Starting a photography business seems easy to begin with. All one needs is a good camera, an understanding of photography techniques, a love for photography itself, and the enthusiasm to turn a passionate hobby into a business.
Unfortunately, it really isn’t as simple as that!
The moment a talented amateur photographer makes the decision to become a professional, to earn money from their photographs, he or she ceases to be a photographer and instead becomes a marketer and seller of photography.
The distinction between photographer and businessperson is crucial and understanding of this is essential if the would-be professional has a desire to be successful at selling their photographic work.
Put simply, photographers do not make money taking photographs. They make money selling photographs.
Sadly, the ease of entry into the photography business is so simple that many photographers find themselves asking the question, “how do I start a photography business” after they’ve already discovered that the reality is not as simple as they thought it would be after all!
For those who are new to the photography business, or considering making the jump from being an amateur to professional photographer, there is a structured approach that could save some agony further down the line. This systematic methodology is called “The Six Pillars Of Success” and can apply to almost any small business.
The six pillars are:
Mindset
Positioning
Marketing
SEO
Sales
Client relationships
Mindset
Being in business is not for the faint-hearted or thin-skinned. Because of this, it’s essential to maintain a positive mindset and keep your business goals firmly in sight. Commitment is a big factor here, too, and it’s important to be 100% committed to your success no matter the current circumstances. This also means investing in your continuing business education, and having a forward-thinking mentality that’s focused on your future growth.
Positioning
Knowing where to position oneself in the marketplace is something that will set the aspiring professional photographer apart from the competition. Identifying a photographic genre as a specialty, together with the demographic and personality of the ideal target client are a great start here. A pricing model also helps to determine which of those ideal clients will be willing to invest in the photography services and products on offer.
Marketing
In its most simple form, marketing is the process of earning, and competing for, your ideal clients’ attention. Effective marketing helps to educate your photography prospects about who you are, your values and beliefs, how you conduct business, and how the client can most benefit from the experience of working with you.
SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to the success of any business in this day and age. A photographer might be the most personable and friendly person in the world and produce the most incredible photography their clients could possibly imagine, but that won’t matter one bit if no one can find them online. Even with the most amazing-looking photography website, it’s essential to ensure that the search engines have a good idea of what the website is actually about.
Sales
No one wants to come across as the stereotypical used-car salesman, and if the client senses the photographer might be uncomfortable with his or her own prices or at all nervous about asking for the sale, they will instinctively become much more resistant to the sales process, making the sales job much harder. The answer is to learn how to sell from an ethical standpoint, and with the client’s needs firmly at heart.
Client Relationships
This is where most professional photographers really trip up! They attract the right clients, create beautiful work for them, do a great job of selling it, and then never talk to the client again! This is a huge mistake, and can mean the photographer is stuck in a never-ending quest for new clients. The solution is to stay in touch with your family of valued clients. It’s easy to send them an occasional card in the mail, an email newsletter, or even call them on the telephone just to see how they’re doing.
An Upward Spiral To Success
As you reach the last of the six pillars, you’ll see that a happy family of clients naturally causes you to be happier as a businessperson, which helps create an even stronger positive attitude.
You also get to know your clients in a lot more depth, which then helps you when it comes to positioning yourself and your business in the marketplace.
The process of marketing becomes much simpler and a lot less costly, since you’ll see a lot more benefit from word of mouth marketing.
The SEO for your photography website is also made much simpler because your blog articles, for example, further help the search engines to see you as a local authority.
The sales process becomes easier to manage because you’ve now created a good reputation within the community.
Finally, your family of happy clients will love you more as your photography business becomes more established.
About The Author
Nigel Merrick is a professional photographer, author, blogger and business coach for other working photographers. Learn more about how to start a photography business on the Zenologue photography business and marketing website.
