Our Team’s Outlook on 2021
With a new year comes a new outlook on what’s in store for the months ahead. After the challenges of 2020, we’re all ready for a fresh start.
We surveyed over 1000 photographers about how they plan to approach their creative and business endeavors in the new year. Photographers are getting creative at home, adapting to a new normal and finding alternative revenue opportunities. See their insights in our new guide, The Photographer’s Outlook for 2021.
Now, we want to share our own outlook with you. We asked our own team to share what they’re thinking about as we kick off the new year, and what they’re looking forward to in 2021. Check out what the PhotoShelter family had to say, and share your own outlook with us @photoshelter!
“As CEO of PhotoShelter, my professional goals are always deeply tied to PhotoShelter’s goals. We’re entering our 16th year of operations, and I try to view all prior years as the foundation for great new leaps forward. I’m treating 2020 into 2021 no differently. Despite the challenges we all faced last year, our team demonstrated resilience, agility and creativity to make it a year of growth and innovation for PhotoShelter and our customers. Building upon this, I’m highly optimistic about the year ahead. I expect us to drive leaps forward in how creative teams and photographers manage, distribute and generate more ROI from their media assets, with an emphasis on AI-based workflow automation, key platform extensions and integrations, and a deeper investment in UX. As our team grows, I also expect to see us accelerate the process of listening to customers, developing unique insights, and driving market innovation.”
“2021 will be a year of healing and connecting. Our #1 value at PhotoShelter is to help creative people thrive. This year my top goal will be to support that value internally through deeper collaboration and creative development and externally with our customers through innovative programs that engage and inspire!”
“One of my favorite silver linings of 2020 was seeing our creative community come together. In 2021, I’m looking forward to planning new opportunities for creative people to connect and inspire each other.”
“I’m looking forward to working hand-in-hand with even more forward-thinking creatives who are elevating the way they do visual storytelling for their respective brand in 2021. Can’t wait to hear MORE sighs of relief knowing their lives just got that much easier.”
“After 2020, I think what I am actually looking forward to this year is adjusting on the fly to whatever comes our way. It feels impossible to know what the mood of the nation is going to be, but 2020 made us more creative in reacting to the challenges we faced. While I am looking forward to doubling down on what we know works, I am also excited to try new ideas, especially in the face of the unknown. The New Year is always a great time to look forward, but sometimes the best ideas for differentiating yourself don’t come until 47 days into the quarter.”
“In 2021 I’m excited to support a rockstar team of Technical Support Specialists as they support our community of photographers. Coming out of a crazy year, it’s inspiring to see how our community is adapting and finding new ways to harness their creativity. With exciting development work in our product pipeline, I’m eager to use this year to build upon our support offerings to ensure our members’ experience with our tools is as seamless as possible.”
“I am really excited for 2021! This year I am focusing on using my ears and mouth in the correct ratio (2:1) – courtesy of Aaron Burr ‘talk less, smile more’ :)”
“If 2020 was about coming together and looking out for your community, 2021 is going to be all about uplifting and inspiring one another. The next step is moving forward together with those who supported us in 2020. Some of my personal goals this year are to amplify voices, share important stories and work with fellow creatives to make a positive impact.”
“2021 could not have come soon enough! I am thrilled for the beginning of a new year, and am looking forward to learning and collaborating more in the virtual event space. Hopefully even in-person! :)”
“In 2021 I’m looking forward to laughing and sharing more with my colleagues and our members. If we’ve learned anything from 2020 it’s that we need these two forms of positive connection (laughing and sharing) a bit more.”
“This year, I am eager to introduce new industries to PhotoShelter and share the benefits our platform will provide their teams.”
“Communicate, collaborate, connect. This year, I look forward to open communication, frequent collaboration and genuine connection – with my colleagues and with the incredible community of photographers we support every day.”
“In 2021 (and beyond), I’m looking to be a positive influence on every person I interact with. Whether it be a coworker I talk to everyday, or a random person that I encounter for 5 seconds, I don’t want to be a source of negativity in anyone’s life.”
“2020 was a year of self-reflection and realignment towards what matters – for our customers, our product and our people. 2021 is the year of action and I’m excited to see us continue to grow and break barriers.”
