We’re in the Business

Well, I am so very happy to say that I do believe the economy is picking up. Last year I was watching for signs of the recession but we were fully booked. But, 2010 has been a different story. Every difficulty in life brings with it challenges and gifts. I see this over and over again in my life. So, when I was noticing the downturn in business I kept looking for the upside. I have finally come to see that the recession has made my business more efficient and has renewed our focus on quality and customer service. It has also allowed me to diversify my business. One great example would be business photography. Throughout the years I have had a steady number of business clients but the percentage was small compared to weddings. Now, in just the last week alone I have had four shoots for three different organizations. This week I have three. What fun! Here is what I have been up to.

First, would be The Heritage Foundation. They originally came across KPO Photo from a vendor list at The Carolina Club as they were planning an event there. We enjoyed working together so they hired me for another event at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club. They are working hard to spread their message and get more members by holding events throughout the country. This particular event on July 21st featured question and answer forums with guest speakers Steve Forbes, John Hood and several Heritage staff members. When an organization spends so much time and effort on conducting an event it is so important to have an accurate record of it that shows them in their best light. This is my goal with each story that I do.

Steve Forbes was a great speaker! Although he had just had back surgery last week and had to wear a neck brace, he was able to take complicated subjects, such as the economy, and distill them down to an understandable, even humorous speech. This is one of my panoramas.

Next would be the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. They have a diverse, wide range of activities and programs. This business story chronicles the Born-Global Entrepreneurship Curriculum in which they are hosting 30 of Bulgaria’s top students for two intense weeks of education about global venture creation. I really enjoy photographing the Kenan Institute as I nearly always learn something from the speakers that I can apply to my own life and business. Here is the story thus far. I will add to it when the event concludes next weekend.

And finally, it is the absolute best when one gets to mix work with friendship. One of my families’ closest friends are the Sato Family. Mas Sato has a furniture business called Inai Inai Ba! I love his work and have some pieces in my studio. His business is really picking up so he decided it was time for a professional photo shoot. When I am working with businesses I try to get a feel for how they see themselves and who their customers are. It really helps me to create images that will support and enforce their brand. Mas and I talked about this at length before we began shooting. We were going for clean images of the pieces so that customers could see every detail before purchasing. We also wanted to create lifestyle images of the furniture in action with the same clean, bright feel. Here is just a preview of what we did in the studio. We have the second shoot later this week. I love where we are going so far!

This is what Mas had to say about the photos thus far, ” Just saw a sneak peak from our shoot with KPO Photo for our new website. They look fantastic. I went into the shoot with a few requirements and a vague idea of what I wanted. Kristin came into it having researched furniture photography and having a strong sense of what the brand was about and captured it beautifully…. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such a talented friend.”