I want to talk to you guys today about how to avoid burnout as a wedding photographer. In a world where you have busy seasons and slow seasons like wedding photography, it is so easy to become overwhelmed and burnt out by the time you reach the end of your season…or even part way through. Reaching burnout is hard on you physically, mentally, in your personal life, and in your business, so it’s important to do your best to avoid it! Any job will come with hard weeks or days, but let’s help avoid that burnout together.
1. Know your limits.
This is a HUGE one. There is a difference between how much work you can take on and how much you should take on. Sure, can you shoot 2 double headers, 2 weekends in a row? Probably. Should you? I’d say heck no. You need to realistically look at the factors in your life to see how much work you need to have for financial reasons, and how much work you should have to avoid burnout.
This is a great time to do a cost of doing business estimate if you haven’t yet. You need to figure out how much money you need to make each month so that you can start to see how much work to take on. Schedule in family trips, days off, editing days, etc. Then set your limits! If you don’t want to work on Sundays, that is a limit you need to stick to. If you don’t want to shoot more than x amount of weddings a month, set that limit. I can’t tell you those limits because they are so individual to your financial and personal goals. However, I will say that personal time and rest time is SO important so know that you need to implement limits somewhere to accomplish that. Personally, I set my limit to 15 weddings per year and then take on additional sessions throughout the year!
2. Outsource when possible.
Outsourcing is another great way to avoid burnout. There are things in our businesses that we either don’t enjoy doing, or just aren’t making us money. The same thing can be said about your personal life. Your time is valuable and there are only so many hours in a day. What do you want to spend those hours doing? This is where outsourcing comes in. Maybe editing is your least favorite part of your job and the most time consuming. I’d say it’s time to outsource that editing! Then you can spend that time doing things in your business that will bring in more money. I use ImagenAi which is a lifesaver when it comes to cutting down on my editing time. I definitely recommend checking them out and have a referral link just for you!
Think about outsourcing the same way for your personal life. Let’s say you enjoy cooking dinner with your family and then having free time to put your kids to bed and watch a show with your spouse. That might mean that doing laundry or cleaning your home just aren’t priorities to you and you don’t have time for them. Instead of forcing yourself to do them, outsource! Hire a cleaner, do grocery delivery, send out your laundry, or sign up for a meal service. Try to give yourself some free time in your business and personal life to leave more room for the things you care about.
3. Find time for creativity.
During our busy season, it can be so hard to find time for anything creative. You are catching your breath from your last wedding and have another wedding just days away. Toss in editing, communication, marketing, etc. It can feel like creativity has left you, even though we are in a creative business.
I truly believe that you need to allow for creativity in your business. Not only to serve your clients better but to avoid burnout! Do something for your business that fuels that creative flame. You could plan and shoot a styled shoot with an aesthetic you dream of shooting! Try taking a new course to improve your posing style. Attend an in person workshop. Take new headshots for your business. It should just be something creative that gets you out of your business mindset and into your creative one.
Being constantly busy, with no free time, no creativity, and no room to breathe is a perfect storm for burnout. You and your business will thrive and grow so much more if you can implement these tips! I encourage you to carve out some time this week to sit down and think about how you can start these this week.
-Liz
