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How To Create a Studio Anywhere

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This post is Day 10 of 30 Ways In 30 Days To Redesign Your Life With Photography. This series seeks to provide you with practical steps to get you from wherever you are today, to exactly where you want to be – this year! If your goal has always been to take your photography to a whole new level, hang on and start enjoying a new lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

Maybe you don’t want to open up a part of your house to customers – you want your house to be your home. Or maybe your city won’t let you run a business out of your home where you have clients come on a regular basis.

You can’t afford to lease a commercial property – how do you go down that road when you barely have enough clients to make ends meet?

So what do you do?

In today’s world, it’s easier than ever. Not having a studio isn’t a detriment; in some cases, it can actually be a distinct advantage.

Stability … Or Not

Having a studio can mean stability. You can put backdrops and props where you want them to be. You can set up your camera equipment and your lighting all in a position you can leave day after day. You have total control. Everything will always be where you put it, and nothing will ever change.

That can be good. And bad.

When we leased our first commercial studio, it was an old dance studio. So we had a huge room with wooden floors, high ceilings, and lots of room to work. We put up backdrop after backdrop, and began accumulating props.

Then we decided to move to a different part of town, and we were shocked at the amount of stuff we had accumulated. So we started to downsize. Instead of studio space, we rented office space. And decided to do all of our photography offsite, and only use our commercial space for meeting prospect and clients.

And we never looked back.

In fact within a couple of years, we closed down our office space, and moved everything back home. Why? Because we simply didn’t use it anymore.

The World Is Your Studio

Think about mainstream photographers right now. You know, the one’s with a lot of backing, that appear in the valuepaks delivered to your door. The discount stores and big box locations that offer discount portraits at the front of the store. You come in, wait an hour in line, stand on the X, move to the sales area and sit through a high-pressure sales pitch to buy everything or have it deleted. Then go home unhappy and unsatisfied. Yep, it happens every day. That is the norm in studio portraiture right now.

And that’s why we decided to never take another portrait like that again. The thing the big box stores can’t do is provide highly customized portraits, and highly personalized customer service. They don’t have time, and it’s not in their mission. They want the bucks as fast as they can get it to create a healthy bottom line.

While I use the example of portrait photography, the same holds true across the board. By providing highly specialized services, you never risk being compared to someone else. Whether you have a studio and love it, or choose to make the world your studio, the most important thing you can do is customize.

Then realize that it’s not where you are located. Rather it’s about what you can provide.

The First Step Is Control

Just because you’ll meet clients anywhere doesn’t mean you can’t be in control. You just have to approach it in different ways.

As a studio owner, you are the professional. You own the business, and the entire process is up to you. So never leave it up to your clients to decide where to take the portrait, or where to meet for an initial consultation. If you ran a brick and mortar business, they would come to you, no questions asked. It doesn’t have to change just because you don’t.

By choosing where to meet, you are also deciding how much time to dedicate to a meeting. If you don’t want to drive half way across town to meet, choose a coffee shop or restaurant closer to you. Scout out areas that meet your requirements. Find a spot that is:

  • Quiet and intimate
  • Provides wifi if you need it
  • Creates a professional image

Is close to you and easily accessible

Then when you are talking about setting up a meeting, take control over the location and time. I usually say something like:

“I generally meet my clients at ABC Coffee Shop at this address. I’m available Monday at 3, or Wednesday at 1. Which works better for you?”

By taking control up front, you’ll rarely be questioned, and this will become your norm.

You can use the same philosophy with your portrait locations. Find out what a client is interested in, and make suggestions. If they enjoy nature, have a few parks lined up. If they enjoy a more elegant setting, have buildings or architectural settings lined up. Give them a couple of choices, and plan your session.

If you do choose to meet in a client’s home, make sure you are compensated for the distance. You don’t have to charge a special fee – just make sure your prices are high enough to absorb the costs of travel.

Start With Your Virtual Presence

While its important to control how you meet with someone face to face, what’s even more important is how you meet with someone in the virtual world.

Today it’s possible to book clients, do the work, create a sale, and deliver a final product without meeting a client face to face. In a commercial setting, a client can easily view your portfolio online, book your services, ship you their products, select their final images and have you ship the products and your final work back to them. You only meet online and possibly by phone.

What matters more than ever is how people view you when they don’t actually see you or meet with you. People will now form an opinion about you without you there to guide it. So you must guide it by the work you put into your virtual presence.

