It would be easy to look back at 2020 and see only challenges and difficulties. It has indeed been a year for the history books! But while we will never discount the hardships suffered by our community and individuals around the world, as a company we here at Shoot My Travel are looking back at 2020 and marveling at our blessings and accomplishments.

We hope you will pause with us this December, a traditional time of year to take stock and look back, to share in a moment of gratitude and wonder. Because you are a hugely important part of our Shoot My Travel community, most definitely part of our successes this year, and very much a part of the inspiration that kept us moving forward against all odds!

Coming together as a team

Social distancing was a strain on all relationships, including professional ones. But it also gave companies an opportunity to get creative and become more determined than ever to keep their teams together. We’re proud to say that through this year we have not only stayed together and alive, despite the circumstances, but we have also grown closer. We had weekly meetings via Zoom, checking in and hashing out business details. More than that we celebrated personal milestones, cried together, processed this year together, and even enjoyed our first annual virtual “International Donut Friendsgiving” with local donuts delivered to team members in Colombia, Spain, and across the U.S.! Though we had to stay physically apart, our hearts were all in the same place: keeping our photographers doing photoshoots and continuing to give you the memories and experiences you need, especially this year.

Strengthening our photographer community

Speaking of photographers, along with our internal team, we strengthened and grew our photographer community even as travel and economies screeched to a halt. Our CEO, Valerie Lopez, held IG Lives with our photographers around the world, checking in to see how they and their cities were faring during lockdown. As part of our #photographersathome initiative, we invited our photographers to share video recordings and their own personal photographs of life during the pandemic, spotlighting them on social media and Instagram Stories. It was an important reminder that no matter where we were in the world, we were in this together, and we were still capturing life. We’re very excited to present all their surreal and stunning photographs in a photobook to be released for sale in 2021. And as we all took stock of what was most important to us, many photographers committed further to their craft, signing on with us. As you all told us you needed photos to treasure and get you through these hard times, we searched out talented photographers in new destinations, adding to our 500+ locations around the world. We will always look back at 2020 and know that we were able to expand our photographer community during the hardest times.

Innovating and leading

In 2020 we also continued to innovate and lead in our industry. Valerie, a native of Colombia, was named a Colombian Ambassador of Marca Pais in March 2020. This hard-earned, well-deserved honor spurred her and the team on to innovate in a time of economic contraction. As the world changed, we changed with it, and instead of diminishing we grew so that we could better serve you. As we learned, life changes but it doesn’t stop. As a company we heard our customers saying, “We’re still alive. We’ve still got weddings, birthdays, graduations, holidays and we want to enjoy them!.” So we made sure we were there for you. We launched virtual photoshoots in April, delivering cool, vintage style photographs to you in the safety of your home, helping you to document life during an historic year. And as the world slowly opened back up, we adapted and kept hustling. You wanted photographs and experiences and so we developed safe, contactless photoshoots that brought you and our local photographers together to make something beautiful in hard times.

Staying present

Much of the team building, community growth and innovation already mentioned is a direct result of staying in the moment, not longing for the past or waiting for the future. As a company we looked at a harsh reality and said, “What can we do now?” Yes, the travel industry was hit hard this year, as all of us were forced to stay home, but that didn’t mean our clients didn’t still have needs. What we realized was that, while it was scary and the future far from certain, there was much we could do in the present. We could help you with your business ventures and professional aspirations, connecting with content creators and shooting professional headshots. We could help families connect with virtual and contactless photoshoots. And we started working on exciting new tech products that will serve both the company and our clients when we finally get through this pandemic, which we will! In fact, stay tuned. In a couple weeks we’ll be looking forward and talking more about exciting things to come. 

Thank you for looking back with us. It helps to stop and take stock. But the year’s not over yet, right? Like everything else this year, the holidays look a little different, but they’re still here, bringing much needed cheer and comfort even if in new, different ways.  If you haven’t already, book a photoshoot experience and let us capture you in the last moments of this year.