Need help starting my business

[jlm1439]

I just had a few questions about starting up a photography business. If someone would be interested in talking with me please let me know.
Thanks
Jamie

[jerryph]

Jamie, this is an international forum, so though some advice would be the same, a lot would be different.

I suppose that the obvious should be said:
- you have to at the VERY least have the basics down. If you cannot explain aperture, DOF, SS, ISO as easily as taking in a breath... you are NOT ready to open a business.

- you need to have a certain level of competance and that comes with experience. That means at least 2 years behind a dSLR camera to me, possibly more. I am thinking 50,000-100,000 focused practiced pictures is not a lot and I would consider that as a bare minimum.

- If you are thinking weddings, it means at least 5-10 weddings as a second photographer with a COMPETANT professional. More is better.

- it means having a portfolio, a blog, a website of professional level caliber. Yes, there are pros out there without them, but NONE of the successful photographers out there are without any of these tools. Do it properly, or do not bother even trying.

- it means having a certain level of quality equipment. A low end dSLR and a $50 flash is NOT going to give you professional results. It will get you unhappy clients, though, and that will just help disillusion you and frustrate you. Have good quality equipment, and you must have a backup of everything. The most successful professionals have 2, 3 or more backups of everything that they will ever need on a job.

- The hard one: It takes a certain level of maturity. Though there are exceptions, adults have a HARD time paying a 14-17 year old young man or woman professional rates. I was a world class musician by the age of 14, got a BA by 16 and was ready for a Master's degree before 17. Irrespective of that, I was not taken seriously as a musician until I was past 25. Sad fact was that by age 25, I wasn't 1/10th the musician at 30, that I was at 12. That's just life, and is nothing permanent.

- want to be a pro? Act like one. That means having a registered business, paying taxes and having insurance that covers not just the equipment, but liability. If you ever angered a client enough to get sued, it could cost you everything.

- know the local laws. Does a professional need a license to shoot in a location? Do you need model or copyright releases? Canada and the USA, for example, have WILDLY different copyright laws. If you live in one and ever shoot in the other, you must know whatever the local laws state.

Finally... the BUSINESS of photography has very little to do with pressing a shutter. A course in business is almost mandatory. Being able to deal with difficult clients successfully on a daily basis is like breathing air for the pro photographer. Having neither experience nor a business education will practically guarantee you incredible difficults as best. A failed business at worst.

Talking about failed businesses... no business plan that outlines your goals from day 1 to anything from 2-5 years into the future (in DETAIL)... that is a guarantee of difficulties or failure as well. It also guarantees you that any business loan you may want or need has a 100% chance of failure without one.

I could write a book about this, but this should be enough to give you a little food for thought. :)

Feel free to ask more specific questions if you wish. I find that 90% of people that start thinking about a business... have no real idea about what is REALLY involved. It is not easy, it is not glamorous... it is a hard and demanding job. If you want success, you can consider it nothing more. Doesn't mean you cannot have fun on your job... but you can never consider photography as your hobby ever again.

[jlm1439]

I know exactly what I want to do. I do not want to do weddings. I am currently a labor and delivery nurse and so I am going to focus on maternity, labor and delivery, newborns and kids. o
I own a Nikon D300 and have taken classes.
My questions all come about the business side of things. Paying taxes, getting a license, do I need to get a resale tax license, if I bought my camera in Nov of 2008 and I got get a business license tomorrow how do I go about deducting my camera?

[jesse]

What a great reply by jerryph, but it might well be that one may start a home based business in photography to help compensate for the investment in equipment and education over the first years. The tax benefits could be worth the cost of getting a local business permit.

For me opening a small home based photography business wouldn't be about making money, but following my heart. I may not have $5,000 invested in photo equipment yet but if your doing what you love, life is much more enjoyable.
I opened a small business last year looking after peoples homes while they are absent. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. I didn't have one customer when first starting out but I was ready for them when they needed me. Now I have 10, not much but it provides an income and "I am the boss" lol I "needed" a camera so why not buy a Cannon DSLR? I can write it off. anyways.....

Enjoy today and listen to your heart.

[jerryph]

My questions all come about the business side of things. Paying taxes, getting a license, do I need to get a resale tax license, if I bought my camera in Nov of 2008 and I got get a business license tomorrow how do I go about deducting my camera?

These are *all* things that a local accountant can easily answer within perhaps an hour of chatting either in person or over the phone. I would also recommend that you visit your local government's websites. I do not know where you are, but there are places for specific info in Quebec Canada (where I am from), that discuss many of these points.

Asking for this kind of advice over the internet in an international forum is not the first place I would ask. Laws differ from township to township in the USA, much less from Canada to the US to Australia to Great Britain, which our users are all from, and more. :)

[jerryph]

What a great reply by jerryph, but it might well be that one may start a home based business in photography to help compensate for the investment in equipment and education over the first years. The tax benefits could be worth the cost of getting a local business permit.

