5 Years of Freezing Time, One Photo at a Time - Celebrating a Milestone
- Naomi Koji-Paton
- Aug 1
- 4 min read
Today marks my 5 year anniversary of when I said goodbye to my amazing employers in the Intellectual Property world and took on the biggest personal development course of my life....being a self employed photographer and film maker!
I could not have done this without the support, wisdom and soundness of the photography community - I understand the tog world (almost) but not the business side of it. I've had many a 121 with togs around the country and beyond who have not only given me great insight but have also become great friends and allies.
Not only that, within 5 years I have met the most amazing business owners who have become great friends and it is only with all of your support have I been able to0 get this far.
What does this milestone mean to me?
These are the statements I've heard leading it up this mark:
Most businesses don't make it to five years.
The first five years are all about survival, not just growth.
Reaching five years means you've built a sustainable business, not just a startup.
A business's first five years are a period of constant adaptation and evolution.
By the five-year mark, a business owner has learned more about themselves than they ever expected.
It makes me so proud to have obtained this milestone, on my own, and I'm still going. Is there more I wish I had accomplished within this time? Of course! Do I wish I was further forward? For sure! Do I have any regrets? Hell (TF) NO! This milestone is kind of an embodiment of my hard work, self worth and abilities.
What have been my key lessons in 5 years as a Photographer?
Hmmm, good question. There's LOADS.
Lesson 1: The Power of Finding Your Niche. This took me a few years to not only understand but get my head around. I don't like being in a box, I love photographing everything but, not everything pays the bills. And the bottom line here is working out what does and focusing on that. It doesn't mean you don't photograph your passions, do that on the side or find a way to make it make money. The first few years of my business was learning this the hard way. Now I focus my efforts on corporate conferences and business branding - do I still photograph cool stuff like cars and fights? Hell yeh!
Lesson 2: The Importance of Community Over Competition. I have to thank BNI for this lesson. BNI is a networking organisation that I was privileged to be a part of. What it meant for me was being connected to other photographers. When I started out I was hungry to learn, so I had 121s with togs, learned their journeys, what worked, what didn't work. This taught me that those who you see as 'competition' aren't. There is literally enough work to go around AND, if you're lucky enough, you can become an asset to someone and when they're double booked you can take on additional work and vice versa. However, outside BNI, the creative world is very selfish and no one wants to help anyone.
Lesson 3: The Never-Ending Learning Curve. There is always something that will test you, teach you or try to break you. (And this is where your business community comes in) - trying to see things as opportunities and lessons learned, even if they are negative, is the key to survival and winning. As a self employed community, we all face the same issues at some point and being able to call upon a business friend for support if invaluable.
Lesson 4: Be honest. It can take you 7 years to build a good reputation and in 7 seconds it can be destroyed. Being honest and having integrity is paramount (in my opinion) and even if you screw up a job (and i've done this many times!) being honest and having integrity can actually save you and get you even more work.
Some of the highlights over the years:
Featured in a number of podcasts, books and being a feature speaker in a few workshops.
Became a Rebel School presenter, travelling around the country teaching people how to set up their businesses for free.
Managed to set myself up as a corporate conference photographer, securing big names like WHSmith, Zoho, Panasonic, NHS, The Economist, The Royal College of Psychiatrists and more.
Having a cooking video I filmed played at the United Nations with over 5 million people in attendance.
Being voted Woman in
Having my first fans 😍
Being a mentor
Setting up a Nursery photography business with a business partner: Children At Play
Made my debut as an actor for an Axa Insurance campaign in conjunction with The Rebel School.
Photographed Rankin
Was President and Director Consultant for a networking event
Photographs I've taken have featured in books, magazines and newspapers (the most recent in Forbes)
Having one of my pictures turned into a tattoo
Ran my own product photography workshops
I've travelled to more than 10 countries within the last 5 years such as SA, Mauritius, NYC, Iceland, Majorca, Italy, Vietnam, Colombia and more, and most were for work!
What does the future hold?
As most of you know, my life this year took a massive unexpected turn with the passing of my mother, so truth be told, I'm not 100% sure what life looks like right now, simply because it's difficult to see what next week looks like. However, with that said, what I can say is, I will be doing awesome stuff, I'll still be teaching at The Rebel School and I'll still be as positive and motivated as I can.
Thank you for being on this journey with me! 🥂
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