Seeing My Photos In The Wild

On my favorite things is the rare time I get to see a photo I shot for someone framed and on the wall.

I get a lot of positive feedback, which of course feels good. I don't think people are just humoring me; they paid for good photos, and I'm sure I would hear about it if I didn't.

But there is something about seeing a photo in print, hung on a prominent wall, or on a save-the-date or thank you card, or even on someone's Facebook page. It's great because I want people to love and use their photos, but it's especially great because I know that no one is hanging one of my photos just to be nice to me. 

They'd only do it because they love the photo and want to see it every day.

That's the goal.

Nine

I’m a bit late, but Zack Wussow Media just passed it’s ninth anniversary. Typically I do a quick post with some thoughts about the last year, but I’ve been putting it off because this has, obviously, been a weird year.

Actually, it was already unusual for me personally in the second half of 2019. Many of you know I have worked for a yearbook photo company in the fall for many years. My 2019 season was cut a little short when an opportunity came up to start a new, year-round position in graphic design for a company down the street. It was looking like the future might be quite different for me…

Then 2020 happened. That company folded, and I was back to 100% photography. Except weddings, events, even portrait sessions were canceled indefinitely due to COVID-19.

Now as my tenth year gets going, the wedding industry is slowly creeping back to life, maybe?, and the end of 2020 is looking a lot more like years of the past. Weddings and yearbooks, albeit both with big asterisks depending on how things go.

What’s that tenth year actually hold? No idea. I’m fortunate to say my personal situation, family, etc. mean my wife and I will be fine for the foreseeable future. But no doubt, that future is murky.

I hope you are all doing well.

Progress Report

I'm in a somewhat unusual career. 

I know that I've developed and become a better photographer as my experience has grown, but it's hard to... Prove it? Every wedding is different, every venue is different, so it's hard to look at old photos and new photos and know what change is me, and what change is circumstantial.

Which is why I love the events I photograph for UConn every spring. Not only are they often in the same venue year after year, but quite often the same people speak, wearing the same regalia. It's a rare chance to compare apples to apples.

I especially wanted to compare this year because I made a substantial change, switching from ambient light/bounce flash to using a remotely-triggered flash on a stand. It's not a huge change, but I feel like it makes a real difference. 

Just a little something I thought was interesting! Next week more adorable couples, or possibly a baby.

State of the Business - 2018 in Review

2018 is behind us, which means it’s time to look back.

CATCHING MY BREATH

2017 was a crazy year - not only my busiest year professionally but also pretty crazy personally. I got married and bought a house. So I’m happy to say 2018 was all around more sedate. Fewer weddings, spread out more evenly through the year, and no giant changes in my life. One tiny change though…

A NEW FURRY FAMILY MEMBER

Heather and I adopted a stray kitten named Peach. She was and continues to be a handful but is adorable and endlessly entertaining. If you feel like you didn’t get enough cat photos this year, we sequestered all of ours on a separate Instagram account.

EXPANDING HORIZONS

While weddings were down, I did more maternity photo sessions than ever before, and my first newborn sessions! I was hoping to expand this branch of my business this year, so seeing this grow is really nice, and 2019 is looking promising too.

THE NUMBERS

WEDDINGS: 21 (DOWN 5 FROM 2017)

Like I said, a quieter year! And even more than it seems, as two of those were second shooting gigs, which are substantially easier. And the change didn’t even hurt my bottom line too much, as rising average prices made up some of the difference. This is actually a return to baseline of sorts, as I did 19 weddings in each of 2014, ‘15, and ‘16. I think ideally I’d sit somewhere between 2017 and 2018, maybe with even a few more second shooting jobs in there as well.

ENGAGEMENTS: 4 (DOWN 4 FROM 2017)

This is somewhat a deceptive number - I actually sold more than 4 engagements, in the form of included ones with weddings, that for various reasons never happened. In 2019 I’ll be making up for it with those couples as well as new ones. Going forward I’d like to get every couple to have an engagement session, as it’s a great way to get to know my couples.

OTHER PORTRAITS: 12 (UP 6 FROM 2017)

Babies! Specifically breaking this down, it was 4 family photo shoots, 2 headshot sessions, 4 maternity sessions, and 2 newborn sessions. I love doing these for several reasons - they are smaller and more relaxed than weddings, more evenly distributed year round, and a great way to keep working with my wedding couples as they go on to the next steps in their lives!

