How to Start a Photography Business ?

And the better you can work with, and take care of, the people you do business with, the more success you’ll see.

From that point on, we saw that the more effort we put into being great with people, the more success we had.
That book changed our business, and our lives.

I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but I promise it’s not.

Unnecessary Gear and Business Purchases Can Be Crippling
It’s very easy to get caught in the never-ending cycle of buying things to “help your business

With photography, it’s even more dangerous because the purchases are fun and exciting

It’s not hard to convince yourself that if you just had that better lens, you’d take better photos, and your business would be more successful

I don’t even want to think about how much money we’ve wasted by buying gear that we didn’t really need.

It all ended up collecting dust in our closet until we sold it for a serious loss.

After a few years of that nonsense, we got wise and started being very, very, very thoughtful about purchasing anything.

Our gear might not get many jealous stares from other photographers, but as long as it’s creating the images we want, that’s all that matters.

It’s the same deal for business purchases. Think carefully before pulling out that credit card.

It’s hard enough to make a solid profit with photography without huge expenses to deal with.

Branding Is Important, But Stationary Is Not
Along with our collection of rarely used equipment is a BIG collection of outdated print materials.

Brochures, packaging, and thousands (yes, thousands) of business cards. All of them are totally useless, and a big waste of money and paper.

When it comes to your branding, creating something personal, unique and consistent is super valuable.

It helps you stand out from other photographers, and communicates who you are.

But when it comes to ordering branded printed products, be careful. Don’t think that the huge order will save you money, because chances are you won’t ever use it all.

This is especially true near the start of your career, when you’ll potentially change your branding a couple times before finding the right fit.

Try to find ways to print smaller runs, or print on demand.
We’ve gone from ordering thousands of business cards, to printing out a couple dozen at a time on our home printer.

If you run out, then you know you’re actually using them, and can order a slightly larger batch.

Get Outside Inspiration
When we first got into professional photography, we were wedding shooters.

We spent countless hours looking at the websites and blogs of other wedding photographers.

We spent tons of time on forums with other wedding photographers.

We spent tons of time on forums with other wedding photographers.

We read wedding magazines, and watched shows about weddings. We basically immersed ourselves completely in that world.