Tag Archives: photography business tips

7 Great Questions to Ask When You Start a Photography Business

This week I’ve had four photographers who are starting photography businesses approach me to ask for assistance. It is exciting that people are taking that step, and using Beyond Here as a resource to help them.

These four people are all launching their businesses on a part time basis – in addition to holding full time jobs. I like that approach. They have cash flow coming from another source while they build their photography business. As we have discussed their businesses, all four have asked me the same question “Craig, could you critique my portfolio?” While I am happy to provide them with input on the style and quality of their work, there is a real danger that photographers get too focused on the images and not focused enough on the business.

If you are starting your photography business, or reassessing after being in business for a while, here are 7 great questions to ask when you start a photography business.

When you are starting out, ask lots of questions about the business of photography

Question 1 – who do I know who can help me generate clients? When you are starting in business it is common to have high hopes, big dreams, and not many clients! Building a pipeline of clients can take time, but everyone has a network who they should ask to help them. If you are a wedding photographer, do you know a marriage celebrant who could help you? If you photograph new born babies, do you know mothers of little ones who could help? Or a mid wife? If you shoot events, do you know someone who is an event organizer? or who works at an event venue? These people can help you. Ask them.

An efficient work flow will leave more time to focus on clients

Question 2 – how can I refine my workflow to complete jobs efficiently? Shooting and editing jobs is only a fraction of the tasks you will do when you are running a photography business. If you spend too long completing jobs, you won’t allow enough time for the important tasks of finding and meeting new clients. A great starting place is to challenge yourself whether your work flow is optimal. Many professionals outsource post production work to allow them to focus more time on clients. Is your workflow working for you or against you?

Question 3 – what will I do if I have a gear failure? Having a gear failure on one of your first jobs is very unlikely but could quickly bring an end to your business if you have not planned for it. Imagine a wedding photographer with only one camera whose gear fails minutes before the ceremony. You are not likely to have a long successful career if your first bride doesn’t get images of the ceremony and reception. So how will you handle this? The easiest is to make sure you have multiple cameras and lenses. Then if you have a failure in one, you can go to your alternate. (If you are a wedding photographer, this is another good reason to work with a second shooter. For more good reasons see here). If you can’t afford to purchase back up gear, make sure you borrow some from another photographer.

Plan in advance for how you will get paid

Question 4 – do I have a process to get paid? Do you know how you will bill and collect payment from your client? As a wedding photographer I ask for payment in advance. It is written into my contract that payment will be made 4 weeks prior to the wedding date. When I am shooting a wedding it is reassuring to know that not only will I get paid, but that I have been paid already. Have you considered issues around payment?

Question 5 – how will I back up my clients images? When you are running a business you can’t afford for a computing error to cause you a client disaster. There are many ways to back up your clients pictures to protect you from losing your clients files. I keep mine on a laptop, backed up on an external hard drive, plus USB storage of clients files, plus off site back up with an online storage provider. It might sound like a lot of caution, but a photography business can’t afford to lose client files.

Question 6 – are myself and my gear insured? Unfortunately it is not uncommon for a photographers equipment to be stolen. Unless you can afford to replace all your gear in the event of theft, it is important to have insurance. You will also need to look into public liability insurance. Again, small businesses can’t afford for an event like a wedding guest tripping over your camera bag to put you out of business. For more information on liability insurance please see this post.

Question 7 – how can I generate more income from my current jobs? Many people get into the photography business by shooting family portraits or weddings. They both provide an excellent opportunity to better serve your client and to generate greater revenue. If you shoot family portraits and provide images on disk, you have the opportunity to provide prints and albums. That can add greater value for your client and generate more income for you. As a wedding photographer, can you provide high quality prints and frames as well as electronic images? Can you provide the bride and groom with a service to turn their images into a classic album? With one each for both sets of parents? Look at your existing work and find ways to add more value for your client and generate more income for yourself.

Thanks for reading 7 great questions to ask when you start a photography business.

