I recently posted my favorite things that I’ve learned from the International Academy of Wedding Photographers, but I thought I would take it a step farther, dig in a littler more, and tell you the top 10 things I’ve learned in each class that I’ve taken so far.  It will be hard to narrow it down to 10 items because I have really learned SO much in each class, but i’ll take a look through my notes and tell you what I ended up putting a zillion starts next to while I was taking notes.

The first course that I took for TIAWP was The Business of Wedding Photography with Matt and Carissa Kennedy. They are photographers from Vancouver, BC. They love each other SO much, and have the cutest little kids. If you want to check out one of the cutest promo videos I’ve ever seen, go HERE! They’re adorable.

They really are amazing photographers, but not only that. They have so much knowledge and want to help people grow in their photography business. It’s pretty amazing how much information I have learned from them in just a short amount of time and how it’s helped my business. So let’s talk about the top 10 things I have learned from them.

1.  I think I added this on my last list of things from the Academy, but it seriously is SO important.  One of the most critical things I could have done for my business is creating a business plan. It’s a breakdown of what I want for the year. I had to make a mission statement, what I really want for my business.  I had to figure out my target market, figure out what my focus of the yard would be, make goals, do some market research, figure out my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis), make education goals, finance goals, and do a client analysis (who is my ideal client), make a marketing plan, figure out how I would balance my work and life, and make a timeline to do it all in. WOW. Looking back, I’m surprised I was able to bust all of that out in such a short amount of time, but I’m so grateful that I did, and it’s helped give me a goal to work for.

2. All too often I see new photographers asking others what they need to be charging for X or Y. Matt broke this down into an easier way to figure that out. You need to figure out what your hourly rate is! Not just to tell your client, but so you know. What’s the rate for shooting, editing, emails, everything, and that’s how you figure out what you should really be charging. There’s no magic formula! You just have to figure it out.

3. K.I.S.S. This is another one regarding pricing. “Keep it simple stupid.” I’ve seen far too many pricing sheets that you just look at and go “HUH!?” People don’t want to search through a zillion different options. Just keep it simple.

4. One of the greatest things I’ve done for my business, besides this course, is building a great website. My website before I started the Academy was AWFUL. And that’s putting it nicely. It was nice to get a good kick in the pants and get my butt in gear to get a site that matched the caliber of my work! So worth it!

5. Matt & Carissa helped me see the importance of blogging more often! If I’m not active online, then there’s a less of a chance that people will find me. I also want people to get a better idea of who I am! I want my clients to almost feel like they know me, without really knowing me. Until we work together, that is!

6. Much to my dismay, I need to schedule my Facebook time. So I don’t end up spending hours upon hours on FB. It’s a struggle sometimes.

7. One of the biggest things that Matt & Carissa do is spoil their clients. I have started implementing this into my business and I LOVE IT!!! I love giving people presents and surprises, and it’s been so fun finding things that I know my clients will love! I will continue to spoil my clients!!! 😀

8. This is a short one. I need to do better with financial management. The end.

9. This one was part of my #1 but I needed to figure out what my work and life balance would be. All too often, I find myself working away on my computer, then realizing my child is just out in the other room playing all alone. It makes me sad to think about, and I need to make sure I’m there for her more than playing on my computer (or on FB!!). This is one of the reasons I don’t try to shoot more weddings than I do!

My 1 year old baby!! How did that happen!?!

10. Lastly, one of the biggest take away from Matt & Carissa’s course was figure out my strengths and playing to them.  I’m a pretty personable person (my hubby was just making fun of me there other day as I was on the phone with the credit union lady talking to her like we were besties) and part of my client experience is starting it off with an in person meeting.  I love meeting with my clients in person! I feel like we have a better bond, we get to know each other more, and it’s WAY better than just talking on the phone or emailing.  If I was just to email my clients, I would never feel like we had a bond in any way, our engagement sessions would be awkward (as if it’s not to begin with), and our time together just wouldn’t be the same.

All in all, I really have gained so much from Matt and Carissa’s course and I really am so grateful that I get to learn from some of the best. I’ll keep on truckin’ away at these courses, and keeping you all informed in what I’ve gotten myself into next, but until next time! 🙂