One of the most lucrative and fun ways to blend a hobby with a home-based business is becoming a professional photographer. Almost everyone enjoys taking photos, but for some people it is much more than a casual hobby: they love perfecting their shooting technique, learning how to improve their workmanship, choosing adequate equipment, and they are not satisfied until they produce amazing, professional looking photos. These people are the most likely to succeed in opening a home-based photography business.
If you are one of these people, we will teach you everything you need to know about setting up and launching your independent career as a photographer. Even though it sounds an easy way to make a consistent income, you need to remember that you do need to be diligent, dedicated and willing to work hard to make your business work.
This being said, here are some steps you need to follow to open your photography home business. Lights, camera, action!
1. Identify the Niche You Want to Fill
Photography is a vast business field. There are photographers specialized in baby photos, wedding photographers, nature photographers, and so on. In choosing your niche you need to consider two issues: the number of potential clients you may have and how specialized you are in that respective field of photography.
For example, there is a continuous demand for wedding photography, and this is why there are a lot of wedding photographers – this means a lot of competition for you. On the other hand, there are not a lot of freelance wildlife photographers, but it is also harder to sell these photos, unless you manage to sign an agreement with a stock photos website or a nature magazine.
2. Determine What Type of Equipment You Need
The photography niche you select will determine the type of equipment you need. For example, a portrait studio needs lighting, backdrops, a tripod and different camera lenses (for full body and extreme close-up photos).
Experienced photographers advise having a back-up camera, because you need to be covered in any kind of situation (malfunctions during a photo session for a client). You will also have to invest in photo-editing software such as Photoshop and Lightroom.
3. Build Your Portfolio
Create accounts on social media specialized in sharing images, and create your portfolio from the best photos you have in your archive (even if they are not projects for clients). Besides Instagram and Pinterest, you should also create user profiles on websites dedicated to graphic designers and photographers, such as Behance and DeviantArt.
4. Invest in a Professional Looking Website
As a photographer you are judged by potential clients starting with the home page of your website. This is why you must have a professional looking website with great design and graphics, amazing user experience, and a carefully organized portfolio. You should also link your social media profiles to your website – this is good for SEO and also for building and growing your personal brand.
5. Set Your Prices
The price per photo or per photo session should be determined taking into account your expenses, your income expectations, and also the prices set by other photographers in your niche. As a beginner, you need to determine a pricing policy which is not in the top tier, but which also ensures that you can cover your expenses and obtain a satisfactory monthly income.
6. Invite Friends to View and Share Your Portfolio
Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. This is why you need to enlist the help of everyone who knows you, by inviting them to have a look at your online portfolio, leave a comment and share it on their own social media pages. In this way, you can reach more people and start an effective online marketing campaign.
And now, all you need to do is be prepared and overcome every challenge you have to face as a professional photographer. Good luck!