Keep it Fun: Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Butterfly
As an analogy, I think “caterpillar - chrysalis - butterfly” works perfectly to describe the evolution of my photography path.
Caterpillar | How it started:
Simply put, I caught the bug. I loved capturing landscapes of the places I lived and traveled to, and over time, through lots of study, feedback, and practice, I saw incremental improvements. I just loved the process of creating, improvement, and spending time outdoors.
Then one day, someone who thought my work was alright asked if I would take family photos for them. And so it began. Over a period of several years, I began booking more and more shoots. By the end of 2019, I was fitting photo sessions into most of my Saturdays plus “golden hour” shoots on weekdays. It was great. Being able to charge for photography allowed me to invest in better equipment and tools. I was on a pretty good trajectory. But…
Chrysalis | Then I stopped:
At the end of 2019, I began working for Zoom. The job change required me to move from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Denver, Colorado, which I was happy to do. I spent my formative years (4th grade through high school graduation) in Colorado, and a chance to bring my family back to CO sounded great. I threw myself into the new role and really, for a Localization professional, I saw it as a dream job. It was an opportunity to build a Localization program from scratch. I had a great manager (shout out Derek Pando!) who afforded me the autonomy and necessary support to build out a vision for tools, processes, and people.
It wasn’t long after joining Zoom that COVID hit. We were slammed. Every team was working on overdrive to keep up with the demand. I joined late-night meetings and early-morning meetings, weekdays and weekends, to keep abreast of the spread of the pandemic and the impact it was having on the company. For example, as the virus moved into Vietnam, we saw our free user signups spiking in Vietnam. As the virus moved into Italy, we saw our free user signups spiking in Italy. People needed to communicate and Zoom was how they were doing it. We didn’t have support for Vietnamese or Italian prior to COVID, but we turned these languages around rather quickly.
Needless to say, I didn’t have the bandwidth to start building a new photography client base in a new state, let alone spend much time adventuring with a camera taking landscape shots. Photography was on hold.
Butterfly | Then I started, again:
Eventually, the pandemic came to an end, the Localization program was humming, and I had hired great Localization team. As things went back to “normal”, I gradually started spreading the word about photography. It can actually be pretty simple to advertise. Just start talking about it, let people know what you like to do, share a photo and some insights on social media, offer a free shoot here and there, etc. Those steps helped gain some momentum. As word got out, I was approached by a non-profit called RiseUp Malawi to cover a golf fundraiser at a local course. I had a great time. So much so that I did it two years in a row. The second year I put a QR code on the first tee box and placed brochures in all the golf carts. I even put them directly in golf bags.
Flying | What’s next?
Time to fly.
Recently, I made the hard decision to pull the plug on my old website that I put a lot of hours into. As its renewal date came and went, I stood by and watched Google analytics flatline. RIP tysonshelleyphotography.com.
No need to wallow though! Summit Frame Photography is now live!
Here’s a list of things I never did pre-pandemic, but I do now or that are coming up…
Budget for advertising
Ads in local paper
Sponsoring a local high school prom where I’ll attend the open house expecting 1,500 potential clients who will walk by my booth where I’ll be ready to go with games, brochures, and a “booking station” e.g. an iPad with my reservation site/form.
Focus advertising messaging intentionally on Weddings, Family, and Events
Legitimized Summit Frame Photography as an LLC
Keep track of expenses for taxes
Official contracts and release forms
Configured bookkeeping software for streamlined signatures for contracts, proposals, and invoicing
Business bank account
And of course, my site is localized for a Spanish-speaking market!
Last key thing… I have a new rule. Keep it fun. The second I get too serious about leveraging my passion into a business, I’ll have lost my north star. There are a lot of reasons why I love photography from the technical side of how cameras are able to interact with light to the artistic side of composition and lighting, to the human side of capturing emotions and relationships for people to look at and remember for years to come. As much as I’ve enjoyed all the recent “firsts” for my photography business, it’s key that I keep it fun! And that goes for my the experience my clients have as well.
