Hi Reader!
I’m Intentionally a Part-Time Photographer (And That’s Not a Step Down)
Ever feel like “quitting your day job” and “going full time” is the only goal that anyone talks about in photography circles?
Yeah, that’s not my story.
I’m Lydia Fine—family, newborn, and senior photographer just outside Iowa City.
Marketing nerd by day, and full-on advocate for the part-time photography life.
I’m not here because I’m scared to go full time.
I’m here because I don’t want to go full time.
And I think more photographers need to hear that’s a valid, intentional choice—not a temporary stop on the way to “making it.”
Being part-time on purpose could be the right decision for you if...
- A thousand totally valid reasons you don't have to justify to anyone, least of all me
- Your spouse is self-employed🙋♀️, or has a seasonal/contract job
- You enjoy your full-time job
- You're risk-averse, and a day job helps you sleep at night
It does NOT make you less of a professional to work a day job and run a photography business, too.
But being part-time DOES require you to be a Caitlin Clark-level pro at time management.
And that's what I talked about when I visited Jill C. Smith on her podcast, The Business Focused Photographer.
“Efficiency isn’t optional when you’re part-time—you have less time than full-timers, so your systems have to work harder.”
-- Lydia (me!), in the Part-time on Purpose episode
Listen to the Episode
👉 Play "Part-Time on Purpose" on Spotify
Alternatives to listen: Apple Podcasts / online
In this episode, Jill and I cover:
- Staying part-time, intentionally
- How I find
balance harmony, kind of, between my day job, business, and family
- Why raising prices is so damn emotional (and how to make it feel a lot less fraught)
- CRMs and workflows and automations, oh my!
- Why the photography industry is NOT oversaturated
Jill could srsly be my real-life bestie. We get each other and you can tell by this convo that covers alllll the best photography topics.
Give it a listen!
Talk soon,
Lydia
P.S.—I talk about a mentee whose business was completely transformed by our work together: from booking sessions by email, no contract, chasing down payments to a one-step booking workflow and automations that lighten her mental load. The confidence boost from getting organized helped her to increase her prices by 100% this year, and her calendar is still booked full. If you're ready for a systems-backed glow-up, I can help. I'm taking one more mentoring session in June. A 90-minute call is $300.
