Year 2011 was a very challenging year. As a freelance photography service provider, we have completed 32 assignments, which is a 40% increase compared to 2010. This is a supreme achievement for Yuen’s Photography and thank you for all the supports.
I remember we have started this in May 2009. Looking back, the journey was not an easy path indeed with the time and focus constraints as a freelance photographer. As everyone knows, time and focus play an important role in event photography. From the time we approach customer till face-to-face meet up to understand the customer requirements, then discuss the package detail with the couple and couple sign up the package, follow by shooting preparation, actual shooting, post editing and finally, delivery the finished products to the couple. All these require a lot of time and focus. I still recall in 2009, we only managed to cover 1 assignment every 2 months but in year 2010, we managed to cover 3 assignments every 2 months. We did a fantastic job in 2011 where we managed to push the limit to 2.5 assignments every 1 month (Thanks to Mac machine lol and the photo edit assistance lol…ops ..Photoshop self develop actions toooooo…..). With the increase of the assignments and not time, it will be very challenging if we want to sustain the quality and not to mention the improvement.
With the above mentioned constraint, it seriously make me think about what is my future path and what I wish to do in the next few years. To be honest, I want to do more here but I think I should spend more time with my family. In the past, I had always focused to get the photos ready during the weekend and spent very less time with the family. (I just can’t do photo editing during weekdays as I need to be fair to my full time job lol). I just recall I did not go back to Ipoh for the past 8 months although it is just a 2-hour journey from here. I also cannot recall when was the last time Sylvia, Samantha and I had spent time in the garden or when was the last time I cooked a nice dinner for them (not the easy dinner like mushroom chicken and etc lol). This has created a big concern to myself and I need to strike a balance between the time I spent for my family and photography. Besides that, I personally feel that photography for me has now become a very routine work. Loading out the photos from the memory card, run the photoshop action, edit and convert it to JPEG. All these work have to be done in very short time in order to meet the timeline. With this kind of life style, I keep asking myself – how long can I still enjoy the wedding moment, how long can I still enjoy photography, how long can I sustain my hobby. I need a change, I need rest, I need to learn, I need to improve and I need to make a move and I believe I have to rework on my planning in order to sustain my interest in photography.
Many of you have questioned me before as when I will move to full time in year 2011. I think the answer is not so soon because I’m still enjoying my full time job (although I really “hate” my job now…lol). The challenge of my full time job and the people around me in my full time job are the main factors I decided to continue the journey with them. Besides, the family factor is another reason. I understand I need to give extra 10 times focus to start the business. With Samantha current age, I wish to spend more time with the family and ensure she has a great time and memory in her childhood. However, I won’t deny that you will or might see this happen maybe in year 2013 or …….when I feel that I’m ready for that. When the time comes, I will make a big announcement. lol
In year 2012, I have decided to reduce my wedding event assignments and currently there are 6 more slots available for booking. By reducing the volume of the assignment, I want to spent those extra time with my family (yeah, I can go back Ipoh more frequent and eat, then go vacation with Sylvia and Sam), attend few master classes to improve my skills and get ready for year 2013. This might be a bad move if we view it from the business perspective but I believe this is absolutely a best move I can do so far for my personal good. With this, it will allow me to focus not only on my family but also for the couples. I always believe I don’t like a good result but is the best of the best result.
I strongly believe I will not have a smooth year in 2012 than previous year (although I do not have a good year 2011 lol) but in fact the journey is getting more challenging because I’m looking for more changes and more improvements in year 2012. I just wish to take this opportunity to say thank you for all the support and wish everyone Happy New Year 2012.