We truly believe that growing a business is hard work! It can also be pretty lonely sometimes. Even though Hannah and I have each other, we can still get pretty isolated from other professionals because we are so focused on our own journey. But, after attending a few events recently and working with vendors on shoots, we realized running a business is so much more enjoyable when you have support from other people. I know it’s not a novel idea, but when you get to the point where you start seeing others as competition, the journey gets a lot more lonely.

We want to make sure that in whatever capacity we are working with others, we are treating them as we would want to be treated. We are treating them like our mama’s and grandmama’s taught us to. And we are treating them as Jesus would- by putting their needs first. While this mindset seems simple, it is actually pretty subversive in the business world. Many businesses are in the game for themselves alone, but that’s just not how we do things over here!

How do you work this mission into a photography business? 

1. We don’t watermark our images. Although many photographers photoshop their logo onto each one of their images for sharing purposes, we don’t because we never want our images to look like a photographer has inserted himself/herself into the image. We want our clients to shine through. We also want the other vendors work that make the image possible to be able to share the images without having our logo distract from their beautiful masterpiece.
2. We also don’t ask vendors to pay us for images. Our images just wouldn’t be as pretty without the beautiful floral bouquet or invitation suite they are showcasing, and we believe we should give credit where credit is due without personally profiting from it.
3. We treat each and every vendor with respect and serve them when we can. It’s so easy to get tunnel vision on a wedding day because you are so focused on what you need to get done, but if you can snap out of your job for a few minutes and chose to do one nice thing for a vendor, you are not only doing the right thing, but the vendor will also love you for it. Keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be extravagant, you could just offer the videographer a bottle of water or help the florist carry the bouquets from her car. Simple, but meaningful.

If I am wondering whether or not I’m doing the right thing, I sing Glory to You by 10,000 Fathers in my head:

“Let my life bring glory, glory to You. Only to You.”

if the action lines up with that song, I know I’m good because Jesus would always choose to serve OTHERS first.

-Chelsea

Credits:

Brunch and Blooms Bag: Evergreen Events

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