Booking season is officially here: photographers, are you ready for it? As a team of virtual assistants, we see so many professionals struggle to juggle their administrative work during peak wedding time. But what about your downtime? When it comes to your wedding photography booking season, we want to make sure your business stays up-to-snuff so you can keep things well-managed year-round.

Top Housekeeping Tips for Your Wedding Photography Booking Season

Firstly, what exactly is “booking season” for wedding photographers? There are two major times that couples tend to get engaged en masse. First and foremost, the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve results in lots of rings on fingers. The second wave tends to come before or around Valentine’s Day. These two major bouts of engagements undoubtedly result in lots of couples planning their big days.

What Are We Referring to When We Say “Booking Season”?

Additionally, there are plenty of couples that get engaged at different points of the year. However, there are many pairs who choose to wait until the new year to start planning. Between busy schedules and the holiday season, the urge to plan falls short on the priority list. There are many who wake up on New Year’s Day and think to themselves: okay, it’s time to plan a wedding.

Administrative Work Tasks for Wedding Photographers

This results in a much heavier influx of inquiries for vendors, which (ideally) results in plenty of bookings. That being said, this is also the time when professionals are typically working on-site less. It leaves lots of time for administrative work and allows you to create a better experience for couples who are looking to book.

What to Do During Booking Season to Maximize Your Client Experience

Let’s take a look at the different housekeeping tasks for the wedding photography booking season. Our wedding photography VA team works directly with small businesses to help cross these things off their checklist. Since there are so many different hats to wear as your own CEO, it’s so important to get things to a more manageable place.

Update Your Website and Portfolio During Your Downtime as a Photographer

Potentially the most obvious one, it’s time to update your website and portfolio. Our guess is that your last busy season didn’t result in a ton of time to hop onto Showit or Squarespace. Making updates during heavy shooting season can be tricky. Your off-season is the perfect time to make these updates. Alternatively, stay on top of them perpetually by working with a virtual assistant who can regularly update your portfolio.

Review & Plan Your Marketing Strategy for the Coming Year

Next up: your marketing strategy. It may be a time when couples are looking for vendors, but you won’t get many inquiries if you can’t be found! It’s time to review your social media and marketing strategy to see what’s working. Review your project sources in a CRM like Dubsado or Sprout Studio to be sure that your energy is spent in the right place.

Sign Up for a CRM if You Aren’t Already Using One

Speaking of CRMs… are you using one in your business? If you’re not, now is the time to start. Not only can these help to streamline your workflow in terms of contracts and invoices, but will improve your client experience. Build out workflows that allow for automated emails so clients can directly schedule engagement sessions, receive advice, and more. Our team helps photographers to build out their workflows so you can have smooth communications. Use your wedding photography booking season to improve your overall management and customer experience.

Take Note of Your Financial Standing and Outlook

With off-season tends to come, everybody’s favorite: tax season! It’s time to review your financial records from the last year and budget for the upcoming season. You’ll want to look at current projections based on the jobs you have booked. It’s also important to review your previous year’s expenses and income to file your taxes.

Equipment Maintenance and Review for Your Camera Systems

An additional task for your wedding photography booking season is to perform equipment checks. Send your cameras in for cleaning and maintenance to be sure that you’re set for the busier times. You’ll also want to take stock of batteries, memory cards, and hard drives to ensure things are still on par for your needs.

Let Us Update Your Business During the Wedding Photography Booking Season

As wedding photography virtual assistants, we have to add one last thing for this downtime: please, take care of yourself. This career can be incredibly taxing on your body, so be sure to take some time for your health. Plus, spend time with your loved ones while you have free weekends! Our team can help outsource your major housekeeping tasks so you can focus on the best part of booking season: your bookings. Reach out to us at the Genie VA for help with the top ways to make the most of this time of year.

Photography Credit: Megan & Kenneth