Generating more income from your existing clients or jobs is a great way to grow a photography business

Investing in Relationships

When I started Beyond Here, I had in mind that the content should apply to photographers, and also to people running other creative businesses. That has only partly been the case so far. Most readers right now are photographers. This weekend I ran across a great example of a business principle that applies to any personal service business. Investing in relationships, can be much more valuable than any revenue generated by a single job.

The incident happened with my hairdresser.

I have been getting my haircut by the same hairdresser since 2008. I had her recommended to me (by my wife!). I first visited her when she was running her hairdressing business from the basement of her house. Not too long after that, she opened a retail outlet on a suburban main road in Melbourne, Australia. Despite occasional frustrations with car parking, I continue to visit regularly. Now she has a second retail outlet with staff running both shops. She continues to cut hair, and shares her time between the 2 salons.

Choices. This weekend my hairdresser chose to invest in the client relationship and forgo the money from one hair cut.

On this occasion I visited the newer salon. I hadn’t been to that outlet before, as it is quite a bit further from where I live. To fit in with my hairdressers schedule, I agreed to go to her new salon. So far, so good.

Now, I am a stickler for being on time – and she is too. I regularly arrive early, and nearly every time she is ready early or on time, and occasionally just a little late. This weekend, I arrived 30 minutes before my appointment time. I didn’t mean to arrive that early, I had allowed too much time, there was little traffic, and I got a car park 25m from the salon front door.

When I arrived we said hello. The salon was busy. She asked me to wait to my appointment time (which I expected to). I set about reading a magazine, and surfing on my iphone. My appointment time came and went. Twenty minutes after my appointment time I was still waiting and starting to get frustrated. I had been reading a trashy magazine for 50 minutes now – 30 minutes being my fault for being so early, and 20 minutes more as my hairdresser was running late on her appointments.

When the haircut began, she asked where my car was parked. I explained it was outside. She explained that unfortunately it is only a 60 minute parking zone. She was genuinely concerned that I would be there for over an hour. I appreciated her concern, but wasn’t very excited about the idea of running late and getting a parking ticket. (I was even less excited when I realized how much grey hair was showing through!) At this point, I was getting slightly cranky, but doing my best not to show it. My hairdresser is a great person, and has been cutting my hair for years. I wasn’t about to let being a few minutes late and a parking ticket ruin that history.

Now, cutting my hair isn’t a very lengthy experience. I was all done in less than 20 minutes. As we finished she apologized for running late, but the next thing she did took me by surprise and reminded me of a great lesson. As I walked to the cashiers desk, I reached for my wallet. I wanted to pay and get moving so I wouldn’t have a parking ticket and wouldn’t be late for my next appointment. It was then she said – ‘Craig, this time its on me. See you next time’. I was genuinely shocked. I understand that sometimes things run late, and wasn’t expecting a free haircut.

Instead of having a loyal customer leaving feeling frustrated and cranky, I left feeling great that I was appreciated as a customer – she knew we had been unusually late and she wanted me to get moving so that I wouldn’t get a parking ticket. It was a great reminder that investing in relationships is worth much more than the money that would have been generated from that job. I will continue to be a loyal customer as long as my greying hair keeps growing.

As photographers or personal service business owners, investing in relationships is key to our long term success. Today I shot a 30 minute portrait shoot for a friend. I charged nothing. I decided this was my opportunity for investing in relationships. Have you got an ‘investing in relationships’ story to share?

Just in case you were wondering, I was parked in the 60 minute zone for about 75 minutes. I was pleased there wasn’t a parking ticket on my windscreen. All good, and a great reminder about investing in relationships.

Why Photographers Should Keep Great Client Records

This month I have been working with a photographer who is running a successful family portrait business. She has been busy booking and shooting local family portraits very consistently for 18 months. It’s a good news story. She is enjoying creating images for local families and is running a healthy business. Right now she faces a slow down in her bookings, and has asked me to help. It has reminded me again why photographers should keep great client records.

