Creating my Business

Creating my own business hasn't been easy but it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be either. Once I came up with what I wanted to do, I started to make it a reality. I was also planning my own wedding during all of this so my time was very occupied. It has been super tedious and time-consuming but its all part of the process. Every process along the way has been super exciting. It feels amazing creating something from scratch and watching it grow into what you want it to be. Like I said in my last blog post, I've been doing photography in general, for a long time. So being able to finally make it something feels really cool. 

I still have a long, long way to go in my journey of running my wedding photography business. I started fully committing to my goal back in June of this year (2021) and since then I have accomplished so much. I first went to the IRS and got myself a EIN (Employee Identification Number) and then went to state of Virginia and established myself as an LLC. It wasn't hard doing those things but it did require a good amount of documents filling out and emailing. A few months later, I finally was able to go to my city of Virginia Beach and get my license. That was definitely one of the most exciting parts. Having a certificate with your name and business on it, marking it as legal and operable. It brings a unique kind of joy.

In the last month, more of the "under the hood" stuff has taken place. I've looked into more business operations stuff such as software that me and my clients will be using. I've chosen Calendly as my scheduling software to schedule meetings and consultations. My wedding coordinator uses the same software so being able to already see how the client interface works was really helpful. I want my clients to have an easy, simple way to schedule meetings and consults with me. I love how it integrates with a bunch of 3rd part software such as Zoom and Google. Even on the business side of it, I love how i can control the times and availability shown to my clients. It's so flawless so far. I love it. Speaking of Zoom, I've chosen Zoom for my video conferencing software. I got use that alot during my own wedding planning and I love how easy it is to use with Calendly. Upon scheduling and confirmation of a meeting with a client, Calendly (when connected with Zoom) provides the Zoom details and links to the client. Everything basically works together and I love it. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to use as my core software for contracts, payment and package selection. Honeybook seems like the best for me but there's other software that I've gotten to use with the vendors from planning that I really like. AislePlanner is another one I used on the client side and I like how much there is to do. That's basically all I need for my business. I've gotten my business insured. My next big step is getting a lawyer to draw up a contract for my business. That's going to be really exciting! 

There's so much more stuff for me to get through but I'm glad that I have people helping me along the way. I can't wait for all the weddings and people I'm going to meet. I just want to be able to share my love for photography with the world and hopefully, if I'm lucky, make some peoples' days along the way. I plan to do this blog thing once a week. It gives me a place to kind of vent and share my experience in the wedding industry as a photographer and share how it is starting my own business. So I appreciate all the love and support from anyone who is following along my journey! 

Introduction

So let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Greg. I am an new wedding photographer in the Hampton Roads area. I started Whovian Photography in the summer of 2021 to set in stone my goal of making photography my career. I am still learning alot about the wedding industry and photography itself. I have been a photographer for quite some time. I have grown up always loving whatever camera I got my hands on. I have always loved taking pictures of whatever caught my eye. Life is fun to capture and keep that moment forever. In 2019, I got my first professional camera, the Canon Rebel T7. It has been a wonderful camera and in my opinion it's a great starter camera for someone who wants to learn photography. Anyways, from then on, my passion for photography has only grown. I've learned more and more about the photography basics and gotten better as time goes on. 

Why wedding photography you may ask? Well I've narrowed it down to it being a combination of a few things I love doing, helping people, traveling and being able to photograph new things. I met my wife Angela in 2016 and since then we've gone on several trips and adventures together. We've gotten kind of addicted to traveling especially to the mountains. Personally, I've gotten addicted to new places in general, being able to photograph something I haven't before. The trips to the mountains have gained me lots of beautiful pictures of mountainous backdrops, waterfalls and wildlife. It has been amazing but personally I love helping people and I want my photography to do a service to people. I chose wedding photography as a career because I get to help people. I get to capture possibly their most happiest day and moments in life.

How did I get into wedding photography? My wife and I just got married on November 13th (2021). I'm better at the whole email and communicating thing so I was doing the detail work, planning, organizing and emailing during the wedding planning. Being the general photographer I already was, Angela made me solely chose our photographer. Photography was a big thing for me for the wedding. I wanted to make sure I chose the right person who would take wonderful pictures. I've had friends that had horror stories about their wedding photographer so I vetted every photographer I communicated with. Eventually, I chose one that I felt comfortable with and I don't regret it at all. To give him some credit Derrick of DB Photography, was really fun and cool to work with. On the wedding day, it was fun to see a photographer from the outside. Seeing him get his shots right, instruct people and do whatever else he needed to do was fascinating to me. Even being able to nerd out about his camera gear he had was amazing. We vibed really well together and shared that same photography love. I even got to share that with our videographers who awed me with their work as well. It was from that point, I knew I wanted to do wedding photography. I will be able to capture someone's special day, moments they and their families and friends will cherish for the rest of their lives. It warms my heart that I will be doing that. Helping people as well as being able to do something I love. We all want a career that we love doing and also be able to be happy doing it and this is going to be mine. 

Why Whovian Photography? Well to start, everyone just about uses their name for their business in the wedding industry. I didn't want to conform to that. There's nothing wrong with that per say but I find it cliché. I want to set myself apart. I wanted to chose a name that tells a part of who I am, what I like and my style of photography. I am a big fan of the British television show Doctor Who. A generalized name for those fans are "whovians." Putting this as my name sets the tone for my business. A carefree, nerdy photographer, who just wants to help people relive their best day over and over again through pictures. I want to have fun, make people laugh and capture their best moments. Laughing, smiling and capturing the love. That's who I want to be. That photographer who captures the best moments at the perfect time. 

I know I have a long journey ahead of me. I have alot of planning to do. Business management stuff and learning the ways of the wedding industry are going to be tough. I have a few wonderful people helping along the way. I don't want to put them on blast but they know who they are. I am very appreciative to them for the help so far. I am starting this on my own, with no fancy degrees, schooling or connections. Just the help of friends and family. I can't wait to see where this takes me. All the new adventures, wonderful people I'll get to work with and places I'll see. This blog will help me share my journey along the way and be an outlet for me to share my experiences with the world. So here's to creating a business and stepping into the wedding industry ready to change the world. Cheers!