Everyone has a "slow season," for most family photographers our slow season starts around January and lasts until it starts to get green and pretty again. Coming off of the craziness of "busy season" where every weekend from fall until Christmas was filled with families wanting their yearly portraits done in the changing leaves or fresh snow for Christmas cards can be a tough adjustment. You're busy, with a full editing queue, with more photoshoots on the horizon, and then nothing. Slow season is often when artists question their very existence in the art world. "Can I really make a living doing this?" "Do people even like my work?" "Are they just hiring me to be nice?" Tons of ridiculous thoughts similar to those cloud our minds. Artists seem to have this mindset that if they aren't booking, if they have open slots on their calendar, that they aren't "good." I bet if you go up to any friend of yours whose livelyhood depends on their creativeness, they will tell you that they have had similar thoughts. I have. My friends have. But it's what you do with those thoughts during slow season that determine where you end up. I've come to welcome slow season. Especially since I don't let myself get "slow" and complacent. I do that by following these steps;

1. R E S T

      If you're like me, you just came off a whirlwind of shooting all. the. time. It's exhausting. Especially when I'm walking around, trying to be a one man comedian while keeping the kids happy, everyone smiling, composing, posing, capturing, etc! I move A LOT when I'm on the job. Coincidently I talk A LOT on shoots. Often faster than my brain can process. Ha. This last busy season was especially a doozy thanks to little man cooking away! It's ok to rest. It's ok to practice self care. It's healthy! Resting helps prevent burn out and leaves you energized and ready for all the shoots I have in the coming year. 

2. E D U C A T I O N

     Educate. Educate. Educate! Use this down time to learn something new or improve on your skills! Education is so important for growth! I am currently enrolled in my second go of Kylee Ann Studios - 90 Days of Marketing course and I LOVE it! Marketing is not my strong suite. So I knew that by taking advantage of being slow I could further grow my business! Pinterest is also a great place to look for new ideas to try out or concepts to learn. 

3. P R A C T I C E

     With little man on the way I want to branch more into commercial photography so that I can have better hours and still afford to be able to take on my family and senior clients. I've been using this time to practice staging and working with brands. In the above image I did a collaboration with Crust Club to take some social media photos for them. I have all the time I need to focus solely on getting my foot in the door with product photography. (And it's working because I just agreed to do monthly shoots for them! Woo!) This is also where what you've researched to educate comes in handy. You've got the time to execute!

4. S H O O T     F O R     Y O U

     It is so healthy to be able to shoot for yourself. (Remember practicing self care?) You're in this crazy biz, you must've gotten the spark from somewhere, do shoots just for you. In my case it was taking 2nd birthday portraits of my dog, Scout. They are ridiculous and I love them. The best part about shooting for you is that you decide what that is! Plan a styled shoot with vendors and go all out! Or grab a cute family friend and their crew to some location you've always wanted to shoot at. Anything to get your creative juices flowing and to do something that YOU want to do. 

5. E N J O Y     F A M I L Y     T I M E

     Not to be confused with "rest" (ha!) - but enjoying time with your family, immediate or extended, is something important to me. Being able to be present and play with my kids, nieces, nephews, brother and sisters is the best. I grew up with my cousins as my best friends and I want my kids to have that too. It's so great to take advantage of an open schedule for a quick trip to the aquarium or relaxing at Sunday dinner without the thought of an unedited session looming in the back of your mind. Being with family also provides beautiful moments to document and capture still frames of childhood and what growing up in YOUR family looks like. (You guys know by now that I am such a sucker for documenting life) - And what better way to document life than to get out and live it!