Exposing Myself (Not Like That)

The other day I mentioned how I was trying to find new ways of marketing myself here in Armenia. I finally finished with all the nonsense of documents and registrations. Now is the time to put my head down and start finding places that would want a photographer or videographer to help boost their brand a little. And Armenia is riddled with such places. A land in which basic photography gear is barely even sold in major tech shops, let alone something that is commonly owned within the population. That said, it has grown more competitive here. There are man people all trying to do the same thing and I can see how much skill is appearing. To try to build a portfolio and network, I've taken to printing some business cards and trying to contact smaller businesses here directly, whether they're focused on fashion or smaller products.

I took all the courage I had the other day to walk to a business nearby that sold some pretty unique types of fashion and various handmade items. They had a single person that would advertise their products on their social media pages, so I knew I had good chances speaking to them directly and offering them a few free shoots. This would be good for me since the products side of my portfolio is painfully thin, but also good for them as it advertised their brand in a more professional manner. Beyond phone videos and images, utilising a more professional look with actual lighting and compositions. There are man small businesses here that don't really know how to market themselves, or perhaps just have no idea where to go to find the appropriate people to market. I see that as opportunity, to go directly to them and remind them of what they're missing. It appears to have worked, since I was asked to come a few days later and shoot some handmade products a shop is trying to sell.

I asked them how many people they had enter their shop per day. The answered with an astronomically low number of just four. It made me realise how much opportunity there is here. Now, I'm not amazing at what I do. I had an APS-C camera that is quite old and a few lenses. No lights of my own, no tripod. Though the shop provided me with a single tube light that helped a lot with creating some depth with a backlight, and the tripod with different perspectives. I mixed up the focal lengths but mostly shot wide open on each of them. Trying to utilise the one tube light I had. The shop wanted more pictures on their ceramics and candles than their fashion side, which wasn't particularly my thing, but I knew it would be useful to get some practice in anyway. Especially for the contacts side of things where they might recommend me to others and boost my general discovery a bit more.

With limited light I tried to figure out a way to show the individual products, less focus on each one in a single frame. Using a mist filter to soften that back light and give it more bloom. Also with intent to focus less on sharpness and more on texture. Candles are known for being more smooth, as are ceramics, but I knew softening that backlight and giving the image some texture would give the items a more homely feeling. To invoke that feeling of peace and comfort. While many products focus more on sharpness of the products, I think sharpness doesn't always translate that well to an audience. I talked to the people at the shop and also mentioned that the best way to advertise products like these is to connect to the people more. Showing the human side of how they're made or used. From the creative process of making ceramics or showing the warmth and comfort of lighting a soft smelling candle in the evening at home after a long, cold day. I think there's more to come on that end.

The mist filer and vintage glass I mostly use ended up being the most useful pieces of gear I went with. Though some of the images need a bit more tweaking. It was fun feeling a bit more of that 'film industry' excitement I used to have back in England, since it was a shoot I was doing for people I didn't actually know. I'm really looking forward to getting a bit more exposure and upgrading some gear as the money starts flowing in, though. I've mentioned before that I do feel limited with it.