Lucy And The Lens

Category: Small Businesses

  • Review

    Before working together my client was a little bit camera shy but got more confident as the shoot went on and now loves having personal branding sessions. #Mibmarathonday11

  • What I’m grateful for on my business journey

    On my business journey so far I’m grateful for the people I’ve met in my networking communities like MIB, CWS Creatives and Uclan SME. Those people that hold you accountable when business isn’t going well. Those people that help you when you’re not winning at business. Those friends that become clients and always come back to you for their next idea. Those clients that become friends and hype you up no matter what. Those people that take a chance on you when you’re just starting out and it builds into a professional relationship for years to come. Those that never doubt you even when you doubt yourself. Those people that are there through every business struggle that you don’t see on social media. But most of all I’m grateful for all of you for showing up. #mibmarathonday7

  • My Superpower

    My Super Power is Making people feel seen and confident in who they are.
    When it comes to finding clients all I care about is that you’re a nice person and, that we have the same or aligning values when it comes to work.

    My top 3 are creativity, connection and motivation.

    Photography doesn’t start with a camera it starts with a conversation. Graphic by: @emiliaclarecreates

    mibmarathonday4

  • Content Creation Girlies

    If your a creative. You need to find yourself a group of people to connect and create content with just like I did with Content Creation Girlies back in January.

    Here’s what we got up to in the video below:

  • Fairytales Ep Cover

    Excited to share a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my recent work. I’ve been working with Sophie Adamson music on creating striking single covers for her first EP.

    Each image tells a unique story, reflecting the music’s mood and energy. It’s a wonderful journey translating sound into visuals. Grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the visual identity of this musical endeavor.

    Here is some of the images from one of the singles Fairytales. You can listen to her first 3 singles on Apple Music and Spotify and the next single will be released in Summer 2024.

  • You Are Your Own Worst Critic

    Most of us can relate to the feeling of staring at a photo for too long, second-guessing our every move.

    For me, this happened just last night.

    I was trying to pick a photo for a competition, and two hours and 30 images later, I finally made a decision.

    Even then, I found myself acting as my own worst critic.

    In the moment, it can be tough to silence that little voice in your head that’s constantly critiquing your every move. But it’s important to remember that you’re the only one who knows what’s best for you.

    Also with social media, it’s become so easy to compare ourselves to others and to constantly strive for unattainable goals. It’s no wonder that so many of us are our own worst critics.

    But what if we could learn to love ourselves, flaws and all? What if we could be our own biggest fans? It turns out that there are plenty of benefits to being your own worst critic.

    Being your own worst critic can be healthy as it helps you to focus on areas which you need to improve. If you’re constantly putting yourself down, it’s likely that you’ll start to believe it. But if you’re constantly striving to be better, you’re more likely to achieve your goals.

    It can also help to keep you humble. It’s easy to get a big head when you’re constantly being praised by others. But if you’re your own toughest critic, you’re less likely to get caught up in your own ego.

    So trust your gut, and go with your gut instinct. Chances are, it won’t steer you wrong.

    If you’ve ever been in a similar situation, like or comment below!

  • How do I manage my workflow effectively as a freelance photographer?

    As a freelance photographer, one of the most important things I can do is manage my workflow effectively in order to ensure timely and high-quality photos are sent to my clients .

    This means I have to prioritize my tasks, and stay organized. One way to prioritize my workflow is to break down my projects into smaller tasks, and then tackle the most important or time-sensitive ones first. This can help me to stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed.

    Being flexible and adaptable is something that is necessary when maintaining a creative workflow as sometimes things can happen that can’t be planned for.

    Getting regular feedback from other photographers and also those who aren’t photographers is also something that’s beneficial to your productivity as a freelance creative.

    Staying organized is the most important thing when maintaining a efficient workflow. This means having a system for storing and organizing my files, as well as staying on top of my communication with clients is the top priority.

    By following these tips, you can make sure that your workflow is efficient and that you’re able to deliver high-quality work on time.

    Please like or comment if you found this helpful!

  • The Importance Of Networking

    Today I want to talk about the importance of networking.

    I go to a variety of networking events predominantly CWS Creatives.

    Networking provides me with benefits for my business as it allows me to meet new people and build professional relationships.

    By attending networking events, I can connect with potential customers or clients, as well as other business professionals who can provide helpful advice or referals.

    As a freelance photographer who is looking to expand my customer base. Attending a networking event can put me in contact with businesses and individuals who may be interested in working with me . Networking can also help you connect with potential employers. And if you simply want to learn more about your industry, networking can provide you with the opportunity to speak with other professionals who can share helpful insights.

