What I've Been Up To Lately
Hi, my name is Trenton and Iâm finally out of the woods.
Itâs been three months since Iâve blogged anything. I also hardly sent any emails nor made any phone calls. Weird, considering the holiday season⌠With that in mind I want to offer an explanation and a quasi-apology. I say quasi, because Iâm not sorry for what Iâve been doing, but I am sorry if any of my readers have felt neglected.
Due West!
In early October I finally relocated back to Atlanta after an unexpected six year long journey to Eastern Europe.
Since then Iâve got a place to live (in Kennesaw, so now I am minutes away from my clients in Marietta), a car to drive, photographed a few events (including several mitzvahs, a high profile fundraiser and a cover shoot) and started filling up my 2016 calendar. Oh, and also gave an interview on FujiRumors.
Slowly, but things are a-movinâ. Simultaneously Iâve been processing the queue for my Belorussian clients (it has been a busy year!), developing a portal website for my own clients, another one for my friend⌠And getting back on the grid.
Trenton Who?
Building a high end boutique business on a shoestring budget is nothing new to me. Been there back in 2000 when I first came to the States, then in 2010 when I realized that Iâm stuck in Eastern Europe, and now again, back statesideâŚ
But this time around itâs going to be quite a bit harder â mostly due to that unplanned Russian/Belorussian odyssey of mine. You just canât build a great reputation, then suddenly disappear for 6 years and expect to pick it up from where you left it.
Finding a great family photographer is a painstaking process, and ideally should be done only once in a lifetime. Over the years quite a few of my clients hired me for all of their kidâs bar and bat mitzvahs, some even managed to get me for a mitzvah and the wedding⌠You canât just take a time out in this market!
Like A Plumber
âŚIt took me years of painful and expensive trial and error to find a really good plumber. Iâve been wholeheartedly recommending him to all my friends ever since, and everyone was happy until⌠He died.
You know, sometimes you just canât help it but feel quite differently from the way you shouldâve been feeling as a civilized person? That happened to me when Iâve learned about the plumberâs demise. I wasnât sad, nor was I grieving â not even remotely. It all came later, but my first reaction was⌠anger. I was totally pissed by the fact that Iâll have to start that search all over again.
I completely understand if some of my old clients felt the same way about my âshortâ trip to Russia in 2009, which was originally planned to last no more than 2 months. I was assured by all parties involved that it wonât take longer than a month⌠yet it took six years. Force majeure such as death, war or stupid acts of the government (latter in my case) shouldnât really be preventing anyone from doing the things they love, so I have no real excuses here. Especially considering that Iâm a security nerd.
Department Of Redundancy Department
Decades ago, when I booked my first âway in advanceâ kind of event (it was a bat mitzvah booked 3 years ahead, if I remember correctly), my whole concept of âoperations securityâ regarding event photography have changed dramatically.
Meditate on it for a few minutes. Thereâs an event in 3 years that you absolutely have to attend while being in top shape physically, emotionally and professionally. Thatâs what you do for a living. Does it fit your current lifestyle?âŚ
Over the years Iâve built a very robust operations security system. It includes multiple redundancies (lesson learned from the flood in a colleagueâs retail studio), advanced logistics and automation â I have a plan for any possible and many impossible scenarios, including a fully autonomous bot that will get a replacement photographers for all pre-booked events in case of my sudden disability, disappearance or death.
As it turned out, there was just one thing that I didnât have a plan for: Russian bureaucracy.
Dang. Six years. Six freakinâ years!⌠But letâs turn the page already.
Out Of The Woods
The main reason Iâve stayed so quiet for the last 3 months is that I was getting back on the grid. Itâs nearly impossible to conduct any serious business when 2 out of 3 major credit bureaus forgot (!) your SSN, your bank accounts have been closed âfor inactivityâ (what?!), your driverâs license is a non-laminated printout and your car has a temporary tag issued in a wrong name⌠The list goes on and on, but you get the idea.
Well, Iâm happy to report that Iâm out of the woods and back to being an all-American entity. And Iâm here to stay.
TWIMC
Right now I have a huge advantage when compared to my colleagues in the same market segment: I am not yet booked for years in advance, so Iâm probably available for your date (please ask about my availability here).
Another positive side to me being underbooked: no event is too small. Seven years ago I was hesitant to book $500 photoshoots, especially on weekends â with my busy schedule back then I wouldâve rather booked a $7,500 event and take a second day off⌠Well, thatâs no longer the case; let me repeat â no event is too small.
No event is too big, either â the biggest event Iâve ever photographed was a wedding with over 2,500 guests.
So If You AreâŚ
Planning a wedding or bar mitzvah of your own â contact me ASAP to reserve your date!
Professional event planner or coordinator â get in touch with me here or on Facebook (alternatively you can use my personal profile if we are friends on FB). Letâs form an alliance to help your clients capture the perfect moment without spoiling it!
Competing Studio â contact me to discuss how I can help your business. I like subcontracting as a first or second shooter, and B2B clients say that Iâm quite good at replicating other studios signature styles (still working on my Monte Zucker impersonation though). Other services include workflow solutions and education.
Reading this text out of sheer curiosity â spread the word, share this post!
Just want a casual photo session at the location of your choice â scroll down to the very end of this post :)
Thank you for reading this mess! I know that it took some effort on your part, and I truly appreciate it. My English is pretty rusty, as I havenât used it for (youâve guessed it!) six years. It will get better, I promise!
PS: By the way, my experiment with mini sessions in early October resulted in a total surprise: 100% of participants chose the âMini session on demand with digital negativesâ option! Well, since yâall liked it so much, from now on it will be offered as a standard package, $465 flat rate for Atlanta and North Metro area. Just send me a message and letâs start planning!
