It is said that pictures speak a thousand words. That is without a shadow of doubt true. This is because of the fact that pictures do keep great memories that words cannot. The advent of the photography business dates back to a centuries ago. This is one arts trade that can be started with small capital. Initially, all that would be required would be the money to get trained by a professional, as well as the money you will need to procure a good camera.
There are loads of opportunities in this trade; and you can specialize in some areas. Some of the areas that you may consider focusing on include; the wedding photography, Sports photography, child photography, nature photography, and all what not.
Is Starting a Photography Business Right for You?
Among the countless challenges that an entrepreneur has to face throughout his or her career, the biggest and the most flustering is perhaps answering the fundamental question that concerns all those who are involved with entrepreneurship. “Is starting a business really the right thing to do?”
Photography Based Entrepreneurship
When it comes to building a business based on photography, the approach to entrepreneurship has to be reconsidered. You cannot simply go out all guns blazing and keep firing in all cylinders. Your approach must be one that is of a cautious, tentative and analytical nature.
Going with the flow will certainly not reap rewards for you when you are trying to start a photography business. Using your photography skills or those of other people, and turning it into a source of income generation is not nearly as simple and uncomplicated as selling happy hour meals in a fast food restaurant.
The Right Mentality
What exactly is this mentality that you are supposed to possess and which is supposed to bring you the goods in this field? Well, it all depends upon your perception of photography and your love for it. If you go around and ask entrepreneurs in the photography field, they will tell you that photography is their passion. This is quite a generic answer which you expect to come out of the mouth of any entrepreneur who is turning a craft into a business.
However, you need to ask yourself how their passion is any different from that of a professional photographer who is working in the field day and night, and serving as the obedient employee in a well reputed organization or is engaged in freelancing. In other words, you need to figure out what makes an entrepreneur in the field of photography different from a professional photography whose love for the craft is clearly evident. The biggest difference between the two lies in their perception of photography.
Photography Is No Longer a Primitive Art
We are currently living in the modern age of photography where the profession now hardly draws comparisons to primitive arts such as sculpting and painting. Unlike the primitive arts, photography is advancing at an astronomical rate courtesy of mammoth and rapid developments in the field of technology.
One of the primary rules of entrepreneurship is to take advantage of anything and everything that is on the rise and which is worthy of being considered a hot commodity. When a person turns the art of photography into a business, he or she does not necessarily do so out of the desperation or lust for money. He or she is simply an opportunist, who is hitting two birds with one stone.
The entrepreneur who runs a photography business has the distinct privilege of being involved in the industry which he or she is emotionally connected to, while transforming his or her much beloved craft into a product or a service that is worthy of giving the products or services of major corporations a run for their money.
Being a Photography Talent Vs Photography Promoter – What’s the Difference?
Gone are the days when people believed in the binary economic system of talent and promoters. Any person, who possessed commendable expertise in a craft, was considered talent, and any person who marketed this talent was considered to be a promoter or an entrepreneur.
In other words, the world was made up of two kinds of people; those who earned a living out of their creativity and exceptionality and those who made a living by selling the art of talented people. Marketing talent was the old school approach towards entrepreneurship. Such an approach will hardly be of any benefit to you if you are conceptualising the idea of launching your own photography business. If your intentions are to make a fast back out of the extraordinary faculties of another human being, then your photography business is destined for failure.
Starting a Photography Business – The Marketing Plan
- Marketing ideas and Strategies for a Photography Business
Building a photography business depends on how you understand the business, while talent is essential; it is not a guarantee of a successful business career. While running a photography business, you have to know what is coming in and going out as related to finance, so as to help make you profitable.
This also means that you have to be mindful of the reputation you build through the offering of quality products and services; and also know how to attract new clients as well as retain current customers so as to turn a profit.
Most business people think that advertising is marketing but it isn’t. Advertising is part of a marketing strategy, and means placing ads in different forms of media to promote awareness, attract new business, or encourage people into taking a specific decision. Every other thing that is done after an advertisement can be referred to as marketing, especially when it has to do with your brand which is regarded as your reputation.
Here are some tips that can be adopted by you as marketing strategies for your photography business.
- Plan the customer experience by introducing yourself and services, and accompanying it with a thank you card at the end of every assignment.
- Allow your customers use the social media to market your photography business with their testimonials.
- Use the social media yourself by posting your photographs on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and tagging friends and family members who are likely to tag their own friends and families as well, thereby creating a huge referral service for you.
- Ensure you appreciate those that comment positively on your works.
- Network with other photographers in your area or region, so as to get tips on how to improve your business.
- Even though anyone can be called a photographer in his age, ensure that you differentiate yourself by getting to know the basic essentials, such as how to compose images and achieve proper exposure.
- Write books and articles on photography
- Engage in direct marketing
Factors That Will Help You Get the Right Service Pricing for your Photography Business
While most creative photographers do not like to refer to the pricing of their products, it is however, regarded as an important part of running the photography business. As photographer, you cannot just set your prices as you can’t be sure that your prices are realistic, appropriate or profitable.
The factors that should determine your pricing as a photographer running a business is the quality of your work, your perceived value in the market place as well as the perceived value of your photographs, your confidence, what your competitors are charging and how much it cost to produce a photograph.
