Ouch.

Do you guys ever go to sleep feeling restful, calm, motivated, and happy, but then wake up feeling exhausted, sore, and dreary? That's how I feel today. As I said in my last post, I finally signed up for a new gym. I love working out, but I have not yet learned how to deal with the next day soreness.

Not only did I start working out again... but I also signed up to take a Certified Personal Trainer course. Which means over the next three months I will be working out and studying my butt off for the exam. It's something I've thought about over the last six months or so, and I finally decided to go for it. Not only do I plan on gaining a wealth of knowledge about the human body, but I am also going to push myself to a level of fitness I have never achieved before. Now if I could just deal with the morning after...

On mornings that I feel like this, I like to get warm and cozy (if I weren't at work I would have a blanket) and make myself a big cup of tea. I'm trying to be happy my muscles are sore and remember that I am a little stronger than I was yesterday. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of these mornings.

How was your long weekend?

Trial and error

It is chilly in the PNW, Charlie and I spent the weekend shut inside working on homework (him) and going out with some of our friends. I also finally joined a gym in town! I worked out at 24-hour fitness for a year and I loved it, but when I moved I had to find a new place. So far Anytime Fitness seems to be a great replacement. 

Anywho... On to some more advice about business success. 

It's important to constantly experiment when it comes to your business. When you are starting out you can experiment with promotions, marketing techniques, the policies of your business, even the type of work you take on. You can experiment with these things later on as well, but typically after some tweaking you will find some things that suit you and stick with them. Today I'm going to talk about some experimenting we've done with our photography business, some things are a big hit, and some aren't, it's all about trial and error.

First, let's talk about why "experimenting" is important. I call it that because most of us are afraid to fail. If we put all of our heart and soul (or time and money) into something, and then it's unsuccessful, we feel defeated and discouraged. But, if we try something new with an open mind that it could either be yay or nay, we don't feel as let down. 

So often when people start businesses they first look at what others are doing and mimic them (I'm no exception). But experimenting is taking that basic business model, and making it work for you and your clients. How do you know what your clients want if you never offer it? Doing something different can set you apart from the general market and possibly give you that edge you need. 

So let's talk about some failed experiments with Have Heart Photography. 

1. The portrait sale. 

So if you follow us on Facebook you probably know that this is our current portrait sale. I did one earlier this year as well, both during times when people's mind tend to be on family (the Holiday's). Our portrait sessions start at $445, and come fully loaded. Normally we don't offer any "mini" sessions or discounts, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for those who can't afford one of our all out sessions. But just like earlier this year when I ran the sale... no one went for it. Not one. Single. Person.

So I will put the portrait sale in the "fail" box and try to brainstorm some new ideas for our slower times. I had a great idea at the end of October for a new seasonal special that wouldn't involved a lot of work and would be a great idea to get our name into the community. Unfortunately the time has past, so we'll wait until next year to try it! 

2. "By the hour" wedding photography coverage. 

There is essentially two types of packaging structures when it comes to wedding photography: Pay per hour or all day coverage. During our first wedding season, we had a "build your own" wedding package system. Where our clients could select 6, 8, 10, or 12 hours of coverage, with the optional additions of prints or an engagement session. 

The benefits of this is that it can often lower the cost of the package for your client. If they are having a short, small wedding, the six hour package would fit nicely in their budget. 

The problem with this system was that it interrupted our philosophy of photography, being that we are storytellers. We would be at a wedding, and then suddenly our time would be "up"... just as the bride and groom were having their first dance. We always stayed until the end, even though the bride and groom didn't pay for it. We would never leave part way through someone's wedding, it is our job to tell their story! 

So while most couples would initially like to save a few bucks by cutting their photography short with fewer hours, we know they will be happier when they have the whole day to look back on. This is a challenge for the weddings that are shorter, since couples don't want to pay a full day price for only six hours of coverage, but we know that the long days far outweigh the short :) And at the end of the day, we know we're not the photographers for everyone. 

3. Offering press services in our wedding packages. 

The last two years we have offered a printing credit in our wedding packages for Save The Dates and Thank You cards. All in all, I don't think this is a bad idea, but it can get messy. It's really hard to help someone print things that are so important to them, and in general it's just easier to cut out the middle man (which was me...). I now simply let our clients know the different products we have access to, and if they're interested in having anything printed through us, we're more than happy to help. 

