2023 so far...
I’ll be honest with you…
This year isn't mostly what I was envisioning for my photography journey. And it happens!
The start of the year was very exciting for me; as you all saw from my start of the year blog, I had some goals and dreams I envisioned for my first year in business. As you'll see later on, I'll be going over what happened with these goals, and what we hope to see for the rest of the year.
I knew I needed to work on my foundation, so I slowly built my way in different areas such as my equipment, building skills, and building an online presence. Getting equipment isn't cheap, but it is a long-term investment that does pay for itself. As many people will say, Practice makes perfect - I knew I was going to have to do a lot of photoshoots in order for me to widen variety in my portfolio. The biggest challenge was my online presence: Being my own business with no staff to help means that you have to build the self-discipline to get everything going. This included having the content needed to post, strategizing how to arrange the photos and captions, figuring out online algorithms that change daily, showing up for yourself and your audience consistently... all while managing balance between work and home life. It was/is not easy, but over time, I have made a lot of mistakes and good experiences that allow me to be able to have an easier work-flow.
The biggest hurdle was balancing my work and family life. My family experienced some good times and not so good times. I had my first family trip in a very long time, and I got to see my cousin married in New Jersey. I set up a successful event for me and my friends so I could practice my photography, and I am still slowly working on my backlog from this year as well as sharing older work as far back as 2016. As of this blog, I work full time with my brothers, and have additional lines of income including this business, dog-walking and petsitting, and being a certified women's sexual health educator. While I am skilled in keep schedules and making the most of my time, an emergency in the last 2 months have given me a wake-up call to what was important to me: my family. My grandfather had not been well, and taking care of my brothers almost all alone while my family went to the Philippines tested me.
In the last month, I had to make some difficult decisions. As of yesterday, I had officially let go of my Zumba-teaching after 2 years since it was not aligning with my current and future goals. Today I found out that my parents and aunt are going back to the Philippines after the 4th of July holiday; therefore I had to close the rest of this month for petsitting. I know that while I do enjoy taking care of my doggie clients, eventually I will not be able to offer overnight services to take care of my brothers. For my Pure Romance business, I am now considered an omni-channel business so while I may not focus too much on in-home parties in certain times of the year, I can build in my online and in-person presence while still supporting my family. As for photography? If everything were to fall down the drain, I would ultimately choose this as my career full-time. I can still continue to work from home and be with my family, and I can ask when I need additional help with my brothers.
(On an unrelated note, if I were to take up position as guardian of my brothers, I'm not sure how it would affect me with my income as an in-home provider. That is something I have to explore in the near future too.)
There are things that I can’t control in life, but what truly matters is my attitude and how I pivot. Which segues into the next topic:
What I've learned in life, business, and of myself
Reflecting on the first half of the year, here's what I've learned or have helped me:
Do the thing, even if you don't feel like doing it.
I can't begin to tell you how many times this year I have thought about putting things off from the overwhelm of my backlog. I'm looking at my open tab on my laptop with the folders of photoshoots I still need to work on. In the last month, I had days where I didn't even want to open my laptop to work because I was mentally and emotionally stressed out from tending to my family. But the thing is, my business isn't going to work itself if I'm not doing something about it. Even if it's doing one thing - posting on my social media, scheduling posts, or sharing stories - showing up even when it's hard can make all the difference.
And consistency is key! If you are building an online presence, your audience is going to want to see you... A LOT. If you can't post organically, I highly suggest using a business suite to schedule all of your content on social media (I personally use Meta Business Suite for posting to my pages of Instagram and Facebook). Show up in your stories and posts to let you audience know what you are up to, and be relatable to them when it comes to real life. It needs to be a balance of both work AND play.
Lean on your family, friends, and community when you need an uplift.
This photography business is an extension of myself as an artist, and it's also a gateway for me to be able to make meaningful connections with my audience. I like to be upbeat and passionate about sharing my art as well as getting people to know me. But before I'm a businesswoman, I am a person, a partner, a family member, a friend. I can never express in words how much gratitude I have for my family, friends, and communities I have built/become a part of. We all go through some hardship in life, but we cannot go through them alone. Sharing transparency on social media can be scary because we don't know how others may think of us as people or a business; even I have surprised myself because I have those who I have yet to shoot with or meet tell me that they are cheering me on and reach out if I ever needed anything. These are the people that I do my business for, and it keeps me going.
Collaboration over competition.
It boggles my mind with how many photographers and other creatives have come together to create beautiful art together. I have been a part of group photoshoots as a model and photographer a few times in the last year, and I'm always in awe of everyone's creative talents. However, there are going to be those who are going to be bashing others for whatever reason. Sadly, bullying can happen anywhere, so it's important to work with those that love to collaborate and see you and everyone win. I have met the most talented and beautiful people during collaborations and it is so fun to see what beautiful art can be created when working together.
Have grace and patience with yourself as your learn and grow.
