On the move: Start your photography business in a new city

I remember it vividly.

I was enjoying my second pregnancy, and getting ready to promote my annual Autumn Minis.

I’d had my business for three years in the rural area of Yuba-Sutter California, about 45 minutes north of Sacramento. I wanted to complete the mini sessions prior to the arrival of my second son, and I planned a pretty long maternity break around the holidays of 2013, and then to return around the springtime.

My husband returned home from work that late summer day. It felt like any normal day. We had been at our duty station of Beale AFB for five and a half years, and I never thought we would ever be leaving at this point. Then he looked at me in the eye, and those words came out of his mouth, “I received orders. We’re moving this spring.”

I was stunned. I was afraid. I was sad. Not only because I was leaving California, the only place I’ve known as home since I moved to the US when I was 14, but also we were leaving the place we had raised our oldest son. I was also hoping to raise our second son in that home as well. I was emotional.

Heck, I was a wreck! Then fear came, the fear that this is it. “This is probably going to be the end of my photography career,” I thought. I was really worried about starting my business over in a new place. “It’s gone just as soon as it just started working out,” I said. “No one is ever going to trust me the same way as I was trusted here!”

I failed to mention that when those orders were given to us, we were given not just one but two orders. We were supposed to move first to the Florida Panhandle, then to Oahu, Hawaii (which then changed to Baltimore, MD/Washington DC). Logistics-wise, this was basically the most difficult thing to deal with as a small business owner. My move looked something similar to a ping-pong match.

It’s been 17 months since our move to Maryland. It’s been a whole two years since we moved away from our first home in California and I don’t hate it. Much to my surprise, I actually have been loving it. All my fears were a bit premature, and even exaggerated. I’ve learned a few things along the way about moving my business and starting over.

Paying attention to my blog is key.

I groan even at the thought of blogging, understanding SEO, and why it is even important. I failed to pay attention to it when I was in a stable place.

Nowadays, even though I’m still not great at keeping up with it, I have made it a point to at least give it a bi-monthly update. Who knew that just by simply using keywords, and keeping it updated that it would help me out immensely? Well, I do now. It’s definitely not something I neglect anymore.

Keeping up with my blog and re-directing my SEO and my keywords to my new location has been a big factor in putting some clients on the books! It’s such a relief when I get inquiries and they note: “We found you through Google.” Business started picking up around six to eight months before I started getting those search engine clients, which leads to the next big thing.

Patience has been my biggest ally.

I had to teach myself how to breathe, and how to be patient. I’m an incredibly impatient person, and the moves have definitely taught me a thing or two about this. It will not be the same at first. It’s completely impossible for it to be the same. What I’ve learned from both moves, though, is that it took about six to eight months before the inquiries started coming in on a consistent basis. In the meantime, I did model calls, blogged, and completed personal projects. I kept myself active. The key was to never give up; I stuck with what I knew I needed for my pricing to cover my costs. I stood by my pricing, I didn’t change it within the first half of the year I was in the area. I also gave myself a timeline: if after half a year it didn’t work out, I would reassess and adjust. Thankfully, I ended up raising my pricing!

What I’ve learned from both moves, though, is that it took about six to eight months before the inquiries started coming in on a consistent basis. In the meantime, I did model calls, blogged, and completed personal projects. I kept myself active. The key was to never give up; I stuck with what I knew I needed for my pricing to cover my costs. I stood by my pricing, I didn’t change it within the first half of the year I was in the area. I also gave myself a timeline: if after half a year it didn’t work out, I would reassess and adjust. Thankfully, I ended up raising my pricing!

The key was to never give up; I stuck with what I knew I needed for my pricing to cover my costs. I stood by my pricing, I didn’t change it within the first half of the year I was in the area. I also gave myself a timeline: if after half a year it didn’t work out, I would reassess and adjust. Thankfully, I ended up raising my pricing!



I did personal shoots.

