Did you know that as a newborn and family lifestyle photographer, I actually only spend a small amount of time behind the camera (let’s say…15%)?  There are so many steps that go into running a photography business and creating beautiful images other than just the hour or two I spend shooting my sweet newborn or family sessions. The rest of my time goes towards:

• Fielding inquiries
• Scheduling sessions
• Preparing invoices and contracts
• Content creation, such as social media posts, blog posts, newsletters, website updates, client documents such as session prep guides, styles guides, etc.
• Billing and preparing taxes
• Session preparation and brainstorming
• Uploading raw images
• Culling photos
• Culling photos again
• Editing
• Uploading edited images and creating galleries
• Education and workshops

Phew! I’m tired just going through all of that! So while my favorite thing is to be behind the camera capturing special moments for my lovely clients, I’m also a busy little bee behind the scenes! My goal is to make sure my business runs smoothly and that I’m providing the best possible experience and photos for my clients.

While I may only spend an hour or two shooting for a client, during that time, I take a LOT of photos. We’re talking hundreds of photos! I like to have a lot of options – different angles, different lighting situations, an extra shot just in case someone blinked. I’m a perfectionist so with every click of the shutter, I make a little adjustment to get the perfect shot. But don’t worry. As your photographer, I take the time to sift through all of the images to choose only the very best for your gallery. I typically deliver between 10-15% of the total number of photos I shoot to ensure you are getting my best work (and since I shoot hundreds of images in a session, 10-15% is still a HUGE gallery!)

Are you surprised to hear that photographers spend so much time doing things other than photographing? Let me know what you think in the comments!