Millie Dee Photography on Small Business in North Jersey

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Blog for my little photography business, Millie Dee Photography. I moved my studio to Roxbury, NJ at the end of 2020 during the pandemic times, to be closer to home and it’s a wonderful space, it’s a bigger space than I’d previously had so I can offer a bit more, however, with photography, I have come to find that I will never have enough space. Between the equipment, cameras, lighting background, props, needed space to shoot with certain lenses, space for the makeup artist to work, space for a wardrobe, and I have some pretty fluffy gowns we use for maternity pictures, I also like to have space for my clients to hang out in and space to photograph newborn baby pictures; again, there’s never enough space, but I’m grateful for every inch of my space.

I’m located in Morris County, NJ, which is by Google and 24/7 Wall Street standards, we have a 24% higher cost of living than the average in the USA and are supposedly the wealthiest county, although the inflation is affecting everyone; there’s no way around it, and I’m curious what consumers and business are seeing as trends right now in regards to purchases, spending, and sales. This is certainly one of the things I worry about as a small business.

This year, 2024, has been a step back for my business. I had some surgery right after the holidays, something I’ve been putting off for a few years, and now that my kids are a little older, I was able to take some of the needed downtime for recovery. I couldn’t wait for the doctor to tell me I could lift more than 10 pounds of weight so I could get back to photographing newborn babies and exercise a little bit.

During these few months of downtime, I’ve also been creating a new website, with some wonderful help behind the scenes. It is a work in progress, and my SEO is probably tanking at the moment, but again, it’s something I have been wanting to do, so I thought why not take care of it during my downtime? This year of 2024 seems to be turning into a year of growth adjustments and a rebirth. Let’s see how the rebirth of my newborn and maternity photography business goes.

With a new website, updated look, and new products to offer clients, what will I see as the trends in clients? Will people still want newborn and maternity pictures from a professional? Will they DIY them? Some days, I feel like this business is fading away as new technology comes into an already saturated market and some days I feel that all of these new concepts, such as AI can offer so many new possibilities. I guess I just need to find my footing, keep stepping forward, and see what this rebirth will ultimately look like.

This is my first blog post with the new website and I’m not sure how to add photos to it, so bear with me as I’m trying to figure this all out….ok, after a pause in typing, it seems I was able to figure out how to add some pictures to this blog post.

Ok, I’m off to editing now and returning some emails since I’m finishing up this blog post. My first of hopefully many for the new website. If you have questions about maternity and or newborn pictures, I’m in the Roxbury section of Morris County, NJ and please feel free to visit my website for more info: www.milliedeephotography.com