And now for some successful experiments! 

1. In home sales. 

Selling prints and products to people is hard. You know they'll love them so much more when they hang them on the wall and mail to family... but getting people to that point is challenging. Online sales do not work, they just don't. You know how many sales I've made through sites like Pictage and Smugmug? (I've had both). One. I had one client buy several photo's... three years ago! Those sites charge a monthly fee, and I would be shocked if you made it back. 

Then there's the old shoot and burn, where you give the client their DVD and tell them to call you when they want to order prints. Don't wait by the phone, cause they ain't gonna call. 

But there is actually a successful way to get clients to order their beautiful photo's through you... by coming to their house with beautiful photo's. When we shoot a portrait session, we do not do "sneak peaks" on our blog or Facebook, we build the anticipation. We usually only take a week or two to turn the photo's around, but by the time we come over to our clients house, they are so excited to see their photo's! We don't show them on a laptop screen however, we order 4x6 proofs so they can actually hold and look through their photo's. This also makes it easier to choose which ones they want to order (mom's love to make piles). Every time we have used this method we have had print sales, it's majorly successful! 

I hope this post has helped to show you why it's important to experiment with your business. At the end of the day, go with your gut! If something feels like a scam, then don't do it! If something makes you excited, it will probably make your clients feel the same way, so go for it! 

As always, I'm here to take questions. 

You don't have to pretend.

Don't try to be fancy, just be real.

It's okay to...

Not say "we" on your website if there's just one of you.

Turn down a job you really, really don't want to do. If you say yes the photo's wont turn out good anyways.

To do a job you really do want to do for free. Fun times!

To blog "personal" photo's, what are "impersonal" photo's anyways?

To not show the world that shoot you did with the family who insisted on wearing all white.

Add your clients as friends on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, but choose not to follow their wedding Pinterest board.

But it's not okay to...

Make up prices based on what you think people are willing to pay. You won't make a single dime. If you're comfortable charging it, it's probably too low.

Say yes to a free job if you don't want to. Even if your friends/sister/uncle make you feel guilty about it. They should be ashamed!

Personal Post: The dreaded intolerance.

Let's stop for a minute to talk about my ailing body. A long running joke with my friends, about how I always get the "weirdest" ailments, and I'm probably just a 90 year old grandma with good skin. For example, I don't really get the cold or flu, but a few times a year I get horrible tonsillitis. I have a joint in my foot that is partially fused together, causing severe pain below the knees my entire adult life. 

But it's time to talk about a not so comical pain that plagues me everyday. Headaches, joint pain, fatigue. About a year ago I was terrified that I might actually have rheumatoid arthritis. The odd joint in my foot is so rare, the possible symptoms it could inspire are really unknown. For so long I've labeled everything as a repercussion of my sore feet.

But I am slowly starting to see that might not be the case. In the past, my legs always ached, the muscles were sore and tight, I blamed my feet. But after joining a gym and using a foam roller for the first time, the soreness was gone. Who knew that the pain in my legs could be cured from stretching the outer myofascial tissue. The tension headaches I was getting everyday were significantly alleviated with massage therapy (hallelujah!), but I do still wake up with severe stiffness, especially in my neck, joint pain, and a different kind of headache. All in all, it feels like I have been struck by a large moving vehicle. 

Throughout my entire life I was always bloated and had gastrointestinal issues. I won't go into details here (because that's gross). But essentially, every morning when I woke up, my stomach was bloated like a balloon. It would take hours for this to go away, and eating was uncomfortable. My manager at Starbucks suggested I try cutting dairy out of my diet, and holy moly, it worked! So for that last year I have self diagnosed myself as having a minor lactose intolerance. I still eat the occasional cheese or sour cream, but nothing compared to what I was consuming before. 

Also within the last year I have learned that I have PCOS, a hormonal condition that has led to temporary infertility. My doctor said there is a medication I can go on when Charlie and I are ready to have kids, but until then, free birth control I guess... 

