'personal'
Up until recently my photography business was called “Capture That Photography”. It was a nice name and was chosen to reflect what I enjoyed about photography: capturing moments and sharing them with others. “Capture that” is an expression I often hear myself using when I see something I think would make a good photograph: as in, “hey, that looks cool, someone should capture that in a photo.” Or, if I’m really excited about something: “quick! Capture that!” But there was something about it that didn’t quite work for me. It felt a little odd, like it was trying too hard to be something it wasn’t. Like a sandal trying to be a business shoe it just didn’t seem to fit the rest of the outfit. So towards the end of last year I bit the bullet and decided to change the name of my business. By the time I’d decided to make the change the new name was obvious: Chris Allsop Photography. There’s a long list of reasons why I made the change but in the interest of not boring you to death I’m only going to share two major ones.
word of mouth: people telling others about chris allsop’s photography, not capture that’s photography
As with many (if not most) photographers, I rely on word of mouth for new business. Nothing pleases me more than a client telling me they’ve referred a friend or family member to me. Over the last six months or so I noticed trends in people coming to me having learned of my name rather than my brand. This was particularly so for my website; more people were finding my website by googling Chris Allsop Photography than they were by searching for Capture That Photography. All sound pretty obvious? Yeah, it does. But it wasn’t.
i can show more of my personality with my name than i could with “capture that”
How so? I’m not entirely sure. Maybe it’s purely just a logo thing. What I do know is that I’m playful, happy, colourful and easy going. I really feel my new logo represents more of that. It also shows at a glance exactly what my photography is about: children and parties. It shows, with bright colours, four kids doing different, natural activities. One of them is holding a bunch of balloons. They might be at a party; maybe they’re just being kids. Who knows? Let’s find out by going on the adventure with them.
What do you think of the change? Was it a good move?
A few days ago I blogged about 2011 and what a big year it was. Well, now it’s time for me to stop looking back on 2011 and start looking forward to 2012. I’m not really one for making personal resolutions each new year (I’m shockingly good at forgetting them by January 2nd) so this year I’m simply setting myself a few photography resolutions. My plan is to look back at this blog post in twelve months time and check off each of the resolutions as accomplished. I’m hoping that you will help keep me accountable to each of them, too.
So, without further ado, here are my photography resolutions for 2012.
1. shoot outside my comfort zone
I love photographing people, particularly children and kids’ birthday parties. What I’m particularly challenged by (read: not good at) is landscape photography. In 2012 I’d like to practise and improve this. But that’s not all I deem to be outside of my comfort zone. As a photographer it’s very easy to fall into the trap of taking the same kind of photos over and over. I don’t want to do that. I want to keep my photos fresh and exciting by experimenting and exploring my creativity. My clients will benefit from this, too, as they will reap the reward of photos that are more creatively beautiful.
2. create a photographic series
This is something I’ve always wanted to do but have always put off for being too busy or too scared to undertake it. This year I would to pick a topic or subject (goodness knows what; perhaps deciding that is a more realistic resolution) and take a series of photos over time. Then, once I’m happy with the result, I’d like to compile the series into a blog post or a small book. What do you think I should photograph as a series?
3. embrace bad weather as a challenge, not a hinderance
Let’s be realistic: I live in Melbourne. The weather here is about as predictable as a 3 year-old after 4 glasses of red cordial. But rather than be deterred by bad weather I’m setting myself the challenge of embracing it and finding ways to take photos no matter what, even on days when I would rather put the heater on and curl up on the couch to watch a DVD. Rain, hail or thunderstorm, 2012 will be photographed.
4. get published in a print magazine
This isn’t a resolution. It’s a clear goal and objective. I’m going to do my darnedest to get some of my work published in a magazine. I’m not sure which magazines yet but it’s something that I really, really want to achieve.
5. spend more time with other Melbourne photographers
There’s a common misconception that photographers view each other as competitors who hate each other. Sure, I guess we’re competitors, but I certainly don’t believe we hate each other. In fact, many of us know each other either online or in person. In 2012 I’d like to spend more time regularly catching up with other photographers in Melbourne. It’s a great way for us to keep sharing ideas and inspiration, as well as learning from each other. Besides which, who doesn’t like chatting over a good Melbourne coffee? Are you photographer in Melbourne? Get in touch with me!
What are your New Year resolutions?
It’s that time of the year when we reflect, with stomachs still full of Christmas leftovers, on the year is about to come to an end. It was a big year for me. Not just in terms of my photography but in all other aspects of my life. Here’s a little recap, for my benefit as much as for yours. All up, I’d say 2011 was a good year. A big year, but a good year.
at the end of 2010
While not technically part of the last 12 months, near the end of 2010 my wife and I moved back to Australia after living in New Zealand for a few years. In some respects it was a big decision (come on, we were moving country… again) but in others it was easy: we were expecting our first baby and we wanted to be closer to family in Australia.
january – the birth of my beautiful son, hamish.
My son Hamish was born on January 4th. Arriving three weeks early and with a not-so-smooth entrance into the world, my little boy is the centre of my universe and without doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me. I cherish every day with him (although I sometimes forget this when he’s screaming the house down at 3am). See photos of my little hero here: Hamish.
march – change of jobs
It was a massive change of industry but in March I left the consumer IT marketing industry and joined a not-for-profit mental health foundation called SuperFriend. I haven’t looked back. It was one of the best career decisions I’ve ever made. At SuperFriend I can use my marketing and communications experience to encourage and promote positive mental health. It’s rewarding and it’s fulfilling. How lucky am I?
july – bought a house
You know that great Australian dream of owning a house with a bit of land? This was it. We had been house hunting for six months and finally came across the right house in the right area. We went to the auction and we were fortunate enough to be the winning only bidders on the day. Moving date: October 31.
july to october – sold our old house
So after buying a house with a yard we needed to sell our townhouse. It was a great 3 bedroom townhouse with a private courtyard in a quiet street with a park at the end and in a sought after suburb. Sounds like a no-brainer, easy sell, right? Nope. Melbourne’s property market really is as bad as they say. We had top real estate agents but just zero interest. The auction came and went with no buyers. We went to private sale, dropped our pants price more than what was fair several times and eventually the right people came along. It was a very long and stressful process, particularly with settlement on the new place looming over our heads. My advice: sell first, buy second.
october – moved house and photographed 3 weekend birthday parties
This couldn’t have been a bigger month. We had to move out of one house (making sure it was super clean and ready for the new owners) and move into the new place… on the same day. On top of that, I was booked to shoot three birthdays all in that month. We managed it all but I’m pretty sure I need to start dying my hair now.
december – christmas et al
‘Tis the merry season! Christmas is a special time and for the first time in 6 years my whole family was together. Yay!
What was 2011 like for you?
and now some of my favourite photos from 2011
