Changing Business in a Bad Economy

It's been a strange year professionally for me. A year ago I watched as others struggled with the effects of a souring economy; I read stories about several photographers packing it in after years of being in business. It wasn't until about April when things started to slow down for me. My biggest client saw their revenues way down and slashed their marketing budgets dramatically. Consequently, I lost a client I'd had since 2001, as the first client dropped their services completely. Six months later, everyone has been more careful about where they spend their money, and business has been down for me about 50% as a result.

But while work has been down, some smaller jobs have kept me busy, as well as several personal projects and other clients, both old and new. While some photographers I know are getting out of the business, I'm excited about some new directions I'm heading in. In the past year, I've been doing more stock photography, and traveled to five different national parks (Shenandoah, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands and Acadia) to work on photos. Next October I plan on leading my first photo tour to Maine to shoot in Acadia, with ideas for more trips and teaching photography in the works. I've done more fashion shoots, working with professional models, which makes a nice change from many of the people I normally shoot for marketing campaigns ("I hate having my picture taken..."). And while I've always relied on getting my own work and promoting myself, I'm seriously looking at the idea of getting a rep to help promote my business, negotiate contracts (my most hated part of my job), and land new and bigger jobs.

Stay tuned; the future is looking bright.