Three Months of ALO: Lessons Learned

Over the past three months of bringing Atelier Lumina Obscura to markets around Bangkok, I’ve learned a lot as a first-time small business owner. It’s a good thing this isn’t my full-time job. Running a booth isn’t easy, and there’s no real profit in it. For now, I’m doing it purely for personal gratification. Still, it’s been a worthwhile experience, and I’m not tired of it yet. Here are some of the lessons I’ve picked up along the way.

Hydrate

At my very first pop-up, I didn’t drink enough water. Even indoors with air-conditioning, I ended up drained and overwhelmed. Once I started drinking more throughout the day, I noticed I wasn’t as exhausted—even at outdoor events.

Have a seat

Also from that first event: standing too long left my toes numb for a week! I thought wearing the same shoes I used to walk all day in Paris and Tokyo would help, but it turns out having a chair helps a lot more.

Take a break

At my first pop-up, I scheduled portraits back to back without leaving any buffer time. Sessions started piling up and overlapping, which was stressful. Now I space pre-bookings 30–45 minutes apart, and it’s much easier to manage.

Explore and experience

Some markets I thought would be great turned out disappointing. Others I enjoyed as a visitor didn’t work for me as a vendor. You only really know once you’ve tried. It’s part of the process.

R&D never ends

Every event teaches me something new. My prints today look much better than the ones I made in my early sessions. After a lot of trial and error, I’ve figured out a good balance of chemicals, light, timing, and equipment. It’s never perfect, but it keeps getting better.

Not everyone will “get it”

Box camera portraits are niche. Many people just walk by. The ones who do stop are usually photographers, people into photography, or those who enjoy having their photos taken. And some people even say black-and-white photos are scary! Probably because they’re linked with funeral portraits here. That’s fine, I guess, I just need to find my people.

Prepare for the unexpected

At one semi-outdoor market, a sudden storm blew rain sideways into the booths. Other vendors, who are more experienced at vending than I am, had tarps; I only had fabric backdrops and tablecloths, which didn’t help. I had to pack up since my wooden camera can’t handle that kind of humidity. On top of that, I dropped my extension hub into a bucket of water. Luckily, I had a spare.

Friends are precious

When you’re starting out, having friends as your first customers helps a lot. They can give honest feedback and also help spread the word, which is especially useful when you’re doing everything alone. In some cases, they even ended up being my probono assistants (wink). Having support matters, and not just moral support, but also having someone physically present. Of course, I have to learn to work on my own, but having friends around to chat with customers or capture behind-the-scenes photos and videos made a big difference. All the photos in the gallery below were taken by my photographically gifted friends. Thank you!

Customers come when you’re not ready

For some reason, customers always appear at the worst moment—when I’m setting up, fixing something, eating, or running to the bathroom. Every vendor seems to have the same story, so I guess it’s universal. Maybe the trick is to pretend to be busy so the universe sends more people your way??

Do you have any other tips you want to share? Feel free to drop them in the comments.