E21: Goal Setting and Work-Life Balance for Photographers

Raise your hand if you’ve ever set a goal and promptly forgot it existed by March. 🙋‍♀️ Same.

This week’s RAW Edit episode is part therapy session, part strategy jam as we dive into goal setting and work-life balance — not the Pinterest version, but the photographer-in-her-slow-season-wondering-who-she-is version.

Wait, We Actually Crushed 2025?!

Sarah and Kellie started with a quick look back and realized… they actually nailed more of their 2025 goals than they gave themselves credit for. Proof that sometimes we need to pause and freaking celebrate. 🎉

We also realized: yearly goals = ✨ overwhelming. Breaking things down into monthly goals? Now that feels doable.

Plan Life, THEN Plan Work

One of the biggest lightbulb moments? Stop planning your life around your business. Flip it.

Kellie maps out her calendar starting with school breaks, holidays, family stuff — then drops in the work. Genius. It leaves room to breathe instead of burning out (and turning into a crispy, resentful photographer zombie by October).

Photography Business Calendar Strategy That Won’t Break You

Sarah shared how she only shoots June–October in the Midwest. Why? Because that’s what aligns with her life, energy, and seasonal business flow. She reverse engineers her income goals and workload to fit into that window — with plenty of buffer for editing and design work.

No more back-to-back-to-back shoots in November just because “that’s what everyone else is doing.” Nope.

Weekend Work? Not Mandatory.

Let’s talk about this myth that you have to work weekends. Sarah hasn’t shot seniors on weekends for 3 years. And guess what? Nobody blinked.

Clients will adapt if you set the boundary. Weekdays are fair game, especially for seniors and immediate families. You are not Amazon Prime — and you’re allowed to take weekends off.

Make the Most of the Slow Season

Instead of filling the slow months with guilt and random projects, we’re being intentional.
– Batch marketing
– Record podcasts
– Update workflows
– Take a dang course or rest — both are productive.

Sarah’s working on grad announcements and albums. Kellie’s implementing tips from a client experience course. We’re both making the most of this quiet season so we can coast through the chaos when it hits.

You Don’t Need to Do It All Alone

We also hit on how powerful collaboration and accountability are. Brainstorming, co-working weekends, regular check-ins — all of it keeps us sane and moving forward.

Oh, and we’re diving into Human Design in the next episode, because obviously we had to make it weird.

Looking for a course to take in the off season? Check out our friend Natasha Sewell’s, NPS Photography, Client Experience Blueprint. Create a client journey that’s clear, elevated, and effortless—for you and your clients. Stop Reacting. Start Building a Client Experience That Works For You. A clear, repeatable system for photographers who are tired of guessing what comes next and ready to finally feel confident at every client touchpoint.