Hard to believe we’re already one month into 2017, isn’t it? I don’t know about you, but for me, the month of January flew by incredibly fast.
January 2017 Photography Business Stats
Monthly Highlights Series
13
Photo shoots completed
*3 less than December
55.3
Business miles driven
*78.8 less than October
132.51
Hours worked for the month
*71.76 less than December
131.43
Miles walked
*52.07 more than December
11.2
Miles ran
*11.2 more than December
Resources Used for Monthly Stats
QuickBooks Accounting Software
What Went Well
Photography
January has previously been a notoriously slow month for photography. In January 2016, for example, I only completed 6 photo shoots; this January, I had 13. What changed? Two things. First, I built up a pretty solid rapport with many new food photography clients and they all had new menus to debut in the new year. This was exellent timing to fill my empty calendar in January. Also, these clients were a little more laid back than usual, allowing me to experiment with new photography processes, namely tethered shooting. It’s my goal this year to do as many of my photo shoots as possible using tethered shooting. I’ll speak more about certain methods in future blogs.
My second reason for having a busier than usual month of January was an increased initiative to seek out more editorial photography assignments. Editorial photography for blogs, magazines, and publications is notoriously difficult to do on a full-time basis as the pay is low and the work often inconsistent. But I love it for having an excuse to shoot different material and get published on different websites.
January’s photo spree was the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, DC. From a purely journalistic perspective, I’d been planning for months to attend this weekend, expecting a high degree of chaos. Sure enough, that weekend did not disappoint. From protests to inaugural balls and celebrations, this was a photographer’s paradise. More photo coverage from that weekend is over on my photography website, along with a recent post on how to photograph a protest, should you choose to get involved.
A Word on Politics and Your Business…
Speaking of politics, I’m of the very firm belief that entrepreneurs and business owners should think twice before getting politically active. If you’re a professional photographer, you’re a business owner, so this message applies to you, too. During these turbulent times like right now when countries like the USA are so dramatically split over politics, the last thing you want to do is take a political stand and alienate potential clients who don’t agree. My belief is that general photography coverage of political events is fine if done from a purely photojournalistic perspective. However, overtly discriminating political statements ought to be omitted.
Continuing to Build Up This Blog
Ever since I shifted the focus of this blog to be more about building a photography business, I’ve been more excited than ever to write new posts. My brainstorming list is pages long with different topics I want to delve into, but alas, there is only so much time during the day to dedicate to a side venture. As photo shoots begin to stack up, building this blog remains among my top priorities and I aim to continue regular updates in addition to an e-book before the year is over. Stay tuned, hold me accountable, and certainly chime in anytime via comments or email with feedback.