  • Your website.
  • Your social sites.
  • Your voice mail.

Everything needs to direct people to the next step, and provide them with the details they need when they want it. For example, if they find you on Facebook, they should easily be able to connect to your website and blog for more information about who you are and what you do. Your branding should hold through from place to place. And when they call to chat with you by phone, your voicemail should direct them back to your online portfolio.

Everything should work together. And be completely under your control. You’ll be more confident going into the meeting. And will be able to showcase better customer service because you can move securely from task to task without thinking twice about your next move.

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Setting Up Your Photography Business In The Right Way

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This post is Day 8 of 30 Ways In 30 Days To Redesign Your Life With Photography. This series seeks to provide you with practical steps to get you from wherever you are today, to exactly where you want to be – this year! If your goal has always been to take your photography to a whole new level, hang on and start enjoying a new lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

It’s a big step to go from “job” to “entrepreneur”.

When you have a job, everything is built into the structure of the work environment. They pay you on a regular basis; they take out money for your taxes, insurance, retirement; and you can count on having weekends, holidays, sick time and vacation days. Not so with a photography business.

If you rely 100 percent on your photography for your income, you are in charge of everything. Creating enough sales to provide your salary. You have to take out the taxes and forward them to the appropriate agency, find the best insurance policy, workman’s comp issues if you have employees, and set up your own retirement account. Sick time? If you have a wedding scheduled, you’ll be there no matter what you feel like. Vacation time? Chances are you’ll be checking email and communicating with clients no matter where you are.

Are you reconsidering? [Read more…]

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Moving From Hobby To Business: What It Takes To Get To The Next Level

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This post is Day 5 of 30 Ways In 30 Days To Redesign Your Life With Photography. This series seeks to provide you with practical steps to get you from wherever you are today, to exactly where you want to be – this year! If your goal has always been to take your photography to a whole new level, hang on and start enjoying a new lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

A hobby can be different things to different people.

It might mean taking a camera along on vacations and to family events, snapping up a few images.

It might be taking a few portraits or shooting a few weddings for people you know, making very little, and doing it more for a portfolio.

However you define it, I tend to look at the way the IRS defines it.

The IRS presumes that an activity is carried on for profit if it makes a profit during at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year. A person should be able to able to determine if its hobby or business by asking the following questions:

  • Does the time and effort put into the activity indicate an intention to make a profit?
  • Does the taxpayer depend on income from the activity?
  • If there are losses, are they due to circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control or did they occur in the start-up phase of the business?
  • Has the taxpayer changed methods of operation to improve profitability?
  • Does the taxpayer or his/her advisors have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful business?
  • Has the taxpayer made a profit in similar activities in the past?
  • Does the activity make a profit in some years?
  • Can the taxpayer expect to make a profit in the future from the appreciation of assets used in the activity?

For me, your photography turns from hobby to business the minute you decide you want it to be a business. If you feel you can in any way generate income from taking photographs, and you are ready to set out on the adventure called entrepreneurship, then you are ready to start a photography business. [Read more…]

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OMG, I Can’t Really Do This, Can I?

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This post is Day 3 of 30 Ways In 30 Days To Redesign Your Life With Photography. This series seeks to provide you with practical steps to get you from wherever you are today, to exactly where you want to be – this year! If your goal has always been to take your photography to a whole new level, hang on and start enjoying a new lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of.

Have you reached this point yet? It’s the sudden realization that you are making a change in your life – a BIG change – and the weight of it all comes crashing down on you like a ton of bricks. You may momentarily start questioning your overall sanity. You’ll probably ask things like:

  • Am I crazy? What was I thinking?
  • Nobody around me does this, what made me think I could?
  • I’m screwing up my entire life.
  • I don’t know any of this, there’s no way I can make this succeed.

Once you start asking these questions, then the real fun starts. Your imagination takes hold, thoughts start to fly, and you come up with every bad scenario in the world. Only huge risk takers do things like this. What if your savings account disappears? You’ll soon be homeless, penniless, and friendless – after all, who would want to hang out with someone who takes this kind of risk?

You literally start freaking out.

Don’t worry. This happens to everyone.

When you start reaching beyond your comfort zone, the fear starts in. And if you let it get the best of you, your mind puts the breaks on, and holds you back. The world in front of you suddenly looks too big to charge into, so you do what any sensible person would do and hold back. And the funny thing is we may even know it and be able to define it. Yet that still doesn’t help. We’re still enthralled with it.

