Our 2023 Portrait Business Wrap Up
Running a small business can often feel like a marathon, but this year it's felt different.
Maybe it's because, as working moms, we are finding a new stride as our toddlers turn five and our bigs no longer need us to wipe their noses and tie their shoes. Maybe it's bringing on more support for the BTS part of our work, or maybe it’s all of the above paired with photographing amazing people like you.
We truly have been blessed to work with some of the most kind, supportive, and gracious humans this year.
As we recap the year, we are listing some of our favorite things from 2023 as well as what we are looking forward to in 2024.
What we loved in 2023:
Studio sessions:
There are still days it feels surreal that we both get to do photography for a job. And walking into our downtown studio space creates a “pinch me, I'm dreaming” feeling more times than not. We talked about opening a photography studio for years, however, the timing never seemed right. And then, by chance, on the way to mother’s day out drop off last fall, Abbey saw the “for lease” sign in the Phoenix Saloon building and made the call. When we walked into the studio it was literally the perfect space for us - square footage wise, ceiling height wise, and lighting wise.
It is safe to say that a year+ into having the studio we are loving it more and more with each passing session. Like getting to know a new friend, we have loved getting to work in this space in various ways for different sessions. It’s been really fun to challenge ourselves creatively through trying new lighting scenarios or photographing from different angles to achieve different types of photographs with the same general aesthetic.
If you are looking for a timeless way to document your people, a studio session could be just the right thing for you! Reach out via our contact page to book your 2024 session.
Growing a team for our school program:
At the end of last year’s school portrait season we knew the next step for our program was to add some team members. We started working towards this in early 2023 so the learning curve wouldn’t be as steep come the busy Fall season. We are incredibly thankful for the women that have come alongside us as we photographed about 3,000 students this fall through Recess, our modern school portrait experience.
The School Portrait Pop-Up:
The Fall 2023 school portrait pop-up was our very first time welcoming people to the studio. We were literally moving furniture and boxes in the day before the pop-up.
It was a lot of fun to host it for the second time in a more established studio space. We both love to host and adding extra finishing touches to this event this year made it our best pop-up yet! The Fall 2024 School Portrait Pop-Up dates are TBD, but you can find out more about this once-a-year Loft Creative event on our site.
Our 6 Days of Loft Christmas Giveaways on Instagram:
Way back in our wedding photography years we used to do 12 Days of Loft Giveaways at Christmas on Instagram. If you’ve been around for a while, you may remember those days. We had a lot of fun doing them, but in the middle of raising babies and pivoting away from weddings to a completely different photography business model, the Loft Giveaways ended for a season.
But, we really wanted to bring them back this year.
We did so in a paired down form. We chose 6 days instead of 12, but also offered more high-ticket items. It was a lot of fun, and a way we get to say “thank you” to our supporters. We were blown away by the amount of support and engagement you all gave during the giveaway days and we absolutely love getting to bless the winners with free sessions and product from some of our favorite local New Braunfels brands.
We're dreaming up some pretty great things for 2024 and we invite you to do the same in your life and work!
What we are excited about in 2024:
The Loft Studio Rentals: Fellow photographers and videographers have been asking about renting the studio space, and we absolutely have plans for this in 2024. We know how hard it is to find studio rentals in the New Braunfels area. They are pretty much non-existent. When we signed on the studio this was actually one of the first things we talked about doing, but other areas of our business needed more attention so this little dream got moved down the list.
We are still working out a few details in terms of contracts + having the studio properly stocked for rentals, but for all of you who have reached out about this, know that we are working towards this in early 2024!
If you want to be the first to know about studio rental availability, hop on our Studio Rental List below. This will be the place to get any and all studio rental updates as we get closer to posting availability!
More Schools: We are most definitely still in growth mode when it comes to our school program. Please know you can always reach out if you think your student’s school might be a good fit! We have resources available for parents to send to their schools or we can also get in touch with your contact at the school if you are interested in making the connection for us! Working with private schools and preschools across central Texas has been such a blessing to both our business and families. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for school portraits in 2024!
More offerings for our portrait clients: We are hashing out the details for a few new offerings for our portrait clients including both physical products as well as some session incentives. Stay tuned as we develop these new offerings to help document your memories in a timeless and meaningful way.
Resources for Fellow Photographers:
We’ve got big hearts for small businesses, and after running a photography business for over ten years, we are excited to be sharing resources for other photographers looking to grow businesses that are not only profitable but also peaceful. Our goal is to help others avoid some of the road blocks and challenges we’ve faced along the way in order to reach profitability and clarity in business. We can’t wait to share more in the new year!
