right now because it’s busy season and things are crazy, that’s fine.

You just need to answer the question and tell them the truth, don’t try and sugarcoat it. If you know that realistically you can get images back in four weeks, say that. We all have a different workload. We all have a different amount of help. We outsource different things. Stay in your own lane. 

What are you capable of doing? What is your turnaround? Just answer the question. If it’s four weeks, if it’s six weeks, whatever it is is fine. However, with every new client you have, or every new session prep email you’re sending from here forward, I want you to lay those expectations out clearly and explicitly.

If this Q & A was helpful for you, you might be interested in my Monday morning newsletter called Lifestyle Lessons. It has 3-4 tips, tricks or pieces of information to help your business. Easy Peasy.

If you’re interested in getting on my Lifestyle Lessons list I would love to have you! 

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