Moving Forward as a Photographer in Rochester NY

What should we CONTINUE doing?
What should we STOP doing?
What should we START doing?

So, as an ode to my former career and to give you some insight into my business, I offer you my own debrief on the year 2024 and a peek at what 2025 and beyond looks like for Britten Nicole Photography.

At the end, I’d love to hear if anything resonated with you and what you’re going to stop, start, and continue in 2025. Leave a comment down below!

Continuing in 2025:

• Meeting with every client in-person before their session. This part of my process has become kind of sacred to me. It’s deepened my connection to my amazing clients as well as my own “Why” for doing this work. Meeting in-person for a “Style & Story” consultation before sessions take place gives me an opportunity to get to know you better, ask intentional questions, hear your story, and better understand why you want these photos in the first place. It’s my favorite part of being a photographer, and will continue to be central to my process moving forward.
• Incorporating Mother Nature: this should be self-explanatory if you’ve seen my work, but if you’re new here, I will definitely be photographing more people than ever out in nature in 2025! I’ll continue searching for, and bringing you to, the most incredible places that Mother Nature has to offer. In 2024, we explored fields, shores, forests, lakes, creeks, and parks together. It was pretty epic and 2025 will only continue further along this adventure!

Stopping in 2025:

• Recommending fancy gowns for maternity sessions: Yep, you heard me! I no longer believe that long, fancy gowns are the best option for most maternity sessions. I think gowns are the first thing we think about when trying to plan for what to wear for maternity photos and hey, they’re easy! But what I’ve learned is that maternity gowns restrict movement making it hard to achieve natural, candid photos. I also find they don’t match my photography style most of the time. Most of my sessions are nature-inspired and the opposite of “Glam.” My clients prefer more laid-back attire, any way. There’s exceptions, of course, and this isn’t necessarily a blanket statement. I’ll still have gowns available in my client closet for when it makes sense. I also have a helpful guide called “What to Wear for Maternity Photos” if you want my advice for other looks aside from your typical gown!
• Doing Mini Sessions for Brand New Clients: I hate to say it, but it just doesn’t work for me anymore. I truly don’t know how some photographers get good photos when you only have 15-20 minutes (or less) for a session and you’ve never met them before! For me, photography is very personal and I can’t create art for people I don’t know. It’s as simple as that. All current and past clients can still book a mini session with me when I offer them throughout the year! The best way to get notified of mini sessions is by following me on IG @brittennicole and watching my stories 🙂

Starting in 2025:

• Collaborating More (much, much more). This might not come as a surprise to anyone who has met me IRL, but I’m shy and I’m a major homebody (we have a cozy house, what can I say!). This makes networking and meeting people in Rochester hard. My professional resolution for 2025 is to collaborate, partner, co-host, co-plan, co-create as many things as possible! I will also start featuring more local businesses, especially those who support the well-being of Mothers, in my blogs, social posts, and client recommendations. If you have suggestions, please send them my way! Email me at hello@brittennicole.com
• Offering Branding Packages: Last year felt like I was just dipping my toes into the world of branding photography and learning the ropes. Now I feel confident and ready to offer more structured packages that can help solve more problems for creative small businesses looking for personality-driven branding photos. More details to come, but just to give you an idea of where things are headed: video content, creative collaborations, full service planning and prep, and so much more!

Photo Highlights from 2024

Looking back on an incredible year <3