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The first few weeks into the lockdown were the most agonizing for me.
I had been following the news of the pandemic since mid-January pretty sparingly, then I started taking it seriously almost about a month later, with every new information I received and processed, my mind was playing out worst-case scenarios, analyzing into “if nots and what ifs”.
By Mid March I was telling myself to breathe that it would be ok, so when the news broke about the index case in Nigeria, I started bracing up. Finally the Ice-Breaker, One of the attendees at the AMVCA awards 2020 was confirmed positive and boom everything changes, less than 3 weeks later the President declared a Total lockdown in Lagos, Nigeria, and few other states, the total ban on public gatherings and then the reality sets in.
As an event photographer, what’s worse that can happen to you than the knowledge of “no more social gatherings”. So to say ‘I was scared’ was an understatement, we just got a new studio in a highbrow area of Lagos so we could move closer to our key clientele and make room for consultation and faster TOA (Turn around time) and that definitely punched a little dent in our pocket. We also just renovated our previous studio, extended our lease, invested in new business technology and ideas, took delivery of some new gears… you know we were ready to take 2020 by storm. So you know what I mean when I say fear suddenly took over.
But as my first quote goes according to the Japanese proverb,; “Fear is only as deep as the mind allows”. I had to snap out of it, absorb the reality, and start re-evaluating the situation. I had to open up to what few options we had left, and open up we did. In that light, I will share a few things we have done so far to navigate this period with the hopes that you can pick a thing or two to learn from and use as survival kit during this period.
- Reach out and check in with your clients: You might be surprised they have a little personal family moment they would love to have you document. If they trust you enough, they might definitely want to take the gamble to let you in. But hey you must observe all safety procedures to protect yourself and your client.
- Pitch selling prints to your client: This definitely is a good time to find out if your client will need to have a print version of all those digital memories you have created and curated for them.
- Utilize social media more and get the information out there as to what kind of services you are offering: I am not big on social media (I am tech-savvy, but not just a huge fan of social media_”äbeg no blame me ko easy”) but I realize getting the word out there to show what you can do sort of reassures people and gets them to reach out to you, more so you need to be top on their mind so that when this passes, (as we know it will) they will reach out for your services
- Re-evaluate business: Don’t be too shy to show you have other skills in other disciplines or even other areas of photography. I mean right now we are in survival mode. You just need to ensure you survive the next few weeks till life gets back to the normal we used to know or a new normal.
- Learn new tricks that will ensure your survival: New lighting techniques, new retouching techniques, move into zones that are best described as “Not comfort zones” learn better ways to do business, new marketing strategy, anything that would ensure you evolve when things stabilize.
- Reassess your financials: Understand why the business is not profitable or where you need to improve your earnings. If possible re-evaluate your network.
- Check out new avenues to selling your works: Create stocks, postcards, print on gift materials, I mean just think of cool ways to make your client see your works in a new light.
Finally, It is important to rest as much as possible. We all are apprehensive because everything seems unsure, but learn to rest, learn to breathe, exercise as much as you can, and stay positive. And yes do not forget to keep guard and stay safe.
