Back when I started my photography business in 2015, relocating was not even a thought in my mind. But when the call came for me to move to Nashville this year (I’m an active duty military member), I jumped at the opportunity. The idea of moving, and of relocating my photo business to a new city, was so exciting—but it also made me very nervous.

[Read: Moving Your Business to a New City—How Two Photographers Left NYC and Kept Their Clients]

I had spent the last five years in Kansas City, building my business from the ground up. I thought back to all of the hard times I had trying to meet new vendors, set up client meetings with no real portfolio to show them, and get familiar with venues and places to photograph around the city.

[Read: Bolstering Your Photo Network in a Small(ish) City or Town]

Attempting all of these tasks with no wedding industry experience was not easy. This time around, I discovered there were key things that made this process much easier and allowed me to relocate my photo business without starting over from scratch.

3 Key Moves for Your Move

I knew it was going to be important to get my name out in a brand new city before I left Kansas City, throughout my moving process, and when I actually became settled in Nashville. Step by step, that means you should:

1. Tour your new city prior to moving and be vocal to your followers that you are relocating your business. A blog post is easy, fun and comes second nature to a lot of photographers.
2. Integrate your social media accounts to reflect your move by adding the new city you serve. Allow your social media to work for you by using the new city’s wedding vendor hashtags. This will get potential clients to inquire about who you are.
3. Sign up for an advertising platform to help your potential clients find you faster!

Here’s a breakdown of what each of these steps looked like for me:

1. Shoot and Share Photos of Your New City Prior to the Move

I remember having lunch with a fellow photographer before I moved, and she told me that the one thing I did not have to worry about was building my portfolio. I had not even thought of that part! Already having a portfolio was a huge sigh of relief because the portfolio is the biggest part of the job. When I opened for business in Kansas City, I had a few images of couples but no real weddings under my belt.

Now, this was my biggest game-changer: using my photos to talk about my upcoming move.

I started hinting that I was moving a new city by traveling to Nashville and taking a few rolls of film with me. Once I had the images back from my trip (seen in the gallery above), I geared up to tell my followers that I was moving with a blog post, accompanied by some beautiful places I had explored during my visit.

2. Dive into Your New City’s Network

The next thing on my agenda was to start discreetly advertising myself in Nashville. I did this in a few stages and very slowly in order to give myself time to react to potential clients and vendors. The first thing I did was add Nashville along with Kansas City as the two cities that my business served on both my Instagram and Facebook pages. I hashtagged both cities when showing my work on those pages.

I also made sure to follow the Nashville hashtags that I used. Following those hashtags allowed me to find vendors I could reach out to and eventually meet, and helped me easily find other photographers within the area.

Within the first three months of arriving in Nashville, I had followed and engaged with a few likeminded photographers. I did this for a couple reasons: The first was to find new friends in the area; the second was to learn more about the wedding industry that I was about to join. The women I met shared so many gems during our meetings and made me feel like this new city was already my home. My next move was to engage with wedding industry professionals.

[Read: Solidifying Vendor Relationships and Scoring Referrals for a Six-Figure Wedding Photography Business]

While I was looking for new hashtags in my area, I stumbled on vendor hashtags and began to engage with and follow those wedding professionals. I met with a few of the planners and florists that I had followed, and we started to talk about their business needs and mine. Many of those vendors that I met with placed my business on their preferred vendor list and even talked about referring me to new clients. The idea was exciting to me because that meant I would potentially get to work with these sweet vendors that welcomed me while doing what I loved most.

3. Get Your Photo Business Name Out There with Ads

In Kansas City, I used The Knot to advertise until my professional relationships with wedding vendors could stand alone. As I prepared to relocate my photo business, I applied for placement in Nashville and quickly met with my area consultant. She was able to give me more insight on the financial side, which is exactly the information I was looking for, and my site went live just a few weeks ago.

[Read: 3 Ways Photographers Can Market For a New Reality]

The last thing I had to do to officially move to my new city was eliminate my old city from my social media sites and my website. When my site went live on The Knot, I erased Kansas City from everything associated with my business.

This does not mean that I won’t take work in Kansas City any longer—it just means I want most of my clients to come out of Nashville rather than Kansas City.

[Read: Photography Marketing Tactics in 2020—What Works and What Doesn’t?]

Relocating your photo business to a new city is not an easy task. It is a stressful one! If you want your business to thrive, you have to be willing to be patient and put in the extra work: Voice your move, integrate your social media accounts with your new city, make vendor connects using your social media, and sign up for an advertising platform. These steps helped me transition smoothly and elevate my name in this area. I am so excited to meet with potential clients and photograph weddings in Nashville.

Marie Rood is a fine-art wedding photography based in Nashville, TN. She last wrote about taking more intentional, brand-specific detail photos at weddings.