Plan A
I would like to enter the book and exhibition market in addition to working on editorial commissions. I keep entering competitions on the ‘Life Framer’ website and some type of recognition would be really helpful in establishing myself. I see myself engaging with personal projects and producing monograph style books. This has been the format I enjoy the most and the self indulgence really appeals to me. Up here in Manchester and the North West, there is a really active community of photographers who appear to be journalists or ex journalists, and I feel that networking is really important in this sense and I will continue to involve myself with events and opportunities as they arise.
Plan B
In a commercial sense my wedding photography business is on pause, with lots of rescheduling for next year which on paper at least, looks extremely busy. Also working as a media and photography teacher in the FE sector, I would like to make the jump into HE, possibly in a part time role whilst still shooting weddings as it is quite lucrative. In this case I will still engage with personal projects and try to get as much exposure as possible.
At this stage I feel that plan B is the more likely as i’m currently without a break-though piece of work as it were. I’m obviously hoping that will change and fingers crossed it does.
In recent months I have had some good opportunities which included shooting stills for a BBC show called ‘I’ve Been There’ (Its on BBC Iplayer) in addition to getting the opportunity to shoot a band called the Blossoms in the weeks before lock down. This was an exhilarating experience and a learning curve as I found myself at the front of the stage amongst 5 other photographers.