I'm leaving for real.

I'm making it happen. This is a letter to my clients.

My clients just received this newsletter:

And this change certainly effects you, dear client.

Luckily, it doesn't mean you need to find a new photographer…. it just means you need to backup your event photos from my Facebook page. PHEW! I bet I scared you there for a second! hahaha sorry; the temptation for a bait and switch was too strong! Here's what's really happening:

I'm leaving social media.

This is a big huge deal for a small business owner and a decision I have no made lightly. I have felt like social media has been a problem for me for a long, LONG time, but kept with it because I “need it for work.” Well, I am apparently going to test that theory out. With all that's going on in the world and the fact that Meta is basically pure evil, I just can't align myself with it anymore. It's bad for me mentally, and I'm not actually sure it's doing anything for my business in reality. It just LOOKS like it every so often.

…….

And now I continue the letter here for all to read:

The good news is, my newsletter will still exist and that is definitely the best way to keep up with what’s happening since there is no algorithm to keep it from you. Just be sure to mark it a friendly email in your mail system (ie not junk mail), and you’ll hear from me whenever I have something to say. That’s my regular, business newsletter (subscribe here if you’re not already on it - just scroll to the bottom of the page for the small form).

That being said, if you love following me on social media and want to hear from me more, well, you can find me right here on Substack! There will be free posts for all subscribers, and some posts will be for paid subscribers. Having just started out on this platform I am lucky enough to already have both, and hope that you’ll come along for the ride with me. I’ll talk about everything - photography stuff, personal stuff, and everything in between. Hint: the more personal stuff will be behind the paywall. You can decide if you’d like to follow for free or for a small supportive fee, and either way that’s a-ok with me! (So much rhyming).

You may be thinking, “Kerry, isn’t this still a form of social media?!” Well, yes, but I will own copyright to all that I post, I can be paid for what I write, and I am using it to get back into writing which is something I’ve always done and haven’t had a chance to as of late as I’ve been so engrossed in the social media life. If you want you can read more about my decision here in my first post on the platform. Substack feels very different. It feels safe, free, and supportive. It feels like I can simply write or decide to follow others.

My Facebook pages are backed up officially now, and so I can delete it when I’m ready. I just wanted to give you all a chance to save anything from my albums before I do. As for instagram - that’s in the process of being backed up and will also soon be abandoned. I think I’ll post something about how it’ll be abandoned soon and then eventually that’s going as well.

I admit; this is scary. I want to be sure you still think of me when you’re considering photographers. I want to be sure friends and clients can easily refer me to their peers. I want to be in touch with people. But I want it to be real. Social media doesn’t feel real anymore to me. It feels impersonal, untrustworthy, and empty. Believe me; it has brought me tons of joy over the years and I was fully into it. Slowly but surely I found myself pulling away as I realized the toxicity of it. This feels like a really terrifyingly scary decision to make for my business but the right decision to make in every way. Hopefully you’ll keep telling your friends and keep coming back. I love working with my amazing clients (you!) and hope you’ll keep in touch via the business newsletter and this substack newsletter.

Let me know what questions you have. I’m interested if you’ve been feeling the same way I have (business owner or not) or if you think this is absolute insanity and that I’ll be closing my doors within a year. Oh Lordy, let’s hope not!

With a big deep breath, here we go!

-Kerry