Today’s post provides tips for the perennial wannabe pro photographer. Tips for that person who loves photography and has always talked about making their hobby their living but hasn’t quite got there yet. Let’s help that person make the jump with five common sense tips to help them launch.

Tip 1. Act Now. Action is contagious, it produces more action. Sometimes it is good to plan things out in great detail, and other times it is better to take one step forward right now. Today. Act. Set up a website. Print some business cards. Register your business. Find a mentor. Open a stock photography account. Whatever it is, acting and moving forward one step at a time is the only way. We all started with one small step forward. Stop procrastinating. Act now.

Being able to produce strong images in different lighting conditions is very important. Winning awards is not.

Tip 2. Creating Good Quality Images is More Important Than Winning Awards. I see photographers with the potential to run successful businesses talk themselves out of it because they have not won awards for their images. They think that because they haven’t won awards, that the quality of their work is not at pro standard. Trust me, you do not need to win a string of awards to operate a successful photography business. Being able to produce good quality images is very important – but winning awards is not. If you can consistently create good quality images in a variety of lighting conditions, then you have the potential to generate an income from your photography.

Tip 3. Start Part Time. Some people don’t seem to believe in the concept of starting a business part time. Those people should know that thousands of photographers all around the world are successfully running part time businesses. If you are struggling with the idea of quitting your job to launch a photography business, then don’t. Keep your job. Launch on your days off. Start on weekends.

Be patient and focussed. Building a business takes time.

Tip 4. Expect Building a Business to Take Time. I don’t know any photographers who have made the decision to become a pro shooter who have had instant success. It takes time to build a business. It takes time to find clients and to build relationships with them. It takes time until they will refer others to you. Don’t expect all those things to happen in your first 3 months in business. Expect this will take time. If you are short on clients right now, know that is normal. It is a very small number of pro photographers who have a queue of clients waiting until they are ready. Expect ups and downs along this road. It is normal. Be patient. Focus on generating a large group of happy clients. When you have achieved that, the business of finding new clients or repeat clients gets much easier. Meeting your clients needs one at a time is a sure fire way to build a successful photography business.

Tip 5. Commit to Keeping Going. There will inevitably be times in your photo business when you don’t have enough clients. There will be times when some clients are ‘challenging’. Don’t be put off by these experiences. How you respond in these times will determine how your business performs in the long run. Don’t give up when times are tough. Everyone goes through this and you can too. Commit to keep going. Don’t let anything get in the way of your objective of running a successful photography business.

Thanks for reading Tips for the perennial wannabe pro photographer. I hope it has been useful to you and has encouraged you to move forward. Push on. It can be done. Make it happen. If you’d like any help, just drop a comment on the end of this post and I’ll do my best to assist. Good luck.