CORPORATE GIGS: 4 (DOWN 2 FROM 2017)

As in years past, this category could really be called “UConn Events”. Mostly the same ones as years past, and only down because a couple events didn’t happen this year. Always fun to help out my Alma Mater, though.

COMING OF AGE/MISC. EVENTS: 3 (UP 1 FROM 2017)

One bridal shower, and two events with the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, where a friend of mine works. The museum is a tough spot since flash isn’t allowed in most rooms, but they are fun events none-the-less and feels like a great cause!

TOTAL: 44 (DOWN 4 FROM 2017)

A quieter year to be sure, but I really needed that after 2017!

OTHER STUFF

The one area 2018 wasn’t so restive was travel - beyond a travel packed yearbook season, I also took three bigger trips. Heather and I went to Florida in January to visit family, in April we went on our belated honeymoon to Bar Harbor, and over the summer we went on a work-related trip to Provincetown and to visit a friend who lives on Cape Cod. All very fun trips!

I also rediscovered the joy of going to my local library in a big way - I read 68 books this year! (Gotta do something while resting up, right?) Highlights for me: Brain on Fire by Susan Cahalan, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. I’m also really glad I read Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow but won’t sugar coat it - it’s a slog. It took me all year, dipping in periodically, to finish it.

COMING UP

2019 is a bit more up in the air than I would like so far. Feel free to fix that by recommending me to your friends and family! I am very much looking forward to photographing three weddings of dear friends next year, including one that will mean a mostly free vacation.

I do expect to see even more portrait, maternity, and newborn sessions which I am excited about!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope you have had a wonderful year, and that 2019 is even better!

State of the Business - 2017 in Review

It's time again. Every December, I like to take a moment and look back at the year gone by. 

BIGGER AND BIGGER STILL

2017 was Zack Wussow Media's best and busiest year so far. I said the same thing last year and the year before that, which is all very exciting of course! The biggest change was in weddings - more on that to come.

Busy Year

Beside work, this was a huge year for me personally. I got married in April, and bought a house in August! Needless to say, it made for a very exciting and hectic year!

Very Busy Fall

As with the past four years, I spent my weeks September-December taking yearbook photos all over New England, and most weekends at weddings, editing weddings, and booking more weddings. As in previous years, more couple chose to move their weddings into autumn. In September, I had eight!

Which brings us to the exciting bit...

THE NUMBERS

WEDDINGS: 26 (UP 7 FROM 2016/2015/2014)

I felt so busy this year, but it wasn't until recently I actually tallied up all the weddings and just... Wow. That's an extra third more weddings. Which is very exciting! Lots of you lovely people have been passing my name around and it's showing.

It's also an odd position to be in, though, because until people start getting married in the winter, this is close to the max I can realistically do. Something I will have to think about going forward.

My career total now comes to 117 weddings!

ENGAGEMENTS: 8 (SAME AS 2016)

As with last year, the majority of my engagements were sold as part of wedding packages. I'm still really glad that it's becoming a popular option - its great getting to meet and work with couples before the big day, and I really enjoy doing portraits.

OTHER PORTRAITS: 6 (UP 1 FROM 2016)

This includes headshots, maternity photos, and family photos. Headshots are down 1, family photos up 2, and maternity unchanged. 

I've been making an effort to expand this part of the business, especially the maternity side. Unfortunately, I tracked down a lot of maternity folks this fall... and pregnancies take 9 months. So expect to see lots of spring maternity sessions on the blog. Can't wait!

As before, a lot of return customers this year.

CORPORATE GIGS: 6 (DOWN 2 FROM 2016)

This includes product photography and events. Or did, last year, when I did some product photography. It's a field I've never been particular excited about, but worked with some family friends on. This year we dropped it altogether.

Corporate events, meanwhile, are great. Very similar to weddings, but lower stakes and spread more evenly through the year. If memory serves, this year I did exactly the same events as last year, which is great. If they wanted I'd happily book for the next decade!

COMING OF AGE/MISC. EVENTS: 2 (DOWN 3 FROM 2016)

I can't say this section makes me especially happy. I did no coming of age ceremonies this year. That's something I would like to do more of, but I admit I'm at something of a disadvantage. I don't personally come from a culture that celebrates any big coming of age events, so I'm a bit in the dark when it comes to where people find their photographers, what they are looking for, what they expect to pay, etc. We will see where it goes next year.