“This year, I look forward to seeing how leaders in marketing and communications are shifting the way they create campaigns. With so much going on in our world today, it’d be insightful to see how they change their message to shift with the zeitgeist of our collective experience. In 2021, I plan on being more emotionally available for my colleagues and loved ones. Like Ted Lasso, I think we can all use some positivity! I desire to gear my thoughts, actions, and intentions to benefit those around me more than towards myself. Life is just better when it’s not centered around me!”
“If 2020 taught us anything, it’s how to overcome and adapt. PhotoShelter Brands was a key component in helping folks maintain a streamlined creative workflow in last year’s remote environment and I can’t wait to help grow that experience for others in 2021!”
“2020 put us into what I like to call ‘power saving mode,’ not just as a company but as humans – and that shared experience brought home how mission-critical having authentic human engagement and adequate space for mental health is in the modern workplace. In 2021 I’m excited to challenge myself to discover how we can reinvigorate the workplace and the employee experience in a meaningful, impactful way – taking us out of ‘survival mode’ and into ‘thriving mode.”
“For me, 2021 is going to be all about taking the lessons from 2020 — how to adjust on the fly, the value of community and supporting one another, and providing as much access to educational opportunities as possible — into the future. How can we continue to have important ethical debates in the photo industry? How do we continue to inspire each other to be better? I’m more excited than ever to connect with people and learn about their unique stories and experiences. We’re so lucky here at PhotoShelter to be able to do it.”
What are your goals for the new year? Download The Photographer’s Outlook on 2021 and tag us on Twitter to let us know your thoughts on the year ahead – @photoshelter.
We surveyed over 1000 photographers about how they plan to approach their creative and business endeavors in the new year. Photographers are getting creative at home, adapting to a new normal and finding alternative revenue opportunities. See their insights in our new guide, The Photographer’s Outlook for 2021.
Now, we want to share our own outlook with you. We asked our own team to share what they’re thinking about as we kick off the new year, and what they’re looking forward to in 2021. Check out what the PhotoShelter family had to say, and share your own outlook with us @photoshelter!
Andrew Fingerman
CEO“As CEO of PhotoShelter, my professional goals are always deeply tied to PhotoShelter’s goals. We’re entering our 16th year of operations, and I try to view all prior years as the foundation for great new leaps forward. I’m treating 2020 into 2021 no differently. Despite the challenges we all faced last year, our team demonstrated resilience, agility and creativity to make it a year of growth and innovation for PhotoShelter and our customers. Building upon this, I’m highly optimistic about the year ahead. I expect us to drive leaps forward in how creative teams and photographers manage, distribute and generate more ROI from their media assets, with an emphasis on AI-based workflow automation, key platform extensions and integrations, and a deeper investment in UX. As our team grows, I also expect to see us accelerate the process of listening to customers, developing unique insights, and driving market innovation.”
Scott Fedonchik
SVP, Marketing“2021 will be a year of healing and connecting. Our #1 value at PhotoShelter is to help creative people thrive. This year my top goal will be to support that value internally through deeper collaboration and creative development and externally with our customers through innovative programs that engage and inspire!”
Kristin Twiford
Content Marketing Director“One of my favorite silver linings of 2020 was seeing our creative community come together. In 2021, I’m looking forward to planning new opportunities for creative people to connect and inspire each other.”
David Welker
Account Executive“I’m looking forward to working hand-in-hand with even more forward-thinking creatives who are elevating the way they do visual storytelling for their respective brand in 2021. Can’t wait to hear MORE sighs of relief knowing their lives just got that much easier.”
Yoav B. Guttman
Sr. Manager, Demand Generation Marketing“After 2020, I think what I am actually looking forward to this year is adjusting on the fly to whatever comes our way. It feels impossible to know what the mood of the nation is going to be, but 2020 made us more creative in reacting to the challenges we faced. While I am looking forward to doubling down on what we know works, I am also excited to try new ideas, especially in the face of the unknown. The New Year is always a great time to look forward, but sometimes the best ideas for differentiating yourself don’t come until 47 days into the quarter.”
Anne Carlin
Technical Support Team Manager“In 2021 I’m excited to support a rockstar team of Technical Support Specialists as they support our community of photographers. Coming out of a crazy year, it’s inspiring to see how our community is adapting and finding new ways to harness their creativity. With exciting development work in our product pipeline, I’m eager to use this year to build upon our support offerings to ensure our members’ experience with our tools is as seamless as possible.”
