As a virtual assistant who gets to work with photographers day in, day out, I spot the same patterns in new enquiries around this time every year.
For some, like wedding photographers who are in the thick of engagement season, it’s inboxes filling up and workflows starting to burst their banks.
Others are often just coming out of the Christmas rush and starting to think, “Right… how do I want things to feel going into the new year?”
Wherever you’re at, there’s usually one shared theme: December isn’t the moment for big overhauls or ambitious plans that live forever in a notebook. It’s the time for small, realistic tweaks that save time, reduce admin noise and make the next few months feel far less chaotic.
So, this is all about those quick wins - the simple changes I see photographers benefiting from at this point every year. Nothing overwhelming; just a few practical things you can tackle in short pockets of time – or hand over entirely – to help you head into 2026 feeling calmer, clearer and more in control behind the scenes.
Quick Win #1 – Use “People Also Ask” to Create Content People Are Already Searching For
When you’re busy, coming up with blog or social media ideas that people are actually interested in can feel like the icing on an already overwhelmed cake. It’s usually made even worse when we start talking about the dreaded SEO, because the research time (and sometimes cost) involved is something you probably just don’t have.
The good news? This is one of those rare quick wins where the hard work’s already been done for you.
When you search something on Google, you’ll spot a box labelled “People Also Ask”. These are real questions people are actively searching for right now – which makes them gold dust for content ideas.
Things like:
- How much would a photographer charge for a wedding?
- What are the latest trends in wedding photography?
- What does a wedding photographer do?
- What is the 2 second rule in photography?
Each one of these questions could be turned into:
- a short blog post
- an FAQ on your website
- a carousel or reel on social media
- even a templated email response you’re already sending manually
The beauty of harvesting 'People Also Asked' is that it’s quick, low-pressure and genuinely useful. You’re not guessing what to write, chasing trends or spending a small fortune on SEO software – you’re answering questions your future clients are already asking... For free.
And if this is one of those tasks that always slips down the list, it’s also a great example of something a virtual assistant can help with in the background – researching questions, uploading your blogs or posting on social media, while you focus on the good stuff.
Quick Win #2 – Optimise Your Images for Google Image Search
This one is going to be really good news if the idea of creating more content makes you want to immediately close your laptop (or throw it out of the nearest open window)...
Your portfolio site is already packed with some stunning images, but for most photographers, a huge number of them are basically invisible to search engines because they’re missing proper image alt text.
Alt (or alternative) text is a short description of what’s in an image. While its main use is to help with accessibility, describing your best shots to users with visual impairments, alt text can also play a massive role in how your images show up in an Image Search on search engines like Google and Bing.
For photographers, it’s a bit of a no-brainer. Your website is already image-heavy, so optimising what’s there can improve visibility without adding any major tasks to your workload. It’s also something you can tackle it in short bursts - you could do five images at a time or one blog post per week.
Quick Win #3 – Create a Peak Season Enquiry Survival Kit
If you’re a wedding photographer that’s already in the thick of engagement season, you already know that enquiries can quickly start to blur into one long thread of “Did I reply to that?” and “I’m sure I’ve typed this before…”. That’s where an enquiry survival kit comes in.
It’s basically just a small collection of the replies and information you’re already sending over and over again, pulled into one place so you’re not rummaging through your Google Drive or rewriting the same emails.
That might include:
- A warm, clear first reply to enquiries
- A follow-up message for people who go quiet
- A short explanation of how you work
- Answers to your most common questions
- A simple outline of next steps
Having these handy means you can respond quickly without it eating into your evenings. It also keeps your replies consistent, which makes everything feel calmer and way more professional on both sides.
A peak season survival kit is a really good option if you’re not quite in a place to set-up a full CRM like Dubsado or Studio Ninja yet, or if you know VA support would help but you’re not in a position to dive into working with a virtual assistant.
If you’re not sure what’s worth including, our blog on Setting Up Email Templates as a Photographer is a really good place to start. It walks through the kinds of replies photographers tend to reuse most during busy periods, and shows how to set them up in a way that actually saves time rather than creating more work.
Quick Win #4 – A Few Website Tweaks That Make Life Easier Later
Your website is usually one of those things that gets left on the back-burner when work is busy. If it’s doing its job well enough, it stays untouched - and most of the time, that’s fine.
