First off, let me start by saying that No, I didn't ignore the quarantine and stay at home orders and just keep shooting. Did I want to, of course! But I behaved myself, stayed home, and didn't photograph any clients. It wasn't fun, it wasn't easy, but I did it anyway. I didn't even jump on the Porch Project bandwagon, mostly because in my research I found that wasn't okay either. I don't think I have ever spent so much time reading up on government orders and mandates as I did during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and I am sure I am not alone in that. It certainly has been a rough time for a lot of people, especially small business owners. So you're probably wondering, if I didn't break the law and keep shooting while under quarantine, how could I possibly grow my small business?
To me growth is not just about the dollar sign. There is so much more involved in growth than just earning more money. I got creative and really tried to think outside of the box in what I could do to make improvements to my business while I was stuck at home. The most fun part of my growing process is where we'll start, which is practice, practice practice!
I know what you're thinking, "Rose, you said you didn't break quarantine. How could you possibly get in practice?" That's the beautiful thing about photography. While for the most part, my business revolves around serving people, I can photograph anything at all to continue to hone my skills. I don't say this because I feel my work is inadequate, every great photographer will tell you that there is always room for improvement. Photographers are constantly critiquing their own work and looking for weak points they can improve on, things they could have done differently. It's not because we dislike our work, it's because we want to serve our clients better than the day before!
Of course I captured photos of my beloved fiance, dogs, and horses whenever I could. None of us could doubt how much they all adore me after the Easter Comedy shoot! Even though that shoot was a ton of fun and laughs for me, they don't always want to be the subject of my photos. No worries though, I had other points I could focus on than just shooting moving targets!
Quarantine gave me an opportunity to really get out and get super comfortable with my macro lens. I purchased this beauty in the Fall last year, and while I have already done a good deal with it, I really put this lens through its paces to see what it could do while I couldn't see people. I am so thankful that I have spent the last 8 years filling the flower gardens around my house with different types of flowers. This has helped to ensure that I have flowers blooming from early in the Spring, all the way through late in the Fall. And what better to get acquainted with a macro lens with than flowers?! I have just been blown away at the crispness of the teeny tiny details that my macro lens can capture. I found myself noticing the beauty and structure of the pollen in the center of the flowers. Not to mention the smallest of bugs resting on the flowers. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't limit myself to just using my macro lens on flowers! I did also make sure to get in lots of practice on rings. Ring shots are something that I do regularly in my business for both engagement sessions and weddings. I always want to make sure that I am offering my clients the absolute best I can, so mastering my macro lens was definitely something that will help me grow my business.
Some other things I spent time practicing were my studio lighting. While I have definitely managed to get more of the look in want in studio since taking a strobe course, again I always think that there's room for improvement. So I took to the studio with more flowers, food, drinks, and basically anything I could find the get creative and try out different techniques. I really had fun playing more with back lighting in the studio, this is a skill I am really looking forward to using when I can have studio sessions again. The nice thing about my strobes in the studio is I can do anything I want no matter what time of day it is or what the weather is outside. On nice days when I was able to be outside riding my horses and playing in my garden, I would spend the quiet evening hours being creative in the studio. Or on rainy days, instead of curling up on the couch with Netflix for the day, I could head to the studio. (I'm not saying that I didn't spend entire days here and there on the couch watching Netflix, just that I tried to keep them to a minimum!)
One other main point that I wanted to improve on while I was on quarantine was my flat lay game. For non photographers, flat lays are those dreamy detail shots that are usually taken at weddings with select items laid out looking all elegant and magical. Again, I'm not saying that I dislike my detail shots, just that I spend a lot of time in "photographer land" and I really wanted to amp up my game. So I spent some time researching and gathering supplies and then went to work. Putting together flat lays was such a fun thing for me to do while I was cooped up. This process really gave me a chance to be creative again. It's hard to put into words the sense of accomplishment I feel when I take a blank canvas and create a fun background that my clients love. Making up flat lays gave me the opportunity to express myself creatively again and take those blank canvases to make something beautiful. It also helps that I love my engagement ring and all that it symbolizes and look for any opportunity to showcase it. Of course, I never had to worry about being lonely while practicing, my dog Jax made sure I had CLOSE company at all times(check out the photos below and you'll see what I mean!) I had a lot of fun capturing these flat lays, and even if they aren't directly for a client, I am certain that practicing these will directly impact the quality of photos I can provide to my clients in the future.
So you see, even though I couldn't work with actual people, I really spent a lot of time working hard to practice different things to grow my business. I have absolutely no doubt that honing these skills will pay off as I am able to get back to photographing people and the special events they include me in!