To help her, together we have been working through each aspect of her business reviewing what is working, and what is not. Overall it is a very positive picture. She has been busy for 18 months and has a large group of happy clients.

Thinking about clients? Good record keeping will helps generate new work from past clients.

In our discussion, her first question was ‘I’ve never had a slowdown in bookings before – how do I generate more clients?’ My response was – maybe you don’t need new clients. Maybe you just need to contact your old clients to see if you can help them again.

As an example, one of her first clients had a 4 year old and a new born child. It was the arrival of the baby that prompted the family to have the first portrait shoot. My suggestion was that she re-contact this client. The family’s 4 year old will be just over 5 now and is likely to be starting school – what a great time to do another family portrait session. And then we realized – the photographer hadn’t kept contact details for each client. She didn’t have a way to easily contact the family to explore a second shoot.

So that leads us to, why photographers should keep great client records. I have summarized it into 5 key reasons:

(1) Past clients should be future clients. If a client is happy with your service once, they are more likely to be your client again – but you need to have kept their contact details and relevant information. Only a small percentage of past clients will spontaneously contact you years after the original shoot. Collect relevant client information, so you can use it in future.

(2) Times change, but the photographer doesn’t need to. In family photography there is natural change as children grow up. If you have a client with a new born baby, it won’t be long until there are toddler pictures to shoot, birthday parties, and then shots as the child starts school. This progression continues through primary school and into high school. If you do it really well, you may end up shooting their high school graduation images, on to their wedding, and their own children. Think of your client as a relationship you will nurture, not as a one time ‘job’.

In family photography, there is a natural on going demand for images as the child grows

(3) Clients will send you referrals – make it easy for them. All photographers find that happy clients send them referrals. This is easier for clients if you have kept in touch with them. I sure don’t want a client I worked with saying ‘we’re really happy with the images, but I can’t remember the name of the photographer’. Keeping good records helps you stay in touch. And staying in touch makes it easy for clients to send you referrals.

(4) Past clients are a great source of ‘short notice’ bookings. If you have an opening in your schedule for a shoot next week, past clients offer great potential to fill that gap. Here is the main part of an email I sent to a past client 4 weeks ago “Hi R, I hope you and P are going well. I have had a client cancel their session next Sunday, so I wondered if you would like to do a mini family shoot before the kids go back to school? My normal price is $XXX but as you are my existing client I can offer it to you for $YYY. If you are interested, we can do it in the park near your home. What do you think?” If you have kept your clients email and mobile phone details this is a fast, effective way to fill your calendar.

(5) Happy clients will write testimonials. Social media has made it very easy for word to spread quickly. As photographers offering a service to our clients we need to make the most of this. Keeping good client records makes it easy to ask for testimonials and feedback, which helps to generate more clients.

The photographer who asked for my help now has a system for recording client details and a plan for how and when to contact them. She came to me with a short term business problem, and now has a plan for long term success. I hope this has been helpful to you too, and that you understand why photographers should keep great client records.

Jump Start Your 2015

This year has raced past and its already December. At this time of year many photographers pipeline of work slows as domestic clients start to think about Christmas and holiday time, and commercial clients have a ‘crazy busy’ few weeks before the end of the calendar year. December is a great time of year to take a few simple steps to jump start your 2015.

Making time to contact past clients in December can jump start your business into the new calendar year

I take a few simple steps at this time of year to jump start my business for the new calendar year. Many of my clients are domestic clients who I have shot weddings or family portraits for. Over the next 2 weeks I will send each of them a 6×4 print, a business card, and a Christmas card. In the Christmas card will be a hand written message. This contact helps maintain a connection with each client, and makes it easier to strike up a conversation the next time I see them, or they refer a friend to me. I want them to think of me as their family photographer and holidays are a great time to reinforce that connection. For my commercial clients, I call them in early December. No one needs another email at a busy time of year, so I choose to call to either speak with the client or to leave a voice message. My message is a simple one, are there any projects they need assistance in getting completed in the next few weeks? How can I help? If there aren’t any, what date will my client be back in the new year? Can I touch base with them about new year projects? All simple stuff to maintain a relationship with each client and to see if I can assist them.