And still my body aches. I wake up in a fog. And until yesterday morning, I have not had a clue as to why. But on Thursday night, I had an early dinner of homemade (by my mom) chicken noodle soup, with a crusty baguette on the side. I'm always happy when she makes dairy free meals. I felt great, went to bed. The next morning when I woke up, my stomach was like a balloon. I retraced my steps, I didn't have any dairy the previous day. My stomach was in pain. As I sat at my desk at work, my upper intestine felt so bloated that the pain radiated in my chest, giving me heart burn. I drank some hot water, but at 5 o'clock that night, the bloating and pain had not subsided. 

And so I Google the thing I have never wanted to learn about, gluten intolerance symptoms. Let me quote them for you... I have put in bold all the one's I am experiencing. 

• Weight loss or weight gain
• Nutritional deficiencies due to malabsorption e.g. low iron levels
• Gastro-intestinal problems (bloating, pain, gas, constipation, diarrhea)
• Fat in the stools (due to poor digestion)
• Aching joints
• Depression
• Eczema
• Head aches
• Exhaustion
• Irritability and behavioural changes
• Infertility, irregular menstrual cycle and miscarriage

A light has been turned on in mind, a possible end to my pain and exhaustion. I am not putting all my eggs in this basket. But seeing as my mother and grandmother are also sensitive to gluten (although they do not eat GF), my hopes are high. I am starting today with gluten free eating. I will be keeping a food journal and I will try to keep this blog updated as to whether or not I am seeing a big difference. If anyone one of you had any advice or recipes, I would love to hear them. 

Don't let comparison steal your joy.

*Side note before I start: For all you photographers, Charlie and I are hosting a workshop next month! Get all the details here. 

Now... 

I consider myself really lucky to be blessed with a sense of urgency and passion. I've always considered myself driven and motivated, and these are things I wouldn't trade for the world. But like every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And just like my obsessive motivation, I'm also an obsessive over-thinker. I'm very rarely content, and while I try to justify my discontentment by labeling it as "drive", I'm realizing that no matter what, if I don't change my perspective, I'm never going to be content.

To put this in perspective, Charlie and I booked four full priced weddings and one discounted wedding with a trip to Maui this year. The number that we are working towards as a business is between 20-30. This number is what we would consider full time and financially stable enough for only one of us to work a day job.

Now if I had a healthy perspective on this year, I would be grateful for the five that we did book (and the fantastic trip to Maui), I would be focusing on the couple's who we delivered great photo's to, and I would be content with the fact that we have maintained a great friendship and reputation with each of our clients. Having happy clients is the number one thing to generate future referrals, so I should be encouraged! These are all great things.

But the obsessive, discontent part of me can't stop over-thinking. "Are we really getting any better? Are we really worth the higher prices we've set for next year? Are we going to continue only booking five weddings a year? Does anyone even like our work? Are we to similar to all the other photographers out there? Do we stand out?"  These are insecurities, and I know that every artist has them. I wish I could reveal that I had the secret to overcoming them, but I don't. But I do believe that with little changes and persistence, I can change my perspective and learn to ignore these voices.

Because the real problem, is that when I'm insecure, I produce horrible work. If I go into a shoot with this mindset, I can't let go and be creative, I can't feel inspired. Because inspiration comes from confidence. After the shoot I mull in my failure and disappointment with my work, and the cycle starts all over again. I try to think of ways that we can differentiate and be better, but the truth is that confidence and inspiration are the only thing that makes anybody's work stand out, and by hanging onto my insecurities, I am holding myself back from that.

So what small changes am I going to make to shift my perspective?

I am going to count my blessings, the things I listed in the third paragraph. The truth is that Charlie and I are doing a great job. We don't cut corners, we don't use cheap tricks or shoot like amateurs. We practice, we improve, we perfect, and we work hard. Those are things to be proud of, and they will pay off.

I will choose not to compare myself to others, based solely on the fact that it hinders my confidence and creativity.

I will focus more on the relationships with my clients and discovering who they are, because caring about people and their big day is the most important thing.

I will remember why I wanted to be a photographer in the first place. Before I ever thought about money, business, success or accomplishment. I shot for fun, for the people I loved, and to create beautiful art.

What inspires you?

Inspiration can be such a loose term with artists. Everything under the sun can "inspiration", which can sometimes be more hurtful than helpful.

I've found that it's taken me a long time to really narrow down what inspires me to be more me.

