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Jo | building a photography business in midlife

@alwayscarryacamera

2.6K

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420

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for people who know there’s more to life
reinvention • creativity • photography
photographer & storyteller • started again at 52
pick up your camera ↓

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"Find your true self"

This, or variations on the theme are those phrases that are thrown around very lightly today, by convenience psychology, semi swamis, and self help marketers.

Nice idea, the only problem: every time we Neurodivergents act as our "true self" requires, we get questions like
"what's wrong with you?,
"is this really necessary?", and comments like
"you're weird",
"act your age".
And get bullied. A lot.

"Find your true self", but terms and conditions apply, like "as long as it's socially acceptable", means "as long as it doesn't upset the neurotypicals".

So, what's the take?
Your "true self" is not a fixed thing, it's a process.
Our whole personality is a process.
And this process contains good & bad experiences.
We rarely can influence bad things happening to us, but the good stuff, the things that make us feel alive, these are decisions made by us.
Once we, the Ugly Ducklings, realized this, we started to choose what's good for us, what we thrive on.
Because we’ve been there.

You gotta protect your joy with your life, defend your excitement fiercely, cleave to your passion.
And if you already buried it, because adult life made you, frankenstein it back together with the dedication of a mad scientist.
The consequences of self-neglect will catch up with you, sooner or later, they will.

We heard the "voice of reason" and bowed our heads to neurotypical standards of how a life ought to look like. And paid the price. Honestly, we’re still paying.

Create a life, YOUR life.

Have faith in your idea, in your project, your business, go’dammit, have faith in yourself!
Build your stuff, because it’s important.
That's what we're doing with Ugly Duckling Agency.
That's why we truly understand what YOU are doing:
reinventing yourself in mid-life,
starting all over,
starting funky fresh, because you were smarter than us not getting caught up in the rat race.

And that's why we're pretty good at communicating your passion, your mission, your glorious purpose.
Because we're in this, too.
We show the world that you already are a swan.
Whether you know it or not - we can see it already.

And we make you look gorgeous in photos, too.

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manchmal beginnt alles mit einem bauchgefühl

wir lernten uns beim einer Hochzeitsfeier von Freunden kennen
später durften wir ihre eigene hochzeit und familienfeier begleiten

und sechs monate danach standen wir beim grossen valentinstagsfest wieder mit unseren kameras an ihrer seite

zwei wichtige tage
zwei familien

österreichische und internationale wurzeln

und unzählige kleine augenblicke
die zusammen ihre geschichte erzählen

danach schrieben sie uns

“das bauchgefühl nach unserer unterhaltung war genau das richtige

und es war die beste entscheidung euch für unsere beiden wichtigen tage zu engagieren

vielen dank für euren einsatz und die vielen wunderschönen erinnerungen die ihr für uns geschaffen habt”

genau dafür machen wir eventfotografie

nicht nur um zu zeigen wie eine feier ausgesehen hat

sondern damit ihr euch auch jahre später daran erinnert wie sie sich angefühlt hat
——-

sometimes it all begins with a gut feeling

we first met at s friends’ wedding celebration

later we had the privilege of photographing their own wedding and family celebration

six months later we were back with our cameras for their huge valentines day celebration

two important days
two families
austrian and international roots

and countless small moments
that came together to tell their story

afterwards they wrote to us

the gut feeling we had after talking to you was absolutely right and hiring you for our two important days was the best decision

thank you for everything you did and for the many beautiful memories you created for us

this is why we photograph weddings and celebrations

not only to show what the day looked like

but to help you remember how it felt

#EventFotografie #Veranstaltungsfotograf #PhotographerAustria #Fotografenpaar #CandidPortraits feedback from satisfied clients showing portrait and event photography by austrian based photographers at ugly duckling agency - capturing memories from an austrian and kurdish turkish wedding across their wedding family celebration and valentines day celebration

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As a photographer I wonder why I don't like seeing myself in photos.
The perception of ourselves is a very, very difficult thing, a thorough examination of this topic is too much for here.
But let me draw a rough sketch.

First: our bodily appearance is intertwined with our propriception, which means our unconscious ability to sense our body's own movement, force, and position in space without needing to look.
Yeah, we all have the bruises, don't we?

Plus: we're always tense. Without noticing.
So the posture we think we have, may look different from the outside.
The first cognitive dissonance.

Second: we been by some means or other under shaming our whole life by our social & cultural Environment.
"Sit straight".
"Hold your posture".
"You look weird".
"You're clumsy".

And who of us hasn't heard the glorious advice "don't be so hard on yourself"?
Well, thanks, self loathing was served daily with my school milk.
Our inner critic is not very gentle, but ol' reliable is always there for us to add insult to injury.

Plus: we feel shame physical. Literally.
Seeing ourselves in photos can be challenging, because the picture we have of ourselves hardly matches the one we get handed.

You guessed right to expect a "but".
So, here you go, BUT:

There are photos in which I can not only stand myself, that feel "acceptable", no, those in which I like myself, and I feel ...even handsome.
Yes, I had to learn it, for sure.
And the most important part: I trust the photographer.
To relax.
To release the reflexive & immediate tension.

