The first thing we want to say to all of you reading this is Thank You! Whether you are a repeat client or this is the first time you have seen our blog. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to consider Gronde Photography. Looking back at this past year, we can not be more excited for what we have coming in 2014!
This year we changed the status of our business to an official LLC! It's a huge step for us to really turn this passion into a fully thriving and self sustaining business. The average time it takes for a photographer to make a profit on their company is 3-5 years. We launched Gronde Photography in April of 2010 and in only four years, during a very dismal time in our economic state as a country, we have had a substantially profitable year! We've seen photographers who charge $5,000-$10,000 a wedding not have a profitable year in less than four years, so it just feels great and has really put an inspiration in both of us to charge ahead full speed into 2014!
We also welcomed a new crew member to the family! Liam was born in July, which put us out of commission for a large portion of the end of wedding season, but was some much needed time off to get adjusted to our new bigger family!
Here's a few facts about our past year here.
Last year we shot:
37 Family/Children Sessions
1 Maternity Session
5 Newborn Sessions
7 Engagement Sessions
9 Weddings
We traveled approx. 2,165 miles
Places Gronde Photography was published in 2013
Crystal and David's Engagement featured in
In Bliss
Crystal and David's Engagement featured in
The Bride Link
Kathryn and Nic's Wedding featured in
Borrowed and Blue
Kathryn and Nic's Wedding featured in
Fit for a Bride
Lauren and Wills Engagement featured in
Melissa Hearts Weddings
Lauren and Wills Engagement Featured in Bisou Bride
Marie and Alex's Wedding featured in
Savvy Deets Bridal
Marie and Alex's Wedding featured in
The Red Dirt Bride
Marie and Alex's Wedding featured in
Melissa Hearts Weddings
Lauren and Matt's Wedding featured in
My Hotel Wedding
Some of Lauren and Matt's Wedding photos featured on Bridalguide.com
Di and Nates Weddings featured in
Rural Bride
Social Media Presence
1,253
Facebook Followers
301
Twitter Followers
17
Google+ Followers
Be sure to add us to all of your social media to make sure you never miss what's going on here!
So here's the good part!!
*SPOILER ALERT*
So, what is our "New Years Resolution" for Gronde Photography? We have a LOT of things in the works for this coming year. More than we have ever had planned in the years past! When we started Gronde Photography we didn't just want to provide you with unforgettable images that would capture your most important memories forever; we also wanted to provide you with the best photography experience you've ever had! In 2014 we are concentrating on providing you with the most personal, attentive, stress free, amazing service you have ever had from a photographer. There are tons of photographers out there and many of us have images that are just as good as the other, but it's our service that is going to set us apart. We're improving everything from our photo sessions pricing and packages to the way we package our products to send to you (some of you have already received the new packaging)!
Starting immediately (for the past few weeks actually) we now accept all major credit cards! So, one of the ways we kept our cost to you down was by only accepting cash and check. We were kind of like that gas station you see that is always $.15 cheaper than everyone else but you never see anyone using because they don't accept credit. Eventually we had to realize that photography, especially wedding photography, is a large expense and not everyone has cash and who uses checks anymore? We did a LOT of research on the best possible way for companies like us to accept credit cards but do it in a completely secure way! (Chris having an IT background is very into the security aspect) So now, although we can still accept cash or check, you can pay via an online invoice we email you or even right on the spot at your consult! We can accept all major credit cards and we are backed by the most secure mobile payment system out on the market, Paypal.
In early 2014 we are going to start renovations to include a studio space in our home! It's going to give us a greater range for the possibilities of photos, especially when the weather prevents us from going outside. It will give us a safe, secure, and consistent environment for newborn sessions if your home doesn't have the space for us to set up our mobile studio. It will also give us the opportunity to provide a comfortable environment to expand on doing more boudoir sessions without having to use a hotel room or large commercial studio. And It will also give us a space where wedding clients can come and view samples of products, from wedding albums to canvases, and see what their images look like on large screen and up on a wall rather than just the thumbnails on the online gallery. We want our clients to be excited to see their images and excited to have products they can show off in their home rather than just a CD of digital images in a drawer somewhere and we want to help you with those decisions.
We also spent a lot of time redesigning the online gallery to make it simpler and better looking for viewing your photos easier. We made it easier to purchase your favorite print images with the best vendors in the business for long lasting perfect photos. The new event sites will have NO time limit, so no more requesting us to reopen your gallery after it has been live for 90 days. For our wedding clients, we make it even better by giving your gallery it's very own personalized website domain! So you will just have to type in something like bridesnameandgroomsname.com and there your pictures will be! We will be taking down the old event site soon to make way for the new site, so if you have a gallery you still want to order from please let us know so that we can import your photos into the new system.
Our wedding photography is having the biggest transition this year! New prices and new packages which offer even more than they did in the past. More packages include a wedding album from a new vendor which is just the absolute best in the business! We haven't seen another wedding album like these before (and can't wait to order some samples!). These are albums your grandchildren will be able to flip through like they are brand new! Every package includes an engagement shoot! We want you to have that engagement shoot and have that opportunity to have a relaxed fun photo session to tell your love story; whether including a theme of your favorite movie together or go back to the place where you first met or got engaged. It also gives us a chance to see how you interact and get a chance to know us and our shooting style and see our photos so you are completely at ease on your wedding day, knowing your photography is going to be perfect! Every package also includes Thank You cards to send to your guests that will feature YOUR photo on it!
Another addition to our wedding service is our new branded welcome packets that Brandy and I have spent SO much time perfecting before their first launch! Some brides come in knowing exactly what they want in their wedding and exactly how it is going to go from beginning to end, other brides come in and immediately tell us they have no clue where to even begin with planning their wedding. All they know is they wanted to book their photographer early. (Which is good advice from whoever told them that!!) So, we put together a packet that is just bursting with great information to make your wedding picture perfect, from information on our FAVORITE vendors to work with, what to wear on your engagement session, whether or not to do a first look, to a checklist of what you should have planned and how to stay on track. We are still working on the possibility of adding even more information to the packet as the year goes on; as well whether or not to start one for portrait sessions as well! (perhaps a .pdf version?)
This is honestly just a taste of what is to come! These are just some examples of some of the bigger changes we're making here at Gronde Photography! Please continue to follow our blog and our newsletter and all of our social media outlets to make sure you are "in the know" of everything going on and please share us with your friends and family! Especially if you know someone who hasn't had photos of themselves or their family in a long time (or ever!). Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for your support in turning our passion into a reality. Whether you are just a fan of our work or a repeat client! We couldn't have done any of this without you! Happy 2014!! See you soon!
Chris and Brandy
Gronde Photography
