Why we started an associate photography company
Why we started an associate photography company
Rebecca Anne Photography is a Seattle area wedding photographer who has been in the business for 13 years and has shot over 300 weddings. Behind that quick one liner is a girl who has been striving to grow the best possible wedding photography company she has, all by herself! Sure, I am married to a man who is a marketer and have a father who is a programmer and web designer, a mother who is an English and Business major and although they help me as much as they can, I’ve really been in this all alone. We now receive over 400 inquiries a year and that number keeps growing and I just can’t physically shoot that many weddings while still providing the best experience possible for my clients. And personally, we also have a growing family and while wanting to maintain my business, I also have this little person demanding my time.
And so, insert growing our team and adding on associate photographers. I knew I did not want my business to die as I shifted to becoming a mom and I wanted to keep the option open to shooting as many weddings as I wanted. But personally shooting 40+ weddings a year wasn’t going to be an option for me anymore. And so the vision came into place to start prepping to grow my brand. Systems and programs were put into place to be able to handle the growth and accommodation of more people before every considering bringing someone on board. And then, finding the right people. All of our associate photographers had shot with me and impressed me with not only their shooting capabilities but their love of people and desire for amazing customer service. And so every year for the past 4 years we have added one more associate to our team (and yes, we’re looking to hire our 4th associate this year!).
It has been amazing to see these girls make Rebecca Anne Photography their own and fall in love with our clients and the experience of getting to work together. They’ve all stolen my heart and become some of my dearest friends. I’m no longer in this alone and still get to provide an amazing experience to my clients like I did when I was doing it alone.
Why would someone want to be an associate?
Being a photographer and running a photography business are two different things. Some might prefer the artistic aspect of photography to the management aspect of a business. Some might want to keep their full-time job with all the benefits they have, rather than to run a business and lose all benefits. Some might want to work in a team with the support of the whole team, rather than to work alone.
Something you haven’t thought of: If they work as a team with several associates, you won’t have to worry what if something happens and the assigned photographer cannot make it to your wedding. They always have backup to use before they have to find someone outside of their team.
What is in the future for Rebecca Anne Photography?
We hope to keep capturing the most amazing stories for our couples with the best experience possible. We are currently working on bringing on our 4th associate photographer to our team and have hopes to continue to grow with more photographers as well as hopefully a dedicated editor and also an office manager. We have no plans of stopping anytime soon, we love it too much.
