Thinking About Starting a Photography Business

Are you concerned about starting a photography business but don’t have a lot of cash to invest or are just concerned about keeping overhead costs to a minimum?

Some important things to consider when starting a photography business

1. Start frugal. Don’t get too hung up on equipment. Fancy new equipment may be nice but you don’t need brand new state of the art equipment to run a successful photo business. If money is an issue, give preference to really good lenses versus a new camera body.

Consider a good used DSLR, or one of the amazing new mirrorless camera systems. I know of some photographers who have already sold their DSLR camera systems and replaced them with a mirrorless system.

These new mirror less cameras are smaller, much lighter at about 1/3 the size and weight. These cameras are reported by some professional photographers to have much better auto white balance as well. Another advantage is that mirrorless cameras are quieter.

Many photographers are now incorporating video in their family and children portrait sessions giving them another stream of income by offering beautiful slide shows. By adding video and sound to these slide shows it makes them even more powerful therefore increasing their income.

Know your trade

2. Learn everything you can about the type of photography you would like to do. This usually takes years of learning so you’re able to walk in and comfortably handle any assignment you take on.

In my opinion, running a successful photography business requires you to be not only an expert in your field of photography but also know and understand business. If you’re going to be making a living at this you have to learn how to price your photography and all the services you provide.

The $.99 versus the $250 8×10

Once you have determined what you are going to charge, you then have to learn to not only market your services but convince the public that what you are charging is worth their hard earned money. You can do this in two different ways. One way is to give them real value for their money, As an example, you can give them 100 wallets, 2 8x10s, 8 5x7s etc. for $9.99. This type of pricing and marketing is what the chain stores do and they have been doing it well for many years.

This is not recommended for you, since you are a highly skilled expert in your field and may have won many awards. Plus, you are an artist and the final portrait or service you provide is a work of art. Plus, you are able to provide services and products the chain stores don’t provide. Once you can provide this type of service and product you then market to the public who want and can afford your services.

I have known photographers who were good photographers but not great photographers. What they were great at is the business of photography. They knew how to market their services, advertise and promote their product in a cost effective way and they did it consistently. This is a major factor in achieving success as a photography business owner.

These are just some of the things necessary in a nutshell to succeed in the business of photography. As I mentioned earlier, it usually takes years then decades to fine tune your business so it runs successfully without you becoming a slave to your business.

To learn more about starting a photography business on a budget see video below.