But every now and then, especially around or in prep for engagement season, it’s worth giving it a quick once-over. Don’t panic, I’m not talking a full-blown redesign; more a case of sense-checking or taking a glance from the point of view of someone landing there for the first time.
People arrive with questions already in their head: “Where are you based?”, “What do you actually offer?”, “What happens when I reach out?”. And if they can’t work that out fairly quickly, they tend to disappear just as fast without ever getting in touch.
Often, the quick fixes are smaller than you think. Things like:
- Making sure your location is in your hero section (for example, having ‘Wedding Photographer in Bath’ at or near the top of your page, not buried in the footer)
- Adding a few new FAQs to answer things you’re already replying to in your inbox
- Updating your meta descriptions so they’re not just automatically pulling through the first 15 words of your page
- Tweaking a sentence so it reflects how you actually work today, not six months ago
- Making sure your contact page feels clear and welcoming, not vague
This can be super helpful when enquiries have started to stack up. The clearer things are on your site, the fewer follow-up questions land in your inbox. And when you’re already juggling shoots, edits and admin, the quick wins matters more than perfect copy ever will.
If this is one of those jobs that always sinks to the bottom of the list, it’s also exactly the kind of thing a VA can help with. Small website tweaks, wording updates and image changes are all things that can be taken care of without it ever even reaching your to do list. You can find out more about how I support photographers over on the services page.
Quick Win #5 – Secure One Quality Backlink (Not Ten Rubbish Ones)
Backlinks are one of those things that sound very “SEO-y”, so they often get pushed to the bottom of the list.. or ignored entirely.
In simple terms, a backlink is just another website linking back to yours. Google treats those links as little signals of trust. If the referring website is trustworthy, and they’re pointing people in your direction, it’s a good sign that your site is worth showing in search results too.
The easiest place to start is usually right in front of you. Venues you’ve worked at more than once, suppliers you already recommend to couples, planners, florists, celebrants, stylists... You get it. It's about focusing on the people you already have a relationship with, or have at least met during someones big day.
But how do you actually attract backlinks?
Well, sometimes it’s as simple as popping them a friendly email over and actually asking. Other times, it might come from things like guest blogs, a venue feature, a styled shoot write-up, or being listed on their recommended suppliers page.
The main thing to bear in mind is that this doesn’t need to turn into a big project. You’re not pitching strangers or chasing people down, you’re just making sure the work you’re already doing is actually visible online.
One good link is plenty to get started.
Quick Win #6 – A January Reset List (Things Future You Will Thank You For)
January has a habit of arriving way faster than expected, and it usually hits when you’re a bit out of routine, healing from the christmas-rush burnout, and still finding glitter and pine needles everywhere.
A January reset list is just somewhere to park the thoughts you’ve had in 2025 but didn’t have the time or headspace to tackle at the time. It is not a to-do list; it's more a mind map of things you don’t want to forget about later.
That might be areas of your business that felt heavier than they needed to, systems that worked but were clunky, tedious admin tasks you kept nudging to next week, or processes you already know could be simpler. You might even want to jot down a few new ideas that you want to come back to later, once the new-year-dust has settled a little.
With a reset list, you’re not starting 2026 from nothing. You already know where the friction was, and you already know what you’d like to improve - that alone can make the reset feel restful, rather than reactive.
Final Thoughts
The so called 'quick win' tasks get a bad reputation sometimes. They can sound a bit gimmicky, or like they’re over-promising on what they can actually deliver, but when you’re busy, tired, or just trying to stay on top of things, small changes are often exactly what you need.
None of the ideas above are about doing more for the sake of it, they’re about easing the pressure a little by taking big steps with little tasks.
Whether you’re deep in engagement season, coming up for air after a hectic few months, or somewhere in between, these small tweaks can make your business feel easier to manage day to day. And that usually has a knock-on effect you don’t see straight away – clearer boundaries, calmer inboxes, and a bit more headspace to enjoy the work you actually love.
How Ashwood VA Can Help
If you read through these quick wins and thought, “All useful… but I don’t actually have the time to do them”, that’s exactly where I come in.
A virtual assistant can support photographers with the kinds of behind-the-scenes tasks that make a difference during busy periods. Things like uploading blogs and adding alt text, pulling together enquiry templates, tidying CRMs, sense-checking website wording, or making small updates that stop the same questions landing in your inbox again and again.
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