Two-thirds of respondents to our latest Readers Poll intend to hang in there and see out the Coronavirus shut-down, rather than consulting a career counsellor or temporarily shutting shop.
This resonates with a recent survey from US photo equipment rentals specialist and all-round good guys, Lensrentals. Only 19 percent of photographers responding to the Lensrental survey responded ‘Yes’ to the question Are you considering leaving the industry due to loss of income due to Covod-19?. In the Inside Imaging Poll, 18 percent of respondents indicated they were looking for a new career.
The series of surveys from Lensrenatal, of which this is the first, is an attempt to measure the impact of the shutdown over time. Almost everyone responding (96 percent) said their work has been impacted by the Covid-19 shutdown, with a punishing 78 percent of bookings for April cancelled.
Approximately 60 percent responded that almost all, or more than 80 percent, of their jobs work had been cancelled for May, with another 23 percent indicating 50 – 80 percent of work had been cancelled.
Things are potentially a little more promising for the North American summer, where the average number of cancellations across the group of 1000 photographers and videographers surveyed was ‘only’ 39 percent. There’s an expectation hope that by June-August the northern hemisphere will be back in business again for photography’s busiest time of the year. It remains to be seen how we fare through the southern hemisphere’s winter.
Lensrentals has been making a positive contribution for its customers through this difficult time. We reported several weeks ago on its tips on how to disinfect camera gear and spaces, which is now accompanied by a useful 30-minute podcast.
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