I’d like to tell you all a story. It’s about an ambitious young photographer, less than a year into owning her own business, and she had HIGH expectations of herself. (And, let me be totally blunt, she was also pretty full of herself.) After apprenticing for a year, she had a solid foundation upon which to begin shooting her own weddings, so she began to dream bigger. She wanted to break into the high-end wedding market- luxury ballroom weddings, elegant outdoor affairs, if it was ridiculously gorgeous and belonged on the first page of Style Me Pretty? She wanted to shoot it. And what’s more, she thought she deserved to shoot it.

Breaux Vineyards wedding photographer | Abby Grace

But here’s the catch: she was WOEFULLY under-qualified at that point in her career. She didn’t have the equipment she’d need for a wedding like that, she had no idea how to light a ballroom with anything more than a single flash, and she had absolutely no experience with the expectations that go along with service of that level.

(In case you couldn’t tell, we’re talking about me)

If, by some crazy fluke, I’d managed to book that sort of wedding back in 2011, I would have been in WAY over my head. Simply put, I’d asked for rain but NEVER came prepared with an umbrella. There’s just no way I could have served a high-end, luxury client in a way that they’d expect because I had no experience doing so. My portfolio wasn’t strong enough, my technical know-how was lacking, and on an interpersonal level, I didn’t know what white glove service looked like.

DC Carnegie Institution wedding photographer | Abby Grace

Also, my systems were a MESS. If I’d all of a sudden (again, by some fluke) managed to break into the high-end wedding market, technical know-how aside, I would drowned just from a lack of consistency! If I was hoping to take on more work, or work of a higher caliber, I needed to have a business that was already operating with white glove service in mind. Efficient contract + payment systems, a bookkeeper (or at the very least, something more organized than just shoving all your receipts in a desk drawer and waiting til the end of the year to tally it all up), and a solid GAME PLAN for every wedding BEFORE I walked in to shoot it. I had none of that, and I am SO grateful I didn’t get my own wish, because I would have most likely fallen on my face!

Early Mountain Vineyards wedding photographer | Abby Grace

So. If you’re like I was in 2011, desperate for the next big thing, here’s my advice to you: make sure you’re ready before it arrives! If you want to shoot a luxury vineyard wedding at a space like Breaux, make sure you know what sort of unique challenges you’ll face! If you want to shoot a black tie wedding at a grand, sweeping space like the Carnegie, make sure you know what kind of equipment you’ll need to light it! Be ready BEFORE the ideal client emails you, and you’ll be on your way to rocking it.

Because by the time my ideal clients came knocking, you bet I had an entire trunk full of umbrellas.

(And if you’re looking for ways to improve your umbrella-carrying, sign up for the newsletter to be the FIRST to hear about new dates for A Practical Wedding Workshop! The entire point of that workshop is to help you nail down your game plan. Also check out Justin & Mary’s Walk Through A Wedding workshop, one of the best umbrella-equippers out there!)

Photog Friday: If you ask for rain, be prepared with an umbrella

December 4, 2015

  1. marirosa says:

    This is such a great post, and so very true. 🙂 thanks for sharing!

  2. Beyond needed and right on time. Love this, Abby!

  3. […] whatever that meant. (I think it just meant I wanted to shoot pretty thing [see Friday’s blog post]). Now, three years later, I know that this business is meant for so much more than […]

  4. Rici says:

    This is so honest & wonderful at the same time. Thank you, thank you for showing yourself to us!
    See, I was wondering, since I followed along from the early days & realise how quick you have grown… way to go dear Abby!! … if you share more on the growth part and making it up-scale / white-glove / swoon so fast. Because from my perspective your growth was super quick 😉
    Hugs!!

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