Member Post: ‘The Pros and Cons of Working as a – Married – Photographer Team’ by Mitzy Geluk
It’s super to have Mitzy Geluk on the site today, as she talks all about the advantages (and certain disadvantages…!) of working as a photographer duo when you’re also married. Really interesting to hear her thoughts on this, and definitely a subject that will resonate with so many wedding photographer married teams – thanks so much, Mitzy!
Hi, I’m Mitzy!
I am one half of the Love Rules team. The other half is Peter, and he is my husband.
We have been together now for 17 years and are a full-time photography team. We have 2 children (4 and 2 years old) which sometimes makes it a bit difficult to manage work and family when the wedding season is on. Last year we changed our brand name to Love Rules and we changed our branding. We now only shoot weddings together (as two 1st shooters) and changed our prices.
Image by Mitzy
So.. we had quite the year.
But I absolutely love it! Knowing each other for this long is a real plus as documentary photographers. Knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses is a big plus but can also be a bit painful at times. We critique each other’s photos; helpful, sure, but sometimes a bit painful as well. But: “when it hurts you LEARN” (we can be really honest with each other)
There are some questions we frequently get about our working situation, so we thought we’d address them here:
How do you work together and still be married?
Our egos are work compatible I guess. Okay sometimes, at a wedding, Pete can be in the way and doesn’t look at me for even 1 second while I am trying to wave him away. Or he stole my shot (still love him?).
We can b@#*ch at each other but that will never take long! And of course, we have our own office at home. Pete’s office looks like a man-cave (dark walls, a drum kit, and a lot of gadgets), and mine is light, scented candles, (and has got the laundry in it, ?, we gotta talk about that).
Image by Peter
What do you talk about when you’re not working?
Our children and WORK. We just really love photography, are eager to learn, grow and improve. So when we are not working, playing with our children, doing laundry, grocery’s etc. we talk about photography (because we just really love it).
Is it difficult having a family and a business?
Yep! Because during wedding season it can get pretty hectic. And we do not want our children to change their routine or be affected by our busy programs. So that’s a puzzle from week to week, but this will probably get better when they grow older.
Our parents are a big piece of the puzzle, the children spend a lot of time there when we are away.
Image by Mitzy
Who is the boss?
Both, Pete has got a few more hours to spend every week because I get to spend more time with the children, but in the end we do EVERYTHING together.
Ok but now the biggest plus about working with your spouse is:
1. No one knows you better than your other half
2. I know what Pete might forget or miss and I can remind him or take over and vice versa.
3. We have our own sign language, and sometimes I can just look at his face and see what he’s doing or what he wants me to photograph
4. We have a lot of fun together
5. Couples trust us, because we know what it is to get married, be married and stay married.
6. You can share your goals and understand each other’s highs and lows
7. We can divide tasks, Pete is the marketing man and I do finances and communication. We both do the culling and editing.
Image by Peter
The downside of working together is:
1. Finances!! When you have children you have a big responsibility so cashflow is a must! Which causes a bit of stress sometimes.
2. We really love our work, but we have to be aware we are not only colleagues.
3. When Pete uses my camera and changes the settings I get pissed off.
4. There are not enough hours in a day! But this might be true for most photographers ?
Ok well, this was a tiny insight in my life as 50% LoveRules team.
Thanks a lot for reading!
Thanks again to Mitzy for writing this piece for us. You can see more of her work (and Peter’s) on her website, and here on her TiR profile (and Peter’s too).
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