Creating Your Own Seasonality and Growth in Photography

by Skip Cohen

It's Marketing Monday, and we're right in the middle of Spring seasonality, with the last little fury of activity coming up on Father's Day. But what's your next target? What are you doing to build a more substantial business after those seasonality milestones?

In 2004, I met Vicki and Jed Taufer for the first time. They were on vacation in California, and we had lunch together. That was when I was introduced to her calendar for memory-making. She showed me her holiday card for the previous year - it was an accordion-style calendar with special themed events she had created for the entire year for photographing children. (I've included two of the pages in the four-panel card below) She even included a section about her travel in 2004, planting the seed for additional portrait sessions while she was on the road.  ​ 

Here's my point - this industry has always relied on the natural seasonality of the demand - the Spring holidays and the big holidays in the fourth quarter. But everything has changed - for the better! Thanks to social media, you can create your own seasonality. With just a little creativity and organization, you can create more demand for your services - all on your own.
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• Legacy Events: With that renewed sense of family I'm always talking about, put together a package that includes a portrait session with a video piece to capture Grandma and Grandpa's backstories. This could start right now with Father's Day and creating a program to capture Grandpa's history.
• Summer Memories: Everyone is different today from last summer or the year before. We're all getting out more, and the reality is that nothing can slow down the way kids grow. You've got to remind Mom that her kids are a day older and changing every morning - they're growing up. It's time for a new family portrait.
• Furry Friends: The pet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. I know from my own household, Lucy and Belle might be four-legged, but they're with us 24/7 and important members of the family. We're convinced they know and understand just about everything we say. That's why pets are number three behind brides and babies when it comes to why people hire a professional photographer. Are you offering pet portraits?
• Food Photography and Restaurant Decor: The pandemic put every restaurant on notice they needed photographs of their food, especially for websites and carry-out. And if they were now serving outdoors, when they were only set up for indoor dining, they need help decorating the side of the building where tables were now set up. That gives you an opportunity to meet the needs of a new client base for both food photography and decorative prints outside. (I'm a huge fan of Bay Photo's Performance EXT Metal prints - here's the post.)
• Throwback Thursday: I rarely miss a Thursday post sharing old throwbacks, mostly about friends in the industry. But for you, it's an opportunity to remind your clients that time never stands still. It's like the old SNL routine of Subliminal Man. You've got to plant the seeds with your clients for ideas of capturing memory-making events. Whether in a blog post or just shared on your Facebook page - use Thursdays to turn back the clock and remind your clients that it's ALWAYS time for a new portrait.
• Headshots: The market is enormous, and these days, partly because of the pandemic, everyone in business needs to be seen in the very best light...pun intended. This is where owning your zip code plays a role. Get out and introduce yourself to every business in the community! They need to know you're the local expert regarding imaging.

No one post could cover all the potential business out there, but it's a you-snooze-you-lose scenario. Over the last couple of years, everything changed, but business is out there, and leadership opportunities are everywhere.