When you are just starting out in this industry, photographers often say yes to any and every opportunity to take pictures. While this can be a blessing during the beginning stages of your business, it can also start to hurt you after too many “yeses.” What do I mean by that? Well, after a while of shooting a variety of subjects, you begin to gravitate toward a few categories that really seem to fuel your passion, while others really seem to drain you. They seem to be way too stressful than you care to admit, which adds unneeded anxiety to your already busy workload! You may also find that you are naturally better at some types of photography than others. For me, it’s landscapes. For some reason, I am just not good at taking great picture of nature and I’ll be the first to admit that! For you, it may be weddings or newborns. However, as you explore the different types of photography, take note of the types that are particularly joyful, and the ones that you seem to be naturally better at.

As a business owner, you can often fall into the trap of saying yes to everything for a variety of reasons, whether your yes’s are fueled by the financial gain, the joy it brings you or the satisfaction of your client, there comes a point when you need to be more intentional about what you say yes to, and what you say no to. There’s only so much time in the day, and if you have the opportunity to fill your schedule with more sessions that bring you joy rather than sessions that seem to drain the joy right out of you, I say go for it! Now I’m by no means saying that all of the work that you do should be joy-filling, because let’s be real, taxes and book keeping are NOT fun!! But if you have the opportunity to create more joy in work by simply saying yes to certain things and no to others, I think that is such a wise decision.

Saying no is more than okay, in fact I think it’s healthy! If you feel stuck in a season of your business where you are overwhelmed and can’t remember the last time you said no to taking on another client, then please remember that the world will not end, and you’ll be able to better love and serve the clients that you already have. I’m cheering for you!