July 2024 Update
Last year, I left the Bay Area and moved to San Diego. Now, I live in Claremont, and rent out one of the bedroom as an Airbnb unit, as I had done in Berkeley.
For the last year I wanted to operate the studio every three weeks. This was fine, and I think went up a total of eight times.
After the old location got rented out in September, I needed a new place to shoot. At first I found a photography studio near the UC Berkeley campus, overlooking Bancroft and Oxford. It was in a Buddhist retreat and this was actually a very nice set-up. The owner had lights I could borrow. The location was good (central, but not great parking), but the high ceiling and tall windows were something I had never experienced before. His strobes and lighting accessories were about the same quality as mine, but his stands were bigger and beefier, which was a nice change.
After that one weekend, the owner told me he was leaving town and didn’t renew his lease. He actually even asked me what I thought he should do with all the equipment he had, which was quite nice and well organized.
In 2024, I organized so far three shoots in at a new Emeryville photography studio location (March, June, and July, just two days ago).
I have found that after each shoot, I am pleased with the experienced, and the results, and my interest has come back. This last shoot was particularly good, but the March shoot was very good too, as was the June. Ranked, I think March > July > June.
The last three weeks I have upgraded to LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which may be helpful in building leads. And I see myself exploring as many marketing options as possible, including event planning and local partnerships.
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Right now, I actually truly enjoy what I do. In fact, I see my interest in my business peaked in 2021, and dropped steadily during 2022. At the beginning of 2023, I had little interest. There are a few possible explanation:
Technology
Sluggish computer
Sluggish database, processing speeds
Constrained space (studio had not changed since late 2016)
Repetitive, not evolving style
I applied again and started law school in 2023. Most of the last year, I was studying and preparing for exams and papers. I also got back into cycling.
I had lost so much interest in photography that I didn’t bother starting a studio in San Diego. In January, my desire to develop music into a career also took hold, so I am still conflicted, because I don’t want to do too many things at the same time.
Now, the Emeryville location is a good fit. Never before had I used so good equipment. It is so much better than my old space. Looking back, I was, in fact, very cheap, and unwilling to upgrade or spend. This is reasonable, but now I see there is no comparison: I went from a 1988 Accord to a 2016 Porsche Boxster S. There was nothing wrong with the old studio, but that space was never intended to be a professional studio. The Emeryville location is furnished entirely for the work I do. The owner has an array of dazzling, high-end equipment. I ask questions about his gear every time I go up. Within three shoots I feel comfortable and capable of exploring more of the new studio’s versatility and options. The quality of my images has never been better — even though my techniques, equipment, and fundamental understanding of photographing people have been largely unchanged.
Also, I cleaned out my 2018 Mac Mini. It was clogged with dust, and it performed poorly. Now it is quite zippy. I also got rid of the old Lightroom Catalogue in favor of a smaller catalogue. I backed up my files, which was a chore — but I enjoy this stuff. I maintain a nearly empty Lightroom catalogue. I think this is a better way. I tried Adobe Bridge but couldn’t really feel my way like I do with Lightroom. Lightroom is good software but one must be fastidious in keeping it as fast as possible. Processing images is still a step-by-step process, but I am enjoying it once again.
