As a wedding photographer, we are expected to do it all. Between customer service, production, social media management, and website building, on top of the actual photography, it’s easy to see how so many entrepreneurs face burnout each year in building their businesses. Now 4+ years into the business that started as a hobby, I’ve grown it into a full time career, and now even run another full time blogging and SEO business. Through these years though I’ve experienced my fair share of burn-out. To combat said burnout though, I have implemented these five things in my life as a wedding photographer.

1. Set Boundaries

When it comes to running a business, it’s easy to blur the lines between your business and your regular life. Implementing boundaries such as no phones after 8 pm, having one full day off a week, and only allowing yourself to answer emails once a day can be life savers for your mental health. Having these boundaries in place will help you to distinguish between the time you are on the clock as a wedding photographer and off the clock, and help you to relax at the end of each work day, thus avoiding burnout!

2. SLEEP

Sleep is so freaking important, especially for creative entrepreneurs. Without a rested mind it’s nearly impossible to crank out new ideas for your life and business. Everyone is different, so take some time to get to know your body and what you need to really thrive in your lifestyle. For example, Tanner, my husband only needs 6-7 hours of sleep each night, whereas I need at least 8-9. Knowing what your body needs to perform at it’s best, will help you to prioritize your sleep for both your work self and your non-work self.

3. Plan Ahead

One of THE best ways to avoid burnout as a wedding photographer is to plan ahead! Plan out your days where you’re filming content, days where you’re writing captions for Instagram, days where you’re writing blogs to post on your site, days to work on the back-end of your site. Lay out your week, your month, and even your year so that you have an actionable game plan as you go into each and every day. Most importantly though don’t forget to plan in some time for yourself!

4. Celebrate

Give yourself credit, both for the big wins and little victories. Celebrate publishing your 1st blog post, your 2nd, your 10th, or your 100th. Celebrate every booking or item sold, even if it’s just taking a 3-minute break to dance in your kitchen. As entrepreneurs it’s easy to forget how far you’ve come. Make sure to take time to reflect on your businesses growth and everything you’ve put into it so that you can celebrate your milestones big and small!

5. Ask for Help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. In crazy periods of life, we’ve hired assistants to take on various tasks for our businesses, such as editing, social media management, and more! Other ways to ask for help can look like asking family to step in and take the kids once a month so you can plan out content, outsourcing tasks around your home, or asking your photographer friend to look over the home page on your website. These are all just little ways you can rely on your community when things get tough in business.

These 5 tips on avoiding burnout as a wedding photographer are great, but this likely isn’t going to be an easy fix. It’s a constant struggle for me still, after all as an entrepreneur, your business is your baby. It sometimes feels wrong to not be constantly attending to the work and grinding 24/7, but trust me when I say you need to take care of yourself. After all you do your best work when you’re feeling your best! For more photography and business tips check out my blog!