For years I always knew I needed a blog but, the template I used for my website didn’t allow it. A few weeks ago (after the Bayside Workshop) I decided it was time. No more waiting around, I needed to launch a blog and dive in head first! It wasn’t until I actually launched my blog that I realized how important it was to have one or how much it would really effect my business.

It may have been that I launched it after the Bayside Workshop and that my mind was full of new knowledge, or just the fact that now all these crazy ideas I had in my head were able to be written out for the world to see. This blog is more than just a place for me to ramble on, it’s my motivator.

1. TRUST

I put this first because, to me, it’s the most important. Having a blog has been an additional way for me to build trust in my brand. So often people say that what they see on social media sites is just the best of the best. While this is true, it doesn’t mean the rest of my work isn’t up to par. By having a blog I can show off full photo sessions and stories. This helps my clients and future clients see what the final product looks like. It helps them hear my voice and learn my personality.

This is crucial for helping them realize if we would be fit to work together. It’s so important to find a photographer who’s work you admire AND who you mesh well with. This helps to boost the experience for both client and photographer. Hopefully resulting in a long term relationship!

For me, I always want to be honest with my clients. In a world of customer service this can be difficult. It’s hard for people to know if someone is being honest OR if they are just saying what they want to hear. Sad, but true. I’m hoping throughout this year I will be able to open up on this blog and have my readers/clients/followers or whoever may stumble upon this blog learn the real me and find they can trust me.

2. Promotes Creativity

Since launching a blog I have found that shooting has become more of a challenge. But, in the best way possible! How can I shoot the traditional shots in a new and interesting way to look good put together on my blog? I’ll even find myself searching to shoot the perfect detail to pair with a portrait I just shot. It gives you a new motivation for creativity. Having the thought of blogging the session in the back of our mind gives you a whole new goal to finish. Yes, we take these beautiful images for our clients and to capture their memories. Which is also why we want to show them off!

What better way then to our whole following through our blog?

3. Speeds up my Workflow

With my previous website all I had to show full collections of shoots was a gallery. However, this was very hard to keep up with and remember to update. Also, how often do you find yourself looking through an entire gallery without a story? Without any sense of who these people are or why they had these photos taken? Now, with a blog, it is a lot easier to keep up to date and show off full sessions that people will actually see!

Because of this, my workflow speed has increased drastically! I become eager to edit my photos and finish a session just so I can get the blog post set up and scheduled. This helps my clients because the turn around time for their sessions become quicker and they don’t have to wait as long to see the finished product. This helps me, because I can be at ease knowing my clients have their images and that my blog post is scheduled and ready to go. Win win, right?

 

If you have been thinking of getting a blog, do it! What do you have to lose? Besides sleep from excitement and pre-blogging. But, that’s really more of a pro then a con in my opinion. People want to hear your voice. They want to know what’s on your mind and see full sessions of your work.

Often times, we are our biggest critiques. But with a blog you feel a sense of confidence. Especially, when those comments start rolling in and you see that people actually love seeing your work and people love seeing your blog.

Your voice matters. As a photographer, we photograph some of life’s most intimate moments and having a voice behind a key board can help your clients know YOU. Not your brand, not your beautiful images but, you and your true personality. That matters. In the long run, that relationship and trust you build with your blog matters.