A few great ways to get the best out of yourself as a photographer
Meredith Gradle • May 3, 2019

It’s easy to get settled into a routine, but no one ever got better by doing the exact same things. You all have our flow at a session, right? You know how to make brides feel calm and how to make toddlers crack up and how to make boudoir clients feel sexy. But what are a few things that you can be doing to get the best out of yourself as a photographer?



Ask for feedback

(and not just your mom or your best friend… they’re contractually obligated to love you). Share some of your favorite and maybe-favorite images with other photographers and creatives. Tell them you want their honest feedback. Ask them what they think about how the image looks but also about the story it tells. Of course it’s good, but how can it be great? Keep pushing until you have some feedback that makes you uncomfortable… and then grow from it. This blog has some great ideas for collecting feedback.



Find your best work and leverage it as inspiration

And we mean the BEST. The ones that you’d hang in your front hallway and show to everyone. If it’s an okay photo that the mom of the bride would really love… great. But you need to focus on your killer work. Figure out what was happening in your creative brain at the moment you took it. Study that. Think it was luck? We doubt it. Find that energy and channel it. Don’t stop until you’re consistently taking those kind of rad photos at every session.



Identify a few things that you’re not great at…

and then work your butt off to get better at them. Hate off-camera lighting? Make yourself a student of it. Reach out to dark venues and go to weird alleys (preferably not alone) and practice. Not great at selling yourself at a meeting? Practice and role play with your best friends. Keep at it until you’re 100% comfortable with your pitch. Stuck using auto-white balance? Force yourself to go custom. Work at getting it right every single time.



Find new efficiencies and make them part of your business flow.

Could you stay up an extra two hours after a wedding to get your images culled? Do it. Should you spend a few hours on Tuesdays writing thank you notes? Schedule it. Iris Works can help you run your business more smoothly. If you’re ready for a FREE 14-day trial, we’d love to have you. And we’re ready to get a 1:1 scheduled with our customer experience team to make the transition even better.



What are some of the things you do to push yourself for to elevate your own performance as a business owner? 


< Previous

Next >

Recent posts

email marketing for holiday mini sessions

How to Use Email Marketing to Market Your Holiday Mini Sessions

By Lauren McConihay • October 15, 2025
Holiday mini sessions are one of the most in-demand offerings for photographers each year. They’re quick, festive, and perfect for clients who want updated photos without committing to a full session. The challenge? Making sure your sessions sell out quickly before your prime dates get scooped up by something else on your clients’ calendars. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote your mini sessions, and with Iris Works , you have everything you need to create, send, and track your campaigns without juggling multiple tools.
holiday mini session tips for photographers

Tips for a Successful Holiday Mini Session Season

By Lauren McConihay • October 1, 2025
Learn how to plan and execute a stress-free, profitable holiday mini session season with Iris Works’ scheduling, workflows, and client communication tools.
holiday marketing for photographers

Getting Ahead on Holiday Marketing: Tools for Success

By Lauren McConihay • September 15, 2025
Plan your holiday promotions with confidence. Iris Works gives you the tools to launch email campaigns, manage mini sessions, sell gift cards, and automate holiday reminders—before the rush begins.
Show More