This module has given me time and space to think about my professional development and the direction in which I want to point myself in the future. One of the tasks that we were set was to come up with a professional plan which is something that I have enjoyed thinking about. This has prompted me to begin to work away at the beginning of this plan which ultimately builds my foundations for graduation. One of the elements that I needed to figure out was how I am going to be seen in the photographic world, whether that be as a commercial or fine art photographer.
After having a lengthy conversation with Loiuse Sharland about my future adventures, I decided that I wanted to separate the two types of photography from each other so that my name sat next to my personal projects. Since having that conversation, I have set up a photography business “Maen Creative” which is the space and name that my girlfriend and I are going to run our commercial photography through. By setting this up, it is separating my photographic identity and makes it clear to my audience that I am a fine art photographer who also runs a photography business. In order to work out some of the steps that I need to take I have researched the careers of photographers to build a picture of what they are doing in order to have a successful commercial photographic practice. Looking at how photographers are becoming content creators and using social media to bring in a bulk of their workflow. This is something that I want to personally develop. Over the summer, my primary focus is going to be working on my online presence in order to get my personal work out in the world more as well as drawing new clients into my photographic business.
I feel like this module has promoted me to make professional decisions sooner rather than later and over the last few weeks I have put quite a bit of energy in refining my professional identity. I enjoy working on myself and my professional attitude is naturally progressing the more freelance work that I take on. I do not feel like this module has added much more value to this as I am driven to build a freelance business that will support me once I have graduated. However, saying this, the only freelance work that I am getting at the moment is the work that comes to me. When I begin to implement my marketing strategy and business plan I hope that I will begin to build a sound clientele which I can work with during my third year of uni.
Throughout this module I have researched the careers of photographers and built a picture of what they are doing in order to implement those tasks in my photographic practice. The use of social media and marketing is something that I need to develop. Both for my business and my personal work. Over the summer, my primary focus is going to be on developing my online presence in order to get my personal work out in the world more as well as drawing new clients into my photographic business.
One of the photographers that I researched was Tom Kahler who is an automotive and lifestyle photographer based in the UK. I have been following his career on Instagram for quite a few years now so I feel connected to the journey and progression that he has been on since the earlier stages of his freelance career. Listening to the Yellow Podcast and listening to the first stages that he took when he started out was interesting. I most definitely took that it is all about marketing and not being afraid to tell people that you are a photographer and offer your services to businesses that you might think want your work. It's these early stages that I could relate to and I have used them as a mental list of professional tasks that I need to work on in the future. I do not believe it is a good thing to compare yourself to people within your circle, as it can dishearten you if you are not quite at the stage of the photographers around you. However, I gather a lot of inspiration from successful people in the wider world that I can admire to have a similar style of career in the further future.
One of the tasks that resonated with me the most was the skills audit task where I had to self reflect my personal skills. In some areas, it gave me confidence in knowing that I can carry myself in a professional manner. However it gave me time to reflect on the skills that I am not so strong in and need to work on in the future. In some of the group tasks, I was perhaps not the best at communicating some of my concerns within the group tasks. This subsequently led to me causing some upset which was easily ironed out over an open video call conversation. I know that I need to work on the way in which I voice my opinions as sometimes I can be a bit too straight to the point which some people do not like.
Overall, I think that this module has been a space for me to spend time developing my personal branding and plan for the future. I feel as if I have developed sound foundations for me to build from regarding a new business. Going forward I am aware that I need to develop how I am outputting my personal photography in order to build an audience that wants to see my personal projects. I think that this is an organic process that will happen over time as I develop my photographic practice.