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11/29/2007 01:10:10 PM · #1 |
This fall I crammed four weddings, several family sittings, a couple of senior sittings, live (outdoor) band, pee-wee and little league football/cheerleaders, and NCAA D-2 football (still ongoing...National Championship Playoffs) in just a few months. Now winter is approaching...and I̢۪ve got nothing! I need to update my portfolio with the wedding/family/senior shots and add a live music section. The only income I see on the horizon is kids̢۪ wrestling and maybe basketball (memory mates).
What do you all do in the winter? Is it usually your slow time? Any ideas on what I can do with this downtime (I want to design my website)? How about income...what can I search out that I am overlooking to make a few bucks? Maybe I̢۪ll buy some backdrops and heat my garage and do some portrait work. It just seems like this side business is going to hibernate over the winter.
Thanks for your time,
-drew |
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11/29/2007 04:05:03 PM · #2 |
| ski racing photography. its time for cold fingers and dead batteries. |
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11/29/2007 04:13:01 PM · #3 |
| Yeah skiing and snowboarding... go out to Hidden Valley in Eureka and see if they'd be interested in an on hill photographer. There is also a lot of youth hockey in that area. |
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11/30/2007 01:27:14 PM · #4 |
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11/30/2007 01:38:36 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by drewbixcube:
This fall I crammed four weddings, several family sittings, a couple of senior sittings, live (outdoor) band, pee-wee and little league football/cheerleaders, and NCAA D-2 football (still ongoing...National Championship Playoffs) in just a few months. Now winter is approaching...and I̢۪ve got nothing! I need to update my portfolio with the wedding/family/senior shots and add a live music section. The only income I see on the horizon is kids̢۪ wrestling and maybe basketball (memory mates).
What do you all do in the winter? Is it usually your slow time? Any ideas on what I can do with this downtime (I want to design my website)? How about income...what can I search out that I am overlooking to make a few bucks? Maybe I̢۪ll buy some backdrops and heat my garage and do some portrait work. It just seems like this side business is going to hibernate over the winter.
Thanks for your time,
-drew |
A bit late by now, but you might make some income shooting christmas images for stock?
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11/30/2007 01:52:11 PM · #6 |
Income may slow, but you're never not busy. Or shouldn't be.
As you state, go over the past years images and update your website and anything else you may have - wedding dress styles do change so nothing over 3 or 4 years old should be shown as a sample (you may not notice, but brides to be will).
Prep for the upcoming year - budgets, advertising, etc. Then in june when you're insanely busy it's all done.
Attend a PPA school. Or WPPI or any of the national conventions.
Catch up on your reading.
Clean things, paint things - maintenance.
Organize your files, get new marketing materials designed or ordered.
Do a bridal show or 2. That's also a way to make some money - book brides and take the deposits!
Beat up your brides to get their album orders in - and upsell them to make some money!
Bottom line, yeah this is a seasonal business. Plan now for next year. Also plan to have a pile of cash on hand to get thru jan/feb/mar and even april with limited cash flow.
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11/30/2007 06:40:13 PM · #7 |
Great insight by all. I know about cold fingers and dead batteries...if NW Missouri State wins this weekend's game, we will be either in Maryville MO or somewhere in Michigan next Saturday! I will check into Hidden Valley in Eureka. And I thought about trying some stock type images...just don't know what to shoot (I'm not much into the stock shooting, although I'm sure it could be fun).
Prof, are you strictly weddings or do you do studio portraits as well? Do you find them slowing in the winter? Thanks for the advice about downtime maintenance. I want to get a couple of books designed to show my wedding work and some of the portraits I have been doing. I think webiste design is going to be my goal for December and have it up and running by mid/late January. I will have to look into PPA/WPPI, as well as local classes and events.
Thanks everybody and keep the ideas rolling!
-drew |
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