Kimberly Morgan
VP of Sales“I am really excited for 2021! This year I am focusing on using my ears and mouth in the correct ratio (2:1) – courtesy of Aaron Burr ‘talk less, smile more’ :)”
Jeremy Berkowitz
Social Media Lead“If 2020 was about coming together and looking out for your community, 2021 is going to be all about uplifting and inspiring one another. The next step is moving forward together with those who supported us in 2020. Some of my personal goals this year are to amplify voices, share important stories and work with fellow creatives to make a positive impact.”
Rachel Brown
Event Producer“2021 could not have come soon enough! I am thrilled for the beginning of a new year, and am looking forward to learning and collaborating more in the virtual event space. Hopefully even in-person! :)”
Damari McBride
Technical Support Specialist“In 2021 I’m looking forward to laughing and sharing more with my colleagues and our members. If we’ve learned anything from 2020 it’s that we need these two forms of positive connection (laughing and sharing) a bit more.”
Mike Gillen
Strategic Account Executive“This year, I am eager to introduce new industries to PhotoShelter and share the benefits our platform will provide their teams.”
Rachel Reiss
Senior Manager of Customer Marketing“Communicate, collaborate, connect. This year, I look forward to open communication, frequent collaboration and genuine connection – with my colleagues and with the incredible community of photographers we support every day.”
Mike Mancusi
SDR Team Manager“In 2021 (and beyond), I’m looking to be a positive influence on every person I interact with. Whether it be a coworker I talk to everyday, or a random person that I encounter for 5 seconds, I don’t want to be a source of negativity in anyone’s life.”
Alison Isaacs
Senior Manager of People & Organizational Effectiveness“2020 was a year of self-reflection and realignment towards what matters – for our customers, our product and our people. 2021 is the year of action and I’m excited to see us continue to grow and break barriers.”
Soovin Cho
Senior Digital Content Advisor“This year, I look forward to seeing how leaders in marketing and communications are shifting the way they create campaigns. With so much going on in our world today, it’d be insightful to see how they change their message to shift with the zeitgeist of our collective experience. In 2021, I plan on being more emotionally available for my colleagues and loved ones. Like Ted Lasso, I think we can all use some positivity! I desire to gear my thoughts, actions, and intentions to benefit those around me more than towards myself. Life is just better when it’s not centered around me!”
Caroline Summers
Strategic Account Manager“If 2020 taught us anything, it’s how to overcome and adapt. PhotoShelter Brands was a key component in helping folks maintain a streamlined creative workflow in last year’s remote environment and I can’t wait to help grow that experience for others in 2021!”
Ellyn Heald
Office Manager & EA to the CEO“2020 put us into what I like to call ‘power saving mode,’ not just as a company but as humans – and that shared experience brought home how mission-critical having authentic human engagement and adequate space for mental health is in the modern workplace. In 2021 I’m excited to challenge myself to discover how we can reinvigorate the workplace and the employee experience in a meaningful, impactful way – taking us out of ‘survival mode’ and into ‘thriving mode.”
Caitlyn Edwards
Community Marketing Manager“For me, 2021 is going to be all about taking the lessons from 2020 — how to adjust on the fly, the value of community and supporting one another, and providing as much access to educational opportunities as possible — into the future. How can we continue to have important ethical debates in the photo industry? How do we continue to inspire each other to be better? I’m more excited than ever to connect with people and learn about their unique stories and experiences. We’re so lucky here at PhotoShelter to be able to do it.”
What are your goals for the new year? Download The Photographer’s Outlook on 2021 and tag us on Twitter to let us know your thoughts on the year ahead – @photoshelter.
I enjoyed hearing everyone’s enthusiasm—thank you for sharing. Leaves me with one question: when will we see the often discussed new templates??
Hi Bill. The team is still cranking hard on the new Site Builder. You can keep up with our progress here: https://support.photoshelter.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059401754 (It’s an area for PhotoShelter members only.)
The entire team at Photoshelter is just spectacular. So much magnificent content for us.
I also love how simple as seamless using your site is. I am so happy with how my site looks!
Thanks a million