Pregnant Wedding Photographer

I can really be the nervous type – especially when it comes to business related things. There is a sense of insecurity that I think all entrepreneurs share, just knowing that your next paycheck is never guaranteed.

With all of the uncertainty of having a baby, I was understandably on edge as I booked for 2016. I had heard a lot of stories from other photographer momma’s that bookings don’t come as easily with a big, pregnant belly.

Why? No one can say for sure, but some guesses I’ve heard include the worry you might not be ready to return to work in time for their wedding, or that you are less relatable to brides. Many couples aren’t in a place where they are thinking about having their own children since they are still worried about wedding planning. Either way, I knew 2016 would be a pivotal one in my career.

There has never been a time that I’ve doubted myself, my pricing, my branding, and just about everything else as I did this past year. Out of that insecurity, I began implementing safe guards that I thought would help to avoid the pregnancy booking drought that so many of my peers struggled with.

One of the things that I think helped the most was moving my meetings from being in person, to meeting over Skype or FaceTime. By using FaceTime, my pregnant belly wasn’t in view, so I didn’t have to worry my clients with questions of my commitment to my career or their wedding. I was keeping them from the worry that I already knew wasn’t an issue.

I also didn’t post a lot about my pregnancy on my person social media pages. I didn’t want to stifle my word of mouth referrals from friends, because they weren’t sure when I was due, or when I would be back to work.

I’m so thankful that I did those things, and that my prayers were answered because even with a total rebrand, a raise in price for my wedding collections, and being pregnant, I booked 2016 totally normally.

If you are pregnant, and wondering what your job as a wedding photographer is going to look like, I definitely recommend FaceTime consults and being cautious of what and how much you post online!