The misc. events category was, as usual, an odd assortment - one wedding rehearsal (a substitute for package engagement session), and the other a first birthday party. Though perhaps I should count that as a coming of age event!

TOTAL: 48 (UP 3 FROM 2016)

I love how much this number hides the actual change in my workload. Since I traded four little jobs for weddings and then added another three weddings. It was a crazy year. 

OTHER STUFF

I drove about 13,000 miles for work this year, split about 70/30 between my yearbook season and everything else. Because naturally the year I have eight weddings in September is also the year I have mostly out-of-town and out-of-state schools! Luckily, I also bought a new car this year before most of the travel, so I got to travel in the relative luxury of a Subaru Imprezza. (I do genuinely love that car!)

I also flew to Chicago for a wedding, which was an amazing trip and supplants North Carolina as the furthest place I've traveled for a wedding. (If you want me to travel to your wedding, drop me a line, we will make it work!)

My wife, Heather, was my second shooter for eleven(!) weddings this year, up four from last year. It's really fun having her along, and it helps pay our mortgage, which is important me to.

I also read 45 books, and watched 83 movies. If I had to pick the best of those that came out this year, I'd probably recommend Thor: Ragnarok and Turtles All The Way Down by John Green respectively (if you like to get your recommendations from wedding photographers). Also, it appears I neither watched nor read anything about photography or photographers. Oops. 

COMING UP

Next year's looking pretty good so far - I've booked around fourteen weddings, a fair number of engagements and events, and have hopefully lined up a handful of maternity sessions.

January actually has my first wedding, a trip to Florida (pleasure, not business), and the eagerly anticipated moment when I am totally caught up on editing for the first time since mid-August.

I'm sure this spring will bring a fair amount of work on the new house, and Heather and I are trying to, finally, get away for our honeymoon sometime around the one year mark.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I might take a week off as I start to update my portfolio here on the site, but otherwise we'll be back to regular blog posts soon. Hope you had a great holiday season, and a very happy New Year!

29

It's my birthday. Twenty-nine times I've been around the sun, and the last five of those I've been making a living as a photographer. 

Pictured: Me using a camera I didn't own and never used professionally.

I can't put into words how lucky I am. Not many people get to follow their passion. Fewer do by thirty. Even fewer do without first driving themselves batty working someplace they can't stand.

Pictured: Also me not working.

It's been a crazy ride. I've had to learn to be my own accountant, advertiser, web designer, and salesperson. It's been hard work, but I also know I couldn't have done it alone.

Pictured: Me working in a silly hat.

I owe my success to so many people: my family, who's support was essential to getting Zack Wussow Media off the ground; my fiance, who's been my council, my proofreader, and lately my second shooter. But most of all, I owe my success to my customers, who have been my best promoters and without whom I couldn't have done any of this.

Pictured: Me pretending to work during a break from working.

So thank you all, and here's to all the exciting things ahead this year!

State of the Business - 2016 in Review

It's time again. Every December, I like to take a moment and look back at the year gone by. People seem to like seeing the number, as well. So, here we go:

BIGGER AND BIGGER STILL

2016 was Zack Wussow Media's best and busiest year so far. You might notice I said the same thing last year - had I been blogging in late 2014 I could have said the same thing then too. All of which is to say the business keeps growing by basically any measure. Makes me happy.

STRONG START

2016 began from a much better place than 2015. I was still some mix of anxious and excited to get through the slow winter months, but I spent less time eyeing my bank account. Next year is likewise shaping up to be comfortable, if anything a bit better than 2016.

HUSTLE

Fall is always a busy time, but this year was especially bad. Good? I guess it depended on how much work separated me and a bed when you asked.

As with the past three years, I spent my weeks September-November (er... early December) taking yearbook photos all over New England, and many of my weekends at weddings, editing weddings, and booking more weddings. It's not so much that I shot more weddings this year, just that they clustered more tightly into my fall yearbook season, which itself was more busy than previous years.

(As an aside - I put together a spreadsheet showing how the wedding season, or at least my wedding season, is shifting later and later every year. The trend is there but not in an exciting enough way to pretty it up for this post.)

And since I am already bringing up numbers...

THE NUMBERS

WEDDINGS: 19 (SAME AS 2015/2014)

Once again, it feels like it was way more than that... I'm actually quite surprised that this number has stayed so constant over time. I believe this year saw the smallest proportion of "hourly" weddings, though, which probably accounts for feeling like this year was busier. Or my memory isn't that great. Either way.

