10 Things To Think About Before You Turn Professional

It seems as if everyone you run into is a photographer these days. And part of that is true. With mobile technology, its easier than ever to capture photos and video simply because you always have a camera ready and with you.

And while many people love taking pictures, not everyone with a camera is ready to be a professional, nor do they want to be. They are happy with their day jobs, and are just as happy to take the occasional portrait of a friend or loved one when they ask. They don’t want to worry about marketing or finding clients. They don’t want the responsibility of writing up contracts and buying business insurance.

Yet for some, the thrill grows beyond just snapping a few pictures. They love the art form, and want to use their love of photography to grow something more. They want to share what they do and love with the world.

When you’re ready to move from hobby to professional, it takes a lot more than the photography. Here are 10 things you’ll need to do along the way.

1. Set Up The Business

In order to charge for what you do, you have to set up the business side of things. You can do that as simply as visiting your local government, establishing the business, and taking out a tax license. And you can get a lot more complex with it by filing for corporation status. But in order to keep things legitimate, make sure you take the necessary steps before your first client. The last thing you need is “complications” down the road because you didn’t get things established the right way in the first place.

Dig Deeper: Setting Up Your Photography Business In The Right Way

2. Think About Insurance

When you work for someone else, or buy a home, you sign on the dotted line, and have all the coverage you need. Running your own business is a bit different. You have to have business insurance to cover the cost of doing business. And if you are making this a full time career and don’t have a policy through a spouse, you may have to invest in your own health insurance policy. And finally, think about long term disability as well. If something we’re to happen to you, and you couldn’t pay the bills for 6 months, 1 year or longer, what would you do?

Dig Deeper: How To Lose A Million Dollars In 3 Seconds

3. Be Covered Legally

Every industry has its own set of legal requirements. While a handshake and a smile may have worked years ago, its hard to rely on that today, especially if you are in long term negotiations. Make sure you have a solid contract in place for all types of photography you will cover – portraits are different than weddings. And make sure you have model releases if you will be using your images for anything outside of handing them over to the client. I also use online model releases just to make sure clients know I will be using their images online and approve it. Its not a complicated process, and in many cases you can find examples to follow through other photographers. Be sure to check in with a lawyer to make sure you are fully covered for your circumstances – if its already written, reviewing is much less expensive than going through the entire process.

4. Establish Your Pricing

Don’t just guess at it; make sure you charge what you need to for your photography in order to stay in business. There is an art form to pricing your services and packages. Make sure you price to cover your costs, and to make a healthy profit.

Pricing Your Photography – the best way to build a successful business

5. Have the Right Attitude

Business doesn’t just come to you; you have to work for it. In hard economic times, it may take a bit longer and a lot more work. But if you have the attitude that says “I’ll do it no matter what”, you have a much greater chance of success.

One of the things that sets great business people apart from average one’s is keeping a professional attitude, no matter what. If a client gets on your nerves, you have to learn to handle it in a professional manner. And when you type a word, phrase or entire report online, you have to think of appearances first, not your opinion. Professionalism maintains 24 hours a day, and is affected by everything you do. [Read more…]

7 Tips To Keep In Mind As A Destination Photographer

The idea of traveling to exotic locations to shoot weddings, portraits or commercial work is what most photographers dream of. Where else can you get paid to see some amazing sites around the world?

But like everything, not only does it have its “ups”, it also has a few “downs” to consider.

Whether you’ve been traveling with your photography for years, or are just putting together your very first promotional campaign, keep these tips in mind.

1. Choose your locations carefully

While traveling around the globe is a relatively safe thing to do, keep in mind that some places are easier and safer to travel to than others. It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful place for a wedding than the beaches of the Caribbean. Yet choosing a place like Haiti or Dominican Republic can be more taxing than a place like St Croix. As you are making your plans, do your research first. Search the Internet for current stories, check with the State Department, and look at tourism sites for your chosen location. In just a few minutes you should be able to gain a pretty good feel for the area.

2. Research the area

Once your area has been selected, spend some time learning about the location and the time of year you’ll be visiting. Hawaii is beautiful – unless you get there during rainy season and you experience inches of rain every day. If you know the weather patterns ahead of time, you can quickly plan backups for the just in case. [Read more…]

How To Lose A Million Dollars In 3 Seconds

Times are tough. You haven’t received a pay raise in several years. Maybe your spouse has lost a job. Or you are worried about the longevity of your position, and whether it will be there a few short months from now.

So you decide to shoot a few weddings on the side. Weddings are easy; or so everyone says. Even the guy at the camera shop told you it’s a great way to make a little cash.

So you put the word out there on a few free sites – Craigslist, Facebook etc. And you get your first wedding.

You lowball it, and charge $750 for a full day of photography. You promise the bride a CD with her digital files, which means no true cost to you. So the $750 is pretty much all yours. Right?

The day comes, and everything moves along smoothly. Until “IT” happens.

“IT” can be just about anything.

  • Your camera jams, and with only one camera body, you can’t shoot the rest of the wedding.
  • You rely on one Flash card, and it’s corrupt. Which means the entire wedding disappears.
  • You drop your one and only camera, and it quits working.
  • The bride and groom hate your work.
  • You take the family outside for family portraits, and the grandmother trips and falls over your tripod and ends up in the hospital with a broken hip.

So your first time photo shoot to make a little extra cash turns into a million dollar lawsuit based on a 3 second error. [Read more…]