What You Need To Start Your Photography Business

What You Need To Start Your Photography Business

Image Source: Define your target

Do you know what Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat have in common?

These platforms have directly evolved to create online photo exchange and sharing community. In fact, if you are interested in photography as an art, you can even take a look at Are.na, a fantastic visual platform that encourages artists to share visual works and create inspirational boards. Bonus: If you’re worried about your likes and followers, Are.na is about building your visual universe with no impact on your personal brand, as the platform can offer to hide your board from search engines. However, back to the subject, photo-sharing platforms are hugely popular, and there’s a good reason for it: An image is worth a thousand words! But from a commercial perspective, you can use the love and interest of your audience for capturing the moment – any moment, if you are to believe your Instagram feed – as a starting point for a photography business. After all, we are a society that communicates essentially through emojis, snaps, and videos. So, if you feel confident with a camera in your hands, why not turn your life through the lens into a company? There’s only one question left to ask: What do you need to start your photography business?

85% of photography businesses fail

Before you start planning for success, you need to consider the risk of a photography business. Indeed, as a result of society’s love for imagery, the photography industry is booming. In fact, you’ll find several local photographers in your own town, so you need to be creative to make it work. Indeed, 85% of photography businesses fail in the short term. While it’s a scary statistic, it’s also important to realize that you need to invest in your business – financially, creatively and emotionally – to be part of the lucky 15%. The most common mistake of professional photographers has nothing to do with the quality of your photos. It’s all about looking and feeling exactly like anyone else. If you want your business to have a chance of growing and attracting new clients, you need to pick a profitable niche. Take a look at some of the best-ranked photography websites in each niche to understand their strategies, starting with Amanda Holloway for senior photos.

Take the time to hone your skills

Admittedly, choosing a niche that is popular without being crowded doesn’t guarantee that your business will succeed. While the most common reason for failure is lack of specialization, your skills still play a major role in establishing your portfolio and your services. The more you know about photography and about the camera you are using, the better you will be. So, if you are not 100% confident in your competences, you can work with a mentor until you’ve learned all the professional tricks. There is no better teacher than practice, though, so do make sure you’ve taken plenty of photos before you start your company. It’s worth delaying the creation of your business until you have attended photography classes and defined a style that is yours.

Image Source: Hone your skills

Understand the emotional engagement behind each project

Mastering the technique is only half of your job. You also need to understand and capture the emotion in each shot. As PMAI explains, a photographer is hired to accompany people during one of the most important days of their lives, whether it’s a wedding ceremony, the first family portrait with a baby, or even senior photos for young students. Your image will provide not only a memory of the moment but also a hook for the emotional complexity of each individual. When your clients look at the photos, you want them to be transported back to the day of their wedding, high school graduation, etc.

You need to get noticed

The photography market is a crowded place with a variety of competitors. Some might compete on price, while others offer a personal service. So if you want to get noticed, you need to make sure that your business is unique in every single way. That’s precisely where creating and promoting your own style matters. But you should also bring something new to traditional photo services, such as the family portraits. Ultimately, all family portraits look the same. Therefore keeping a list of exciting places, such as a private property – with the permission of the owner – can make your photos stand out.

Embrace paid ads

Do you know where you’re most likely to find your next clients? On Facebook! Indeed, the social platform is the ideal starting place to grow your business, using creative ad ideas to attract the attention. You can, for instance, target a specific audience group, such as newly engaged, from 3 months to 1 year. By adding new criteria, you can segment your audience by location, interests, and even age. Similarly, you can also target different audience groups in the same way.  

Make people feel comfortable

Nobody really likes posing for a portrait. It’s an awkward experience, and from your point of view, it can be difficult to get the best out of your subject. So, it’s important to develop a relationship with your clients and to make them feel like you’re a friend. This will deepen their trust. Give them around 20 minutes to warm up so that they can get used to the camera. This will avoid uncomfortable poses! The more you interact and talk to your subject the easier it will be for them. Of course, you might want to direct them for the shoot, but ultimately you should also use the time to talk about everything and nothing.

Share your passion, not your workload

Last, but not least, you should make the most of visual platforms. Are.na might be an inspiring place to try, but it’s not going to give you a lot of attention from your client base. Facebook pages are for established clients. Instagram, however, is the perfect playground to reach out to a new audience. Be personal and approachable, as you want clients to feel like they can get in touch. But also use the platform to showcase your passion genuinely.

Image Source: Share your experience

Starting a business as a photographer is a challenging journey. While this post doesn’t discuss the strategic path, it can hopefully make you more aware of the branding creativity and the emotional intelligence required in this career.

DISCLAIMER: This post is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.