A day in the life of a wedding photographer.
I often get asked the question, "So if you shoot weddings on the weekend, what do you do during the week?"
There is a definite misconception about photographers. Shooting is only 25% of what we do.
I was reading my friend Jasmine Star's blog about her venting her frustrations on how much time we as photographers are stuck in front of a computer. I could appreciate her words as I relate all too well with it. Some days I look for an excuse to go to the grocery store for the third time that week just to get away from my computer and out in the real world. Working from my home, it is easy to get stuck in my cave and not realize the sun went down in the midst of being zoned into my computer screen.
So what do I do during the week? Here's a day in the life of:
Wake up about 10am.
Grab some water and a piece of grapefruit.
Check email.
Finish grapefruit.
On a good day, go for a run or spend an hour with God writing in my prayer journal.
Shower.
Check email.
Respond to the high priority emails.
Go through and select fave photos from a recent session or wedding.
Edit photos.
Create a slideshow.
Blog about the session or other random ramblings.
Check email.
Respond to email and new inquiries.
Realize three hours went by responding to email.
Stress about the rest of the stuff on my To Do list.
Realize it's 3pm and I still haven't taken my dog out to pee.
Feel guilty about being a horrible mother to my dog.
Check email.
Respond to email.
Stress about all the out of the blue stuff that ALWAYS comes up to distract me from doing more editing or album design that needs to be done.
Procrastinate.
Remember to eat lunch now at 4pm.
Try to get through more email and editing that I can.
Go to yoga to keep my sanity.
Shower.
Eat dinner.
Watch a TV show.
Edit until my eyes are starting to close.
Go to bed finally about 3am.
Some days I actually get out of the house and do errands like deposit checks or meet someone for lunch or drop off dry cleaning. Today I really need to take my car in to get my tires rotated and check my oil before my road trip, but my dad is an angel and coming over soon to take that off my To Do list. My goal in the new year is to learn to outsource more of the things that I can hire someone else to do to help free up my time for growing my business or writing my book. Unfortunately I'm too much a control freak, and the only child in me stubbornly still wants to do it all herself. But I'm trying to slowly learn the beauty in letting go.
So that's my answer in what I do during the week.
Simply put, run a full-time business.
The hat of CEO I wear is bigger than the hat of photographer, but it helps me to appreciate that much more the moments I do get to flex my creative muscle and simply shoot.
EDIT: I also forgot to mention, this is an average day where I don't have photoshoots like an engagement session or bridal glam session! So throw that into the mix a few times a week on top of running a business, and you have one stressed Scarlett! ;-) Yet, I love every moment.
Labels: For Photographers, Personal
posted by Scarlett Lillian // Jacksonville Senior Photographer at 5:51 PM
15 Comments:
So much like my days Scarlett! Seeing the sunshine or breathing fresh air is a real treat lately!
But, editing, e-mailing and EVERYTHING else is fun and exciting too!!
Sounds about right, that is pretty much my daily schedule too!
wait you forgot about phone calls, taking care of the business finances, taxes, burning wedding dvd's, shipping things off, and my favorite...attending to all the computer problems that arise! I once had a client say that he felt photographers are way too expensive robbing brides and grooms at gun point! Boy are some people CLUELESS as to how many hours we put into things AFTER a wedding!
I know someone who photographs for Bella Pictures, all he does is show up and photograph an 8-hr wedding and turns in the cards and that's it! Sometimes that sounds appealing to me! Maybe I'll do that one day when I have had enough of the computer crap problems. : )
Pete- I agree!
Sara- Glad I'm not the only one.
Darice- Ha, well honestly I don't do a lot of phone calls. My business voicemail says to email me instead. I'm just not a phone person, as you know, even with my friends. :-) But yes, all the other little things are annoying too. Funny you mention Bella Pictures, I've been emailing with Dawn Davis, who is the wife of the guy who started that. Some days it does seem appealing to just go be a shooter... but I don't know if I could give editing. As tedious and time consuming as it is, I do enjoy seeing my photos come to life!
Hey there dear scarlett! we've been mia on your blog for ahwile and it's good to be back and see more of you! ;) This is all too familiar for me. accept the times doing yoga, showering or excercising are spent chasing around my 2 little boys - it's a very, very, very full life. I am starting to realize I really must get more organized when it comes to my time and that this whole 30 + weddings in our first year in business has really snuck up on us so unexpectedly that we are building the plane as we fly it. Did you ever feel overwhelmed like that? Do you ever force yourself to hold office hours, or do you just work whenever?
10am? girl! lol, I start my day at 5:30-ish...and I still don't have enough time, hahaha,
Kz
Ashley- Ha, I know I've said I don't know how I would have time for a husband and kids right now. I barely have enough time to date! But office hours, hmm...I do try to maintain them as far as communicating with clients, I do most of the business related stuff during the day and then free myself up to do creative stuff at night. I'm trying to get better at not working so much and having more firm hours because yes it does get overwhelming.
Kenzie- In the morning????? Whew!
haha... I love that I am not the only one that looks down to realize that I have spent hours on emails and my dog is staring at me with big sad "I have to go potty eyes."
Well the time you spend checking emails and editting is well worth it. Your photography is gorgeous!
I am an inspiring photographer. Any advice?
Glad to hear you're away at the Love Affair Workshop! Getting away from the grind of daily life is SO important! :)
xoxo...
Scarlett,
Ha! I love this blog entry! Really entertaining... Sounds like a GREAT DAY to me! My day is filled with SO MUCH STRESS sometimes. It's rewarding, and, the truth is that everything we choose to do is worth it! And, sometimes I have the right to say I just want to get away and travel the world taking photos of beautiful people that love eachother!!!! Super fun stuff you're doing! Have a great time at Love Affair!
+1 to that sounds about right. My dh threatens to take my computer away some days! On a side note, I LOVE the blackboard above your desk! Did you make that???
Ah, your days sound very packed. Sounds like me, although I often wonder how it got to be 4 or 5pm on the weekend and I STILL haven't done anything worth while (like go food shopping or maybe grade those pesky tests!)
If you ever need someone on the organizational end, I'm very awesome at that! (Just ask the guys that I worked with getting The Sound of Music done at our school... they did the directing, I did everything else. It certainly made it easier on them to not have to worry about the tiny details!).
Anyways, you're awesome, and if you keep growing (as I foresee you will), you'll have to give up some control one day (even if it's just some tedious organizational stuff... I'm still offering! :) )
Katie
Katie- Shoot me an email about the above! I am definitely at a place where I need to start letting go! :-)
i hear ya, girl! it gets so crazy sometimes!
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