Far be it from me to tell anyone what to do, but I am never ever going to subject a PAYING client to becoming an educational experience under any circumstance. My clients pay me to know what to do, not for me to experiment and learn on their dime. I will become proficient and knowledgeable BEFORE I hang my shingle. I have spent the last 2 years studying photography HARD and shall continue to do so. I have taken over 200,000 pictures in 2 years, but these are not random pictures... EACH one is a study of some sort, each one has a focus, a reason. On top of that, over 47,000 of these are my keepers, not the ones that I have culled, erased or rejected. They are not all fantastic, but they are all keepers.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3346/3579533941_ff6624ce97.jpg

I am *just* now considering opening a business... and therefore laying down the infrastructure, getting a business name, the brand, the logo, the website, the business registration, tax numbers, but not opening the doors until this fall.

I am still mentoring with a professional photographer and still ardently focusing and honing my skills, so that when I open my doors, I am ready to meet the best on the market on their level.

I am doing a competitive analysis of my competitors and peers in my area so I know their skillset, their prices and I know in detail who I will work with... and who I will be up against. I am starting a comprehensive business plan so that I know where I will be in 6 months, a year, 2 years, 5 and even 10 years from now. I have clear cut goals. To not have one before opening your business is an invitation to pretty much a guaranteed failure in today's economy. Having one is a guarantee that should I need a business loan, I am pre-approved for a 6-digit business loan should I need one.

I have built up my equipment so that it is equal to that of anything that any professional requires, both in lenses, camera bodies, lighting and backup for ALL aspects of my hardware. It is all also paid and debt-free. Telling a client "oh I dropped my flash and I do not have a spare, can we reschedule?" is not acceptable... becuase your competition never does, they have backups for everything... you should as well.


For me opening a small home based photography business wouldn't be about making money, but following my heart.

I cannot recall where I read this... but 95% of people that get into photography for the money, leave it within 12 months and leave with a loss. The average salary of a successful photographer is in the $30,000 range in the USA and within the $25,000 range in Canada. I make eight times more than that now, so trust me, when I tell you that I am NOT opening a photography business for the money, I work VERY hard to run my first business... and the photography would be a total labor of love, but I will not settle for ANYTHING but success when I hang a shingle on my door. I do what is needed to succeed and failure is NOT an option.


I may not have $5,000 invested in photo equipment yet but if your doing what you love, life is much more enjoyable.

When you go to work every day doing what you love, you are never working... but be careful, very few people do what is needed to be READY to run a photography business... and then once they do open the doors, are so overwhelmed by it that all advancement stops as they struggle to make things work.

You said that you do not have $5000 invested, but be careful... your competitor may have $25,000 invested, and have 10 years experience... and this is the very person you will face when you open your doors, the very person who's name you will hear each time someone shops around... so, though you and I may know the equipment may not make a difference... try explaining that to the client who just came from a 4-room studio where your competition has 6-10 of the highest end cameras on the market and has a $5000 website and a 5,000 picture portfolio of the most incredible pictures taken over 10 years.

How are you going to deal with that??? I will deal with it by being prepared, by investing time to create that website, that portfolio, that knowledge about my peers and competitors and by being a Customer Service Excellence EXPERT.

In my first business, I dedicate the equivalent of 8 months of the year to advancement of my knowledge and skills... *8* months, not including working 10 months of the year, EVERY year! I take an average of 10 exams a year... EVERY year, to maintain knowledge and certification. The same has to be said of photography but in a different way. The day you stop learning... you back-track downhill and the business just dies.

Learning something while a client is paying you for something you have not done, is not fair to the client. I would not open a materity photography business (as an example), until I had taken at least 5,000 successful pictures of at least 50-100 ladies. You see, maternity is not just taking pics of ladies that are pregnant, it is about lighting, it is about knowing what works, it is about being sensitive to THEIR needs and it is totally about being able to deliver... BEFORE you walk into the door of your FIRST client.

As an example, I plan to do boudoir shots. I am on my 30th session so far, and I have picked 50 as the magic number here for this aspect so that I know what I am doing before I do it as a professional for pay.

Of course, no one knows everything, however, as a professional, one is expected to know how to handle the surprises. That is becuase as a professional you are never facing the unknown, just surprises. If you face the unknown... you are not ready to do that shot, and should not be paid for this (in my humble opinion).


I opened a small business last year looking after peoples homes while they are absent. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. I didn't have one customer when first starting out but I was ready for them when they needed me. Now I have 10, not much but it provides an income and "I am the boss" lol I "needed" a camera so why not buy a Cannon DSLR? I can write it off.

