Monday, July 20, 2009

How to Start a Photography Business

By Dan Feildman

Do you love taking pictures? Are you considering making some money out of it? Starting a business out of photography is relatively easy, as long as you have the right equipment.

You can start a photography business with only a few bucks, or possibly nothing at all if you already have the right camera equipment. You can even start your business in the comforts of your own home.

You can dedicate any room in your home to your business. This dedicated space can serve as your office.

With today's digital technology you won't even need a dark room for film processing. If you have a personal computer and a photo editing program you can begin immediately processing your digital photos.

To make photography your business you may be required to purchase additional equipment. I am sure you want your photos to stand out in order to attact clients. To make them look professional you may want to have on hand a variety of lenses as well as filters that will create a variety of special effects.

As your business progresses you can purchase more items so you really only need to start out with a few of each. The very nice thing about this business is that it is something that can be done in your spare time until you build your client base. In the start up phase of your business working it part time should give you additional income as well as experience.

Even if you only do this on your free time, make sure you are still dedicated and serious. You won't be able to get enough clients to sustain yourself if you don't take this business seriously.

Since you are going to make this engrossing hobby a business, there will be some legality that you need to take care of. First, you need to have your business registered and have a name and logo to be able to operate legally. Once registered, you can issue receipts and file taxes for your business.

You will also want to write a business plan. Business plans are essential for identifying your business goals. During the writing process you should be able to figure out if the business you want to create will be viable.

You will want to sketch out your plans for marketing and ideas for how you can increase business. You can change this business plan in the future, what you write now is not necessarily put in stone. If you are looking for outside funding for your business the business plan is essential.

Your business plan should include your business' objectives. This is important because it will help you stay in focus on how you want your business to turn out in the long run. It should also include a marketing plan, how you intend to advertise and market your services to get customers. Also, the price you intend to charge on your services should be included. You may want to change this as your business grows.

When looking for clients begin with friends and relatives. You may want to offer some services at reduced cost in the beginning, when you are trying to get the word out. Hopefully the quality of your work will speak for itself and word of mouth will bring in more customers.

And it will go on and on until you realize that you are now having difficulty arranging your schedule because of so many appointments. Of course, doing some marketing and advertising techniques would help. You can probably give away flyers or brochures to your neighbors. Or maybe post an ad in your local newspaper.

You will learn that nearly everyone loves photographs. They live on as treasured memories and are kept for generations. The corporate world also relies heavily on photographs to market their products to the public.

While this all seems very easy to do you must always remember to take your endeavor seriously. Dedication is important if you wish to make serious money. Having your goals in mind and striving to achieve them is always a great thing. Earning money from something you love doing creates a very satisfying life indeed!

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