What do you do to maintain contact with your clients? What approach will you be taking to jump start your 2015?

10 Things to Consider as You Start Your Photography Business

This weekend I swapped messages with 2 people who are about to start their photography businesses. They are both confident with camera and client skills, but starting a business is the great unknown. I started to make a list of business things to consider. In most cases, these things are not hard, they are just new. Keep in mind I’m not an adviser, a lawyer, or an accountant – I’m a photographer. I have done each of these things in setting up and running my own business. Here are 10 things to consider as you start your photography business.

Setting up in business is an exciting time. Enjoy it!

1. How Your Business Will Operate? There are a variety of ways a business can operate (this varies depending on what country you are in). Will you operate as a sole trader? Will you establish a company? Here is Australia the simplest way to start operating is as a sole trader. This is how I first set up my business operations. As the business grew I changed to a company structure which is how I operate today. If you want expert advice, an accountant will be able to give you the pros and cons of different business structures.

2. Register Your Business. Once you have decided how your business will operate you need to register your business. Again, this process is different in different countries. Here in Australia you need to get an ABN number. This can be done online at www.abr.gov.au. If you want help an accountant will be able to assist in understanding and completing this process.

3. Insurance. Now that you are in business you will need to get appropriate insurance to protect your business in the event of something going wrong. Your photography equipment may have previously been covered under your contents policy. Now that you are using it for commercial purposes it is unlikely to be covered by your domestic policy. Insuring it under a commercial policy is the answer. And very importantly, you will need Public Liability Insurance. Here in Australia it is available for just a few hundred dollars per year from any of the major insurance companies or through an insurance broker.

4. Bank Account. You will need a separate bank account for your business. This keeps the businesses banking needs separate to your personal ones. Here in Australia it is very straightforward to set up a business bank account. I have mine with the same bank I do my personal banking with. They offer a fee-free business account which is nice.

5. Online Presence. Having an online presence is a key business tool. I see some beginners setting up pages on Facebook as their only online presence. This makes me cringe. You are going to need your own website if you want to control how your information is laid out and presented. Social media channels like Facebook and Google+ can be used to drive traffic to your website, but you will need a functioning website as your foundation.

6. Marketing Materials. I am avoiding going into the topic of generating clients here. Let’s just say that when you are starting out it is handy to have some simple marketing materials – like business cards, letterhead, envelopes, note paper etc. It adds to your credibility and can present you much more professionally than an enthusiast who just has a camera and a smile. Choose what you like and fits into your budget.

Take time to set you business up, so when you are with a client you can focus on great images

Take time to set your business up, so when you are with a client you can focus on great images

7. Contracts. Contracts are critical in photography business. They outline the agreement between you and your client. Make sure your contract covers what services will be provided, who owns copyright, and issues around model releases. I have never had a disagreement with a client about services or price, but its nice to know that if I did, I have a written contract to revert to. Some sample contracts are available online, but talking to a lawyer will give you peace of mind.

8. Invoicing System. Starting in business means you are planning to get paid for your work. To do this you need an invoicing system in place. That is a fancy way of saying, you need to know how you will get a bill to your client. Don’t be intimidated by this – when I started my system was to hand write all my invoices! I bought an invoice book at the local stationery store and literally hand wrote invoices to my clients. Low tech but effective.

9. Understand Expenses. When you set up in business, understanding the revenue side of your business is straightforward – it is the amount of money your clients are paying your business. Understanding expenses is slightly more complex, only because some of your personal expenses will be tax deductible expenses to your business. For example, if you are driving your personal vehicle to shoot weddings, the mileage you are doing in your vehicle can be claimed as a company expense. It is worthwhile talking to an accountant about business expenses.

