Some Revelations

During the reconstruction of the blog, WE've (and I emphasize the WE) have also been restructuring our business plan, pricing, products and goals for LP Designz. I love that I can say "we." My darling husband has come alongside me in full force and is 100% my partner in this. He has already been shooting weddings and sessions with me, but has now been interested in the business side of it. Since we have a short hiatus from weddings (due to baby boy coming in July), we are taking this time to really re-think everything we have set up and how we want it to look in the future. We know that with 2 children, life will look different and the business will have to look different. At the same time, we know that the Lord has blessed us both with this gift and has given us permission to pursue this as a second income for our family. We may not shoot 20 weddings a year, but will definitely shoot as many as we feel is right for our family. So we want to keep our business current and thriving.

Right now, Matt is home, which is so exciting! Its the middle of the day! The Aggies are playing in the NCAA tourny right now so he's home for lunch watching the game. The baby is napping. So I'm taking this time, while he's here to discuss things with me, to really start digging into our business. I have been reading Stacy Reeve's pricing guide. (I found this months ago and just haven't taken the time to sit down and really dig into it.) It's really great! I have my big notepad out and am making notes and just completed our business plan. Its so cool to see it written out!

However, I will say that as I read this packet, I've had some revelations. Not anything completely new, but more that things I've thought for a while have been reinforced in my mind. Any photogs that read my blog, please don't take this in any way a negative against you. I'm sure you won't. We all have our own style and business ideas....

I've discovered over the last few months that I'm not like most photographers. I know that most photographers are looking out for their clients and want to provide them the best product while still making money. However, sometimes I feel that a lot of photogs charge a lot for their session and then the client gets nothing out of it besides an online gallery where they can just view their pictures. They get nothing in return. They then have to go spend another fortune just to own some prints. I know that as a client, I'm not a fan of this. So why would I expect this from my clients? I'm not going to go into a lot of details about what my new packages will look like but I hope that I will be able to provide something to clients that are just like I was as a young bride, or who are like me now as a young wife and mom. Your everyday family who can't afford to spend $2000 on a family photo session. I know that there is a market for that out there. And there are amazing photographers out there who can afford to have high prices and have a huge client base. And way to go! I just know that in my market, that's not the case, for the most part. So I can't expect my packages to look like theirs.

As I dig into my pricing and packages, I get excited thinking about all the potential there is. I feel we can offer some great packages that work for the good of both the client and us. I want brides to feel comfortable with me, comfortable with what they are getting for their money and to be so pleased with the outcome after their wedding day has come and gone.

I seriously could type for hours about my thoughts on all of this, but I'm done. I just wanted to get a little of it out while I'm in "business" mode. My redesigned blog will have wedding and session FAQs and info so there will be more to come. In case anyone still wants to read this.