    Whether you are looking to meet new people, gain industry knowledge, or find new job prospects, attending a networking event can help you achieve your goals.

    If you’re looking to benefit from all that networking has to offer, comment below and let us know what events you’ll be attending!

  • Goal Setting

    Most people will have set goals at the beginning of the year of what they plan to do through the year. A lot of these goals might now be unattainable due to Covid19.

    But your year doesn’t have to stop with Covid19 you can refocus your goals changing them up for the current climate. As Dani Barker Media (Social Media Strategist) says “we can then treat post covid as a 2020 take two setting yourself brand new goals when the time comes”.

    But first think about what you can do during this pandemic to improve your business. You might be thinking you can’t do anything, but there’s always something you can do.

    I think that goal setting is important because:

    • It focuses your attention on something.
    • It raises your self-confidence when you achieve them.
    • It motivates you to do more.
    • It gives you a sense of purpose.
    • It gives you more control of your future.

    In terms of goal setting I like to set my goals on the last day of every month.

    Each month provides me with new goals. Some months I have a week or two set out for a course I’m taking part in. Other months I use a structure I created when I did probloggers 31 days to build a better blog course and sometimes I do both.

    If we weren’t currently in lockdown, the first thing I would do in a typical month would be to check what I have booked in and right that down in both my calendar and my bullet journal which I use to create the schedule.

    As currently lockdown is the only thing that is happening , I’ve been thinking about what I can do with my social media content and web content as a change of focus because I can’t do photoshoots right now.

    In the month of March there was a 7 day content sprint with problogger. But this month looks a little different.

    I have a main goal set for the month of may which is to finish the podcasting course I’m doing which is a course on the future learn website called the power of podcasting for audio storytelling. I am also hoping to launch the podcast later this month. So this is what the month looks like for podcasting:

    • Week 1: Complete the podcasting course.
    • Week 2: Podcast Wednesday: plan the next month of podcasting.
    • Week 3: Get podcast platform ready.
    • Week 4: Launch podcast

    The podcast isn’t my only plan for this month though. In March I did a design sprint day which helps you work towards your long term and short term goals. So on the 11th of every month I will be doing a design sprint task day implementing some of the techniques I learnt. I will also be doing an idea generation day on the 15th of every month to help me think of ideas in all aspects of business. I have also scheduled in my zoom meetings in order to work around them.

    In the month I usually have one or two rest days per week which I call a do something different day where I do something completely unrelated to photography.

    When I’m planning my website content for the next month I have days set to do certain types of post for example a lust or review post. I may also have days to get someone who hasn’t looked at my blog before to analyse it and days to ask readers questions.

    I also have goals for everyday some are due to lockdown and others I want to implement even after. These are:

    • Spending some time on social media to post, comment, share, like and engage.
    • To do daily walks and workouts most days.
    • Listen to podcasts most days.
    • Read for at least an hour.

    Finally on the last day of the month I do two things:

    • Goal setting by planning a schedule for the next month.
    • Checking google analytics to see how my website has performed for the month.

    If you enjoyed this post why not set goals of your own and share them in the comments.

  • What Can A Photographer Learn From Spending An Hour On Instagram?

    I think that every day or at least every other day as a photographer you should try to spend one full hour On Instagram.

    In this hour you scroll on the news feed and make a note about which images grab your attention and then make a comment and maybe even share them in your story.

    If you don’t have time to spend a full hour you can always spend less time and save the images to go back and looked at later which I usually do when something catches my eye.

    This is a really useful process because it allows you to spend time seeing what other photographers are doing and asking yourself if any of their ideas fit in with your brand. Could you implement something someone else is doing that you haven’t yet tried?

    If you like something why not ask if the photographer is willing to share tips and tricks, especially when it comes to lighting because you can learn a lot from how someone else lights their subject.

    At the moment I think that looking at hash tag social isolation and hash tag COVID-19 may also help you spark ideas for new posts too. Also, the hash tag FaceTime photo shoot is another one as now a lot of people are looking for new ways to take photographs with models when no one can meet up in person.

    Something you need to always be doing outside of this hour is checking when someone follows you or leaves your comments. It is always good practice to reply to their comment and then engage with them on their own account. Any time someone followers you provided it its spam you should go and take a look at their profile, comment and then follow back.

    For me I tend to spend time trying to post something every day. On a typical week I’d normally post 2 images per day on weekends and one image per day for the whole rest of the week. I also share all my posts On Facebook and Twitter.

    As this post is all about Instagram why not follow me on there @lucyandthelens. If you liked this post stay tuned for more.