10. Learn from those Who’ve Been There Before. There is now a good range of business photography books available with some outstanding advice. Three that I really like are:

The Photographers MBA by Sal Cincotta
Visionmongers by David Du Chemin
Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders

Keep in mind that getting started in business is not complex and you shouldn’t feel over whelmed. I hope these ’10 things to consider as you start your photography business’ have been useful. Have you set up in business? What was the most challenging aspect? If you haven’t set up yet and would like some more help, please add a comment to this post.

Tips for Your First Photography Job

Recently I wrote several posts for first time wedding photographers. You can find those posts here:

This week I have been fielding questions from photographers about to shoot their first paid job. However, they are are not shooting a wedding, but are about to shoot a family portrait. For those readers here are some tips for your first photography job.

Congratulations on reaching a milestone! Your first paid photography job.

Tip #1 – Focus on Happy Customers. As you get started in paid photography it is easy to obsess about the money you will bring in from this first job. If you find yourself saying ‘this is fantastic, I’m getting paid $500 to shoot family portraits’ you might be falling for this trap. Believe me, this is the wrong area to focus. If you are going to make a living from this – having happy customers is far more important than the amount of money you will get paid from one job. Charge what is fair, and do everything possible to make sure you have a happy client. Happy clients come back again and again, and will refer you to their friends.

Tip #2 – Get a Contract. This point will turn a few people off! But, you need a contract with your client. This will cover what services are being provided for what compensation. Importantly, your contract also needs to cover issues around copyright, use of images, and model releases. If you are a member of your national photographic body they will have sample contracts.

Tip #3 – Know Your Equipment Well. Nothing will turn a paying client off more than if you are trying to work out how to use your equipment while shooting images for them. Shooting in light conditions you are familiar with will limit this risk. If you are used to shooting outdoor, shoot the family portraits in a park. If you primarily do studio work, organize for the shoot to be in a studio. Don’t do a studio shoot if you are not familiar with studio lighting techniques.

Tip #4 – Don’t Be Afraid to Talk About Finances. If you are shooting a paid job, the client expects to pay. Make it easy for them – talk about what they need to pay by when, and how they can pay you. It is much better to have this discussion early in your relationship with the client than to leave it.

Tip #5 – Ask for Payment in Advance. I ask for payment in advance for weddings and family portraits and have never had a client balk at this. Again, I make it clear and easy for the client and it is covered in my contract. If the client would like some flexibility in payment terms I am happy to help – but I know I will do a better job if I’m not thinking ‘I wonder if these people are going to pay me?’

Tip #6 – Think About Presentation. The photo shoot is only one element of the client experience. When you are starting out, it is easy to think only about the shoot. You should also consider how will you present the images to your client. Will you take them through a slideshow in their own home? Will you just send them a USB in the mail? The approach you choose makes an impact on your clients experience. Consider the type of experience you want them to have.

Tip #7 – Carry Backups. It is very risky not to have back ups with you on a paid shoot. That includes spare camera body, lens, memory cards, batteries, and flashes. If you are starting out you may not own back ups of all of these. If that’s the case, ask a friend and borrow their gear.

I hope these tips for your first photography job have been useful. If you have any questions, please comment on this post. I will be happy to try and answer them. And if you have lots of questions I’ll write another post on this topic. Thanks for reading this post. Good luck for your first photography job.

Focus on generating a happy customer not maximising the financial return from your first job.

6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Launching a Photography Business

Consider these questions before you start in photography business

In the last week I have been working with a photographer who is considering turning his hobby into a business. He has had positive feedback on the work he has done to date – which has focused on family portraits. He has also shot 2 weddings this year. As I have helped him, we have worked through issues ranging from the quality of his work to the challenges of a variable income. He is not the first photographer to grapple with doubts about launching a business. In my experience, most don’t know what they are getting themselves into. I have put together this starter list of questions if you are considering turning your hobby into an income. Here they are – 6 questions to ask yourself before launching a photography business.

Question 1 – Am I Passionate About Running a Small Business?