If someone knocked on your door and said "audit time!", then looked at the camera you wrote off and then said that there was no logical or legal way you could justify a camera as a needed item for a house sitting business... how and why would you do this? This is an invitation to raise issues with people that you really do not want issues with... lol With the government, one *has* to be 100% straight and legal, it is too easy to make a small mistake that would cost you big bucks at the end of the year.


Enjoy today and listen to your heart.
The best advice. :)

Wow, I near wrote a book about my little project here... lol

In the end, he who is ready will succeed. He who has to struggle at each step is going to have a very hard time of it, and even if they stick it out, work their butts off, learn the hard way, it will take them years longer to get to where they could be... because they started from the back of the pack instead of at the front and pushed the envelope. Don't be a follower, but do learn from other people's mistakes... and don't make them! :D

[treetop]

However it pans out for you Jamie, I wish you good fortune. I just love to see people get on and make good.

[jesse]

I feel that people should pursue that which brings them happiness, and if you can get paid something for the effort so much the better. You may not want to charge others to learn but believe me it happens... a lot. I think my doctor learned a few things from seeing me, and I know the car repair men did lol.

Need the camera for my business (see attached photo) well i was going to attach a photo but I dont see the tab and don't have time to mess with it right now. This man lives in Great Britain and paid me to take this picture of his pool that is not being maintained. I guess one needs a camera for this.

200,000 pictures taken in 730 days (2 years) = 1,918 a week
Thank God for digital cameras, can you imagine what the cost for film and developing would have been 20 years ago.

[jesse]

Hi Jamie,
Best of luck I'm sure you'll have lots of Success and Happy customers. I know when my kids were born the last thing I wanted to do was was take photos and having an experienced person behind the camera would have been a great thing, too bad it didn't happen. All the pictures I have are a little wanting of composition, lighting etc..
Can't help you much with the business end but you can go online and check the state web site. I went to a small business meeting and they had lots of info there. I used business plan pro software and it was helpful in getting me focused on what to do.

Best of luck!
Jesse

[julimucca]

I do a little bit of photography for people now, and just charge a student fee of $50 for the sitting fee, then I let them order prints off a disc I make for them. It would be nice to have it as a business someday, but meanwhile as I am doing it for fun, and practicing its nice to be able to charge a little bit to put towards equipment. I am sure it will take me a realy long time to get to where I want to be, but I am enjoying the process of learning and gaining experience, and thankfully everyone has been happy with what I have done for them so far. I am not proffessional by any means. I guess the reason I wanted to comment, is to just let people know that they can charge a student fee, telling their clients they are not claiming to be proffesional, but are in the works to getting there, and the student fee is a great way accumulate the things that you need slowly.

[Kaye]

Julia, thanks for this info. I would also like to earn some small income from photography as I love it so much, so this info may help me in time to come.

I am trying to sort of set myself up in the Floral Photography and Macro area, sort of setting things up now for perhaps some interest in a year or so (hopefully with some more improvement on my part in this time, and a new camera when the time is right).

This is why I have just recently set up a new blog for Floral Photography which I am still working on. I have also just put this new flower-magic blog under my posts with my original blog, so hopefully soon I will get some viewers. (Much work still to be done though).

In my part-time job, I work for a sign maker (and assist in art design for some of the signs). So today, after I finished, my boss allowed me to design and cut my own sort of advertising sign to put on my rear screen of my car. I have not stuck it on yet, but my future aim is to perhaps do some work for the many Nurseries (Plants I mean), taking sort of macro shots for their plant labels. I would love this.

Thanks again Julia for your ideas.

[ddvitale]

I would suggest a program called "Business Plan Pro". This will walk you through a lot of the thought processes that you will need to consider. It will also help you project how much money you'll be losing (at least for the first year or so ;o))

[jerryph]

200,000 pictures taken in 730 days (2 years) = 1,918 a week Thank God for digital cameras, can you imagine what the cost for film and developing would have been 20 years ago.


That sounds like a lot, but its really not. Consider the fact that on an average wedding, I hit 2000-2200 shots in a single day. I did an engagement session last evening and in 3 hours hit the 350-400 picture mark (and add another 150 shots that I took just playing before the client arrived and after they left just doing a little street photography). This afternoon/evening, I am doing a "Trash The Dress" and that is going to be a good 1000 shots if not more.

It racks up the numbers pretty fast and I am willing to bet that I double those numbers above over the next 2 years. :)

Want an example of a maniac? My mentor shoots SO MUCH, he has carpal tunnel syndrome in his left shoulder, blamed from holding the camera in the same position over the years! Now that is dedication. :eek:

This guy goes through 2 professional bodies in a year, shoots 1 wedding a week for a minimum of 35 weeks a year, does e-sessions, TTD, portraiture and then for FUN, goes out at least 2 times a week (usually Thursdays and Friday) to do 4-6 hours of street photography. I am surprised his wife doesn't divorice him... LOL