Four Easy Steps to Start a Photography Business
No matter how long you’ve been planning to start a photography business of your own, I’m sure that your biggest concern is how you should start.
Deciding to start a photography business is usually put on a halt when you don’t really know when or where and how to start. But let me tell you that it all gets easier when you take the first big step.
After that, everything will be easier. Soon after that, you’ll be able to know how it feels like to be paid for something that you love to do.
Like in all business, to start a photography business, you need a plan. You need to follow a system. Some of these systems are more detailed than others and some may be more effective than the next.
But if you want a shortcut to jump start a photography business, there are four major steps that you need to make. These steps are just a way to give you an idea of what it takes to start a photography business.
Step 1: Build the Company
When you first started toying on the idea to start a photography business, you must have had a vision. What was it?
Did you envision yourself sitting on your executive chair behind a table, talking to fancy clients? Or were you at the park in a photo shoot for kid’s birthday party?
No matter what you imagined, you should freeze that in your mind.
Think of what kind of photography business you want to have. The first thing that you need to start a photography business is to build your company.
To make this step easier for you, here are some questions that you need to answer:
- What’s the name of my business?
- What photography style do I want to sell?
- Who do I want to photograph?
- Do I want a studio or is it just a home-based business?
- How much do I want to charge?
Step 2: Prepare the Tools
Obviously, a photographer is not a photographer without tools.
When you start a photography business, you need to have all the tools required to do your job: a trusty camera, tripod, lenses, lights, backgrounds (if you have decided on a studio), flash cards, a laptop or PC, and other accessories. ie. a hammer for bashing equipment that doesn’t work properly…
A photographer without the right tools is like a soldier going into a war without his gear.
Step 3: Create a Website
In a world where almost anybody and everybody is online at least once a day, it is pretty mandatory to create a website or blog to start a photography business.
A website is a really good way to get the word out there about your new photography business. In your website, you should be able to give enough information to make a person pick up the phone and call you for a shoot.
There are four things that you need in your website once you start a photography business: basic information about you and your photography experience, your portfolio, your services (and pricing information) and how to contact you.
Step 4: Start Marketing
Now here comes the most rigorous process when you start a photography business: marketing!
In this step, you can combine traditional and modern marketing techniques.
First, you need to print out your business card. Make it look as professional as possible but it should showcase your creativity a little too. Just make sure it serves its purpose. That is to make it easy for people to contact you. Some photographers get too creative and the card ( and other things) don’t work for them. The purpose of the card is to make convenient contact.
Next, you should print out flyers and if you have the means, put up ads on newspapers or magazines. Watch your costs. Do this slowly and record the results. Test, test, test, and then test!
Now when you start a photography business and you want to go paper-free and make use of your technical skills, you can go online and pick on an array of marketing strategies: Facebook fan pages, Twitter, article marketing, video marketing, podcasts, social bookmarks and many more.
If you want some winning moves and techniques to getting customers, lots of customers you should get everything I have to give you about getting customers. It’s a subject close to my heart.
…later,
Ray Baker
