I have had a few people comment to me and ask why I’ve chosen to have the Nine Zero Three Photography office be in my house instead of renting out an office or studio, and I figured that it was a great opportunity for me to write a blog post to answer a few of these questions so current clients, potential clients, and friends alike can see where I’m coming from and where my thoughts are at!
Question 1: Why don’t you have a studio? Answer: I absolutely classify myself as a wedding photographer. Yes, I love to shoot families and engagements, but my number one part of my business is weddings. That being said – have you ever heard of anyone having their wedding in a photographer’s studio? No? Well then, there’s the answer! As much as I would love to have a studio to do some fun lifestyle portraits and to experiment with some fun techniques, it’s just not something that I see as a necessity for me right now and I’d like to focus on what’s important.
Question 2: Why did you choose to have a home office / Wouldn’t it be more professional if you had actual office space? Answer: Yes, I admit that I would love to have office space of my own to meet clients, share images, and hang out, but right now it’s an unnecessary cost. I love my wedding collections, what they are priced at, and what they contain. I feel for being relatively new in the photography world compared to other more established companies here in Cleveland, I have price points that are reasonable for both myself and my clients. If I were to go seek out an office at this stage of my company, the client would be the one paying for it. So, give me some time, and maybe you’ll see an offsite office from me in the future. For now, this in-home Nine Zero Three office is going to blow your mind with how awesome it’s going to be (really, it’s turning out to be soooo cool).
(Here’s the evolution of that office so far: top right: light blue paint on the wall, top right: our old couch with our photo collage was the main focus, main image: the most recent layout of the room with our two desks back to back with bookshelves on the outer walls.)
Question 3: Why do you need to have an office at all? Answer: It seems to be a little known fact that the majority of work for a photographer is, in fact, not behind a camera: it’s behind a desk. I spend hours upon hours not only running the business with financials, planning, purchases, etc. but also the creative side with things like editing. All of this makes for a complete full time job, so why not have cute walls and decor to look around at when I try and pull my face away from my computer screen?
Question 4: What kinds of things will happen in your office? Answer: Awesome things, that’s what. This is where we can meet up with clients, discuss details, chat with potential clients, see friends, and things of the like. Even better for us, it’s our turf so it’s our rules. Want to chill with a bottle of wine? We’ll bust one open. Want to have a cold beer and go over wedding timelines? Beer is totally Jim’s thing and he’d love to have one with you! Staying healthy and you’d rather have water? All good, we’ll only judge you a little bit while we’re over here clearly being lushes while focusing on wine and beer. (:
All in all, I am so beyond excited to reveal the office decor and changes we made to make it a super awesome place for everyone and we cannot wait to get people over to hang out in it!
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