As it happens, the Wonderful @alwayscarryacamera is over and Above my business partner, and we're Building a Business around this idea.
Yes, we feel like the Ugly Duckling in Anderson's fairy tale.

In reality we're actually swans.

We shoot people as beautiful as they are, and they are. YOU are, whether you believe it or not.
With a camera, but most important, in mutual trust.
Because we know how it is to feel as an Ugly Duckling.
We believed that, too. And there are many days we still do.

You deserve to be seen as a majestic swan.

Or your business, your project, because we do branding & graphic design, too.

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one of the most beautiful places we’ve visited in austria yet ♥️ and almost no people

is this your kind of vibe?
drop us a follow

#ExploringAustria #LesserKnownPlaces #StyriaIsBeautiful #Sommeralm #OffTheBeatenTracks

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not all social media content is about being louder

especially when the organisation you are supporting does sensitive, human work

with 143 zürich anf heart2heart,
the goal is not to turn everything into content

it is not to expose every person
show every moment
or make the work perform for the algorithm

the goal is more careful than that
help people understand what the organisation does
why it matters
how it feels
and why trust is at the centre of it

that means planning before posting
thinking about what can be shown
what should stay protected
what needs context
what could be misunderstood
what kind of visibility actually helps

because social media is not always about shouting louder

sometimes it is about building enough clarity and trust that the right people know where to turn when they need support

and for an organisation like 143.ch, that matters

follow along for more from our small series about careful visibility, anonymity and our work with 143 zürich & heart2heart

#UglyDucklingAgency #SocialMediaStrategy #ContentCreation #SichtbarWerden #CrisisSupport Carousel by Ugly Duckling Agency about social media strategy for clients 143 Zürich and heart2heart, 2 telephone emergency services in Switzerland. The post shows behind-the-scenes planning details such as filming, camera equipment, planning notes, and street scenes in zürich, explaining that careful social media work is not always about being louder but about building trust.

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how do you create content for people who need to stay anonymous?

that is one of the questions behind our work with 143 zürich & heart2heart

143 is a telephone emergency service in switzerland
a place people can call when they are in crisis
when they need someone to listen
when they do not know what to do next

we support 143 zürich and the english language servive heart2heart with social media, content creation and campaign work

and when we travelled to switzerland at the end of august, the brief was not simply:
get some b-roll
take some photos
make content

the real work was more careful than that
because the volunteers at 143 are anonymous
and that anonymity is not an inconvenience
or a missing piece
or something to creatively work around at any cost

it is part of the organisational culture
it protects the volunteers
it protects the callers
it protects the trust that makes this kind of listening possible

so we cannot tell the story in the most obvious way
we do not just put faces online
we do not turn private work into public performance
we do not make people visible when staying unseen is part of how they help

visibility does not always mean exposure
sometimes it means helping people understand why something matters
without showing everything

that is the kind of content work we care about
careful
human
useful

and close enough to the organisation to respect how it actually works

follow along for more from this small series on our work with 143 zürich & heart2heart, social media, anonymity and careful visibility

#UglyDucklingAgency #SocialMediaStrategy #ContentCreation #SichtbarWerden #CrisisSupport Carousel by Ugly Duckling Agency about creating social media content for 143 Zürich, a telephone emergency service in Switzerland where volunteers remain anonymous. The post uses b-roll details such as interiors, hands, signs, notebooks, coffee, lake and travel shots to explain how UDA creates visibility without exposing the people behind the work.

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two ducklings went to switzerland

which sounds like the beginning of a very small children’s book
but it was actually part of something that means a lot to us

we support 143 zürich & heart2heart | die dargebotenen hand with social media, content creation and campaign work

143 is a telephone emergency service in switzerland
a place people can turn to when they are in crisis
when they need someone to listen
when things feel too heavy to carry alone

and at the end of august, we travelled to switzerland to create new material for them
not just content for content’s sake
we filmed b-roll for social media
we photographed moments around their summer bbq
we spent time close to the people and culture behind the organisation

but there is one fundamental part of this work:
the volunteers are anonymous
and that anonymity is not a branding detail
it is part of how they do their job
it protects the space
it protects the trust
it protects the kind of listening that can only happen when no one is trying to be visible as a person

so the question becomes:
how do you make an organisation more visible
without exposing the people who need to stay unseen?

that is the kind of work we care about
the careful kind
the human kind
the kind where photography, video, words and strategy all have to understand the culture before they try to communicate it

because not every story can be told by simply putting faces online
sometimes the work is in the atmosphere

the hands
the room
the place
the details
the quiet evidence that something real is happening

this is the beginning of a small series about our work with 143 zürich & heart2heart

about crossing borders, online and in real life
about supporting meaningful work from austria to switzerland
about creating visibility with care
and about why this kind of work matters so much to us

because some organisations do not need to be made louder
they need to be understood better

follow along for the series — especially if you care about communication, crisis support, anonymity and the human work behind social media

#UglyDucklingAgency #ContentStrategy #SocialMediaStrategy #SichtbarWerden #BrandClarity

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