I received an email from Jeffrey who defined it this way.

“I’ve been doing photography for almost nine years and I’ve been wanting to sell my work to galleries, private collectors, business, etc, yet I haven’t a clue where to begin. Part of what’s holding me back may be fear of failure (even though I’m extremely confident about my photographic skills). I’ve even gone as far as building a business, a website, pricing for my work, printing, matting, and framing some of my work, networking, etc, yet for some reason I can’t seem to figure out what the next step is.”

In just those couple of sentences, I can tell Jeffrey loves photography. He’s very passionate about what he does, and probably photographs on a daily basis (or close to). He loves the photography side, and has been dreaming of doing it for a living for nine years now. He can see himself as a photographer, and imagines it over and over again while he’s doing the fun stuff: photographing, putting together his portfolio, and even talking to people about it.

But what he’s afraid of is the business side. How do you set up a business – do you incorporate? Do you need a tax license? How do you run an accounting system? How do you sell to clients? How do you find clients? How do you motivate someone to take the next step and book you? How do you create packages they will love, and be happy to spend money with you – lots of money hopefully?

While Jeffrey may not be asking all of these questions, I bet he can quickly list out a variety of business related questions that are holding him back. And I bet you can too.

How To Beat Fear of Failure

The first thing to realize is if you are freaking out, it’s a good thing. It means you are taking a chance on something new, and it’s allowing you to grow in many ways. You can do this; it may be hard to do, and you may have little support around you, but you can do it. And if you truly think about it, what’s the worst that could happen?

Yep, I know one studio that taxed their products incorrectly for over three years. When a city auditor came in for an audit, they were hit with a $30,000 tax bill. That was definitely bad news, and it almost cost them their business – how do you come up with that much money? But on the flip side, it was a good thing. Think of how much money they made – they made a ton if they had to pay over $30,000 in taxes, right? And while this could have destroyed their business, it actually made them stronger. They learned from their mistake – okay, it was actually a disagreement with the city and they didn’t win – but they learned. And they moved forward with new knowledge.

And that’s really all we can do. If you are afraid to take the next step, you’ll have nothing to learn. And nothing to show for it. Even if a step takes you into a bad situation, I bet you’ll learn from it. So why not take that next step?

Think Small, Not Big

If the future is too overwhelming, just take one step at a time. If you’ve been waiting nine years for something, declare this is your year, and take one step at a time.

Don’t over-plan; just do one thing to get you closer to where you want to be.

Fill out the paperwork to declare yourself a business – here in the US, all paperwork is online at the Secretary of State within your location. Download it, fill it out and send it in. One day’s worth of work – and one check mark.

If you want to get into galleries, and don’t know how to begin, start with one. Pick out one gallery you would love to have your work in, and go talk to the manager. Ask how they pick their artists. What do they look for? Share your work and ask how you can make it better. And if you talk to one gallery owner that refuses to share with you, go to the next one. Most people are willing to talk and share. Find one who will spend 30 minutes with you and find out steps you can take to get there.

The key is taking one step. Find one person that can answer a question, or give you advice. And if you hear “no”, move to another. Don’t get discouraged. You’ll eventually find your “yeses” if you don’t give up when you hear your “no’s”.

Your Homework:

1. Commit to moving forward.

2. Find one person to talk to that can bring you closer to your goal.

3. Write down what is truly holding you back. What are you really afraid of? This can be a difficult exercise, but stick with it. Keep asking yourself and digging deeper to find the true problem. Then create a detailed plan to fix it. “Setting up the business” is monumental. But if you break it down into workable goals – “get a tax license” and “get a lawyer to incorporate” – it becomes much more manageable.

4. Acknowledge your feelings, and work to get around it. Its okay to be scared. It’s okay to feel stuck. But being stuck forever won’t get you anywhere. Acknowledge your fear, and commit to doing one thing a day to get unstuck.

It’s the only way you’ll make 2011 better than last year.

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Are You Being Set Up For Failure?

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I love using social media. In fact, I’m a little addicted to it. I’ll admit I wake up at 4 am with ideas for my blog, or ways to engage people on our Facebook account. I keep a notebook on my end table so I can record my ideas and get back to sleep – it sure beats lying there thinking about things, hoping I’ll remember.

