How the pandemic has affected the business of photography in Nigeria.
There’s no secret that this pandemic has caused a lot of photography businesses’ future to become uncertain. The pandemic has transformed businesses and made them rethink their brand and staffing system. Let’s face it, lots of events, concerts, ceremonies were shut down during this pandemic.
Makeup artists, stylists, canceled prior appointments with their clients; no one wants to take pictures with untidy hair, a rough face, or without access to a boutique to get new clothes. These lead to most sessions being closed. It all happened so fast, and it’s been tough, especially for the business of photography in Nigeria.
Although some might say we’re lucky we’re not into the most significant business in Nigeria, some say how many staff a photography business has. However, if you’ve been following the news, you would see that many firms, companies have been shut down because of the pandemic.
For most photography companies, September/October 2020 was supposed to be the best month for them with tons of events booked and also with lots of money coming in, and lots of plans in motion, and they were hopeful of what that was going to represent and how busy they were going to be, so lots of decisions were made. Some companies even had up to 50 events, but now they have to work through all the postponement, planning, and rescheduling; this would definitely result in a migraine!
Although some photography companies with commercial and marketing capabilities were still functional because there were businesses out there that were still pushing advertisement campaigns. Others were thriving through the relationship they’ve developed over time with their clients. Several companies were shut down entirely while some worked with a few staff; others had to let go of most of their team due to the pandemic since they were low on gigs and funds were not coming in.
There was no opportunity for sick leave, funny, right! No working from home, you can’t just pick your laptop and start working, which many companies are doing right now, most photographers are primarily on the field to work, and it was tough to do among all the pandemics.
To date, some companies are still looking for opportunities like before. We’ve seen other sectors or industries revamp their brands virtually through social media, doing live videos through Facebook and Instagram, trying to get the funds. Still, it’s difficult for photographers; they can’t do that because they need clients physically, they can’t take the pictures without the clients being in front of them.
The biggest worry right now for the business of photography is what the future holds. But I know we’re going to bounce back from this; it’s not the end of the world. It’s just a wrong time that will surely pass. After all, nothing comes easy.
