Photography Business Success: Turn your Passion into Profit

1. Class 1 Introduction: Hi, I'm Joseph Alco and I am a professional photographer. I've been doing photography for over ten years and I really enjoy doing it. In the last ten years, I have done all types of photography, including wedding photography, fashion photography, product events, corporate photography, and many more. Interestingly, my photography venture had a humble beginning. It all began during my time at business school when I first picked up a camera as a hobby. And to my surprise, people soon started approaching me willing to pay me for my photography skills. However, my photography really took off when I understood all the different aspects of running a photography business. In this guide, my aim is simple. I want to help you make money with your photography. It's a lot of fun and not too complicated, I promise You don't have to be an expert in everything. You just need to understand how different part of your photography business work together. We will start by figuring out what type of photography business you want and how to develop your unique photography style. Then we will explore how photographers, like you, can earn money and how you can stand out in the competitive market of photography. We will talk about how to market your photography and build a powerful photography brand. We will also talk about systems to help your photography business run smoothly. After that, we will dive into finding your first customer and discuss how to decide how much to charge for your photos. Finally, we will touch on topics like contracts and registering your photography business. This class has multiple projects to help you develop a game plan to become a successful photographer. You will also get a class project workbook along with the other resources that you can use for your photography business. I'm really excited about sharing this guide with you. I love discussing business and strategies with fellow photographers like you. Whether you are just starting out or you have been doing photography for a while. But feel a bit lost. This guide is designed for you. My goal is simple to help you understand the basics of running your photography business so you can feel confident and clear about where you are headed. So let's meet in the class. 2. Getting the Most Out of This Class : Taking this photography class is not just about casually watching it, It's about really thinking how these lessons connect to you and your photography business. You will benefit the most by this class. If you will write down your thoughts, you might even discover that writing down your thoughts might generate new ideas. Perhaps more creative ideas for your business. Completing all the class projects is crucial. These class projects are designed to help you develop a game plan to take your photography business to a new level of success. I must tell you this, there are no tricks to becoming a successful photographer overnight. But if you take time and go slow, finish all the classes and complete all the class projects, this course will put you on the right path for becoming a successful photographer. Try to learn as much as you can about all the things discussed in the class. Even if you are not super good at everything discussed, you don't have to worry. You just need to understand how everything works together and how one aspect of your photography business affects the other. There are many successful photographers who are great at certain aspects of their photography business and not so great at others. Your photography business is like one of those machines with a lot of moving parts. As long as you know what each part does, you don't need to be pro at making it work. You can easily go back and forth between the sections that matters to you the most. You might want to watch some lessons more than once. They are there to help you. You don't have to worry about it. I really hope the lessons I have learned during my ten years of photography can help you in creating a photography business that fits you and your life. With this class, I have added some resources that you can use for your benefit. You can download them in the download section. If you have any questions related to photography, you can use the discussion area to ask me those questions. I personally will answer your questions. 3. Setting Up Your Photography Goals: The first question that you need to ask yourself is what you truly want to achieve with your photography. For some it might be really clear. It could be earning money through their photography. Maybe by doing wedding photography, or by doing fashion photography, or product photography, or wildlife photography, or by selling the stock images on the Internet. But for others, it might be less clear. There are different paths in photography and you might not know which one to take. Now I want you to dive deeper into the details. I want you to envision your perfect life. What is the greatest dream you have? How do you see yourself as a photographer in the next two or three years, or maybe next 56 years? This course will guide you on how to approach towards the life you envision. It will help you to decide what path you take in photography. Think about what you want to do for yourself. Focus on what really matters to you. You don't have to follow the same path as everyone else. There are no one fixed path to becoming a successful photographer. Success means different things to different people, especially in the creative field like photography, That's the exciting part. There are numerous ways to make money. As a photographer. You can find an approach that suits you perfectly, and if it doesn't exist yet, you can create one. Photographers have different careers. Spend a few minutes imagining your dream photography career and your dream life. You're already a widely successful photographer with unlimited resources. Let your imagination run wild with happy thoughts and ideas. Let your imaginations run wild with happy thoughts and ideas. If you couldn't fail, what kind of photography work would you be doing? Would you like to be on a beautiful beach taking pictures or in a cozy studio with all your photography gears, what kind of photography projects make you excited? How much money do you want to make? Monthly or annually? Do you like to meet new people and travel to new places? Do you want to stay in your studio and do the photoshoot? Would you like to see your pictures on the cover of big magazines or newspapers or billboard? Or would you like to work with big companies and big brands? If you are struggling to imagine your life as a successful photographer, think about photographers that you admire. What aspects of their photography life you like the most. What are they doing that you want to do? So you must dream big and think about what truly makes you happy as a photographer. Your vision and your uniqueness will shape your successful photography journey. For the class project, I would like to suggest you to stop right now and take some time to define your dream photography career. How would your ideal life look like? Think about what path you want to choose as a photographer. Also take time to set clear goals. What do you want to achieve in next 23 years, or maybe next five years? After finishing the class project, you will have a well defined vision and a roadmap for your photography career. 