My Experience Owning a Photography Business While a Full-Time Student
For those of you who don’t know, I am still in college! Many of my clients are surprised when I tell them I’m still in school haha. At times, it can definitely be difficult managing being a full time student while also running a small photography business. I’ve had several nights where I’m stressed trying to meet deadlines while getting galleries out to my clients.
Even though, at times, it can be very stressful, I believe the stress is worth it. Seeing how happy my clients are with their images makes me remember why I do this. Here’s a text message I received from one of my clients after I sent them their gallery:
“Omg! Wow! The pictures are better than expected. My husband even cried!! You were so professional from the start! You’re amazing to work with and your work is top tier. I’ll definitely be hiring you again.”
My Photography Journey
HOW IT STARTED
I really started doing photography when my friends asked me to take their senior/grad photos during our senior year.
I had just gotten a camera, and let me tell you … those images were absolutely horrible. But after doing so many photo sessions with my friends, some people had started asking me how much I charge for a session.
At this point, I had no idea what to say because all my photoshoots this far have been free! But after doing so many paid shoots, I took those photos, built a portfolio. I built a website and put that portfolio on my website, and that’s really how I started.
Since then, I’ve simply stayed consistent with posting on social media and learned everything I could to improve my photography. I’ve put in, at this point, maybe a few thousand hours working on my craft.
I had just graduated high school and was now a freshman in college. I’ve played around with a few CRM systems, contracts, and workflows but nothing serious. I would get a new inquiry here and there but nothing consistent. The quality of my work had improved drastically from where it started, but there was still always room for improvement.
During the spring semester of my freshman year of college, the pandemic hit.
THE PANDEMIC
The pandemic effected everyone. Some more than others. For me, all of my classes had switched to online and so I had more time than ever! All that time saved driving to and from campus meant extra time to work on my business.
This was when I really put my head down and focused on creating a sustainable business for myself. I invested in HoneyBook for my client relationship management software of choice, I created binding contracts, I redesigned my website and logo, and updated my portfolio. I created a social media strategy and was consistently posting content several times a week.
Nothing changed for several months … until lockdowns began being lifted. People wanted to go back out and start enjoying their lives again. This meant all the events, weddings, and special occasions that people didn’t get to have, they were now having. And thus, they were now looking for a photographer.
With the combination of good timing, great service, and word-of-mouth, the pandemic helped me reach where I am in my business today.
CURRENT
I am fortunate enough to say that, over the last 4-5 years, I’ve grow my business exponentially from where it was then WHILE also still being a full-time student.
I’m so grateful to be fully booked 1-2 months ahead and to have past clients be advocates for my business.
I’m so grateful to have met so many photographer friends who are amazing creatives.
I am so grateful to my first few wedding clients who knew I didn’t have a lot of experience but took a chance on me.
Lastly, I am so grateful for every single client who has worked with me this far. You guys have helped me get to the position I am in today and for that, I am forever grateful.
I’ll be graduating college at the end of this year with my bachelors in accounting. If all goes well, I’m considering doing photography as my full-time job! It’s something that I enjoy, something I’m passionate about, and something that is deeply fulfilling to me.
I’ve you’ve read this far, thank you so much for your time! I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about my story.
