Page 21 - Capture Nov 21-Jan 22

The resilience of photographers wasn’t lost on Meadows either. “I've seen a lot of inspiring photographers continue to roll with the knocks COVID keeps delivering. There were the front yard or doorstep portraits, a push for print sales, and even remote Facetime portrait sessions. In Melbourne, it’s been tough because last year the front yard sessions were deemed against the rules, with hefty business fines if caught,” she says.
Living in Melbourne, Cole has experienced numerous lockdowns since the beginning of the pandemic. During these lockdowns he started recording home videos as a coping mechanism, but also as a way to learn new skills. During the sixth lockdown, Cole made a video about the first day of home schooling. He described the day as “terrible”, and was transparent about that fact in the video. He shared it on social media and the video was spread widely. Shortly after, enquiries for video work started coming in.
Silver linings
That small creative acts can yield big and often surprising outcomes is something Meadows has also discovered. “I never would have believed it if someone told me I'd be selling puzzles with my face on them to people all across the globe. In the first lockdown of 2020, my family made some monochromatic portraits in our driveway, which went viral on the Internet, making my Instagram following explode, literally overnight. I think I went from 5,000 followers to 45,000 in a few days. I still don't really understand why people connected with the images, but with ongoing lack of work and repeated lockdowns, we decided to make the images into a 1,000-piece
puzzle which ended up generating the majority of my income in 2020. It's still truly surreal to me,” says Meadows.
As some things are lost, others are gained. Cole says smaller weddings bring amazing photo opportunities, and the possibility of creating unique portraits. Likewise, in Middleton’s experience, smaller weddings allowed for more intimate and adventurous shoots. “With big weddings come rigid timelines, strict
run sheets, and less flexibility on photo locations and timeframes. With elopements and micro-weddings, couples are able to bend their plans a little bit more, and this means the chance to take couples to more adventurous settings further afield. This has opened up possibilities in terms of locations: dramatic clifftops, rainforest waterfalls, and secluded beaches, all come into play more than they used to,” he says.
Tao too has had positive creative outcomes from being hired for smaller weddings “As the typical wedding size is smaller since the pandemic, couples are more flexible with their schedule for photographers.” Tao mentions a shoot which only happened because he was able to “steal” the couple out of the reception at the right time, creating the perfect sunset photo at a vineyard. He says that with larger weddings it can be far more challenging to do this when the perfect conditions present themselves.
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a look back at 2021 wedding & portrait
We should always be
looking at opportunities outside what we are used to...
Van Middleton
[capture] nov.21_jan.22
capturemag.com.au
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© VAN MIDDLETON
© ARIES TAO