How Slow Season Planning in September Saves December

How Slow Season Planning in September Saves Your December

Picture December 22nd. Three last-minute sessions on the calendar because someone begged for updated photos before the grandparents arrive. It is 11:30 pm, you are culling one gallery with five more stacked behind it, the holiday cards have not gone out, and your family keeps asking when you will be done with work. Underneath it all is that nagging thought: how did I end up here again?

Slow-season planning for family photographers isn’t something you do in December, when you are already underwater. The December you get is decided in September. The choices you make about your money and your marketing over the next four to six weeks determine whether your holiday season has margin or you get burned to a crisp. These are the exact three things I am working on in my own business right now.

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Why Do Family Photographers Get Overbooked Every December?

December is the one month where demand comes to you instead of you chasing it, so saying no feels financially irresponsible even when your capacity is gone.

You do not end up overworked in December because you are bad at business. You end up overbooked because holiday inquiries arrive with no effort, and those families often don’t think about booking until everyone is together and panicking. Their frantic energy becomes yours. Add in the fact that you have watched inquiries dry up in other seasons, and turning down money feels reckless. So you say yes. And yes again.

Here is the reframe. You are not saying yes to everything because you lack discipline. You are saying yes because you do not have a number. You have no idea how much you actually need in December, so every inquiry feels like a yes you cannot afford to refuse. That is not a willpower problem. That is a missing system.

What Is Your December Number and How Do You Calculate It?

Your December number is your business overhead for the month, plus the taxes you owe on your income, plus the amount you want to pay yourself.

Together, those three pieces give you a real target instead of a vague fear.

Piece one: your December overhead. This is everything leaving your business bank account in December, whether you photograph a single session or not. Go look at your real numbers instead of guessing, because it is more than you think:

• Your CRM (mine is Dubsado, and annual renewals love to land in December)
• Your email platform (mine is Flodesk)
• Website hosting, domain renewals, and gallery delivery
• Business insurance, accounting software, and cloud backup
• Professional dues, memberships, and any education you are currently in

Piece two: taxes. I hate this part too, and it is where photographers glaze over. But it is what wrecks people. A photographer has a strong November and December, sets nothing aside, and then April arrives with a bill she never saved for.

You do not need this calculated to the penny. You need one percentage applied to every payment that comes in. Mine is 20 to 25% every month, and that money is untouchable. Not for education. Not for an emergency outfit for a shoot. Taxes only.

Piece three: what you pay yourself. Not what is left over. What you want to take home so your family gets the holiday season you want for them. If you do not decide that ahead of time, you become the last person paid in your own business. That is backwards.

Add all three together, and you have your December number.

How Do You Save for Slow Season Without Booking More Sessions?

Once you know your December number, September through November become savings months. A set portion of every session payment goes straight into a separate account you do not touch.

Not your operating account. A separate, boring, hands-off savings account with December’s name on it. Watching that number climb through fall is satisfying, because every dollar in there is a session I do not have to say yes to out of obligation.

Now the tough love, and I am saying this to myself too. Fall is peak season for shiny object syndrome. Everyone is launching a course, a preset pack, a conference ticket, and it is easy to believe your business is stuck because you have not bought the right thing yet. Sometimes growth is slow. It means opening the course you bought last year and finishing it, or using the CRM you already pay for instead of shopping for a new one. I am not against investing. I am against justifying a new purchase every other week.

If you love this in theory but have no idea where to start, I built The Bookkeeping Template for Creatives for exactly this. It is a plug-and-play Google Sheets template for tracking income, expenses, and taxes month by month.

My (wonderful) husband Ty built the first version because he was discouraged watching me work constantly and never pay myself. Other photographers tested it in 2020 and 2021, and it became the most popular product in my shop. My brain does not do QuickBooks, so this one is color-coded and creative-brain-friendly, with a video walkthrough under 30 minutes. I have an accountant now, and I still use it monthly.

Why Does Your September Marketing Matter for January Bookings?

Organic marketing works on a delay. Content published in September is what brings in January inquiries, because search engines need time to index and rank your work.

Here is a pattern I watch every year. A photographer is booked solid September through November. Then January hits, and it is dead silent. Out comes panic marketing: resuscitating a neglected Instagram account, running a flash sale nobody wanted, emailing a list that has been ghosted for five months.

That does not work, because marketing is not a vending machine. You do not put content in on Monday and get an inquiry on Tuesday. Marketing works more like farming. There is a planting season and a harvest season, and January is not the month to plant if you want to eat in February.

So get honest about your slow months. For most family photographers who do not own a studio, January through part of March is quiet. The question is not “how do I survive January.” It is, “What do I want to be booking in January, February, and March, and what do I need to say right now to make that happen?“

What Should Family Photographers Blog About in September?

Write for the client who will book you in January, not the one booking this week. Winter session guides, newborn content, and booking process posts all need lead time to rank.

Your long-form content right now should be doing double duty. Yes, market your fall and holiday availability. But some of your content needs to speak directly to the family who will need you in winter. Blog posts are the easiest way to do this, because you already have the visuals and the content lives on your site where Google can find it.

A blog post you write in September is not for September. It is for the mom who Googles “Cincinnati family photographer” in January, lands on the post you wrote five months ago, and books you. It works while you are offline, on maternity leave, or sitting at your kid’s Christmas program.

Session types worth planning content around for a slow first quarter:

• Valentine’s mini sessions and mommy and me sessions
• Branding sessions for small business owners refreshing for the new year
• Newborn and Fresh 48 work (babies arrive every month, busy season or not)
• Engagement sessions, if weddings are in your offer suite
• Documentary in-home sessions, perfect when it is freezing outside
• Milestone and cake smash sessions

Or your answer is a lighter first quarter with fewer sessions at a higher price point. That works too, as long as you are not slashing prices out of anxiety.

