2021 - My review of the Year

It's that time of year again when I take a look back at another 12 months of Pennie Withers Commercial photography.

2021 seems to have gone by in a flash (pardon the pun!) and yet, when I think back to Lockdown v3.0 last January, weirdly it also seems like a lifetime ago.

This is my 12th year in business and yet again, I am blown away by the variety of work that I have been lucky enough to experience. I'm sure you know by now that Commercial photography is my 'thing' and yet, who knew that in one year, my work would include me shooting on the rooftops of Westminster School and on another day, taking photos of chickens, horses, pigs and goats (not all at the same time!). Over the course of the year, I also got to go out in various boats of different sizes to take photos of rowers, paddleboarders and a huge luxury cruiser. I have also photographed kitchens, offices, houses and building sites. No two days are the same! But then as they say, variety is the spice of life - and I certainly get a lot of that.

So obviously in January, with many businesses still working from home, my camera kit was stashed away. It felt like a rough start to the year, having also had many shoots cancelled at the end of 2020 due to Lockdown 2.0. However, thanks to fantastically loyal clients and also a great number of new clients, business came back with a vengeance and I carried out a little over 100 shoots and over 65% of them were for clients I had not previously worked with before.

Here are just a few examples of the types of businesses I have worked with:

Solicitors | Architects | PR Agency | The Womens' Institute | Residential care homes | SEO Agency | Schools | Podiatrist | Global publisher | software specialist | Design Agency | Yoga instructor | Colleges | Massage Therapists | Residential Builders | Interior Designer | Boat Charter company.

Luckily for me, it seems that there was pent up demand from a lot of businesses who had had to put their marketing on hold, so once we were out of Lockdown, I was able to dust off my lenses and crack on with taking lots of photos. One of the highlights of the year has to be making friends with a little boy called Rocco who shadowed me for nearly the whole of my photoshoot at Little Fishes Preschool in Maidenhead 😊

On a personal level, my eldest son graduated from his Masters in Aerospace engineering, my middle son started a job working for a commercial property company in London and my daughter started her second year Veterinary course at Bristol Uni. And finally in September......my husband started working back at the office in London. So, I was back to editing photos in my office with my trusty four footed furry friend, Woody!

So, all that remains is for me to dedicate this review to my Father and Father-in-Law, both of which we lost in 2021. My Father was a very keen photographer who photographed my brother, sister and I to within an inch of our lives. And my Father-in-Law was once known to say to me ' Well, if you take enough photos, you're bound to get a good one '. Hopefully, I have succeeded in doing that a few times this year 😆!

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy Christmas and 2022.

Pennie