What’s it like going full-time doing the thing that you LOVE? Life as a Professional Wedding Photographer

When I get asked, “what do you do for a living?” I quickly respond “I’m a Professional Wedding Photographer”…

Life as a professional wedding photographer looks so different to so many people across the world. This is just a short snippet of what my life looks like at the moment! There are so many times I’ll be outside on my back deck. I think “wait is this really what I do for a living?”.

“I can’t begin to understand how I got into the position I’m at in life, but I must say that it is wild to think about”

– Mariah Rock Photography

When I say Professional Wedding Photographer here’s what I mean. I get paid to do what I love. I actually make enough to do it full-time and not have to have any other job.

Keep in mind we have no human children yet, so will change eventually with kids. My Monday-Friday looks a little like this and can definitely change depending on the day. Sometimes it also depends on what I have scheduled that day. For the most part, I wake up, feed our cats then go downstairs and feed Frank.

I then think…”Wait is this really what I do for a living?”

Next, I make a cup of tea along with oatmeal and turn on the morning news. I enjoy sitting for about an hour and watching the different stories that air. Sometimes the news gives me ideas on what to write about next for my business.

This is honestly something that I wouldn’t have been able to do without the support from my husband, Clint.

After, I sit at my laptop and begin doing ALL things business. Which can vary depending on timelines and what I need to get done first. Professional Wedding Photographers, all have different preferences regarding where they choose to do their business. I know that mine honestly varies. As I mentioned in the text above I enjoy being outside. But as we all know, the weather is unpredictable, especially in Knoxville Tennessee. One minute it could be snowing the next day it could be 75 and sunny. If it’s ugly weather I love going into my office, sitting at our island in the kitchen, or at the table in front of the couch. It really is a toss-up here.

Anywho, Here’s a list of bullet points on all the things that need to be done on a daily.

• Social Media Marketing
• Responding to emails and inquiries. (I honestly try to do those the moment they come in because I think that’s just good business and respectful. Why make the clients wait if I’m not busy at that moment?)
• Improving and updating my website, which can be a tedious task. (SEO is a bear to try and learn/figure out how to apply it to EVERYTHING!)
• Edit! (Depending on the session I try to sit down and do an 8-hour day of that if it’s a wedding. Weddings usually take me about 4-6 weeks to complete and put together. (I can make a completely different blog post about that in itself.)
• Brainstorming and researching how I can become a better Wedding Photographer
• Housework – clean, fold, organize, fix random things, look for things to buy to furnish the house

In general, this is what a typical day looks like. Saturdays are usually sessions, weddings, and even getting to hang out with friends and family.

For now, this is my first blog post and I’m excited to continue blogging.