There are thousands of amazing photographers in the world. People so talented, so creative, so experienced, and so skilled. When I first started investigating other people's work I was overwhelmed. Everything was so good. I wanted to make art as well as all of them!! But that was not inspiring, it was hindering. My only goal then was to just get better, to make amazing photo's, but that's not very specific, now is it?

Over the years I have learned to listen to myself more when I look at other peoples work. I'm able to distinguish between a photographer who is great, and a photographer who I want to learn from. I've learned that no matter how great a photographer is, it doesn't mean that their style is similar to what I want for my business.

For example, when I first began studying photography, I followed a very random assortment of photographers. I found these people via google, flickr, friends and other local sources. Some of my favorites were:

Julie Watts 
Ross James
Ryan Flynn
Susan Stripling

Now if you are familiar with photography at all you should be able to tell that that is a very eclectic group. And surely if I was a photographer just starting out, trying to find inspiration, all those different styles would be down right confusing and exhausting. Imagine if I tried to take after every one of those photographers, they're all so different! But what I didn't have at that time was a sense of my own taste. Like I said earlier, the only thing that I was in tune to was that they were all great photographers, and much better than myself.

But once you do start to become aware of your own taste, don't be afraid to close the door on other inspirational sources. I've found that what I am really drawn to is natural, real, story telling photojournalism. Which is why out of the four photographers I mentioned, Ryan Flynn is the only one I still "follow", and in fact, he is shooting mine and Charlie's wedding next year! I'm inspired by his ability to make me feel like I am in a room he is photographing. I'm also inspired by Sean Flanigan, and the way he is unafraid to photograph the unconventional moments, the one's people think aren't "art". I'm inspired by how natural and consistent Julie Harmsen is with her color.

These people inspire me not to try to be like them, to copy them or to do what they do. But they inspire me to stop, dig into myself, and listen to what I love. They inspire me to have a unique taste for what I do. They inspire me to be unafraid and go my own way.

Listen to yourself and don't be afraid to be different. Learn from people who's art makes you feel, learn from people who have a good sense of who they are as photographers.

Part three: Sweat the small stuff.

This is the third post in a series about what you should be focusing on during your first year starting a photography business. 

In the beginning, you insist that it is the little things that will get you noticed. I was sure that once we hired a graphic designer to make us a "real" logo, that people would think highly of us. Once we got a Prophoto blog and started looking professional, that the inquiries would begin to flow in. Business cards. We Must. Get. Business Cards. These things are important, and for people like me who are perfectionists when it comes to presentation, these things are a must. But it's important to realize that these things are not "the key".

Because there is no one key. There are a lot of keys, and a lot of time, and a lot of work. Instead of spending months obsessing over the things I described, ensure that every interaction you have with someone is positive. Become friends with your clients, become friends with their friends. Have coffee with them, listen to them. Being a great photographer is a must, but without building a lasting friendship with your clients, you are losing a lot of potential referrals.

My friends sister recently got married and hired a well-known, husband and wife photography team to shoot their wedding. I respect this couple's work and from the few interactions I've had with them, they seem polite. But one of my good friends was at the wedding, and he noticed the photographers being rude to the family, friends, and even bridal party during the portraits. He overheard one of the photographers chew out a guest for shooting over his shoulder, which really stressed the bride out. My friend was shocked and disappointed when he left the wedding.

My main focus during a wedding second to taking photo's is keeping the bride relaxed and happy. Often they will apologize to me for running behind, which I always refuse to accept and give them a kind smile. It is their day, they are not burdening me! I am merely a fly on the wall, stepping in when they need me, and tagging along when they don't. At our last wedding the bride thanked me for being so relaxed and easygoing and told me I was reducing her stress. That made me so happy! Photographers often get stereotyped as being all business and schedule bound. But I insist on going with the flow during every wedding, no matter what. Because the bride and grooms happiness is the most important thing, not your portrait time. If you have an hour to take wonderful portraits, but you rushed the bride and made her feel guilty for holding you up, you have lost.

Your patience, kindness, friendliness, and helpful attitude during a wedding will gain you friends and future referrals. I often get friend requests from bridesmaids and family members after a wedding, and I can remain confident that I not only left a great impression on these people with my work, but from the interactions I had with them as well. And that is the type of person you suggest when your best friend is getting married.