It's hard to believe, but here we are. I started preparing to open this studio back in mid-July last year, and somehow a full year has already gone by. It's January now, and I keep catching myself thinking, wait, has it really been a year?
Looking for a studio location in a country that still felt unfamiliar to me was its own adventure. I wondered whether it had to be ground floor, or whether an upstairs space would work just as fine. I'd rented apartments before, sure, but signing a commercial lease was a completely different beast, and I made more than a few mistakes figuring it out. Then came the lighting, the backdrops, setting up a proper space for clients to get ready in, and buying props for group shots. And because Melbourne pulls people from so many different countries — unlike back home in Korea, where print sizes are fairly standardized — I had to put together a whole library of templates just to cover the different photo sizes people needed printed and cut.
Since then, this little studio has seen just about everyone. Passport photos for people starting a new chapter here. Headshots for job applications and LinkedIn profiles. Graduation album photos for students closing one chapter of their lives. Wedding invitation photos and pre-wedding shoots for couples glowing with excitement. Outdoor sessions chasing the right light. Family portraits with kids who absolutely refused to sit still. Birthday shoots. Model comp cards. And more than a few nervous but hopeful faces coming in for their airline cabin crew interview photos.
Honestly, it hasn't all been smooth. Some weeks were quiet enough to make me second-guess everything, and other weeks I barely had time to eat lunch between bookings. There were days I questioned whether I'd made the right call moving here and starting all this from scratch. But there were also moments that made it all worth it — a mum crying happy tears looking at her son's graduation photos, a couple laughing so hard during their pre-wedding shoot that I had to stop and laugh with them, someone messaging me weeks later to say they got the cabin crew job.
My English still isn't perfect. Even writing this, I leaned on a translator here and there to help me get the words right. But the feelings behind it — the gratitude, the exhaustion, the pride — none of that needed translating. I just hope whoever reads this can feel a little of it too.
Thank you for a year I won't forget. Here's to the next one.
