Destination Lifestyle Family Photographer, Destination Wedding Photographer

A very well written article Jess. You nailed every point so well!

Thank you for posting this Jesse. I’m there myself. That video on her blog really hits home with me also. I have been having such a hard time finding a healthy balance in my life and have been working entirely too much. I’m so burned out on photography right now. ugh.

This isnt anything that hasnt come up before. Jess i love the way you put it. My kids are now taller than me and thankfully 3yrs ago i got a little consultation area. You cant sell if you cant show product. It does make a huge difference. Now i have a place for everything including editing and a small studio space to do headshots and newborns.
When i leave for the night, i am home. Theres no laptop,no extra editing, no extra email to send out. It is my time now. My son just told me i am not as cranky. Gosh i wish i could have done this earlier.
Well said Jess.

I (first of all) LOVE your work! I LOVE this post too. I think a lot of people really don’t understand how MUCH WORK goes into being a photographer. My husband didn’t understand it until I REALLY got into it. After I had my first baby last year, I realized HOW valuable my time was and HOW often I was away from my baby that I had waited so long for. I think here in UT it’s a tough market because everyone wants to be a photographer and there’s a lot of competition-the good and bad. I also think a lot of people don’t always understand the “quality” of a good photographer. I too am starting to feel this burn out and want to figure out what and how to keep going!! Once again, huge fan of your work! =D

I love this. I’ve never had a gift for words, and you put so many of my thoughts on paper. I know I’m going to write way too much, so I’ll apologize in advance, but I’m also interested in seeing other people’s responses.

1. Decide. Is it a hobby or a job? Because while wedding photography is so fulfilling to me, it is still a job. I love being there for happy moments, I love meeting so many people and seeing a unique side to their personalities. I love the reminder that relationships are important, that love is real, and that commitment is everything. That doesn’t mean I’m going to love waking up in the morning to get to work. Doesn’t mean I love spending hours at the computer editing while I could be out hiking this summer. I don’t enjoy burning discs or dealing with difficult clients, but every job has aspects like that. I decided it would be a job, but there is nothing wrong with deciding it will be “just” a hobby. You can be just as talented as us “professional” photographers, you’re just using that talent differently.

2. I love how thorough you are in showing costs. But everyone needs to be realistic about what an 8-5 job pays, too. You also have travel time, wear and tear on your car, income tax, supplies/equipment, etc. I’m careful to evaluate what my husband’s actual pay per hour is too, not just the amount listed.

3. Why I get up every day: Praise and reward. Sure, I’m financially motivated, but mostly I like to see the facebook comments raving about the new engagement gallery. Or the look on the mom’s face when she sees how beautiful her little girl is in the photo. The phrase “wow, that looks just like them” is my favorite thing to hear. Because that’s how I overcome the crummy parts of the job. I know that I was able to capture emotions, personality, and relationships. That’s motivation enough.

4. Balance. I’m not good at it. I can admit that. I’m an obsessive personality and I throw myself into everything. It will always be an ongoing battle. But I take small steps and stick to them. 1st – I decided never to schedule something on Sunday. It means I’ve turned weddings down when I felt like I needed the money, but I still feel like it’s worth it. 2nd – out of the remaining 6 days in the week, I try to only schedule 5 days for shoots. The 6th day is for a date night, a project, something fun, or sometimes just editing. But the change of pace is important to me. 3rd – whenever I start feeling like I’m getting overwhelmed, I raise my prices. That way, few inquiries come in (and it puts a higher value to my time). I never lower those prices back down because I’d go right back to being overwhelmed.

Oh my goodness, way too long of a comment, but this topic needs to be discussed everywhere so we can all learn from each other about avoid burnout and keeping balance in life. So vital. Thanks again for sharing.

Thanks so much for posting this. I think so often we really don’t take into consideration how important our time really is especially when it is spent away from our kids or even just not connected with our kids. I’ve felt burnt out a number of times and I think it is so important that we take a step back and even take a little break. That client gallery can wait one more day, but our kids are growing up every second whether we are watching or not. A few months ago I took a month off, scheduled no sessions for that entire month and the only thing I was allowed to take pictures of was my family. It brought me so much joy because they were for me, I wasn’t trying to please anyone else, or make my blog look pretty, I was doing it for me. Thanks for the perspective and the breakdown. Mind if I link to your blog on my facebook page?

So well put! The value of time and family cannot be underestimated.