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

Liebster Award!

Happy Sunday Folks!! 

So, I got nominated to take part in the Liebster Award, a super fun way of finding new bloggers with great content and getting to know each other. Thank you so much the lovely Steph from Autumn Dreamer for nominating me <3.

Here's how it works:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you
2. Answer the 10 questions set by the nominator
3. Create 10 new questions for 10 bloggers you nominate
4. Comment on your nominees blog with a link to your blog to let them know they've been nominated

It's that easy! 

So my questions were...

♥What's the inspiration to name your blog as you have done
If feels a little bit corny to admit it, but it's photography/design related. Pixels are what makes up a photo on a screen and pine is one of the soft woods used to make paper.
♥Why did you start blogging?
A very marketing-savvy person told Rob and myself to share only work photos on our social media sites, so I wanted somewhere to share our photos. I've been posting a lot of advice and tips too, which was a surprise to me but a really fun way to share what little knowledge I have :)
♥What is your favourite memory
A recent one - getting engaged, it was all very romantic and unexpected
A childhood one - playing video games with my siblings
♥If you had the chance to learn something new, what would it be and why?
I would like to be fluent in a few languages - I can get by in Italian and Bahasa, but I would like to be able to actually think in another language.
♥What is the one dream that you wish to achieve before you die?
Go back to the Philippines - possibly to live - and re-visit all my favourite places. They have a slogan over there 'It's more fun in the Philippines' and it's most definitely the truest statement ever.
♥What is your favourite book or film
My very favourite book series is Mark of the Lion by Francine Rivers. Such an unbelievably beautiful series.
♥What do you like to do in your free time?
Cinema is my favourite place to be, but it's sad to say a lot of my free time is out taking photos or designing things :)
♥What makes you smile?
My future husband's stupid jokes
♥Sunrise or Sunset?
Ooohhh Sunset, I think
♥Favourite season?
Summer - sunshine and flipflops are my very favourite things

So my turn to nominate, I've choosen...

2. Rose

My Questions
1. What made you start blogging?
2. Do you sleep on your front, back or side?
3. Name three things you couldn't live without
4. What is your favourite place in the world?
5 What's your favourite tv series?
6. What would you change in your life right now if you could
7. Windows or Mac?
8. If you could go back in time, what time period would you go?
9. Most inspirational person to you?
10. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Ahh, this was so much fun!! 

Don't forget to comment below with your post so I can read your answers everyone :)

Thank you again Autumn Dreamer for nominating me!

10 Warning Signs to Watch Out For When Picking Your Wedding Photographer


 Picking a Wedding Photographer is like picking a bridesmaid. 
 I know that seems a bit of a stretch but it really, really isn't. You are trusting this person to capture all the memories of your entire day, they have once chance to get it right. It's a big deal.

So I've written a few warning signs that I've learnt over the past few years.

Bella Italia Part 2...


 Rob and I are getting married in a beautiful town called Petritoli and have been fortunate enough to visit in order to plan/sneak away for a holiday.

My Dad and Rob were camera hogging throughout our stay - mostly because I was busy instagramming everything in sight :)
Post-production Rob's taken with a new panoramic ratio - it tends to look really striking with landscapes - maybe not so much with portraits - but I'm not 100%. What do you think?


Free Wall Art Printable...

free-wall-art-printable

I've been blogging for a little over a month now and it's been super fun. It's a new challenge that I have finally started after months of thinking about it and it's an experience that I'm enjoying immensely :)

So here's a free printable JPEG to say thank you to my new friends and followers!!

It's quite a large file as full size it's 24"x30" (equivalent of 10x8) so please be patient when downloading,



Love Georgee xx

7 Tips to Make the Most of Your iPhone Camera


I'm still in Italy at the moment and it's super beautiful today. 

We all took carry-ons only, so we figured we'd only bring one camera between us this trip. It's a good plan as I don't take a lot of photos on my holidays because I tend to miss the moment when I'm trying to capture it on an SLR. 

So it's shared between my Dad and Rob while I snap away on my semi-new iPhone.

It's a different kind of challenge because there is very little control compared to a 'real' camera but I have a few tips for those of you trying to take holiday snaps with a small (but powerful!) camera phone.


Bella Italia - Le Marche



I'm in Italy and it's beautiful. The weather has taken a turn for the worse today but I know that's because a thunderstorm is coming and I love storms.

Rob and I are getting married next year in Le Marche, my favourite region of Italy, which is why we're here - to plan (and sneak in a mini holiday with our parents).