It’s surreal for me to be sitting in Arizona writing this blog post. I never thought I would live anywhere else but Tennessee, let alone move across the country and pursue my dream job of becoming a wedding photographer full-time. The time of year that Mike and I showed up here is a little chaotic. I had heard that there was something called “monsoon season” here, but I wasn’t sure when it was exactly. Well, it started a couple weeks after we arrived and lasts for the next couple of months. Perfect timing (she typed sarcastically)! That’s ok though; even though I may be indoors a little more often that I would like right now, there is always… ALWAYS… something for me to do.
– Along the Way –
I knew that becoming a business owner was going to be a challenge, but I’m not quite sure if I really knew how huge of an undertaking it would be. At first, the only thing I concentrated on was learning my camera. I mean, that’s what photographers do, right? They take pictures. So I took some online education after my day job, I practiced on anyone that would let me in my spare time, and I studied my little heart out. I saved money away when I could and I did tons of research on every equipment purchase I made. Every penny counts! Uh oh, what if something happens to my equipment? Time to sign up for special insurance! I can’t afford to replace it all!
But then wait… how do clients find me? Oh, I have to make a website. Ok, lets mark that off the list. Someone wants to pay me for my work? Awesome! But hold on… how do I collect a credit card payment from them? There are fees to do that? Well, I have to set it up. Next! Oh, I need to decide how I’m going to deliver their images to them. Should I mail them a USB drive? Or do I want to deliver their galleries online? How much online storage do I need if I’m going to do it all online? It seems like there was some new question to figure out at every turn!
Even as my business grew and I got more of the boxes checked off my list, I knew there was one daunting to-do that I didn’t even want to remotely think of. Taxes. Yep, can’t leave that super fun adult responsibility out of the equation. Ugh! Eventually I got the hang of what I needed to provide my accountant and what to expect when it came time to file… in Tennessee. Now I’m in Arizona and *drum roll*– things are totally different!
– Some Things Never Change –
I’ve been lucky enough to find some amazing local resources to help show me the legal ropes for Arizona and get my business fully and legally registered. It’s a little time consuming and costs a few fees to get it done, but it’s done. And it’s definitely not something I would ever want to scrimp on and deal with the consequences of later.
Throughout this whole process of becoming a photographer, and then deciding I wanted to specialize and be a wedding photographer, there is something that never changed. I still absolutely love what I do. Plain and simple. Yes, there were a few things (ok, a lot of things) that I maybe didn’t fully anticipate needing to take on. But I never let those obligations take away from the fun and excitement that I have for the bride and groom on their wedding day. I still get super pumped when I start uploading photos to edit and excited to see which images are my clients’ favorites. Being a wedding photographer came with a lot more responsibility than I originally thought, but it also came with more joy than I could have ever imagined.
Read about the heart behind why I love wedding photography here!
