The Calm Before the Storm...and Helene's Arrival

Sundown, the night before Hurricane Irma in 2017*

by Skip Cohen

​Living on the Gulf Coast of South Florida, hurricane warnings have become a regular event, but there is a link to business, especially photography. I'm a long way away from writing about marketing, but not about the insight into our thought process.

First, the news media: They're doing exactly what they need to do—create a sense of concern with the public. We've had robot calls on our phones and email warnings, and the local weather channel has been nonstop forecasting. The shelves in the stores have been picked clean, but we were already well-stocked on water, canned goods, and dry goods.

I bought a generator after Ian in 2017, which we've never had to use, but based on the forecasted power of "Helene," I'm going to work today to get it up and running. 

While evacuation is being pushed far north of us, it doesn't change our concern or slow down our worrying about being ready. All of this prep got me thinking about business. The biggest business "storm" any of us have ever experienced was the pandemic. Nobody was ready—none of us thought about the need for a backup plan or a what-if-the-worst scenario. Photographers with only one specialty were left at a loss when things shut down.

Image copyright J.P. Elario

Yet, through the worst of the pandemic there were moments of brilliance when it came to enhancing the business of photography.

J.P.Elario: Primarily a wedding photographer in the Albany area, launched "Facetime Portraits." He was on his computer communicating with clients on theirs. The local news picked up the story and helped to create some outstanding business in the middle of the pandemic, as well as what was typically the slow season.

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Images copyright Steven Gotz

Steven Gotz: ​This was one of my favorites—he took family portraits as well as some of his zoo images, pulled the color, and turned them into line art for coloring books for his clients. Remember, back then, everyone was hunkered down at home, and if you had young children, they needed something more to do. I loved the idea then and even more today—think about the fun of sending a client a coloring book of their family shoot, headshots, etc. 

Here's my point today—no matter how tough the challenges, even heading into the complete unknown of Hurricane Helene, we can only do the best we can. We're prepared, evacuating if it becomes mandatory, and doing everything we can to reduce the element of surprise...and fear. Best of all, we've got some great neighbors, and we know we'll all help each other with whatever Mother Nature has in store.

Meanwhile, we're doing what everybody does in South Florida - wait it out and say our prayers...and for everyone north of us where the latest tracking information says Helene is headed - our thoughts and prayers are with you as well.

Be safe and if there's a mandatory evacuation, remember, if you stay, you're the lowest priority if you need help during the storm.


*LUMIX FZ300: ISO 100 f2.8 @ 1/125 (It's an older camera in Panasonic's line with a fixed zoom lens.) 

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