Coping with Lock Down as a Photographer

I had big plans for 2020. The conclusion of 2019 saw me graduating for the third time, I welcomed a baby son into the world, and I had worked hard to get the hours to have maternity leave until after next Christmas. This is going to be the year I finally commit the majority of my time to my photography business. I’m going to really promote myself around Pictou County; I am going to make this more than a side hustle; I’m going to book five weddings and as many portrait sessions as I can this year. 2020 is going to be my most productive year yet!

WHAM!

PANDEMIC!

QUARANTINE!

NATIONWIDE LOCKDOWN!

Frustrated cannot begin to describe how I felt when I realized the setbacks social distancing was about to cause for my plans going forward. I just had business cards printed, posters ready to hang up around town, a lead on a space I could use as a studio. The Universe was dangling success in front of me and yanking it away as soon as my fingertips had the audacity to graze it. I felt like the proverbial rug had been pulled out from under me, and my super productive year of photography was not going to happen.

Deep breath.

Time to reevaluate.

How can I make the most of this nationally sanctioned time out?

Admittedly, I did not rocket into productivity with this sudden surge of free time. When this quarantine began, I had a six-month-old and his nap time was when I planned on doing the majority of the leg work my business plan required. Suddenly, there was nowhere to hang posters (not that there would be anyone out to see them), social distancing made it difficult to hand out business cards without them being seen as a bio-hazards, and the ban on large gatherings resulted in any weddings I could have booked this summer being postponed until further notice. I felt stuck, and unsure how to proceed and to top it off it triggered a relapse of postpartum depression and a crushing feeling of claustrophobia. Our once spacious two-bedroom apartment with large living space, suddenly seemed like it could hardly contain our two adult, one baby, and two cat family. The loss of routine had me feeling so suffocated that living in town was becoming overwhelming and the fact that I couldn’t look out the window without seeing a neighboring house felt restrictive. Those of you reading this may be wondering what does this have to do with navigating a small business through a pandemic? This brief anecdote provides context to my first and most important point of this post:

Take Some Time to Check in with Your Mental Health

If you are not in the right headspace, you suffer and your business suffers. As a photographer, I find when my mental health takes a turn the quality of my photographs is impacted. Instead of letting things happen organically, I start putting pressure on myself to push out content for the sake of getting something out there. You want your audience to know you are still active despite not being able to meet with them in person, and you want future clients to be able to find you in a relentless sea of internet advertising. It can be an incredibly;e source of anxiety. However, it is important to resist the urge to force out content. If you are not happy with the work you put out just to promote yourself on social media, then you are doing a disservice to yourself and your clients because you are not putting out your best of the best work. If this image is the first piece of work a client sees from you, it may make them reluctant to contact you for work post-COVID-19. It is important to remind yourself that despite what social media may be portraying, no one is operating at their maximum potential right now. Society is in this strange economic limbo and until we get the all-clear to return to business as usual, you can only do what you can to keep yourself, your family, and others safe.

So what are some things you can do as a photographer or other small business as you wait for the economy to reopen?

Grow Your Portfolio

Between raising our son and doing my best to help my partner run the household (there is hardly an ounce of domestic divinity in my body, just ask them, I think I can make more of a mess than the baby sometimes) I try to find a few moments to break out my umbrella lights and practice a few studio light setups. If I try a new recipe and it looks photo-worthy, then it is a great opportunity to practice some food photography. Pieces of jewelry and trinkets around the apartment become subjects for product photography, and thanks to the family of deer living in our back yard and the crows that hang out on the roof taunting the cats in the window provide a rare opportunity for wildlife photography when living in town. The point is, even though you may not be able to photograph other people, there is always an opportunity to keep practicing your skills and keep your eye honed for when you are able to book shoots again.

Reaching Out and Staying in Touch

One of the goals I had for my photography this year before the pandemic struck, was to get my name out there and make myself more known as a photographer in Pictou County. Thanks to the wonders of email and social media, this has been a very doable thing for me while in lockdown. I’ve been reaching out to local businesses, such as wedding and event planners, businesses that are just starting up who may need promotional photos, real estate agents, etc, to let them know my services are available when things get back to normal. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website and even if you do not get a response right away, you have planted a seed in potential customer’s minds and now have a better chance of getting work later on. It is better to take that risk of rejection and make yourself known than to have not sent that message and have no one know about your business at all. Another important thing to remember to do during these uncertain times is to stay in touch with clients who contacted you before the pandemic. It lets them know that you are still interested in working with them and you can plan or reschedule projects accordingly.

Start a Blog

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with blogs in the past. I would start a photography blog with the best intentions of posting daily entries in a timely manner, but it never failed that school, work, or life, or simple lack of motivation prevented this daily duty I had assigned myself. I would get two posts in, forget about it for too long and abandon the project. Alas, I was a young perfectionist back then. Now at the still kinda young, more mature age of twenty-six, I have a better work ethic and I’m not as hard on myself. If I let a week or two go by without posting on my blog. To reiterate my point from before it’s about quality, not quantity, and no one wants to read something that is sloppy and forced out for the sake of posting something. This year I have come to appreciate the value of the blog. In lieu of being able to post images from jobs, and not wanting to flood my website with photos of my son, the blog is a great device to drive traffic to my website, exhibit family photos I have taken with my professional camera, and offer some more insight into some of my favorite shots without spamming my Facebook business page. To take a nugget of advice I gained from one of the virtual workshops I’ve been taking over the last few weeks, a blog allows you to present yourself as an expert in your field, so that way those who read your blog are more likely to look to you the next time they need to book a photographer (insert your business here).

Lastly,

Breath New Life into Old Images

Over the last seven years, I have taken thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of images. Some good, some great, and some not so great. Then there are the ones I upload to my lightroom and forget about altogether. Recently I have been going through my digital catalogs and reviewing the images I did not deem worthy of showcasing in my portfolio at the time. With fresh eyes and a greater understanding of my editing software, an image I initially dismissed as lackluster suddenly becomes a shining gem in my collection, ready to be presented to the world. By doing this a photographer can bring new content to their viewers and still maintain social distancing requirements.

So, how have you been coping with this new world we have been living in lately? What are some of the ways you have been keeping up with your passion projects while on lockdown? Leave a comment or send me an email, I would love to hear from you!