In a day and age where climate change is not accepted by every human on earth as fact, it is up to us as individuals and communities to make a difference where we can. As a business owner and Denver wedding photographer, I have made a pledge to keep my company as green as possible and wanted to share a bit about what that looks like.
While a lot of these tenets have been in place over the years (e.g. recycling, air drying clothes, etc.), some are brand new and I’m excited to become more mindful of how I can impact the world.
Here are some of my hard and fast rules as a small-business owner in Denver:
Electronic image delivery only. I use Shootproof for all my gallery hosting. Clients can download images to their phone, Google Photos, or computer. Simple and easy.
All contracts are signed online. Back in my teaching days, I’d print out huge contracts and mail them to clients. A lot of paper waste. Now I use MachForms and Honeybook to keep everything digital. Clients sign on their phones and get a PDF by email instead of a paper copy.
I walk or take the bus to shoots and meetings. In 2020, I sold my car and went fully car-free. Now I’ll walk to Union Station for a shoot or hop on transit to Boulder for photos at Chautauqua.
Ordering prints and canvas wraps all at once. When I get print orders for a few images printed on canvas, I group orders to cut down on shipping material waste from the printer.
Using rechargeable batteries. All of my camera bodies use rechargeable lithium ion batteries. My flashes use rechargeable AAs. My go-to brand is Sanyo Eneloop.
Limiting energy use in the office. I work from home almost entirely, so I try to keep a strict routine to save energy. My condo was built in 1896 — forced air is not a thing here. I recently upgraded to energy-efficient mini-splits and hooked my Xcel account up to a solar farm.
