Starting a Photography Business

by Startacus Admin

Photography is one of those things that most of us have dabbled in at one point or another.

For most of us it remains nothing more than a hobby whilst for others provided of course we have the right skills and innate passion, it can become a tangible and profitable business. If you’ve ever thought about Starting a Photography Business, here are some of the basic things you ought to consider.

Build a Portfolio
For any artistic discipline like this, it is essential to build a portfolio of your work and to continue to build it as you go along. This body of work should show the type and breadth of work that you do and it’s important to remember that its purpose is to show your skills at their best. Potential customers and clients will after all use this to determine whether or not to engage your services, so make sure it is good!

Find your Niche
Just as with any other business, it is essential to decide on a particular niche market that you are going to service. Whether you want to concentrate on wedding photography, portraiture or music/band photography, having a clear defined target market will help you with all other parts of your business planning and creation.
Of course, it’s then a matter of determining how exactly you are going to differentiate yourself from other photographers in that area. Photography is a pretty competitive business and having a USP is one surefire way of giving you that all essential competitive edge.

Calculate your Costings
If you are serious about photography as a business, investment in equipment is a must. From the camera itself through to accessories such as tripods and flash units, the costs must all be factored in. If your photography business is going to be truly credible and professional, the quality of the equipment and tools that you use is of the highest importance. As your business grows, continued investment in the ‘tools of your trade’ is a must.

Plan your Marketing

Thanks to social media in particular, marketing and promoting your photography business can be done for very little if any real outlay. Having a website is a must and if you can’t necessarily afford the development of a bespoke website, you could use one of the many free templates offered by the Wordpress platform for example. Many photographers these days also maintain blogs either linked to or in conjunction with their own websites. This can be a really advantageous way of both marketing your business and also helping you build up an active following and potential client base. Whether you choose to blog about shoots that you have undertaken, particular techniques that you use or even general topics that are photography related, it will all play a part in helping you establish your business. We've previously highhlighted some of the main places where you can also sell your photography online.

Join the Professionals
Joining a professional photography organisation can really help build your credibility as a business and can also help bring clients your way. As well as this, it can help open the doors to networking opportunities and ongoing training and development opportunities.Many such organisations offer their members discounts on products and also run regular courses for their members to help them continue to develop and hone their skills, so why not take advantage of these benefits if you can. The British Institute of Professional Photography and The Irish Professional Photographers Association are two such organisations worth checking out.

We hope these basic tips help should Starting a Photography Business be on your agenda...Got any others you’d like to share? Why not do so over at the forum...

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Published on: 22nd January 2013