All of the photographers I have spoken to about turning their hobby into an income have been planning to start a small business. In the same way that I run Craig Dingle Photography Pty Ltd, they are considering establishing and running a small business. For photographers reading this – I am assuming you are passionate about photography and image making. The key question to ask yourself is – am I also passionate about running a small business? Will I welcome the challenges which come with small business? Generating new clients? Following up people who haven’t paid their bill? Doing book keeping and taxes? When times are tough, will I welcome the challenge and find a way forward?

I have deliberately put this question first. It is a very important question to ask yourself. Are you up for the challenges that come with running a small business?

Question 2 – How Will I Handle the Challenges of a Variable Income?

I don’t know any photographers who have a steady income every week. They must be out there, but I don’t personally know any. Where I live there is always more business around in spring and summer than there is in autumn and winter. Whether that is family portraits, weddings, real estate photography, or other work – there is not a steady supply of business all year round. Even in stock photography, the income slows down very predictably every northern hemisphere summer.

A variable or seasonal income is very different than working for a corporate and receiving the same pay check every week or month. Have you considered this? How will you handle the lean weeks? Months? Seasons? Will you shoot some business events when the wedding season slows down? How will you find this business? Are you prepared to shoot jobs, which might not be your favorite type of work, to make ends meet in the lean months?

Question 3 – How Will I Generate New Clients?

This question is key. If you plan to add your work to your facebook page and think that will generate new clients for you, I suggest its time to pause. How much business has your facebook page generated to date? In most cases, the answer is not much. You are going to need a solid plan for generating clients if you want to make a fair income from your photography. Are you going to advertise online, in your local school newsletter, by tapping your range of contacts, attending bridal shows? A solid plan around how you will generate clients will vary depending on what type of work you want to do – but having a good plan is key. New clients are unlikely to start calling you out of the blue just because you have set up a business. You will need a plan to generate new clients.

Question 4 – What Unique Offer Will I Be Bringing to the Market?

There are lots of photographers out there, and the number is growing every day. What is the unique thing you will bring to the market? Why will clients choose you? What sets you apart? If you have 2 minutes to talk to a potential client – what are the key points you want to make? This is a challenging and important question. It takes time to work through this one, and a strong answer can help you with understanding how to generate new clients. Is it the the experience you will give your client on the day? Is it your unique product offering? Is it your one of a kind shooting style? Are you a specialist in a niche? What else? If your answer is ‘my friends and family say my images are great’ or ‘I’m told I have a great eye’ these are danger signs. You need to know specifically what it is that you will be bringing to market, and why a client should choose you.

Question 5 – Is My Work Good Enough?

This is a perennial question for photographers! The more clients you work with, the more your confidence will build over time. When you are starting out, a slightly different question can sometimes help. If you have been asked by a friend to shoot their wedding – consider asking ‘Am I confident enough that I can charge $X?’. Often a first time wedding shooter will not be confident and will feel anxious about shooting their first wedding. If that’s the case, discuss that with the client and perhaps shoot with no charge. A client will appreciate your honesty and forgive some rookie errors if you have been frank with them. They are unlikely to be happy if you try to maximize your income from this wedding and then miss key shots. Think about building a foundation for your business. You want happy clients, and you want them to refer you. Make building a strong foundation your business focus when you are starting.

Question 6 – Am I Prepared to Learn?

Regardless of your answers to the first 5 questions, if you are prepared to learn you can make it. If you are prepared to learn – mistakes are progress not problems. Every mistake will make you better. Every positive experience will give you a new learning about what works. If you don’t know how to run a small business but are prepared to learn, you can build your skills and business over time. There are thousands of photographers out there – and that number is growing. Don’t be overwhelmed. If there is space for those photographers, there is space for you too. If you are prepared to learn you can make it.

I am passionate about photography and the business of photography. If you have found this post useful, you may like these recent posts:

Thanks for reading 6 questions to ask yourself before launching a photography business. What has your experience been? Are you considering turning your hobby into a business? Do you have additional questions? Please add your comments or questions to this post. If you’d like some help privately, please email me on [email protected]

Succeed in Photography Business

Financial success means different things to different people

People get into photography driven by a love of making images, not a love of dealing with business issues. It is passion and creativity that drives us, not a desire to spend hours doing book keeping or other business tasks. I see plenty of photographers who produce brilliant work but struggle to make a living. That leads me to consider – can non business minded people succeed in photography business?