4. Discovering Your Unique Photography Style: You are already unique and special in your own way. The real challenge is to recognize what sets you apart from other people. Sometimes we are not fully aware of our own strengths, but these strengths are what we should focus upon. These strengths only will set you apart from everyone else. If you are struggling to identify your strengths and what makes you special and your photography special, ask people around you, ask your fellow photographers, ask your friends, Ask your family, they will be able to tell you your specialty might be as simple as your photography style or the color you use, or the lighting set up you use, or the editing technique you use. Make a list of all these strengths. Take these strengths and incorporate them into your photography. For instance, if you're good at taking candid photos, consider doing candid wedding photography or street photography. If you're good at retouching, consider doing portrait photography and fashion photography. If you love nature and wildlife, consider doing wildlife photography. Whatever type of photography you do, make sure to add your own unique style to it. This will make you stand out in the photography market. I personally love retouching photos. My fellow photographers and my friend will always tell me that you are really good at editing. I started using my editing skill and my editing style in fashion photography. My editing style differentiated me from other photographers in the market. This also helped me to bank some of the best clients and projects. By finding out my unique style, I managed to grow my photography career. Remember, your uniqueness is your strength. Leverage your unique style and skill and explore new avenues to stand out in photography. Market project for this class will be as follows. Spend time in self reflection to identify your unique photography strength. Seek external perspective. Ask fellow photographers, friends and family for feedback. Connect these strengths to relevant photography style. And create an action plan to showcase your uniqueness. Once you complete this project, you will be able to find out how to stand out in the competitive market of photography. 5. Finding Your Niche: Choosing the right photography niche is very important for your photography business. Choosing the wrong niche can make your life miserable. Imagine shooting wildlife If you don't even like to go outdoor or imagine shooting every day in the studio, when you really like to shoot outdoors, and when you really like to meet more people. Finding the right niche will help you to target the right customer. The right niche will also help you to become an expert in your field. It will also help you to explore your creativity. The first step is self assessment. What are you most passionate about? What type of photography do you enjoy the most? What photography subjects are you drawn to? I will suggest you to try your hands on every type of photography that interests you and see which one you like the most. Once you figure out what type of photography you like the most you can see what is the market demand for your photography niche. Concuer Market demand for your photography niche is important. It is important to choose a niche that can generate the revenue you are hoping for. Take time, do some research and find out what would be the best photography market for your photography. Sometimes you may have to choose a few niches like fashion photography or wedding photography. At least it is true for me. If fashion photography is not able to generate that much revenue for you, you can compensate that from wedding photography. I have friends who do wedding photography to make money, but they do wildlife photography because they love to do it. You can also take feedback from your friends and family, and your fellow photographers to find out what niche you should be in. Know that you can transition between niches over the time. If your interest or your circumstances changes, the project for this class will be following. I want you to write down at least three types of photography niches that interests you the most. Do some market research and find out the demand of these niches. Make a list of the skills and equipment you will need to work in this particular niche. 6. Identifying Your Target Customers: Now that you know what your unique style of photography is and what photography niche you want to target, let's find out who your customers are. Your target customers will mostly depend upon what niche of photography you're focusing on. Before moving further, you must know that there are two main groups of customers. First, businesses and second, individual customers. You can call it B to B or business to business, or B to C, business to customer. These two groups are quite different when it comes to selling your photography services. Working with companies is a more traditional way of making money as a photographer. It can be really profitable and has its own perks. However, you might need to adjust your photography to meet their needs and agree to their terms. On the other hand, working with individual customers gives you more freedom. Most photographers end up working both for companies and individual customers. I also work with companies and individual customers. Business to business involves providing photography services like corporate head shot, product photography, event coverage, interior and architectural shots, marketing and advertising photography, industrial documentation and social media content creation. Also in business to business, or B to B, the focus is on helping businesses present their product, their services, their facilities, and their brand in professional and appealing manner to