Anyway, one of the reasons I love social media is the connection you can make with people all over the world. When people post comments, ask questions, or even disagree with what I’ve said, I take it to heart and listen to what they have to say. I’m always open for changing my opinion if I have another way to look at things.

So a comment came through a day or so ago that made me think.

“I think you’re giving false hope to a lot of people out there who simply will never make money at photography.”

Hmmm… I had to think about that one for a while.

The Road To Failure

In some ways I suppose it could be true.

I started this site with one goal – to teach people how to make money with photography. Yet I know by releasing it online, anyone can read it. So if you are a professional photographer working full time, you can read it. If you are a professional photographer working part time, you can read it. If you are an amateur wanting to start your own business, you can read it. And if you just love photography, and put the concept of owning your own photography business somewhere in your dreams, you can read it too.

To me, false hope is giving someone advice that simply can never come true. So if I taught you how to travel to Mars, at this point in time, that cannot come true. So that would be false hope.

But if I give you advice on something I have accomplished, and thousands upon thousands of other people have accomplished, it really isn’t false hope, is it?

[Read more…]

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The Best Photographic Equipment To Bring With You

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There are two questions I get asked almost on a daily basis. One, what do I name my photography business. And two, what equipment do I need to start a photography business. I’ve written about both several times:

Photography Disaster Protection and Recovery – Are You Prepared?
Equipment List

Starting a photography business can be challenging, especially when you have so many choices. But ultimately bodies and lenses come down to personal preference. Same with equipment. Instead of listing out a series of bodies and lenses, what I thought I’d do today is head out and see what others recommend, and find some great tips to help you build up your own equipment list. Is there really a magic lens, a perfect camera body, the right props, or the best tripod? Or is there more to it than that? Read on.

Ready to head out on safari? I found this great article: The Best Photographic Equipment To Bring on Safari. Interesting Tip: bring along a photographic beanbag, which can be even more useful than a tripod. Allows you to find stability in a quick way.

Photo by Lee Chisholm

Are you a wedding photographer? Bring along your gaffers tape. I found a great tip in Equipment for Wedding Photographers that listed gaffers tape as one of the most useful tools at a wedding. You can tape down a veil, cover a power cord, or hold together a bowtie.

[Read more…]

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Top 5 Business Mistakes Every New Photographer Makes

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Business Mistakes Every New Photographer Makes

Thinking of opening up a photography studio? Or maybe you have a studio, yet it isn’t bringing in much business. What can you do about it? What should you do to move forward, and what can you avoid?

Here are the top 5 business mistakes that I see every new photographer make.

1. Staying in the scared zone too long.
You want a client or two to build up your portfolio. You want some experience before you raise your prices. You test the waters of a business before you actually tell people you have a business. In other words, you leave it as a hobby for a long time because you’re too scared of what will happen if you make it a true business.

Starting a business can be scary. What if it grows too fast? What if it doesn’t? But living in the scared zone for too long simply cuts off your momentum. If you’re going to do it, just do it. The rest will fall into place.

2. Ignore the marketing.
You may need a business card to hand out, so you print up a free set on your computer. Outside of that you let everything else slide. You may think you don’t need fancy postcards or brochures, or a great website to build up your portfolio – that will come down the road. But if you don’t start out at the beginning with a great professional look to your business, when will it come?

Think marketing first. How do you want to look to your customers? How do you want them to perceive your business? And more importantly, how would you like them to refer you? There’s a huge difference between someone saying, “I found a really cheap photographer that’s just starting out and she’ll give you a deal” and “I found a very professional studio that takes amazing portraits – I would highly recommend her, check out her site.”

3. Buy for the future.
If you are a professional, you have to have what the professionals use. Don’t skimp and buy a Canon Rebel instead of a Canon EOS. Don’t by a consumer grade package of lenses. Don’t choose Elements instead of Photoshop or Lightroom to save money. Save and invest in the best equipment upfront – it will last you a lot longer over time. And allow you to do a ton more.

4. Work on the business.
Photography is fun – that’s why you’ve decided to go into business. But opening up a studio isn’t all photography – its business too. You have to wear every hat, especially if you are a solo business owner. You’ll have to invoice your clients, and pay the bills. You’ll have to do the production, and do the filing. You’ll have to handle all the sales meetings. And then you’ll also get to do the fun stuff – photographing.