Nothing is ever perfect. I don't think my work is perfect, but I like it and that's all that matters! Building in your skills and learning about yourself and who you are as a person will take time, whether it takes weeks, months, or years to master them. What's important is not only what you learn, but how you apply them to your life. It will be frustrating not being able to master certain goals or skills right away or in whatever timeline you give yourself - focus each day on doing something for yourself even if it's for about 15 minutes. And as you grow, it doesn't get any easier, but your willpower and confidence will grow stronger in learning how to overcome. Remember that someone else's chapter 10 is different than your chapter 1. Focus on writing your story.
So how did I do with my goals thus far?
I'm nervous to go over them with you, but progress or no progress, here's how it's going:
Goal 1: Learning new techniques and tricks of the trade.
I am happy to share that in the first 6 months of the year, I was able to learn new skills in collaboration with other local photographers. In the spring, I collaborated with those who's specialty is lighting, and I got to do professional photoshoots in a studio for the first time in a long time as a model. I learned how lighting equipment worked, how important angles for lighting is, and what each kind of lighting equipment is for. I collaborated with a videographer who also does photography using Sony equipment, and is a mentor I often ask questions. I picked up a few tricks thanks to some free resources inspired by other photographers on social media, and it's made a huge difference in how I edit my own photos.
Goal 2: Start photographing at larger events/conventions.
As you all saw from my previous blog posts, I was able to participate in photographing at Katsucon in February and Tidewater Comicon in May. I wanted to go to a couple of other events in my area, but sadly couldn't due to prior obligation. The bigger events that I am interested in attending are happening during the latter half of the year, but with me moving to a new home in October, I am limited to less than a handful until I am more established in my new home.
Goal 3: Set up my own styled shoots and meetups.
This has yet to happen for me this year so far. The biggest factors where scheduling conflicts around mostly my family: My family has been traveling back and forth to the Philippines more frequently this year, and it's placed a hinder in scheduling in the first half of the year. In the fall, I have my move to prepare for, but I do have an idea of when I want to do my first styled shoot and meetup. More details to come, but I laid out a tentative plan than I hope to share in September.
Hairy Scary Goal: Be a published photographer by July 1st.
Today is July 2nd, and for this goal, this also has not happened yet. It doesn't mean, however, that I'm not working toward that goal! I have a lot of backlog that I still need to sort through and share on my social media and website first, and I'm still developing my skills with each folder and file I go through. I'm excited for the day that I get my work published. As I say this, I'm not thinking anything other than it would be fun to see my work in a magazine, and also give me credibility as an artist. I think my Lolo Al would be pleased.
The other Hairy Scary Goal: Have my own studio.
The events of the first half of the year did discourage me about accomplishing this goal for this year, and I am considering putting it on hold for another year or two. In the meanwhile, I have looked for inspiration from other photographers to see what their studio spaces looked like. I wanted to envision what kind of branding that is specifically "Atelier Reiko" and although I have done some extensive research, I have yet to fine-tune where I want it to be and how it will look like. Whatever my space is going to look like, I think I would rather take my time to figure it out as well as where it will be.
What are my new goals for the rest of the year?
Now that I have established a lot of mini-goals within my main goals so far this year, here's what I would love to accomplish for the rest of 2023:
Goal 1: Set up 1 to 2 photoshoot meetup sessions in the fall.
Despite having plans to move to new home during this season and preparing for various activities at Nekocon, I do have a couple of meetup sessions that I would like to set up together with other photographers and models in my local area.
Goal 2: Have a creative team to do do photoshoot collaborations with on a monthly basis.
I have dreamed of doing something like this since I participated in my first group photography and modeling session last fall. I would want to work with a few local photographers to help with hosting the meetups and events, as well as finding those I work well with for a second photographer for other occasions.
Goal 3: Be a panelist for cosplay photography at an anime convention.
I'm excited to share that yesterday I submitted an application to be a panelist at a local convention to talk about cosplay and photography! Although I have experience in as a panelist for conventions in the past, this year would be the first time I have ever submitted something to host myself! I am excited and hope that I can share and extend knowledge and tips for both cosplayers and photographers who are interested in doing photography as a hobby or a career. I will let you all know through social media how it all goes, but I am looking forward to adding some variety to the events that I sign up for!
Goal 4: Host a photography event during a convention.
I have also submitted an application to host a themed photoshoot event at a local anime convention for this year! Again, I have never hosted an event like this by myself before so this is going to be quite a venture. I've participated in many themed photoshoots at various conventions in the past, so I have an idea of how they are run. I hope to see you all at a photoshoot event that I host!
Goal 5: Submit my work to magazines and have 1 successful publication.
I'm still aiming for this goal now that I had the opportunity to have more experience behind the lens and computer screen with my photography and editing skills. I'll be looking into magazines I am interested in submitting my work to and cross my fingers that I make the cut. Even if I don't make it, I do want to do my best and believe in myself and my work!
Here's to the latter half of 2023! I can't wait to see how it unfolds from here on in!
With love,
Jenni
