The Life of a Photographer Named Margarette

The Life of a Photographer Named Margarette

As the year draws to an end, I thought I’d take time to answer a question I received by a few friends… “So what all entails a job like being a photographer? What exactly do you do when you don’t do weddings, or portrait sessions?” So this is a post where I give you the 411 of what I do as a photographer on the daily (for the most part). :) Now this isn’t to boast about all the work I do, but instead to give some insight on what other photographers and I go through! Being a photographer is fun, because it’s something I love, but I assure you, it is work and an occupation!

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Let’s start from the obvious, and work our way down. :)

1. In very straight forward words: I photograph people, places, things and most importantly moments. This is my favorite part of the job! But nonetheless it can be challenging at times–mostly during weddings! Weddings are quite a lot of work because you’re constantly on your feet (and my thighs definitely get their fair share of a work out). My second and I are constantly on the look out for moments and memories for the bride & groom to remember from their special day of commitment, and a new start to their lives together as one! :) They are my absolute favorite because I get to visually see and capture beautiful moments of love, which I believe is truly God given, and I thoroughly enjoy every moment of them! By the end of long days, I often find myself in shock with how much energy I feel like I have, even though I’ve maybe worked a 12 hour shift! But as soon as my head hits the pillow and I wake up the next morning, I definitely see the toll it takes on my body–but it’s all so worth it! :)

2. Next comes the photo importing & culling process! What is culling? I spend some time going through the photos and evaluating which ones to keep and give to my client! Some people say, “But I want to see all of them! But trust me… sometimes you don’t! If you haven’t seen the article, The “Unflattering” Photos Beyoncé’s Publicist Doesn’t Want You To See, on Buzzfeed yet, check it out here! Everyone knows Beyonce is still gorgeous and amazingly talented, but let’s be honest, those photos aren’t the greatest! Because we’re constantly on the roam, and photographing moments, it’s bound to happen that we catch a maybe unflattering look here and there, or a shot or two isn’t as great as the rest! Those are examples of photos we don’t choose to edit and give.

3. Then the editing festivities begin! This takes quite some time! Portraits are definitely a little less time consuming, but of course, the more images, the more editing! I go through and edit each photo, making sure the lighting and coloring is perfect, and often times fixing any things out of place (like that darn pimple that always tends to pop up when you really don’t want it there!). I’ve gotten a lot quicker at it, but it still definitely takes time!

4. Blogging is another thing that comes with the job! I absolutely love being able to cultivate my work into a story to help document special days, and occasions for portraits and photographs to be taken! This past week, I had two couples who I photographed proposals of (Wes & Sandy, and Chris & Priscilla) tell me how they sometimes refer friends and far away family to their blogs to share their proposal stories! I love to blog in a way that allows my clients to remember their day completely! I love to let the photos speak for themselves, but I definitely love to set the tone through words to help enhance the story so it comes even more to life! :)

5. Client meetings and responses take up quite some time also! I love being able to meet with clients, or hear about who they are (or who they are as a couple)! It’s always such a blessing to me to be able to not only work with my clients, but to befriend them in the end, as well! :) I’ve always found that communication is key, so I like to keep communication as a big part of my business as well!

6. Unfortunately, the bulk of my time goes to…. *drumroll please* Networking & Marketing. What is this? Well, blogging is part of it. But I do spend a lot of my time trying to get out there and meet other vendors, and future brides & grooms to be, via social media (as well as in person)! I make most of my graphics and designs when it comes to my marketing, and it definitely takes me quite some time to strategically plan and research my marketing “moves”. When I first started, I didn’t think that this is what I’d spend most of my time doing, but it definitely is! Researching and understanding photography as a business and a market has definitely taken its toll, and it continues to be something that I have to think and plan out almost daily! Doing this, along with the actual photography responsibilities gets to be a lot!

7. I also actually spend a bit of time researching, as well! Finding new methods and products to help assist me in creating and making my shots, makes up some of my life as a photographer as well! I also really enjoy researching the latest wedding trends! Green Wedding Shoes, Style Me Pretty, The Knott–all such wonderful resources for seeing what my potential brides are looking at during wedding seasons, and off seasons, as well! I really do enjoy this part a lot!

8. Researching also entails location scouting! This also takes both time and resources! Finding locations and seeing times where the sun looks best is part of photographer work as well! :)

9. Down to the nitty gritty, I also have to do even more business work… like taxes. Props to you in the accounting and finance world! That is all over my head! Budgeting and figuring out how to use my spendings (as well as how much to pay myself), is also part of the job!

10. And lastly, I do try to live a life… (sometimes). Just like normal people, I have a family, and friends whom I spend time with and like to help take care of. I have to eat, get some kind of exercise, and sleep, and I try to make sure I spend time with Jesus every day. :)

 

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And that’s the gist of it, folks! :) Realistically these all take more time than warranted… and because I’m self employed from home, sometimes life causes the processes to go a bit longer (or sometimes quicker) than expected! My daily schedule looks more or less something like: wake up, eat, spend time with family, devos, email, cull/edit, research, lunch, edit/research/marketing/business work/planning, family time, blog/edit/research, etc., sleep (with client meetings, meet ups, and little brother interruptions in between).

I am so incredibly thankful that I’ve been given this opportunity to do something I love! Even though it includes things that I’m not so fond of (the nitty gritty business aspects), it’s all worth it when I am able to serve and bless couples, and families, with my work!  :)

Happy Friday everyone!

(P.S. AHHH! CHRISTMAS IS DRAWING NEAR & I AM EXCITED!) :)