The Off Season…busier than ever

June to September is typically the quiet season for wedding photographers in Australia for obvious reasons. With the abundance of fabulous outdoor venues for ceremonies in South Australia, no one is keen to get married with a high chance of rain and cold temperatures!  Although the quiet season means not shooting weddings, we photographers have our work cut out for us! Here are a few things that keep me busy in the colder months…

1. Downtime with my family and friends

Come wedding season, my weekends are typically spent..surprise…at weddings! As much as I love spending the day celebrating love, it also means some missed family functions and friend catch ups, so I like to stock up on this quality time.

2. Client Meetings

This is one of my favourite things. I love to make time to meet with all prospective wedding couples over a coffee and chat about the plans for their day and hear about how they met. I tend to meet with clients all year round, and many couples take advantage of colder months to meet their vendors and visit venues who will help make their dreams a reality.

3. Marketing

While word-of-mouth referrals are a huge part of my business being successful, I can’t rely on them alone. I still need to make sure I can be easily found online and that people can see examples of my most recent work. Every winter I take time to sit down and evaluate my business and what needs improvement. Updating website galleries, changing wedding welcome packs, planning for upcoming bridal fairs.  There’s a lot to be done and believe me, it takes time.

4. Blog!

Sharing the beautiful weddings I’m lucky enough to capture and the knowledge I’ve acquired from shooting weddings is something I need to do more of! There’s so much more to weddings and wedding photography than simply what happens on the actual day. While I’m no expert in planning a wedding there are things that I’ve learned and I’m planning on sharing more of my experience as a wedding photographer.

5. Bookeeping and tax

Being a former accountant means that I kinda enjoy having my bookkeeping up to date and ready for tax time. Did anyone say GEEK!?

6. Personal Projects and Improvement

For me this means playing with my Nikon with different techniques or subjects. You will also find me reading photography and business books and blogs. We had some leftover flowers from our engagement party and I couldn’t stand to let them wilt without some pictures. So I busted out my macro lens and flash. It’s not my usual style but I love to experiment and try different things. My set up was simple – a vase of flowers on a wood side table in front of a white wall. My only equipment – Nikon D700, SB600 Flash, Sigma 105mm Macro.  Proof you don’t need fancy equipment!

Enjoy. xx