How to Start a Photography Business
If you are a creative person who’s in love with photography, starting a photography business has probably crossed your mind at some point in your life. Starting a photography business has an essential business aspect that prospective photography enthusiasts might not know much about. But it is equally important as the skills and practical knowledge you possess. Keep reading to learn more about starting a photography business.
First, you should start by choosing a photography niche – we will discuss some of the popular niches later. Then, you should focus on creating a comprehensive business plan, as it is the base of your business. It also duals as a guide. After choosing the niche and creating a business plan, you should deal with the legal stuff, such as choosing a suitable business structure, choosing an appropriate business name and registering your business. After finishing all that, you should focus on getting the necessary equipment and supplies. And finally, you should advertise your business – this is a crucial step in today’s highly digital world.
Table of Contents
Choose a photography niche
When considering starting a photography business, one of the first things you should do is choose a photography niche. Starting a photography business without a specific niche is too vague. The world of photography is super diverse, offering plenty of niches. You should choose one or two to start with before moving to the next actionable step of creating a solid business plan. Regarding the different photography niches, there are a few popular choices, such as wedding, family or stock photography, to name just a few. Depending on your education and goal, you can even consider teaching photography. What you can also include is renting out photo booths or photography backdrops. That is an excellent way of making some extra passive income. For example, people in Australia have gone crazy for photo booth hire in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Create a business plan
After deciding on the niche for your photography business, you can move to the next step of creating a business plan. A business plan is the single most important document for any kind of business, and you shouldn’t skip it. To grow your business effectively, you need to know where you are and where you are going. Developing a unique and customised business plan requires you to focus on your goals and ways to achieve them. To draft a solid plan that is practical, insightful and actionable, you should be aware of a few things such as your business structure, your target audience, your business name and other things.
Deal with the legal stuff
When it comes to starting a business, there is always a bunch of business stuff you need to deal with. Some of the most essential things include choosing a proper business structure, choosing a plausible business name and registering your business.
When it comes to choosing a business structure, you should first decide whether you will be a sole proprietor or a corporation. Both have their benefits and drawbacks – you should find out more about each before deciding which option is better for you.
Regarding your business name, some photographers already have a perfect name, while others need some time to think of a perfect business name. Coming up with an idea, witty and unique business name takes work; sometimes, people need quite a bit of time to complete this step.
When you have these things figured out, you can move to register your business. Sometimes, you can even register your business online from the comfort of your home.
Get the necessary equipment and supplies
For almost all photographers, dealing with the previously mentioned steps takes time and effort. Most of them look forward to the step of getting the necessary equipment and supplies. Photography equipment is considered a rabbit hole, so you should read about choosing good quality equipment for a reasonable price online. Besides the apparent camera equipment, you should also get other necessities, including all kinds of helpful camera add-ons. You don’t have to get all the things at once – you can start with the basics and expand as your business grows.
Advertise your business
The final step to starting a photography business is developing a plausible marketing strategy to let people know about your business and the services you offer. You should have an intuitive and appealing website and create various marketing materials. Also, you should upload your portfolio – this is how prospective clients will see your work and decide to hire you. You should use all the relevant social media channels for advertising.
Starting a photography business is not an easy thing as it might seem. There are plenty of things to keep in mind to start a successful photography business.
