With all of the jobs I’ve had in the last several years, I have rarely ever met any of my co-workers. I have worked remote jobs for about 8 years between a few different companies. Some of them are based in LA but still had remote work. So I might have met some people I worked with in person, especially since I have been referred to these jobs by friends of mine. But it’s not uncommon for me to have worked a job for quite some time and never met anyone I work with in person.
But with my social media job, since that company is based in LA and there have been a few different things they have done outside of the standard work, I’ve had the chance to meet a few more of my co-workers than I would have otherwise. And last week was another chance that I had to meet some people I’ve worked with for over a year that I have never seen outside of a Zoom screen.
We had a photo shoot last year for work photos, but we got another chance to take new photos. Last time, they were taken through The Headshot Truck and we worked from their offices. This time, the photos were done at the TSMA studio. And I was excited about that because I have never been to the studio space before. It’s in downtown LA, and because my shoot was just after rush hour in the morning, it didn’t take me too long to get there.
My shoot was the first one of the day, so it was just myself and my friend Ben (who is the COO of the company and who referred me for the job) at the studio while we waited for things to start. I was excited to be able to catch up with Ben outside of our texts, phone calls, or Zoom meetings so I didn’t remember to take other photos while I was there. But it’s a great studio space and perfect for our clients who need to get photos taken for their accounts.
The next person to arrive was the photographer, who is the senior content creator for the company. I had actually met him earlier this year when I helped out with a photo shoot for one of our clients. Then one of the account managers who I had only seen on all-team Zoom meetings arrived, but he was also busy working so I didn’t really get a chance to talk with him much. And the last person who arrived while I was at the studio was my direct manager. This was the first time that she and I were seeing each other in person, which I didn’t realize at first since we are in multiple on-camera Zoom meetings together each week. But I thought about it and realized that there would not have been a time we would have been together in person before so I mentioned it. And I think she had the same reaction that I did. She thought about it and then realized that was right, which was crazy!
We all had some time to chat about random things while we waited for everything to be set up. While I love working from home and it makes a lot of things easier for me, it can be odd to realize you never really see your co-workers. So I enjoyed a bit of social time while things were getting ready.
Since my appointment was first, I did go first for the photos. It was a pretty quick shoot since we were inside the studio with controlled lighting and conditions. We didn’t have to worry about shadows or the wind affecting things. And since they are work photos, they don’t have to be as perfect as headshots have to be or with as many different looks. I think the actual photos were done in about 5 minutes, maybe a little more. But it was super quick and then I was told I was all set.
It would have been cool to get to hang around a little longer to chat with everyone there, but I did have work that I had to get back to. But there were a few things that I was going to text my manager about when I got back to work, so I was able to tell her in person so I could take some next steps as soon as I got home.
I haven’t seen the photos yet, but hopefully they came out ok. I know I can be really hard on myself and how things look, and it’s really tough when I have to do my own hair and makeup compared to when there is someone professional doing them. But again, these are just work photos so I don’t have to be perfect. And if they are really amazing, maybe I could use one as a new headshot. But I am planning on new headshots soon anyway since I am very overdue for some updated ones. And even if I don’t love them, I’m so glad I finally got to meet some of the people I work with in person so they aren’t just faces on my screen.
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