“I remember you lying on that baby changing mat dribbling and crying your eyes out!”. I said this to a 19 year-old last week. I was describing his first passport photo which I took when he was just a few weeks old. This was in 2002 but both myself and his mum remember it like it was yesterday!
There are many instances where this has happened, the same customers that I served 20 years ago are still using our services today or sometimes just pop in for a quick friendly catch up. Such is the warmth and community spirit of Muswell Hill, and I feel very privileged to be a part of it.
The store has changed and evolved quite dramatically since 2002. When we opened we were mainly developing film, film and more film (with the odd UK passport photo and frame sale in between). However, after a couple of years a massive change occurred in the industry…the arrival of digital cameras. The majority of people ditched their film cameras and invested in digital. People could now snap away to their heart’s content and choose their favourite photos without any wastage. Many also invested in a home printer. This hit our industry quite hard at first. We had to act fast in order to survive. We had to be creative.
The fact was that people were now taking more photos than ever, from their digital cameras or mobile phones. Although it’s true to say that not everyone (even to this day) wants to print all of their images, it became apparent that people were more likely to have that special photo they could turn into a gift. As well as the traditional picture in a nice frame or onto canvas, a new range of personalised gifts were born. Today you can have your favourite images on a beautiful high gloss aluminium panel, in a personalised photobook, a calendar or a whole host of other photogifts such as mugs, blankets, jigsaws, cushions, crystals etc.
It also became very apparent that home printing was quite expensive, very time consuming and the quality was not great. At this time we introduced instant print kiosks where customers can self-serve, as well as a large poster printer and a specialised greeting card and photobook printer. Today people are printing their favourite images instore with offers such as 100 prints for £35. All printed on extremely high quality paper with images that will last a life time.
To further emphasise how things have moved on from 20 years ago, today we can provide a code for UK passport applications (as well as the prints), and print the required sizes and specifications for passport photos from all over the world.
A large part of our daily routine today however will come as a surprise. It looks like 35mm film has gone full circle and, like vinyl, has made a massive comeback! It seems like the younger generation have unearthed their parents’ ‘ditched’ film cameras and are experiencing the fascinating world of taking photos without seeing instant results and enjoying the classic retro feel that film provides.
So, the first 20 years have come and gone and I hope there will be many more to come. The warm and interesting characters of Muswell Hill have certainly made my daily ritual that I call work all the more enjoyable! Peter
Snappy Snaps, 408 Muswell Hill Broadway, N10 1DJ
020 8444 1133
e. [email protected]
w. www.snappysnaps.co.uk/muswellhill