01: From Server to Full Time Wedding Photographer
In this premiere episode, I dive deep into my 9-year journey of how I went from working as a server, and only making $5000 in my photography business, to a full-time wedding photographer earning multiple six figures per year! I share with you my failures + wins in that 9-year journey to help inspire you to see that you can also achieve your biggest dreams despite the obstacles that may get in your way.
[05:20] - 2011 - This was the year I graduated from the photography program at Humber. I was convinced I was going to go into fashion and be a fashion photographer and have the freedom to do what I want and be weird.
[14:50] - 2012 - This was a big year with a lot of hustle and experimenting. I was still working at the Keg, and I was making more money than I’d ever made in my life. That meant I got to work less and use my off-time to do anything I could do build my business.
[26:58] - 2013 - I was still bartending and second shooting, but I didn’t want to drive to Toronto anymore to do it. Both of my parents got laid off, and I lived with them. I needed to help them, so I applied for a new job.
[32:09] - 2014 - I still felt in my soul that I was pretending to be someone else. I was 24 at the time, and I wanted people to take me seriously, so I wore pantsuits and felt that I had to be super professional. I felt like I was in a cage and not who I was, and I was tired of it.
[43:43] - 2015 - Things took off after that point, and I was showing up on Instagram way more confident in who I was. But I had to do one more thing: I had to transition from how I was currently shooting, which was more of what I thought I was supposed to do in the industry, to the documentary style that I wanted to shoot.
[52:54] - 2016 - I booked 29 weddings and was able to charge premium pricing. I was able to be more free and have more fun. This was the year where I started to dabble in outsourcing my editing.
[55:07] - 2017 - This year, I shot 33 weddings, I also got a better handle on outsourcing, marketing, running my business, working with people I wanted to, raising my rates, raising my confidence, offering more value to clients.
[56:27] - 2018 - I worked the least I’ve ever worked while making the most I’ve ever made in my life while keeping the quality of my work intact.
[59:01] - 2019 - I shot 24 weddings. I wanted to work less because I wanted to have more weekends to spend with myself and with Rory. I do a thing called “what I want,” and I decided to raise my prices and book less and make the same amount of money. I’m currently on track to make the same amount of money.
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Resources
My Online Photography Courses for You
Outsourcing Made Easy: Learn how you can have more time freedom AND financial freedom as a portrait/wedding photographer. Sign up for the waitlist here now! (doors reopen once a year)
Crystal Clear Marketing: Learn how you can attract and book your dream photography clients - Sign up here!
Intuitive Storytelling for Wedding Photographers: Learn how you can storytell like a pro on wedding days - Sign up here!
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With love + gratitude,
Sara