In this episode Oh Shoot! podcast, Cassidy Lynne talks about her top 12 photography business regrets!
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In this episode, Cassidy Lynne describes her top 12 biggest regrets in her photography business so far.
Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of Oh Shoot! I am your host Cassidy Lynne, and I am so excited that you are here today! This episode is about my top 10 photography business regrets. Today is one of those days where I’m just feeling so lazy! I’m just like not wanting to do anything. I don’t know if anyone else can relate, like there’s just not all that much my to-do list and sometimes when this happens.
I start by using my paper planner and I write out all the things I want to get done for the week. And I schedule it all out and then I end up being like, Oh I only scheduled things until Wednesday I actually don’t have that much to do. I’m not going to be working all week and that’s always weird because then I start to get lazy where I’m like, oh I have free time, I have this scheduled for Monday, but I can push it until Tuesday because remember I didn’t have my full week scheduled out. So, yeah that’s kind of how I’m feeling today I hope everyone’s having a great Monday this is going to be a chill episode we’re just going to chat. It probably won’t be too long! So, let’s get into our episode!
Top 12 Photography Business Regrets
#1 Not taking risks & being afraid of the outcome
I think this is probably my biggest regret! The amount of things that have led me to huge success because I took a risk, outweighs the times where I took a risk and it didn’t play out! And for me, that is worth it. At the beginning of my business, I was scared to take risks, some examples like in my editing style, shooting style, branding, and just the different projects I was working on!
I feel like I really put myself in a box at the beginning of my photography business of just shooting, editing, repeat. I wasn’t actively pursuing creative projects or working on myself, you know investing in education, like I wasn’t doing any of that. The minute I started to take risks, and was like, you know what I am going to go to this style shoot, I am going to go to this workshop, I’m going to start making education videos on TikTok. That is when I started to see the biggest reward.
#2 Taking trendy & basic photos to fit in
When I first started photography, I would say my first 2 years I was so focused on people I looked up to and styles that I looked up to. And I didn’t leave room for myself in that process. So, when I was taking photos, I was just trying to get my photos to look like everyone else’s. I was trying to get the edit that everyone else had. Now, I know my lightroom so much better that I can create exactly the look that I want. I feel like creatively I’ve taken the time to in myself, and I’ve taken the time to just experiment creatively.
#3 Not offering outfit advice to my clients sooner
The reason why I say this is because I feel like when I was building my portfolio and even a couple of years into it, I would show up to the shoot and the outfits would just not really be the vibe I was looking for my portfolio. Not that it was a waste of the session, because obviously that person paid me. Like these are their photos but as far as my portfolio goes it felt like a little bit of a waste because it didn’t match the style I was going for.
#4 Paying for the knot for 3 years in a row
My 3rd year I definitely regret that. I was at a point 3 years into it and I’m going to say this with 70% certainty that paying for the knot 3 years in a row is not necessary! By that point, you should already have a system of word of mouth, Instagram marketing, and other means of marketing taking off and helping you book way more. The goal with the knot in my opinion is kind of kickstart you but once you’re there, you don’t need it anymore. It’s definitely a great way to start. You pay for it, you find clients.
#5 Not blogging sooner
I regret not starting a blog sooner on my website! Especially talking about blogs that are helping with SEO. Obviously I was blogging my work, every single session I was making a blog, but I regret not having SEO-focused blogs sooner. I think a lot of you guys know this, but I have a blog person that I have hired. They do a lot of blogging for me that helps with my SEO.
I think blogging in general is just such a good way to get clients outside of Instagram and TikTok. Is just another means of finding your clients, I think the sooner you start blogging the better! It’s always better to start sooner with blogging because that’s how Google and SEO work. They reward you for the long game and the longer something’s up the better! And the more blogs you have the better! My advice to you is to START a blog as soon as you can!!
#6 Being afraid to jump into social media
I’m not joking you guys, the minute I started showing my face and doing talking videos that’s when I started seeing exponential growth in my business. Not just like numbers on Instagram but literally in bookings. So, jump on social media and fully embrace it! I don’t think there ever going to be a negative thing that comes from that. Maybe at first, it sucks because you are not getting a lot of engagement, but I was at that point for a while. But you just have to jump into it and be consistent. A big thing for me was being afraid to jump into social media, that fear is something I regretted because when you think about it is just so silly. Social media is not something you have to be afraid of at all!
#7 Not prioritizing making friends early on
I feel like I can be a very lone wolf sometimes. I’m not the type of person to seek out relationships on my own. I know a lot of people who do that, who are really good at seeking out photographer relationships and finding a community, and that is just not me, I wish it was but it’s not. So, when I was first getting into photography, I would say even the first three years of my business I feel like I was not prioritizing friendships.
It was kind of all business for me, but that’s something I wish I had done sooner. Now I have such an amazing group of photographer friends. They are not friends with each other. But I have a group I would say at least 10 photographers where I’m like you’re my friend; I can go to you with what’s going on and I think that’s so important!
#8 Not putting myself out there
One of my biggest regrets in running my photography business was not putting myself out there enough. I consistently held back from networking events, social media engagement, and potential collaborations. Looking back, I realize how many opportunities I might have missed by staying in my comfort zone. Every time I pushed myself to be more visible, whether through social media or networking events. It led to valuable connections and new clients. The photography industry thrives on relationships and visibility. And by not putting myself out there, I limited my business’s growth potential. This experience taught me that success often requires stepping out of your comfort zone and actively engaging with your community. Even when it feels uncomfortable or intimidating!
#9 Cheaping out on my branding
Oh boy, this is a regret! I think if when I started, I had cute fonts, cute logos, cute website design, I think I would’ve booked probably twice as many bookings as I had. But because I was just starting out, I feel like I didn’t understand the importance of a good website. That’s something I wish so badly I could go back and tell myself it is going to be worth it, invest in it because it’s so important!!
#10 Waiting to get a CRM (client management software)
This is a big regret I have. For the first year and a half, I had like 20 weddings booked and I was managing it all on Google Docs and if someone booked a date, I would write the date down, I would write whether they paid or not and I would write out their email and like their venue and that was it. I really regret not having this sooner because there’s just something about that experience like easy payment, easy contract signing, easy communication,n and keeping it all in one place could have avoided a lot of hiccups!
#11 Waiting to start a retirement fund
I wish I had done this sooner!! Now, I don’t regret starting it, I regret taking so long to start it. This is something I had no idea how to do, honestly, I don’t personally know how to do it but I know I have it set up. I have a financial advisor who set it up for me. it’s one of those things where it is easy to find a financial advisor and set up a retirement fund, all it is like monthly contributions.
#12 Cheaping out on lenses
I know there are people who say that lenses aren’t everything, gear isn’t everything and I agree but lenses are such a good tool to help you get the photos you want. Sometimes when you don’t have the right tools you can’t get the right results and that’s what I was facing in my photography career. I didn’t have the right tools and it sucked that I couldn’t get the results that I wanted.
Show Notes:
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