A Week in the Life - Behind the Scenes at Copper and Blossom Photography
It has been a long time since I personally wrote a “week in the life” style blog post.
When I first went full time with my business just over seven years ago, I would write them every week as a way to keep track of what I had been up to and how busy my week truly was. Before too long, it got rather busy and I suppose writing the blog posts felt like they were taking up more time than I had to spare, so I stopped.
But this week has been a week!
You have to imagine me saying that in a turn of phrase that makes it sound more interesting than any normal week.
It’s not that I have been particularly busier than normal. Rather, I seem to have been doing a lot more juggling and the type of work I have been doing has been much more varied. And so I felt inspired to write this post to give a bit of an insight into what happens behind-the-scenes here at Copper and Blossom.
Sunday
Let us start this week on Sunday where I had been booked for a family photoshoot in Bath. This particular family has been coming to me for their annual photoshoot for a long time. I’ve watched their boys grow and I love that we try and find a new location every time we have a shoot. Amazingly, we worked out that this was our tenth shoot together! TEN YEARS! I could hardly believe it! The boys have already said they want to do it again next year and I can’t wait to catch up with them again in 2025.
Monday
A day in the office to get on top of edits - my editing queue currently includes a couple of weddings, a number of corporate/branding photoshoots, a pre-wedding shoot and now the family photoshoot from Sunday. Juggling the edit and return of galleries is an art in itself. I have to manage client expectations as well as work to specific deadlines imposed for corporate shoots.
Being in the office also means admin! Looking at my week ahead and writing a daily to-do list is my first task followed by tackling my emails which have built up during the weekend.
Tuesday
The start of a new month and I’ve booked in to a local networking meeting in order to meet up with other local business owners. I know that this networking group is welcoming and supportive and, even though there are only five of us, I spend a couple of hours discussing my business, brainstorming ideas and hearing more about what the other attendees do.
With family commitments I need to be available for on a Tuesday I try and keep the day free of photoshoots so I can catch up on life admin as well as business tasks that I can achieve from home (accounts, social media scheduling, post office runs etc…)
Wednesday
The day starts with another networking meeting before I throw myself into editing again. I have a wedding in the queue that I want to finish by the end of the week. By keeping distractions to a minimum, I’m able to finalise the wedding and deliver it by 5pm - I’d call that a big win!
I then head home and prepare myself for a wedding consultation. After speaking to the Bride I am excited to have confirmed another wedding for 2025! I get all of the paperwork organised ready to email across to her the next day.
Thursday
I had set today aside for finalising a corporate shoot from last week which I had promised to deliver by Friday. I spend most of my morning organising the photos and preparing the online portal where the images will be uploaded.
But, the juggling continues as, slap bang in the middle of the day, I have received a last minute booking for some property photos for a local Estate Agent. Not only do I need to step away from the corporate photos to do the shoot but the images are required ASAP. From leaving my desk to delivering the final pictures, it takes me just over two hours - that’s what I’d call super-speedy!
Once the property photos are delivered, I return to the corporate shoot to finalise and deliver the images. I then head home to prepare myself for Friday - I have an intimate wedding to photograph so I need to charge my camera batteries, check the memory cards and ensure my bag is packed ready to go in the morning.
Friday
After a final check of my camera equipment, I head into the office to tackle my emails. I’ve had another last minute photoshoot booking come in for Saturday so I need to check logistics. I also need to collate and deliver information to the second photographer who is helping me with a wedding next week.
After those tasks are complete, I turn my attention to a branding shoot which is now dreadfully overdue! It’s for a good friend who has been very understanding and knows that other shoots will often need to take priority and jump up the editing queue. I’ve sent her a few photos already plus it helped that she has been away on holiday and didn’t urgently need the images! But, being a Friday, I’m eager to tie-up loose ends and so I prioritise her photos since she has been so patient.
I also have a pre-wedding photoshoot to edit. The shoot ended up taking place a just a couple of days before their wedding and, as such, I prioritised their wedding photos ahead of their pre-wedding photos. With the wedding photos now delivered, it’s time to go back to this shoot so I can deliver it on their Wedding USB which I will be sending out next week.
Then, of course, I need to set off in good time for todays wedding. It’s a very intimate one with just an hour of coverage required but I still aim to arrive at least 15 minutes before I am required.
Once the wedding is complete, its time to head off to meet a friend for a well-earned glass of wine!
Saturday
Oh - did you think the week was over? Think again! Although the weekend means that I can step away from my desk (I try not to edit or reply to emails during the weekend - a business boundary that I try with varying amounts of success to stick to!) I have a business branding shoot in the diary.
As I’m writing this on Friday night, I’m looking ahead at what’s to come. Saturdays shoot will involve 2 hours of travelling as well as the 2 hour shoot itself. The photos will then need to be downloaded and backed up as soon as I get home.
Following Fridays wedding, I’ll also be aiming to get a sneak peek across to the couple during the afternoon so that they can relive their special day.
Sunday
Oh yes, we continue!
It’s a wedding fair day which means packing up the car, setting up my stand, greeting couples for 4 hours before dismantling my stand and heading home. I’ll then need to follow up on any enquiries by email before checking all of my camera equipment ahead of Mondays wedding (yes, you heard that right - a Monday wedding).
Monday
Monday morning and time to double check all of my equipment before heading off to the wedding. It’s a pretty big one - I’ll be on site for 10 hours and I also have a second photographer with me for 4 hours. Even though I love every minute, it’s a loooooong day and I need to make sure I snatch small moments when I can to hydrate and keep my energy levels up.
Tuesday
We’re back to life-admin day although I’m also debating heading to another networking meeting… but in all honesty, I need a day off!
Ok, I’ll admit it - this blog post went on a little longer than I anticipated. But I couldn’t help but describe how my days fill up and describe what a typical week looks like behind-the-scenes. Hopefully you find it interesting to see the varied shoots and tasks that I can be working on in any given week and also how this can stretch into weekends and evenings. This week has been particularly full which has meant very little down-time… it happens every now and again and I would imagine it’s a similar story for many other small business owners (particularly those who work in weddings or events). I don’t mind too much - although I am now mightily looking forward to the few days I’ll have off when I head to Belgium next month! Bring on the waffles!