This is a big question – so where do we start? We need to start by understanding what success means to you. What is your definition of success? There are as many answers to that question as there are photographers, but the only answer that matters is your own. What is your definition of success?

Is success:

to be able to call yourself a professional photographer regardless of whether you make any money?
to make enough money to fund your gear purchases?
to make a significant supplementary income to add to another primary income source?
to make an income equivalent to the national average income?
to make three times the national average income or more?

Lets look at each of these.

Success Level 1 – Calling Yourself a Pro. If success is to be able to call yourself a professional photographer, regardless of the income generated, then yes – this can be achieved without much business knowledge. If you want to reach this level of success, focus on acquiring pro standard equipment and get a nice website. You may not have too many clients knocking down your door, but you will have some nice gear to use, time to shoot personal projects, and a nice website to display your images. You can also look into membership of your national photography body.

Business skills can be learned as your photo business grows

Success Level 2 – Fund Your Gear Purchases. If success to you is to be able to generate enough income from your images to fund your gear purchases – this too can be done with limited or no business skills. If you would like to do this, I would recommend looking into micro stock photography sites and selling prints online. In both of these models you simply upload your images to the site and they do the work to attract buyers and complete the sales transaction. Keep in mind that any sales generated are likely to be slow to start with and build over time. You will need to be patient. If your goal is to generated a few thousand dollars each year then this is a legitimate way to do it – and thousands of photographers are doing this. If you are interested in using micro stock photography to get here, you may be interested in this post.

Success Level 3 – Making a Significant Supplementary Income. By a significant supplementary income I mean greater than $10,000 per year. I expect you would need another source of income in addition to this. Perhaps you work full or part time and run your photography business outside this. If you hope to reach this level of success it will help if you start to learn some business skills. At this level you may be using micro stock photography to provide some of that income and you may be taking on some commissioned work. It could be weddings or family portraits or other client work. At this level it helps to have an understanding of business structures, so you can consider what structure suits you best, particularly if it is going to continue to grow. You would also benefit from some understanding of invoicing, book keeping, marketing, and tax.

Success Level 4 – Making the National Average Income. At this success level, if you are running your own photography business, you will need to have some business skills. In addition to the skills mentioned above you’ll need to have a good understanding of marketing your business, and that will probably include a good understanding of social media and online marketing. This will ensure you generate a pipeline of future clients which sustains your business into the future.

It is possible to achieve high income through photography but it will require business skills as well as photographic skills

Success Level 5 – Making 3x the National Average Income or More. If success to you means generating an income three times the national average or more then you will need business skills. In addition to the skills above you may need to also understanding issues related to contacting and sub contracting, employing staff, contract law, pricing, and you will definitely need a strong marketing plan. You possibly will need to invest time and effort into generating partnerships – perhaps with wedding venues, or advertising agencies. At this level it is likely your photography skills will need to be very strong as well. That’s my take on what is required to meet these levels of success. I see many photographers producing great images but not succeeding financially. If you are one of these, my recommendation is to invest in building business skills, not photography skills. It is also possible that investments in the business need to be into generating new clients, rather than further investments in equipment. That might be advertising or a new website or promotional materials.

In summary, you can achieve success levels 1 and 2 with limited or no business skills. If you want to ‘get serious’ and move to levels 3, 4 and 5 you will need business skills. If you are starting out it is absolutely legitimate to work your way up through the levels. If you believe you are not business minded – don’t worry, business skills can be learned along the way. If you are determined to succeed, the skills can be learned. Equally, if you have strong business skills you can get started at level 4 and 5. There is no tried and true formula here – you can make it your way based on your own skills and knowledge.

