When the Sessions Stop Rolling In

Let’s just say it — it happens.

Every year, like clockwork. The bookings start to dry up. You’re refreshing your email and checking your messages like you’re waiting for a snow day announcement. Crickets.

Before you go reworking your pricing, rewriting your bio, or sacrificing your gear to the algorithm gods, take a deep breath.

This is normal.

Blame It on the Weather

Here in the Midwest, we don’t have a studio. And we also don’t have year-round sunsets that feel like they were gift-wrapped by a weather app. We have brutal winters and sweaty summers — the kind that melt your face and fog your lens before you can say “f/1.4.”

During the coldest parts of winter and the hottest parts of summer, things slow down. People don’t want to schedule sessions in arctic winds or 110-degree heat indexes. Understandably.

But that doesn’t mean you’re failing.

Use the Lull

This is the part nobody puts on Instagram: the downtime.

But it’s vital.

Use it. Learn something new. Watch tutorials. Read that lighting book you bought last year and haven’t cracked open. Dust off the gear you don’t use enough and experiment. Practice on your kids. (Offer snacks as payment.)

Or hey — rest. Spend time with your family. Be present. Refuel. There’s no shame in that.

You’re Still a Photographer Even When You’re Not Shooting

Your identity doesn’t disappear just because your calendar isn’t full. If you’re growing, studying, investing, experimenting — that’s still photography. That’s still the craft.

And trust me — the sessions will come again.

People always need memories captured. And when the weather calms down, the inquiries will pick back up.

Don’t Panic. Just Prepare.

Take the lull as a gift, not a curse. Grow in it. Plan in it. Rest in it.

Because when the rush starts again — and it will — you’ll be better for it.