As photography business owners, I think we can all agree that the fall is by far our busiest season. Sessions, editing photos, and working one-on-one with clients become the top priority over everything else. It’s nice hyper-focus on those things during the busy season but it’s equally nice to get to the off-season and have some time to work on the other side of your business. Here are the 7 things that I do during my off-season for my photography business.
Website work
This is a great time to update and work on the health of your site. I go through and update all my portfolio pictures. I’ll read all the copy to make sure it’s up to date and accurate and I’ll also check to make sure all of my internal links are working. This would be a great time to also make sure that the layout of your website makes sense and to see if there is any way to improve it. I work on SEO and make sure that I’m still ranking high for my photography business keywords.
Model calls
During the summer, I experiment with different ideas I have for sessions. With model calls, I’ll do all the styling, choose the location, and choose the family so it’s exactly what I want to capture and create. This is a great way to explore new photography ideas or bolster your portfolio if you need photos for a particular style of session.
Plan out the year
I try to loosely plan out what the year is going to look like. I’ll go over my photography business plan with my assistant to make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to content creation and when we want to start talking about specific sessions like Blossoms and Morro Bay.
Gear maintenance
I’ll go through my bookcase of gear and make sure that everything is good to go for the busy season. I’ll send out pieces to get fixed or updated and I make sure everything is clean and working well. You don’t want to get into the busy season and realize something is broken! I also see if there is anything else I want to add to my photography session accessories, such as items for newborn sessions, studio sessions, etc. If you’re looking for some items to improve your newborn photography check out my favorites.
New locations scouting
I’ll drive around the Fresno area and see if there are any locations that I want to start photographing. A lot of times my kids tag along which is fun during the summer to take little field trips to different places. If I find a new place I like I make sure to update my Pinterest Location Board.
Get your own brand photos taken
My goal is to get brand photos taken twice a year. Once in spring so I have spring/summer photos to pull from and once in fall so I have fall/winter photos to pull from. Find a photographer friend and see if they’d be willing to swap a brand photo shoot with you!
Take time away from work
This is important to prevent burnout, during the busy season it’s really hard to take a step back so now is the time to do it. Make sure you schedule time away from your computer to spend time with your family and friends. Fill your cup so that when the busy season comes you’re in a good headspace.
