The Pros and Cons of Photography Work from Home

In the video 'Working from Home', photographers in three different countries relate their experiences of bringing their production into their homes

In the second half of September, the US environmental scientist and engineer Gretchen Goldman went viral, with more than 300,000 likes on her tweet graphically portraying the truth of her WFH set up.

With just two photos, she shows how she appears working remotely, impeccably dressed (from the waist up) while commenting on a political and environmental issue on CNN. Meanwhile, in the image next to her, we see the environment she really finds herself in during the broadcast: surrounded by children's toys, in a messy room, with a chair for a desk.

This has become a common reality for many millions of workers around the world during this pandemic: between 25% and 30% of workers in the United States and the European Union, according to a report by Global Workplace Analytics, a number that could reach 41% by next year, as a study by the consulting firm Gartner predicts.

To understand how professionals in a career essentially linked to contact, interaction, and physical presence have adapted to working at a distance, we interviewed photographers from different corners of the world. Among them, the Brazilian Bob Wolfenson, creator of some of the most famous portraits of celebrities, anonymous people, models and personalities of his country; the Hong Kong based Elaine Li, art director and multi-faceted photographer; and the duo Daniel Rueda and Anna Devis (@annandaniel), from Valencia, Spain, whose photos take a fantastical, ironic, and stylish look at the everyday that has earned them almost 900 thousand followers in Instagram. Watch the video below:

Their testimonies reveal the difficulties of reconciling work and family life, the longer hours dedicated to work, and the lack of equipment and adequate physical space. There are bright moments too. After all, many love being able to spend more time with their family, not having to face traffic and travel, and being able to enjoy free time for themselves.

"Another thing is that you find yourself reflecting on many things. I now understand that I don't need all the structure I had before: the many assistants and a huge team. It is possible to produce with much less, spending much less, with a much lighter structure. This, perhaps, is the greatest lesson," summarized Bob Wolfenson.

Don't miss our next video in the series–out in a few days–where we shall be speaking to professionals working in marketing and business. Most of them are already more or less used to producing at a distance, but how has their work routine changes i a changing climate of global working dynamics?

You'll also be hearing more from Elaine Li and Bob Wolfenson in their upcoming Domestika course. Meanwhile, you can learn from Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda on their course Creative Photography for Social Media.

English version by @harry_davies.

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