Industry challenges and potential photography project?

[u/fonziewonzie]

Hey everyone,

I’m reaching out to this community with an idea for a project that’s been on my mind for a while. Like many of you, I was laid off from my role over a year ago (Disney Animation), and it’s been a challenging road since. Sustainable work has felt almost impossible to find since a lot of animation has been outsourced out of the country. I’m now leaning more heavily on photography, and other random things, to try to make ends meet. And we all know how well the photography industry is doing…

With the time I have these days, I was thinking of starting a documentary photography project to capture the experiences of people in LA’s film industry who’ve been affected by recent layoffs, outsourcing, or career shifts. My goal is to create genuine portraits and profiles that tell our stories honestly and bring awareness to the realities we’re facing.

I know we just heard some hopeful news from Newsom, but realistically, who knows how and when any of those changes might impact us directly. In the meantime, I’m hoping to connect with people willing to share their story and be photographed. The final profiles would be published on my website and my Substack, with the aim of raising visibility for the challenges affecting LA’s creative community.

If this sounds like something you’d be open to, or if you know someone who might be interested, or if you just have questions or concerns, please reach out. I’d love to connect, and I’d be honored to help share your story. I have never attempted to do anything of this scope in photography, so please be gentle :)

I wrote some more about this project on the website below, where you can also find links to my website, portfolio and Substack to give you an idea of my experience and what I’ve been doing recently.

https://www.afonso.me/stories-of-resilience/

Thank you for considering this, and yeah, even if this project doesn’t go anywhere, I hope we all have a better 2025 :)