These are my thoughts about whether non business minded people succeed in photography business. Here comes the disclaimer – I’m not a business adviser, or financial adviser, or any type of adviser. I’m a photographer. Please keep this in mind and seek your own expert advice. Can non business minded people succeed in photography business? What do you think? What is working for you?

Getting Started in Your Photography Business

Today I swapped Facebook messages with a very enthusiastic photographer who has visions of a career change and making a living from travel photography. Her enthusiasm coupled with a healthy dose of “where to next doubts” reminded me of myself when I was starting out in 2008. It prompted this post – getting started in your photography business.

Plan for your financial success.

Lots of people dream of turning their hobby into their source of income. It is all about “living the dream” and reminds us that “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”. Cool! But getting started in an industry you may have very little experience in is a daunting challenge. So, I’ve thought about what I’ve learned over the last 6 years. Here are 7 tips if you are planning on getting started in your photography business.

Tip 1 – Capitalize on Your Enthusiasm

The early stages of starting a business are very exciting, you are full of enthusiasm and enjoying the new challenge. Capitalize on your enthusiasm! Act on it, get started, do something.

There is a hugely empowering feeling that comes with taking action – get started, and get started now! Organise a website, join a stock photography website, shoot a pile of new images, write an advertisement for yourself, find an online community to join. Whatever it is, act today. Get started.

Tip 2 – Expect Mistakes

As you start in an industry you don’t know, you are not going to get every step right first time. Expect mistakes, they are part of the learning. When they come, welcome them. This is how we move forward. I started out with a horrible website and expected that to get lots of visitors, and then get lots of clients. That’s not how it works. The mistake and the lesson are both ok. Learn the lesson and move forward.

Tip 3 – Ask for Advice

If you want to reach your goals slowly – do it your own way, don’t ask for input, and refuse to take advice. If you want to reach your goals more quickly – ask for advice from people who’ve trodden this path before you! As a photographer, ask for advice both on your images and how to market your images.

The bad news is that making images and marketing images are entirely different skills. The good news is that the photography industry is full of people who will share their experience and help you. All you have to do is ask.

Today there are a wide variety of ebusiness opportunities

Tip 4 – Be Prepared to Learn

Asking for advice is the first step. Being prepared to learn is the next. Running a successful photography business is both a journey of self discovery and a process of continuous improvement. Whether its learning a new lighting technique, understanding how e business works, learning about stock photography, getting better ways to pose your subject, or knowing how to improve your post production workflow – be prepared to learn. Keep improving. Then improve again. And again. And again.

Research your target market

Tip 5 – Research the Market

Right when you start you are full of energy but without direction. This is a great time to study the market.

If you are a travel photographer, what are successful travel photographers shooting? What style of images are popular? How are they lit? Why do they work? If you are a stock photographer – what are the current trends in stock photography? What are the next emerging markets? What is the under served niche you can target? If you are a wedding photographer, how are the best wedding photographers in your area marketing themselves? What style of images are they shooting? Why does it work? Is there an opportunity for you?

Use some of your new starter energy to see what the market is doing.

Tip 6 – Plan your Finances

Starting a business means generating an income – and having an income higher than your expenses as soon as possible! It is very easy to get carried away with the romantic notion of being a photographer, and not bother to look at your income and expenses. When you are starting out, you are setting the principles you will run your business on forever. You need to look at both expenses and income and assess how well the business is going. Happy clients is one thing, a happy accountant is another. Keep it real.

Tip 7 – Keep Going!!

You will run into road blocks, you will get discouraged, you will have doubts. When you get to the point of being about to give up – this is the time to keep going! If this were easy, everyone would do it. There is something special in overcoming difficulty to arrive at success. The journey makes you better – keep going!

There are hundreds of other lessons learnt in starting a photography business. Please leave a comment on this post if you have an issue you’d like me to address, a question you’d like answered, or just some encouragement!

Finally, the lady I swapped messages with today has already found a community of photographers, she is asking questions, and listening to the answers. If she can keep that up, and keep going when she has doubts, she will do very well.