Then write the posts. What to wear for a winter family session, even though it is September. Why January is a great month for newborn photos. An updated location guide for the parks you love. Answer the questions your future clients are about to type into Google, now, while there is still time to get indexed. Panic marketing is loud and exhausting. Planned marketing compounds.

If your struggle is not knowing what to say but saying it consistently, that is why I built The Family Photographer’s Marketing Society. I got tired of watching talented photographers know what they should be doing and then not do it, not out of laziness, but because nobody ever handed them a marketing plan. Inside the membership, you get a weekly marketing plan so you are not staring at a blank content calendar. Want just the blogging piece? The Blogging and Organic Visibility System for Family Photographers covers the whole publishing rhythm.

Should You Run a Black Friday Sale This Year?

Decide in September, not in November. A real yes with a plan or a real no you feel good about are both fine. Not deciding is what causes the scramble.

This one trips up most family photographers, because most of us never actually decide. We drift into the last week of November, panic, and post something the Wednesday before Thanksgiving because everyone else is. That is how you end up discounting your work out of anxiety. Both answers are legitimate. Refusing to decide is not. And if your answer is yes, structure it to add value instead of cutting prices.

On the education side of my business, I co-host the Black Friday Summit with two good business friends, Mara Kucerak and Becca Reed. This was year two, and over 26 business owners shared what is working and what is not. Replays run through the beginning of December, with a private podcast version if you would rather listen while you edit.

Note: whenever you read this, the summit MAY have ended, but you can still click on the link and be taken to a waitlist for NEXT year’s summit! Otherwise you can always purchase the replays too! 

What I Am Doing in My Own Business This Fall

Here is why I am extra intense about all three this year. Beyond the December I normally take off, I am taking January, February, and March off for maternity leave. None of this is hypothetical. It is my actual September to-do list.

I know my overhead for all three months, my tax percentage, and what I want to pay myself so my family is not stretched thin during a season I chose on purpose. Everything I publish this fall is written for a version of my business where I am not showing up live on Instagram. My blog posts need to work while I am on the couch with a newborn, learning how to mother three kids.

I did not do this with my first baby. Blaze turns eight this year, and I never gave myself a real maternity leave because it never occurred to me that nobody would pay me while I was off. I was back at work within weeks, and I hated it. With Jack, my second, I gave myself breathing room, and it was so much better. For my third, Lord willing, I want more of it.

Your September To-Do List

1. Find your December number. Overhead, plus taxes, plus what you pay yourself. Then save toward it September through November, with some discernment before you buy the next shiny thing.
2. Plant marketing seeds for your slow quarter. Decide what you want to book in January through March, and write long-form content this month that speaks to those clients.
3. Decide about Black Friday on purpose. Yes with a plan, or no with peace. Just not “I will figure it out later.”

Pick one and start there. And to see what other family photographers are prioritizing right now, grab The Family Photographers Marketing Trends Report at no cost. I update it every year.

Frequently Asked Questions About Slow Season Planning for Family Photographers

When should family photographers start planning for slow season?

September, or roughly four to six months ahead of your slowest months. Organic marketing needs lead time to get indexed and ranked, and savings need multiple booked months to accumulate. Waiting until the slow season arrives means you are reacting instead of planning.

How much should photographers set aside for taxes?

Many photographers set aside 20 to 25% of every payment received in a separate account the month the money comes in. The exact percentage varies based on your income, filing status, and state, so confirm your number with your accountant or bookkeeper.

What months are slowest for family photographers?

January, February, and part of March are typically the quietest months for family photographers who do not own a studio or offer in-person sales. Cold weather, post-holiday budgets, and general exhaustion all reduce demand.

Does blogging actually book photography clients?

Blog content brings in clients on a delay. A post published in September may not generate inquiries until December or January, once search engines have indexed and ranked it. That lag is exactly why publishing timing matters more than volume.

Should family photographers run Black Friday sales?

Either answer works as long as you decide ahead of time. A planned Black Friday offer built around added value performs better than a last-minute discount posted out of panic the week of Thanksgiving.

How do I avoid overbooking myself in December?

Calculate your December number first, then save toward it during your busy fall months. When you know your target and you have hit it, saying no to extra sessions becomes a business decision instead of a guilt decision.

Meet Your Favorite Marketing Strategist and Business Coach for Family Photographers (Dolly DeLong Education)

Hi, I’m Dolly DeLong, a Nashville-based family photographer, marketing strategist, and systems educator for family photographers who want structure, clarity, and consistency in their marketing.

My photography journey began in 2006, and over the years, I built a sustainable family photography business while navigating motherhood, client work, and the realities of running a solo creative business. Along the way, I discovered something unexpected: I loved the backend just as much as the creative side.

What started as organizing my own workflows turned into helping other family photographers simplify their marketing, build repeatable systems, and stop relying on last-minute posting or panic marketing.

Today, I focus exclusively on helping family photographers intentionally market their businesses (not with trends but with consistently showing up).

I offer two ways to work with me:

• The Family Photographer’s Marketing Society: a systems-first membership that provides a clear weekly marketing cadence for Instagram and email, so you always know what to focus on without starting over.

• 1:1 Strategic Marketing Support for established family photographers who want hands-on guidance in building a sustainable, SEO-supported marketing system.

Through my blog, podcast, and YouTube channel, I teach family photographers how to think like marketers, plan ahead, and create marketing rhythms that support both their business and their family life.

I still photograph families around Nashville because it’s one of my greatest joys. But helping family photographers build calm, consistent marketing systems that actually fit real life is a close second.

I’m so glad you are here, reading this blog, listening to the podcast, or watching the embedded YouTube video. I hope this educational content was helpful. Please let me know what future systems content you would like me to create!