LOCKDOWN PHOTOGRAPHY

How to keep your photo business thriving (or simply stay sane and creative) during the current climate

As busy and successful photographers, we’re always wishing for more hours in the day. If only we had more time, we say, we’d update our websites, start that new project, and really, we would get our admin sorted.

Although it’s in the most devastating circumstances imaginable, the coronavirus outbreak has given lots of us more free time – with shoots and commissions being cancelled or postponed, and travel suspended around the world. By the time this feature goes to press, it’s hard to know what the situation will be, but even if isolation has been lifted or relaxed, it’s likely that the industry itself won’t have picked up again quite so fast.

For some photographers, the time off has provided a welcome chance to slow down, recharge the batteries and reconnect to what it is they love about shooting images. Others are seeing this as hardcore admin time and an opportunity to spring-clean websites and hard drives, get image libraries in check, and launch new services. We’re also seeing adventurous types launching into new streams of revenue, sharing their knowledge in new ways, such as online tutorials and stories.

However you’re spending (or have spent) your time in isolation, read on to glean advice and inspiration from others in a similar situation. We’ve dug into the minds of top pro photographers to find out how they’re staying positive during this period of lockdown, what they’re doing to maintain the momentum of their work, and just how they’re spending all this free time.