2018 was a great year here at Ryan Watkins Photography! I’ve had the opportunity of working with a ton of great clients, and 2018 ended up being my most profitable year in business thus far. Here is a recap of 2018 at Ryan Watkins Photography.

The winter is always my slow season, meaning that I have less client work. During this time of the year I focus on working “on” my business compared to “in” my business. This means I have less weddings and portrait sessions but spend a lot of time working on the internal systems in my business as well as networking, marketing, web presence, and continuing education.

During my slow season I got to do some personal work with several great models including Lisa, Karra, Dakota, Summer, and Sam. One of the reasons I shoot personal work is to increase my photographic skills and become more proficient with my gear. I practice with new gear and techniques on models so I will be comfortable using this gear and techniques on shoots with clients

In January 2018 I joined the Clare Area Jaycees. The Jaycees are a not-for-profit organization which focus on community service and personal development.

I first started attending events at the Energize Workspace in 2017 but in 2018 I became more heavily involved in the Energize Workspace. I became an official member of the space in 2018. Now I regularly work from the space as well as attending their networking events and classes. In March 2018 I taught my first class The Fundamentals of Photography at the Energize Workspace. I also taught another class The Photo Retouching and Workflow Workshop in August 2018. After people saw that I had started teaching workshops I had people reach out to me to do one on one teaching. I had a few one on one teaching clients in 2018 and plan on continuing and better systematizing the teaching side of Ryan Watkins Photography in 2019. Also in October I hosted a headshot day at the Energize Workspace which had 14 attendants. I look forward to continuing to be involved in the Energize community in 2019.

In 2017 I created the Michigan Photography Network Facebook group. This group was originally created to connect photographers and those connected to the photography industry in Michigan. We had two in person meetups in 2017 and one in 2018. The group has now grown to over 900 members. I usually post two helpful links a day for fellow photographers in the group. These links are usually to articles, videoes, or podcasts which fellow photographers and business owners would find helpful. In February 2018 I got to meet Will Long, a fellow Hallmark Institute of Photography alumni, who recently opened his studio space in Williamston, Michigan this year. He hosts monthly studio meetups in Williamston which I would highly recommend attending. These meetups have replaced the Michigan Photography Network Meetups which I hosted in late 2017 and early 2018. I look forward to working more with Will and seeing what this leads to in the future.

During my busy season this year I got to photograph a wide variety of work including weddings, family portraits, headshots, rock bands, events, seniors, and commissioned work for other businesses. I got to work with my amazing second shooter Nikki Robinson for several weddings. These shoots have taken me all over the state. I primarily work in Clare, Midland, and Mt Pleasant, Michigan but I have also had work in Saginaw, Charlevoix, Grand Rapids, Alma, Howell, Onaway, Trout Lake, Standish, Turner, Merrill, and Gladwin.

In addition to photographing portraits and weddings I like to do pro bono work. In 2018 I had the privilege of photographing Night To Shine, Royal Family Kids Camp, The Strickler Center, the Mt Pleasant Craft Beer Festival and the Clare Irish Festival.

In August I joined a local chapter of BNI: the world’s largest referral networking organization. I met a ton of great people thru BNI and it brought in many great clients, but I decided to leave during my slow season due to the chapter being over a half hour away from my home, making involvement difficult.

I’ve been involved in shows at the 515 Gallery in downtown Clare since I was in high school. I had the privilege of being part of two shows this year: Open Studio and Miniature Exhibit.

I finished 2018 by starting to pick away at my offseason to do list. The first thing I completed was giving my website a completely new look which was optimized for mobile.

2018 ended up being my most profitable year and business thus far. I can’t wait to see what 2019 will bring.

2018 A Year In Review

2019 A Year in Review

2017 A Year in Review