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photographed world, it’s as important as ever to stand out and be a scroll-stopper,” says Middleton.
Meadows has noticed a thirst for more honest imagery within the portrait genre. “People are becoming more comfortable and actually wanting to see imagery that documents the full spectrum of family life, including struggles, imperfection, mess, and tension. It’s almost like the pendulum is swinging back in the opposite direction from the social media perfection we’ve mostly been exposed to. It’s exciting to be able to show families the reality of their everyday lives in an artful and honest way.”
The future
Although Messina feels the future is uncertain, she believes the portrait photography industry will remain intact despite the blows from current restrictions, and says some families might value portraiture more because of the pandemic. Meadows agrees. “I'm hopeful that family photography will be in demand during the height of the summer as people emerge from their lockdowns and realise, in the fullest sense,
the importance of their family unit in making it through this really difficult and historically important time,” she says.
Tan’s focus remains very much on wedding photography, and he appreciates that patience is required before things look like they used to before the pandemic hit. “Society upholds the significance of marriages, and photographers as witnesses have an important role to play. So, I think as long as we persist through change, we will continue to see this industry flourish. It is just a matter of time,” Tan says. Cole agrees, and is expecting a real sense of excitement from his couples who can finally get married with lockdown restrictions ending. “My gut feeling is that couples’ budgets are growing. Most of my clients are based in Melbourne and aren’t spending any money because of lockdown. I’ve noticed that people are going for my higher packages and ordering albums. Couples have never had more money or been more willing to spend it,” he notes.
This year brought unique challenges resulting from COVID restrictions and photographers have found equally unique ways to grow and overcome these challenges. As the world slowed down, photographers who managed to remain active – both creatively and professionally – will be ready to capture life’s precious moments when the world slowly starts to return to something a little more familiar.
CONTACTS
Jerome Cole Rowena Meadows Elizabeth Messina Van Middleton Roger Tan
Aries Tao
jeromecole.com.au rowenameadows.com.au elizabethmessina.com vanmiddleton.com instagram.com/rogertanphotography cloverimage.com.au
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