6 Practical To-Dos for When Your Photography Business is Slow

Photography is such a seasonal service. One minute you can be up to your ears in shoots and weddings and editing, then the next you're looking at your calendar and there's nothing going on. Especially in winter months.

It's the same with us, we've been at this for just 3 years now and the trends are pretty clear. Photos are a great Christmas present for grandparents so we have a lot of family shoots up until mid-December. Summer is wedding season, which finished for us this year around late-August. Now weddings are one-a-month at best (which is super sad because autumn/winter weddings are so magical!!). There's March-April when everyone is enjoying holidays and Easter.

Then there's January.

January is quiet. It's not a surprise, because beyond beautiful winter weddings and newborns, most people don't have money to spend after Christmas.

I know January is a few months off, but if you're just starting or an old hand, it's always hard to not be busy so here are a few tips that we use to get through the quieter seasons.

 Plan.

Especially in January. We plan the entire year in January. Obviously it's very loose and usually veers off course, but it's good to have a goal. We plan everything from our future goals to our monthly newsletters.

Mini Sessions.

Mini Sessions are such a fun way to draw in business and new customers. It's a great way to meet new people who want to use your services but - especially in January - can't afford a higher price of a normal session.

Get Your Social Media on Point.

It's easy to let it fall to the wayside in summer and coming up to Christmas, but when it's slow you'll have a chance to pin, tweet, instagram and google+ everything you and other local businesses have been doing.
 

Host a giveaway. 

Facebook is a great way to get people to share and like for a free family or engagement shoot - although specify that they are in your location! This is a great way to get yourself noticed, share your content and not be bored!

Note: Don't do too many giveaways as people will wait for these instead of booking your normal shoots.

Get Networking.

Chances are, businesses local to you are feeling the same after-Christmas blues. Shops and anything retail is crazy because of the sales but some other service-based businesses are in the same boat as you. Ping them an email, set up a little meet and greet.

Rob and I want to do a post-Christmas dinner in January - for other self-employed people who work all through Christmas - it's fun and a great way to make friends with other people on a similar path to yourself. (So if you're in Kent, give us a call, you'll be welcome!! :) )

Take Time off.

I know this sounds like a filler tip, but it's a very practical one. Sometimes you can forget - as a self-employed person and especially in the early days of your business - that you need a holiday. It really helps to take a step back sometimes.

Lastly, enjoy it!

It's easy to stress when you're not busy every day, but - as much as you love your job - you'll miss the lazy mornings when you're setting your alarm again.

Hope this gives you guys a few ideas! Let me know if you have any great ideas, I'd love to hear them :)

Georgee xx