The project The Stories of Small Business is a collection of photographs of various small businesses that Katelin Bates visited and learned about within the Inland Empire. This project is mainly commercial-based, including a combination of portraits of the different business owners as well as detailed photos from around their shops that showcase their own unique qualities. Throughout this project, her goal was to give these small businesses a platform to further amplify their voices. Within the photographs and written text about each shop, the hope is that the viewer would become more mindful of various small businesses within their community and be encouraged to visit and support them more often. While visiting these different businesses, it was important to be able to have conversations with each owner and learn more about their shop and how it has impacted them personally. These conversations allowed her to better view their shop as a whole and helped to gain better insight as to why this project is something of importance as a whole. After viewing this project, Katelin hopes that you will feel inspired to visit new places in your own local area and build your own relationships within your community.

www.katelinbates.com | @katelinbatesphoto

— 2022 Annual —