Photographer Mark Forrester found himself frozen out of the jobs market when he was made redundant on Boxing Day last year.
The 25-year-old from Aldridge had worked in a photographic studio for two years when it went into administration. “The first time I was made redundant was a few weeks before Christmas and the day before payday,” Mark said. “I went back to work at a studio for another two years but then I got a call on Boxing Day to say not to come into work. It was very stressful when I was told that I didn’t have a job as I had bills that needed paying and I didn’t have any money coming in.”
Father-of-two Mark began to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance while he looked for similar work but a lack of formal photography qualifications didn’t help. He said: “When I signed on I was given 13 weeks to try to find something in the same field before having to look at different options. I’ve got GCSEs and A-Levels but I’m self-taught and didn’t have any photography qualifications on paper. When I had to look at other sorts of jobs I dumbed down my CV because the sort of jobs that were coming up didn’t want to take on someone like me because they didn’t think I would stay in the job long-term.”
Mark set up his own business, Inspire Studio Portraits in Aldridge, with the help of a £3,500 loan from the Prince’s Trust business programme.
He said: “I kept seeing people that I had done pictures for and people kept saying I should set up on my own. I knew a girl who got a business started up with the Prince’s Trust and she put them in touch with me. I had a good customer base and they gave me a £3,500 loan towards getting a studio, shop fitting and rent.”
As well as word-of-mouth, Mark also uses listings website Gumtree and Facebook for free advertising to keep costs down.
He said: “My policy is to have something to suit every budget, which is important at the moment.”
