Most people probably don’t realize I have a little section on my blog that is all about how I’ve taken steps to “Go Green” in my business life. You can check it out by clicking here. I just wanted to spend some time discussing two of the companies who  make it really easy for me to achieve my goal of being a greener business.

Táve

Where would I be without Táve Studio Manager? Táve the brainchild of me and my husband Adrian. We created it back when I was a new photographer and needed something to help manage my business better. It is my backoffice & client relations management system which has, for the most part, eliminated the need for client related file folders and paperwork! The lack of extra paper in my life has been astounding, and I feel so much less wasteful. The software has some cool updates coming later this summer, too, which will probably help me even further – with order importing from other applications, online questionnaires & surveys, and more!

The best part of Táve, for me, has been the ability to have my clients approve their quotes & sign their contracts and even make their payments right online. It makes my life easier, it makes my clients’ lives easier (especially those that live out of state or in another county), and once again, the lack of paperwork previously associated with contracting on paper has made a huge difference.

If you are a photographer and you are not yet using Táve for your Studio Management, go sign up for the 30 day trial right now! I promise you will love it!

Pro DPI

Pro DPI is one of the main photo labs I use and is moving towards being the only one! Not only are they an extremely accommodating company with a small-business mindset, who really and truly cares about their clients, but they are making strides to Go Green, and that is important to me. They offer so many Eco-friendly paper options for their albums, proof books, and custom cards, and I absolutely love the high standard of quality they provide. They also have so many different options for drop-shipping orders to my clients. This is really important to me since many of my clients either live out of state or between 30-60 minutes away from me. It doesn’t make sense for them to waste up to two hours in a car plus all the gasoline just to hop over here and pick up their print order. It’s much easier for all of us, much less wasteful, and more eco-friendly for me to drop-ship the print orders to my client and let UPS take care of the driving, saving my client their gas and traffic time and allowing us all to spend more time with our families!

Hope you are all having a great Earth Day. If you’re not yet doing something to add a little Green to your business or your life (or both) then there’s no time like the present to get started!

Also… keep an eye out for my next post! I’m doing a giveaway in conjunction with my personal blog, Bright Autumn Sun (my family, mommy, non-professional photography blog), and I’ll be announcing it tomorrow!

I have heard many times from brides especially in the past year as our economy continues to have problems, that they just love my work, but it’s not in their budget. They feel torn, because they want artistic, unique wedding photos photos that tell the story and capture the magic of their day, but they also want their dream wedding experience, too. I have thought up a number of ways that brides and grooms can help to cut their budget without having to sacrifice the wedding photography that they REALLY want.

1. Some vendors (including the photographer!!) may be willing to give a discounted rate for an off-day wedding, which occurs during the week (Monday to Thursday). Don’t count on an enormous discount, since working a wedding on an off day is just as intense as on a weekend, but since it’s a day that would otherwise not get booked, it’s worth asking about. Maybe you can score an extra hour of coverage, some additional photos in your album, or a complimentary custom print. In this day and age, every little bit can help!
2. Book your vendors 12 months in advance, before prices go up. All vendors, including photographers, generally raise prices for events more than 12 months out. You’ll save more money by booking your wedding vendors a year ahead of time.
3. Reduce your hours of coverage. While it would be great to cover your reception from beginning to end, you can save a few hundred to over a thousand dollars (depending on the total length of your wedding) by cutting out the last two to three hours of your reception.
4. Postpone buying your album. The photos aren’t going anywhere, so why not purchase a few prints and hold off on the album until after the wedding is over. You can use some of the money you received in your wedding gifts to buy your dream album, or save up and purchase the album for your first wedding anniversary. There are also smaller album or brag book options for those who need something now but can’t afford to pay for the main album yet.
5. Have an intimate wedding! Intimate weddings are the new black. With everything about the wedding scaled down to only include your nearest and dearest, you’ll have lots more room in the budget for things that really matter to you, like better pictures, or a nicer honeymoon. While I had a beautiful wedding, if I could go back and do it again, I absolutely would have gone this route. Aside from having more time to spend with your closest family and friends, you’ll also have more time with your photographer if you choose an intimate wedding – and you’ll be able to spend more time taking beautiful portraits that you’ll look back on to remember your day for the rest of your lives.

Finally, if you are really stuck financially and cannot afford your dream wedding photographer no matter how many sacrifices you make, find someone whose work you like who you can afford. Then, book a post-wedding bride & groom portrait session with your dream photographer. The post-wedding session can be anything from a stunning portrait session at a place like Vizcaya, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, or Morikami Gardens while wearing your wedding outfits, to a full on “Trash the Dress” session at one of our beautiful South Florida beaches. If you can’t afford to hire your dream photographer on your wedding day, I think that an after-session is the next best thing!