Episode 54: Lessons Learned in 2016

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WOW! 2016 is almost over. We can't believe that we've been doing this podcast for almost a full year!! The three of us have definitely learned a ton of valuable things this year, both from the podcast & the amazing guest hosts we have, and from our individual businesses also! We figured this would be a great time to poll some of our listeners and ask them what they've learned in 2016. So tune in as we chat about some lessons learned this past year! Our Three Favorite Lessons Learned in 2016:

Do not make exceptions for mini sessions. No more rescheduling! Kate has had a ton of experience with this in 2016 and she JUST had a client do this to her. This defeats the purpose of the mini sessions. Mini Sessions are supposed to be a win/win situation. It's a win for the client because they get great photos at a special rate, and it's a win for the photographe r because we get to make more money than we normally would per hour (if you're doing it right!) and we basically get to hang out in one spot all day, so they tend to be a bit easier. However, when people start canceling last minute or attempting to reschedule for a non-mini session day at the mini session rate, the convenience of these mini sessions completely goes away. STAY FIRM. Solidarity, people.
Only accept payment from the contract-signing party. This is so important to make sure that the CLIENT is the one who is in control of the photos. This definitely applies more to weddings than family shoots, but is KEY to happy couples. You don't want the parents of your couple being in charge of shots, timelines, shot lists, etc. If the money comes from the parents, you're kind of responsible for keeping them happy. If it comes from the clients, they don't have as much say in the day of. It's totally okay if mom and dad are paying... just make sure they write a check to the wedding couple, and then have the wedding couple pay you.
Sometimes you just have to call it. Bad weather, wardrobe malfunctions, and cranky kids are all things that can lead to a shoot being less than perfect. While our job is to make magic happen even in difficult conditions, our ultimate goal is always to achieve beautiful images that the clients love. One of our lessons learned this year is to know when to call it. Sometimes there are just factors coming into play that we can't fix. In that case, we should just reschedule or re-do the shoot. In the end, we're spending more time than we maybe wanted to, but it's 100% worth it to get images we (and the client!) are happy with.

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