Day in the life of
Portrait Photographer – Fizzah Raza
My Typical Day
As an entrepreneur, I have some flexibility in creating my own work schedule.
My typical day starts with getting my children fed and prepared for the day. While they eat I get myself ready and then we spend some time playing and reading until our childcare provider arrives at 9am.
If it’s a shoot day (my favorite), my team will arrive at 9 to prepare and my client will arrive at 9:30. Most shoots are typically 3 hours long and we get to have fun going through different wardrobes and set. After that my client takes a lunch break at a local restaurant and I prepare the images for viewing and ordering.
After lunch, we sit down together for their ordering session. After they leave I make sure all images are backed up and then relieve my childcare provider I spend the rest of the day being a mom – playing, cooking, cleaning, etc. When the kids are in bed, I enjoy some downtime to connect with my partner. Once he’s off to bed I usually work for another couple of hours – either retouching photos, responding to emails, or planning out my social media. By far, retouching and networking take up most of my time.
On non-shoot days, I usually am networking in my community. If I’m not doing those tasks, I’m meeting with clients to help them prepare for their session: select wardrobe, plan the vision for their shoot, etc. Then it’s a combination of social media management, retouching photos, fielding inquiry calls for new clients, responding to current clients about their shoot, updating QuickBooks, creating new marketing campaigns, etc.
I currently only offer sessions on weekdays so I can keep my weekends for myself and my family. However, when I have lots of sessions I have to take a few hours every weekend to get some work done.
Pros
- I have a lot of freedom because I get to set my own schedule around what my family and I need. I set my own vacation days and time off.
- I get to help people look and feel beautiful. I provide people with portraits and portrait products that help them preserve their memories to pass down to future generations. I feel fulfilled and happy doing what I love. I enjoy the balance between creative and non-creative work for my business.
- I get to participate in local community work using my photography as an entry point. I get to connect with lots of different kinds of people in my community and beyond.
Cons
- I often feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day to keep up with everything on my to-do list and be with my family. So I resort to staying up late to get things done and often am tired throughout the week.
- It is also challenging to turn my work brain off and be present in the moment with my family.
- As a creative entrepreneur, there are often moments of self-doubt about whether my business will continue to grow and succeed. Since my studio is in my home and is a high touch personal service (hair and makeup, shooting at a close distance) the COVID-19 pandemic really negatively affected my business. I did not take client work for most of 2020 in order to keep my family, clients, and team safe.
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Photographers
photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists.
The Artist