And it was the healthiest thing ever. 
When you’re used to shooting full time, and having your business full time, going back to the roots feels a little helpless at times. I kept having this fear that my skills would diminish, and I would be a complete and total failure next time I pick up my camera. I had nightmares that I would be completely clueless to how to use my camera again at my first client session in the new location. To squash these fears, I did something about it. I posted model calls and I shot for myself. I met new people, and they ended up referring me to their friends. Their friends ended up coming to me. Those shoots also kept my love of photography alive.

I kept having this fear that my skills would diminish, and I would be a complete and total failure next time I pick up my camera. I had nightmares that I would be completely clueless to how to use my camera again at my first client session in the new location.

To squash these fears, I did something about it. I posted model calls and I shot for myself. I met new people, and they ended up referring me to their friends. Their friends ended up coming to me. Those shoots also kept my love of photography alive.

I stuck to what I know, treated my business as what it is, and I never undermined what I already established.

Even though I did model calls, I was clear and concise that they were just that: a creative model call. When I was approached finally for regular sessions, I went back to what I knew and that was to make sure that I prioritized my business.

I stuck with my prices, communicated with new inquiries, and gave my business the attention it needed. Sticking to my pricing menu was the key to having consistent bookings afterward. Not only was I putting the best of my abilities forward, but also placing a consistent value on my work helped sustain my business. I knew it wouldn’t thrive in a new area if I didn’t treat it the way I did in the old area. I wasn’t exactly starting a new business… I was continuing it in a new location.  My skill set that I left with was the same skill set that I have at the moment, probably even a bit more improved with all the free time I’ve had practicing. What my business needed from me was a little extra help, for me to be proud of it the same way as I was in my old place.

I knew it wouldn’t thrive in a new area if I didn’t treat it the way I did in the old area. I wasn’t exactly starting a new business… I was continuing it in a new location.  My skill set that I left with was the same skill set that I have at the moment, probably even a bit more improved with all the free time I’ve had practicing. What my business needed from me was a little extra help, for me to be proud of it the same way as I was in my old place.

I started over, but I also continued where I left off.

What I brought with me was a business that was in its toddler years. It was in its most formidable time, and I needed to continue to nurture it. I was starting over, but not exactly going from the ground up.

It’s easier said than done, but I also made sure that I didn’t compare my new area to the old one. My old clients from the last place are not going to be the same as the ones in the new place. They all have one thing in common, though, and it’s that they all trust me to capture images for them. It is a high compliment, the highest even, that they pick me. Embracing the new area was also key. It is different, but it also offered new-to-me situations and opportunities. I had to step out of the box and learn new things, but

Embracing the new area was also key. It is different, but it also offered new-to-me situations and opportunities. I had to step out of the box and learn new things, but still things that felt familiar so I had the feeling of home. I was only doing family lifestyle, portraits, and newborns when I was in California, and I decided I was going to pick up births and fresh 48 sessions when I moved to Maryland. Even though it was a step away from what I was doing before, all my sessions were intimate, personal, and candid. I also adjusted to the new area. If it took traveling, I did it, if it took adjusting to traffic that I didn’t have before, it happened. It had to.

Even though it was a step away from what I was doing before, all my sessions were intimate, personal, and candid. I also adjusted to the new area. If it took traveling, I did it, if it took adjusting to traffic that I didn’t have before, it happened. It had to.

Then it just finds its gear, and it rolls.

It’s been a year and a half, and my business is where it needs to be. My calendar has found its happy place, and I feel fulfilled.

I’ve also met a great new client base that I have connected with. The one thing moving a business has in common with starting a business from the ground up is that it takes about the same amount of time for it to be established. It would have been easy to beat myself up during the first few months, but it was easier to just lift myself up.

It was easier to set goals, and work towards them, and have realistic expectations of everything. I found my momentum and I found my feet again.

Moving is hard, but you don’t have to leave your drive and goals in the last place. Life can be lived in the new place. Adventures can also be had, and photographs can be made wherever.

Setting the right goals, learning the light your new place has to offer and being inspired constantly is something that attracts people, and you will find that they will gravitate towards you, and next thing you know, you’re back in action.

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