My career total comes now to 90 weddings. (I also second shot 1 wedding.)

ENGAGEMENTS: 8 (UP 4 FROM 2015)

This is my biggest change from 2015. Mostly it's due to engagements now being standard with my biggest package, but it's also partly because I'm slowly moving to a higher price bracket, and people want to work with me on a small scale before committing to the big contract. Which is great - I welcome the on-the-job interview and chance to work with clients before the big day.

OTHER PORTRAITS: 5 (NO CHANGE FROM 2015)

This includes headshots, maternity photos, and family photos. Headshots are up 1, family photos down 1, and maternity unchanged. 

I'd really love this to be a bigger part of my business (so if you are interested, drop a line!). Working on that is one of my big goals for the early part of 2017 - expect to see some more involved and creative portrait shoots written up here.

What does make me feel good, though: all but one of these was a return customer. That tells me I'm doing a good job - the problem is with reaching new people..

CORPORATE GIGS: 8 (NO CHANGE FROM 2015)

This includes product photography and events. The "no change" actually hides an important shift. In 2015 those two camps were split evenly 4/4, this year it's 2/6 respectively. That's a great change for me going forward.

Product photography is a totally different business to weddings, and a field I'm lukewarm about. All the work I've ever done in this category has come through family friends. In short, it's nice to have, but not a real focus of my business.

Corporate events, meanwhile, tend to be like shorter, less-convoluted weddings, and distribute themselves more evenly throughout the year. (In fact, since a lot of them are with UConn, they tend to be during my slow winter/spring season.)

So not a big change overall, but within this category the trends are good.

COMING OF AGE/MISC. EVENTS: 5 (UP 3 FROM 2015)

There are aspects to this I am not happy about - I only did one Bar Mitzvah this year, for example, compared to 2 last year - but in general I am very excited to see people thinking of me for things outside the wedding/engagement box. As far as I recall, all of these came from referrals through friends and past customers.

TOTAL: 45 (UP 7 FROM 2015)

Well, that explains why I felt busier! As with all the above: it's a trend I like and hope to see continue, especially if more of the uptick is from small, non-seasonal stuff like engagements, events, and portraits.

OTHER STUFF

I drove almost exactly 10,000 miles for work this year, split 50/50 between my yearbook season and everything else. I'm deeply sick of the inside of my car.

Also, my fiance was my second shooter for seven weddings this year! (Including the above.) Heather has really hit a groove, and it's kind of awesome how much her photos look like my own. Plus, you know, it is nice spending time with her and all.

Coming Up

Next year's already filling out nicely for weddings - I've booked around twelve, at last check. And a fair number of engagements and events.

This winter should see a couple snowy engagement shoots and I have a handful of just-for-fun portrait projects lined up. 

I'm also getting married in April. So, you know, work to be done getting ready for that!

Happy Holidays!

With this the blog is on Christmas break while I catch up on the last of this year's editing and spend time with friends and family. We'll be back for New Years Eve, when I shoot my last wedding of the year, and try to come up with some goals for 2017.

A Quick Note on Smugmug

Recently, a major online photo hosting site, Picturelife, went through some troubles and ultimately collapsed. 200 million photos, everything from trip snapshots to baby photos uploaded by their users and often not existing anywhere else, were at risk of disappearing forever. 

Smugmug, the company that hosts the online galleries I give out to all my clients, stepped up and, free of charge, rescued the entire catalog and made it available for Picturelife's customers to download.

Smugmug will probably get some new customers, but ultimately this is a losing proposition. They're just doing it because it's the right thing to do.

In a way, my Smugmug galleries are the same thing - I always lose money on them, because I don't force people to purchase prints there. But it's fine - it's a tiny cost, and I feel like in today's age having a private gallery is essential. So it makes me really happy to see that Smugmug is running their business the same way I try to run mine.

So happy, in fact, I want to do something nice for them. Good deeds should be rewarded, right? So I've made a coupon, good on all my client's galleries through October 15th, 2016, where you can get any print you want at cost. I wont make a cent, but Smugmug will. I think they deserve it.

Use coupon code "SMHero" to get the discount.

They also just added photo cases for iPhone and Samsung S7, which are pretty awesome. Hint hint.