The Covid-19 Corona Virus pandemic has hit the wedding photography, and general wedding industry so brutally. I started 2020 feeling very optimistic, with weddings booked every month of the year, which I think is pretty good considering I only started last year! I was very lucky to have shot three full scale weddings between New Year and March when the virus started to become global.

That’s when everything went a bit pear shaped. Everything cancelled, no weddings for the foreseeable future. I was fortunate that I have a full time job as my main income, but I really do feel for those photographers who rely on weddings to make a living!

Until about the beginning of June there wasn’t much I could do because of the lock down rules. I knew I needed to keep busy, to hone my photography skills and to stop myself from going insane basically.

Once lock down rules were loosened, I came up with the idea of offering free photo shoots on my Facebook page for anyone who might be interested in family photo shoots, pets or commercial portraits. This is probably the best idea I have ever had for my business. I suddenly went from having no business at all to scheduling three or four photo shoots a week and spending the time in between editing. Many people shared this post, multiplying the audience by many times. This helped new clients find me! In addition, I offered all of my clients who have had to postpone their wedding a pre-wedding/engagement photo shoot. This has been a fantastic opportunity to get to know my clients and has also helped my develop further as a photographer.

By running this free campaign, I got lots of shining reviews which will definitely help my business, I also managed to get a few more wedding bookings via word of mouth and clients sharing my images on social media. The cherry on the top is that many of people I was supposed to be doing free photo shoots with gave me money anyway because they loved the images, it feels so good when I wasn’t even expecting it.

Another advantage was that it enabled me to photograph a wide range of subjects and expand my portfolio. I had the opportunity to do pet and owner portraits, headshots, family photos and something completely new to me, aerial fitness photography! I just love capturing the moment, in any occasion!

If you are a wedding photographer and really bored of having no work, I suggest you give this a try!