lifelonglearning
aah
greengirlleah
mk-yamal
tourisme-thierache
bobsseo
110percent
irf-cloud
lindco
westhaghe
betfik
roquetasdemar
giganticbrewing
daguitv
109159
encheres-publiques
acvf
176
nomafsi
huayankiji
297215
neuroph
toresolmoto32
thegeektwins
cenop
loudchilli
456430a
bad-belzig
sheto
showfactory
goldenlifemanagement
ts911
kadycreative
penne
mzi8
abb
nvdo
klusdesign
hometownhealth
scheuerle
foodieorder
cities-localgovernments
ventolux
articlezone24
portsunlightvillage
chinasei
amaguiz
leonru
starlinepool
sj
pascalswager
commemoration
ingenius
dopracenabicykli
aucklandrugby
ckwebsitedesign
ysearch
servis-24
schloss-tuernich
bacorecords
fage
a9500
themenustar8
yogateacherscollege
fjellstrand
flamantrailers
santanna
keiochika
bicepsmuscle
advantage-apps
mostbeautifulman
ls1001
driftlessglen
geberit
java-forum-stuttgart
indev
foresthouse
arogyamnutrition
fallkniven
270
bualuang
lausitz-festival
isr-windhagen
superdeck
748188
assfinance
uwdecals
gossipcenter
rebootni
sunderlandcollege
advicetowriters
pattern-recogn-phys
taadolnewspaper
huuskes
lamparea
ultimatespidermangame
burribaut
shchunpu
boutika
ikumon
isotoner
pohjarannik
rdflib
mintsauce
jetbranding
mysuite
fems
ameristep
spack
milblogging
harzklinikum
ernestines
wakasa-mikatagoko
cirquecolors
165
veveri
rvv-cce
uibe
rtihs
rmhhouston
christeris
becauseweb
chocolatewithgrace
kuroishi
propodpiski
dajar
pricedigests
simpl
goodgifts
summonbetball888
maitri
lakearrowheadresort
emwchinese
6mmbr
energy
cafethera
mobilernr
ukslipresistance
inecta
bidalockruline
bctreaty
helieurope
honglincelue
5008ty
e-scrapconference
www-244700
karuka-hosting
szlclaser
ben-nevis
pluscity
web-und-print
authenticnikeseahawkshops
atlantameetings
spiritualresponse
bouley-web
hawta
tajinebanane
themercantile
gukit
vrowl
recoveryourlife
nevatech
nxtlevel
settimanadellapace
stera767s
guvenilirbahissiteleri
poweramericainstitute
bestquotesforinsurance
aslaconference
webmontonmedia
greenroads
847av
naturmuseum
omatka
philosophyforlife
quadrigram
yokohama
dmll
tetra
cameralink
onlinedivingexpo
utu
caperoyale-official
servicesfuneraires
readspeaker
evolable
vincentls
opr88
lutheranpublicradio
powtegic
olomedia
juiceplus
chiro8000
139
manhhungltdco
oepak
guadalupecenters
ohioonlinebettingsites
fedoriv
instm
proflit
wemanageweb
whitelines
reihokan
vossnet
cuvaison
jcdfitness
ingebretsens
magnolia
vanwezel
hi-yorokonde
esdes
alp1n3
avsl
vitruvi
hmx
pitstopusa
niolifestyles
sredusolutions
atc
mtl15
conroy
whatifshow
monks
instamotor
geckorobotics
icbnzbai
lionware
jbhmp
goshacmd
chenzhaoshebei
bernardoamorim
scriptsbundles
marlbank
promotraffic
travemuende-aktuell
okwin7
formes-vives
dajulongdiban
bestowbeauty
codeandomexico
mebehliyetsinavsorulari
creativeintelligence
symteknoloji
reprolegaldefensefund
evisos
irisheconomy
ezwin
exchange-rates
ynakx
andreas-lenne
imparadigitale
nestle
microfocuslearning
anwaltskanzlei-freising
gymsupply
zoho
archiliste
yeezy-700
heheshouyou
skintwo
posec
clsystems
bindtuning
countyofrenfrew
riucaribecancun
zelros
pkwteile
sensorshome
vulkan-verlag
hm
hancock
zsalsa
stop-ting
san-marcos
you-prize
arnprior
luxuryhomes
sti-cs
hanexsolidsurfaces
topbuild
followgram
aiyangedu
szcszl
vvenues
umisora
soyx123
mhlg
xn--1–olctzhel7g
rusgeology
londonwebgirl
yylseed
vifaka
tms
738803
t61
duckshockeyshop
vogt-tec
ptfeplastic
jung
monthlyguitarcoach
kodutuleohutuks
conwaykennels
umusic-mail
otovo
