While writing this I’ve come to terms that 2 months is in fact a REALLY Long time. 2 months, eight weeks(ish), many, many days…
As usual, I feel like not much has happened, but thinking back over the last few months, I feel as if a few more doors have opened which will lead to more opportunities and experiences.
While this is foremost a way for me to keep track of my time, I figured I would talk a little bit about my process on what I am currently working on, and more specifically on what I will be doing this summer. I feel like I haven’t talked about it that much, but in the past 2 months I have begun preparing my brand for what’s ahead.
Before this, however, I thought I would talk about the many things that have happened – briefly. *if someone is actually reading this and wants to read about the process of setting up my small business venture, then skip to the end*
10 secs has developed slowly… I finally finished the mini portfolio of the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser, albeit not as fully developed as I had hoped, but I wanted to have something done and dusted.
I also shot a small selection of photos for London House Gallery, a new gallery near to me which creates amazing pottery pieces which are mini natural-form masterpieces. I accidentally forgot to bring my flash diffuser, however I always carry a mini one just in case! I knew that packing spares would come in handy one day…
For this month I would like to either do a Brew Dog mock shoot, or a lifestyle brand shoot, perhaps a coat, maybe even a wetsuit? We shall see.
I have started using my housing a bit more. The sea has begun warming up, so no more boots, gloves and hooded wetsuit. This has made me think about doing a whole month, potentially June, where I go in every morning/evening and take photos with the housing. Partly inspired by DawnDays, an Instagram page/movement based around mental health and the love of the sea (check them out!), I feel like using the housing more and taking my photography back to my roots will help to inspire and motivate me to create more work.
There is progress with my colour grading and film making. I have agreed to help with a film, made by one of my uni course mates. I figured this would be a great opportunity to grow my portfolio, as well as help a friend out in the process. I’m sure June’s blog will tell all.
And Finally…
In the last few months, I have focused primarily on the creation of my summer job. While operating under the InDeep brand, I shall be taking photos for surf sessions at my local beaches. This has involved creating a solid and efficient workflow, website, and extended brand. Both website and brand mostly work hand in hand, with most of the work going into access and website ergonomics.
But what I wanted to talk through was the concept of workflow, and why this was something that I spent a lot of time on.
A large majority of my time was spent working out how I would make this workflow easy and hassle free. Most of my time while working will be spent taking photos alongside surf sessions. What I didn’t, and still don’t want to happen, is for another large portion of my time to be taken away by editing. On a quiet day, I would perhaps take 500+ shots. To then be able to go through these, select usable shots, edit and export would take a while if done in the wrong way.
I have spent the last few sessions that I have photographed working on creating shortcuts, presets and efficient filing systems so as not to waste time, and ultimately money where I could be out taking more photos. Especially while predominantly working by myself, it’s worth taking note of the saying ‘work smarter, not harder’, which I’ve tried to live by in the past two months.