Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric and Ashley McFarland.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Eric and Ashley. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Ashley and I started doing weddings in college while we were still dating. I had just gotten into photography about a year or so before Ashley and I met, and the thought of doing photography full time one day was enticing. Ashley took a coupe photojournalism classes and brought herself up to speed in the photo world real quick. When I knew that I would be proposing, a small part of me wondered if we could make the “husband and wife photography duo” thing work.
I brought it up to Ashley to get her opinion, and she was all for it! The college we attended was a small one, and it had a little saying of “ring by spring.” Needless to say, there were a lot of proposals and weddings happening. That’s how we got our foot in the door with we wedding photography industry. We are now in the middle of our fourth year of doing photography full time! Its been an adventure, to say the least.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t been a smooth road since going full time. At the end of our second year, we had some issues with the contact box on our website, and there were a couple months that I didn’t realize we weren’t receiving all our emails. I was able to access them through the back end of our website and tried to reach out to the couples, explaining that their messages never made it to my inbox.
Unfortunately, the majority of the inquiries were old, and they had already found a photographer. We fixed the email problem and worked even harder to get out name out there to bring more inquiries in. It was super frustrating having to rely on faulty technology when we need that technology to function correctly so we can get bookings and ultimately pay bills at the end of the month.
I suppose one good thing about it was that it forced me to work harder on SEO, marketing, and website development, which is always a good thing to continually learn as you grow a business.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The McFarlands – what should we know?
We are a husband and wife photography duo that specializes in wedding photography. We chose our business name to be “the McFarlands” to hint that we are a married couple and hopefully a little more relatable and familiar to clients. We want to give them the quality photos they would expect from a professional photographer while having the attitude and demeanor of a great friend.
We deliver as many quality photos as possible (usually 900-1400) which I discovered to be a high number when talking to other wedding photographers. I know delivering less photos can work well for other photographers, but I feel like for us, delivering less photos would mean the clients would be missing out on details and candid moments from their big day. We want to capture as many memories as possible. When memories fade down the road, photos will not. Especially digital ones. haha
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We 100% could not have this business full time if it weren’t for our families. Without them, we wouldn’t consistently have anyone to watch our kids while we are away all day at weddings. Shout out to the best babysitters ever!
Pricing:
- Weddings start at $1,700. Clients get all of the selected images edited and in full resolution in a downloadable online gallery without and printing restrictions
- Portrait sessions are $250 Clients get all of the selected images edited and in full resolution in a downloadable online gallery without and printing restrictions
Contact Info:
- Website: the-mcfarlands.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/_themcfarlands_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themcfarlandsphoto/
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