fbpx

The Halfway Point

Personal

Alright people I am going to open up and be personal here for a minute…. I am officially at the halfway point for my 2015 wedding season. This being my 2nd year as a full-time photographer and 1st wedding season where I was available for all the peak summer months. Last year I didn’t take any weddings for May, June and July due to being pregnant with Mia and really needed to take some maternity leave afterwards for recovery. For 2015 I gave myself a goal of 15 weddings and to be on the first page of Google for “Tacoma Wedding Photographer” and book weddings and portraiture jobs from a google search. I achieved both goals by this late spring, after working my butt off on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) this past winter I reached that goal of the first page of google by April and booked my first wedding off Google in May and booked my 15th wedding in June.

behind the scenes look at my backyard Gig Harbor wedding in July -1

Behind the scenes shot by Kaemere Photography & Design

Something I have learned this year is that being a small business owner is to have working day and non working days or my life would be always in front of the computer! So I designated Monday’s & Tuesday’s for working in the office (added a few extra days in there during the summer). I also have learned that nothing in this field is guaranteed especially my paycheck. Coming from having a day job 9-5 Monday through Friday job where I would get a paycheck every 2 weeks to I may not make any thing this month or I just made as much as I would working 3 months at my desk job in a month was the hardest part of this job. There were definitely a few times this winter/spring that I almost threw in the towel and looked for a day job because I wasn’t sure if I could make it and help provide for our family. But every time I did that I would end up booking a weddings or a few portrait gigs and it was like the universe was saying to me; “Jenny you were meant to do this, you went to college for photography, you spent 6 years after college working day jobs and not focusing on what you really wanted to do. Stop looking for a day job and focus on photography, the business will come you will see.” And sure enough the universe was right. I very quickly surpassed my goal of 15 and now have reached 20.

Behind the scenes shot at Sherman Valley Ranch by Kaemere Photography & Design

Behind the scenes shot at Sherman Valley Ranch by Kaemere Photography & Design

In between these amazing couples that have trusted me to document their special days I have also gotten to assist with some amazing photographers too. To fill up my summer weekends with work I also work as an assistant for any photographer who are needing a second photographer on their own weddings. I mainly worked with Casey of Phreckle Face Photography and Lindsey Denman Photography both ladies are amazing to work with and I have learned so much from both of them along with a friendship too.

Photographing a beautiful wedding at Suncadia Resort photo by Phreckle Face Photography

Photographing a beautiful wedding at Suncadia Resort photo by Phreckle Face Photography

As we head into fall this is where I become very busy with 3 elopement & 6 weddings with 2 of those being destination weddings. I am very excited for my first destination weddings and all with in a week of one another. First at the end of September I will be heading to Napa, California for my first wedding in wine country. Then a very short week later I head to Flathead Lake to document a very close family friends wedding at The Barn at Finley Point.  I also will be taking a mini vacation to Glacier National Park between that wedding which I am so excited for and very much-needed.

I am also getting ready for 2016 I have already booked 2 weddings for next year and just updated my pricing too. I am so excited for the future, I still haven’t figured out my goals yet for 2016 but I hope to soon. I have a few things brewing including my branding and the look I am planning on taking Jenny Storment Photography in the next few years. I hope to continue to do weddings but also move into more portraiture including newborns and kids. I can’t wait to see what is in store for me and my business until then I am just enjoying this crazy ride and truly what I get to do on a daily basis.

  1. Corey says:

    Congratulations on meeting your goals and following your dream as a wedding photographer! It’s such a great feeling to accomplish what you’re striving for. I wish you the best!

  2. Doru says:

    I totally understand your point! It is so much work behind the scene and it is pretty hard to sustain a family from photography bussines. I wish you all the best and lots of weddings for 2016!

  3. Leslie F says:

    First, congrats on kicking butt and rocking the Tacoma wedding photography work! I’m in my second year too and what a learning curve the business aspect of this industry has been!

    Second, what dress are you wearing in the bottom 2 pics because it looks like such an easy to wear piece with POCKETS? I have been on the hunt for one! 😉

  4. You have really rocked this year with Tacoma wedding bookings and applaud you for achieving your goals. The photography industry is rough to make your mark on, but it looks like you have surpassed any doubts that you had early on and squashed them. I am excited to see how your first destination weddings turn out and looking forward to the images of the wedding in wine country! Congratulations on accomplishing what so many photographers are still struggling to achieve!

  5. Esther says:

    I so appreciate your openness in this blog post. It’s encouraging to hear how your business is growing in exciting ways! And I definitely want to follow your example with being intentional about having certain days as work days – I find I spend way too much time in front of the computer when I am not intentional about how I schedule my time, and now with two littles, I definitely need to be more diligent in this area. Congrats on all the exciting growth you’ve been experiencing, and thanks again for sharing.

  6. Kathy R says:

    Jenny! That is amazing! Congratulations on meeting (and exceeding!) your 2015 goals! It’s such an amazing feeling to see something that you built from scratch flourish and be so successful. I love reading a personal post from you. I know your work, as I follow it on a weekly basis, but it’s so refreshing to hear a little but about who YOU are! 🙂

  7. I have loved watching you this year as you have worked on all your goals. Your wedding photography work is definitely worthy of a front page listing on Google for the Tacoma area. I can’t wait to see the rest of your weddings this year, and I am excited to see the destination weddings. I know you will be even busier next year!

  8. Congrats on rocking your year! always scary to transition from a stable FT day job to the creative business you’ve built. So many panic attacks! But I can’t wait to see where the next year takes you! Your work is beautiful!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

view feature

Shelbyrae and Peter

weddings

view feature

Robinswood House Wedding

portraits

view feature

Rainy Backyard Wedding

weddings

you miGHT ALSO ENJOY:

back to top
All rights reserved  |  Design by TONIC  |  ©Jenny Storment Photography LLC