I love to see my clients businesses succeed and soar because of the visibility and confidence that I have given to them with a portfolio of superb bespoke images after a Personal Brand Photography shoot.
Are you struggling with your marketing? Tell me in the comments, whether you feel a Personal Brand Photography shoot would help your business right now? (and how much a portfolio of 120+ bespoke images showcasing both your business and yourself is worth to you).
Now on to Part 2 of my Photography business story ….
One of my biggest surprises in Dubai was that I soon became an established Wedding Photographer – although it was definitely not in my original Business Plan to photograph Christian weddings in a Muslim country !!! But Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum knows all too well that his country depends upon the expertise of expats, so he paid for the construction of Anglican and Catholic Churches, Temples and Synagogues where these expats could worship their chosen faith.
On top of numerous Christian Weddings, I was lucky enough to be invited to cover a few Arabic and Asian weddings (which are completely different, and anticipating what was about to happen was made more challenging by the language barrier). Most of my other bookings came from either Product shoots or Corporate Events (everything from product launches or team-building exercises to sales motivational presentations), plus private Portraits and corporate Headshot sessions.
I was soon living the dream. More bookings than I could handle (despite continually increasing my prices) and with no sales / marketing hassles, because I had so many happy clients that referred me to their friends and colleagues !!! But then, in March 2016, my bubble suddenly burst. I was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage 3 bladder cancer. I did my last few shoots in Dubai in agony, then retouched these images on my laptop in my hospital bed (and these clients were so amazed that they came to visit me in hospital).
After my life-saving surgery (a radical cystectomy and creation of a neo-bladder), we packed up and moved back to England in August 2016, both for my continued future treatment (no NHS, only expensive private hospitals and doctors in Dubai - ouch) and to help look after my elderly mother in Winchester, whose mobility had rapidly declined.
After fitting in some more Wedding shoots between a couple of part-time jobs, I officially retired early in November 2020. The advantage is that I now have not only loads of time for Photography, but also financial independence (thanks to both my life savings and my German State Pension) …. so I can concentrate on both Wedding and Brand Photography, whilst offering very competitive rates for both (when I’m not tinkering with any of my collection of vintage and classic cars)
And to balance yesterday’s shot of an unfamiliar cat, here is our Creamer – a very vocal ginger Arabian Mau rescue cat from Dubai, who became our first foster-fail (and he hates the cold and rain almost as much as I do).