If you aren’t sure how to build a business, find someone who can. Hire a coach. Buy a coaching program. Visit your local SBA office. And start reading books and magazines on the business side as well.

5. Jump quickly.
What if you had five new clients come into your studio this week? What if you had 10? How about 25?

What’s the worst that could happen? You may get completely overwhelmed at first, but I’m willing to bet you would come up with a system pretty quickly. Instead of sitting around Photoshopping one client’s files for 10 hours, you would probably find a way to get it done in 1. Or hire it out.

In other words, it would make you very efficient very quickly. Because you would have no choice.

So don’t worry about what may happen, or how something might affect you. Just do it. You’ll be amazed at the results.

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Moving From Hobby To Business With Your Photography

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The statistics overwhelmingly show that people love their cameras.

  • 77% of U.S. households own at least one digital camera.
  • Almost 120 million cameras were sold in 2009, with digital SLRs having a 30% growth in sales.
  • The average consumer takes 72 digital photographs at each event they attend.
  • They share 55% of all photos taken by email.
  • And 40% post their images online at sites like Facebook and Snapfish.

So why not take something you love anyway and turn it into a business? Maybe not a full time business, but something you can make money at here and there.

Increasingly, that’s what the photography industry is facing.

As a business coach to photographers for over 8 years now, I’m seeing more and more people making the jump. Though this site is filled with information and ideas on building the business, here are the 7 things you need to do right now to put this into action.

1. What are your goals? Do you want to photograph a few family and friends on the side, and make enough for a nice night on the town once in awhile? Or do you have hopes of turning this into a full time, successful career? Knowing this up front will dictate how you approach your business.

how to turn a hobby to a photography business

2. Choose the right name for your photography business. Once you know your goals, come up with a name that helps you meet your goals. The larger you want to become, the more time you should put into naming your photography business. A small business may only register it with the state or your local area. But a studio with larger goals should secure the domain name, and register a trademark to block others from using it too.

3. Look at it like a business. Find mentors in your specialty or niche. Want to go into weddings? Find a few where you love their work; follow them online, attend their classes, and meet them at tradeshows. Use them as your guidance to grow.
[Read more…]

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Naming Your Photography Business – An Advanced Guide

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One of the most popular questions that finds its way into my email box and throughout my various social sites is: What’s a good name for my photography business?

I’ve touched on a lot of issues in two of my posts:

What Should I Name My Photography Business?

Choosing The Right Name For Your Photography Business

But there are several other things you should think about when you’re deciding on a name, and a few resources you should keep in mind.

Will you be trademarking your name?
Twenty years ago, your photography business would only be in competition with other photographers in your local area. Not true anymore. Now you’re in competition with photographers from all over the world. If you travel regularly as a wedding photographer (as we did starting in the mid 1990’s) your branding extends well beyond local lines. Trademarking your name gives you added protection of having someone come in and choosing something similar, and trying to ride on your coattails. It’s also important as you expand into multiple areas: books, gift products, artwork, etc. What do I name my photography business

You can trademark your name and any branding material, such as a logo. While there are many companies and law offices out there that will help you with the trademarking process, two of my favorite sites are Nolo and the USPTO. Nolo is a legal site filled with all kinds of help for small businesses. You can order books, legal forms, and even find a lawyer in your area if that’s your next step. They have a great book on Trademarking that gives you everything you need to know about the trademark process and protecting your name. The USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) has a ton of information on trademarking. They have an online search function that allows you to put in your name ideas, and see if anyone else has trademarked it. And once you file for trademark status, you can follow it online as well.
[Read more…]

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The Missing Ingredient To Your Photography Dreams

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Last night we had dinner with some very dear friends. We met them over 15 years ago at a bridal expo, and have been friends ever since.

They’ve been in the photography industry for over 30 years now, and I have to say they are in love with it as much now as they were when we met them. They’ve changed direction along the way, and are doing things completely different even from a few short years ago. But sitting with them is a motivating experience. They love what they do. They never run out of ideas. And they always reach their goals because of their passion.

So last night I started thinking about what separates photographers like them from other photographers. And I came up with five characteristics – or ingredients you have to have to find success in this business. 

The Missing Ingredient To Your Photography Dreams

1. Dreams. The first ingredient is where everyone starts. It starts with your dream of doing something different and meaningful in your life. You can’t accept what you already have. You have to dream of where you want to be. The more vivid your dreams, the easier you’ll be able to make them a reality.
[Read more…]

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