It might seem a little self-indulgent to tell “my why” twice in the same month but I wanted to make sure I told the story for both parts of my business. You may, or may not, know my business has two distinct services – working with kids and family and working with businesses (what many would label commercial photography). For me, this has been a very conscious decision – both areas mean a lot to me, and for different reasons. I enjoy the variety of work and to be able to tell stories in different ways but I’ve also chosen to specialise just on these areas.
Yes, it’s true I left corporate life, sought to get some creative balance by setting up and running a business for myself (I know some will see the irony… but it is possible to live life and run a business on your terms). I probably spent years unknowingly as a “frustrated creative” in the corporate and financial world but I can’t just drop one for the other, can’t entirely shed the skin of my business persona and emerge as purely a creative butterfly… my analytical, rational, business mind didn’t just disappear the day I walked out the doors of a shiny London office to pursue my photographic dream.
I love that Northern Ireland is small business central, a region where some of our biggest businesses are still family businesses and where SMEs make major contributions to our economy and employment. I love that here in County Down, we’re considered the “Creative Peninsula” and our local artisan food and drinks industry is impressive. Where the chain coffee shops dominated my former small hometown in Greater London, my own small seaside town of just a few thousand residents here boasts at least half a dozen independents. So how do we keep our growing businesses prospering? How can we help small and medium enterprises compete and grow into those bigger companies themselves? I believe we tell their stories, we SHOW what they do, we keep them visually ever-present in the consumer’s mind…
Some of my most rewarding days on the job in photography are spent not just creating lasting family memories (as I shared in my previous post) but also come in literally making a business owner dance with excitement at being able to finally take their vision and share it with the world.
When I come to your business photoshoot I’m not just ticking off an image list and a business photography brief. I’m not just seeing a list of corporate headshots to get through. I’m looking all around for the story to tell, thinking about all the ways I can help get your message out there, looking for that thing we can show that maybe you don’t even know yourself tells your brand’s story… So that’s why I’m not your average commercial photographer, I won’t just talk briefs, lighting, or creative aspects only…. I don’t just shoot to create “art”.
When I walk through the door of your business (however big or small) alongside the right gear for the job I carry with me a decade of corporate experience on the other side of the lens. I understand the commercial world, I’ve managed projects, produced reports, and coordinated the kinds of “stakeholder” events you might hire me to shoot. I bring with me a client focus, professionalism and comfort with senior stakeholders that comes from years spent in top businesses. I know exactly what it’s like to have to coordinate a bunch of busy directors’ diaries to make that group shot happen, to need to work to a budget and a super tight timeline, to have a story to tell and the challenge of getting it right for each audience, and I know firsthand the effort that goes into making sure that big presentation has exactly the right image of your latest product / outlet / new service / new hire… In short, I’ve been in business too.
While I’ve spent years in big business, as a small business owner I also know what its like to be stuck for content ideas, toiling away at social media and wondering who’s seeing it, not knowing where to begin to get the story out there (geez, I’m still learning myself every day)… and that’s also one of the biggest reasons why I’m particularly passionate about taking my decade of corporate experience and my photography expertise to help business owners put themselves out there visually, to help small and medium sized-businesses grow.
Just ask some of my small business clients how I helped them – the chat we had that went beyond how you want your headshot to look, to a discussion about the blog posts they could write, new content ideas, more ways to use their images to help grow their online presence and ultimately their business – the connections we made together, the groove we established and the story we brought to life.
I want to see your small business grow: I want to tell stories and most of all I want them to be commercial.
That’s why I’m a BUSINESS photographer.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more on the key types of photography I think your small business needs… or read more about the business photography services I offer here.
