New Year + Mistakes Made = New Goals
/As your Batavia, N.Y. Family Photographer, it’s hard to put into words how grateful I am for another successful year with you all, but I will do my best.
Every session always starts with little butterflies in my stomach and ends with my bucket full; I don’t anticipate this changing- It’s my process. Your photos aren’t just photos to me. I have seen families lose loved ones. I have seen babies grow in front of my lens. I’ve captured images parents didn’t think were even possible. Your photos will hang on the walls of your home and be shared with all of your friends and family, whether it’s through social media and/or holiday cards. Your photos will carry you through the hard times and offer you a little nostalgia through the good. I have to get it right, and sometimes I’m not afforded the opportunity to shoot it again. I know you share this feeling with me. Thank you for sharing your life events and sweet little moments with me.
Every year I learn a little bit more, and I always appreciate the patience you gift me as I navigate busy seasons. Because of this, I am working on ways to be more efficient in the new year for you. I am, also, having to add some things that I was hoping I didn’t have to, but I have to remember that, even though a majority of my clients are kind, trusting, and valuable to me, there have been a few bad apples this year that are forcing my hand to make certain changes so that I can be more available to those that deserve it.
Things that will change: In the new year I will no longer hold a date unless your session fee is paid within 24 hours of booking. If it’s not, your date will open to another client that wants it. By doing this, it will allow me to open more dates to families who are booking last minute, because we all know life can easily take over and we forget to book. Also, I will no longer be doing a rush edit on certain images before you’ve selected and paid for your collection. Which leads me to timeframe for selections: you will have 2 weeks to pick your images. If you have not picked your images in that time, your gallery will expire and there will be a fee to have me activate it again. By doing this I will not be editing your summer images during the busiest season for photographers: Fall + Christmas. This in-turn will allow me to give my full attention to those sessions that were just completed.
*I also recognize that life can get busy at times and we need some grace. To which I say: please, just communicate with me! Let me know what you need. I’m a pretty reasonable person, and I only want to make your experience seamless and positive. Speaking of positives…..
New Additions: I’m not a huge fan of minis simply because I enjoy giving my undivided attention to one family at a time, and that’s hard to do with 15-20 minutes, but I do recognize that some kiddos are best with shorter sessions. So, I’m hoping to open up more mini session options for you all. With that being said, I want to hear from you! I will not do Fall minis, but I am curious what type of mini sessions you looking for in the new year. I typically only do Spring, Tree Farm, Studio Christmas, and this year I added Santa minis, so what other things would you like to see? I would like to do more stuff in the studio, if that helps. Drop your comments below or on the FB post I plan to share.
Finally, I’d like to hear what you have found helpful in my prep for your session and what you feel didn’t work for your family. Additionally, what do you think would be beneficial to add to the prep? I do plan to create something that is more geared towards wardrobe, because that seems to be what families struggle with the most.
I will leave you with these adorable faces that I love seeing year-after year. I wish you all well throughout the holiday season and look forward to hearing from you and/or seeing you soon.
Much love,