the target audience. Or maybe their clients or partners, or investors, or maybe other businesses. However, in business to customer, or B to C, the photography services or products are offered directly to individual customers or end users. This involves providing photography services for personal use. In B2c photography, the focus is on providing personal portrait sessions, family photoshoot, engagement sessions, wedding photography, even coverage, maybe pet photography or other types of photography that individual might require for personal memories or personal enjoyment. Overall, B2c photography involves creating a direct connection between the photographer and the individual consumer, aiming to provide them with valuable and meaningful photographic memories. As you explore these markets, think about type of photography they require. Aim to work in a market that matches your creative passion and your unique style of photography. To find out where your target customers are, find who your photography is most appealing to, men or women, What are their age group, what are their profession? Where are they located? If your photography niche is fashion photography, your target customers will be fashion designers, fashion brands, fashion influencers, et cetera. If your photography niche is wedding photography, then your target customers are young, couple of the age 18 to 35, those who are planning to get married. If your photography niche is corporate photography, then your customers will be companies, and businesses, and ad agencies. If your photography niche is maternity photography or newborn baby photography, your customers will be moms to be or new moms. Also, to find out who your target customers are, try to find out who your photography is most appealing to men or women. What are their age groups and what are their profession? Where are they located? It's okay if you don't know everything right now. You will gradually gain insight into who your target customers are over the time. Meanwhile, keep exploring. The project for this class will be the following. First of all, define your target customers according to your chosen photography niche. Define whether your target customers are business or individual customers. Write down the demographic of your target customers, What are their age, gender, income, location, et cetera. By completing this project, you will identify customers that best suit your skill, style, and passion. By conducting research and reflecting upon your own preferences, you will be better equipped to focus on the efforts and build a successful photography career. 7. Learning from Your Competitors: Understanding what successful photographers in your field are doing is super helpful. One, it helps you improve your photography skills. And two more importantly, it shows you how you can stand out and let your unique photography style speak out for you. It's tough to stand out if you do not know what others are up to. Without knowing what others are offering or doing, you can't really see what makes you special. Maybe these photographers are working with clients that you would love to work with or they have won awards that you want to win. Check out their photography style and how they are sharing their work with the world. The goal is to get inspired and adapt to their techniques, to your way of doing things in your own style. For instance, if you want to do wedding photography, what are the current trends in wedding photography? Add your own unique style to the latest photography trend and showcase your work. The idea is not to copy anyone, but to get inspired and develop your own unique style of photography. Copying someone else won't work because if you're offering same things to the same clients or customers, why would they pick you over the experienced person? You need to bring your own style on the table. Studying your competition is helpful, but avoid getting trapped in the comparison loop. Jealousy can show you what you secretly desire. If you are envious, ask yourself, what do they have that you really want? Are they working with the clients? You hesitate to approach? Have they mastered social media while you're struggling to make it work for you? Remember, be strategic. Don't do something just because it works for somebody else. It might really not work for you. They might be way ahead in their career or they might have different goals. What works for them might not really fit for your situation or it might really not work for you. Remember, always keep your unique photography journey in your mind. For the class project, select and analyze five leading photographers in your field to get inspired. Integrate their technique into your unique photography style. This process will help you develop your distinct approach and help you stand out in the chosen area of photography. 8. Build Your Portfolio: If you're new at photography. The most common question you will be asked by your prospective customers is, can you please share your portfolio? Now, since you are a new photographer, you certainly would not have a portfolio. Isn't that right? Then the more important question is, how do you build your portfolio when you are new at photography? The best way that I personally recommend to you to build your portfolio is by doing free shoots and by collaborating with others in your field or in your industry. I build my fashion photography portfolio by reaching out to fashion designers and fashion brands and asking them to collaborate for the shot. Once I have the designer on board, I will also ask some models and makeup artist to come and collaborate for the shot. Although these collaborative shots are mostly free, I will always treat them like page shoot. I will keep the quality of my photography to the highest and make sure that everyone gets the best picture. The next time when I got inquiry for fashion photography, I had a portfolio to show. Also a few fashion designers who knew the fashion designer I worked with for free, asked me to take pictures for their brands. You know what? I did not do those photo shoots for free. I charge money. You also can approach people in your industry for collaborative shoots. Just tell them if they would be trusted for a free photo shoot. But doing free photo shoot always may not be a good idea. You have to be cautious. Sometimes people tend to exploit you. I remember once I planned a shoot with a fashion designer, we were supposed to shoot in two dresses. But when I reached to the location, the designer insisted to do shoots in more than two dresses. To cut the story, I ended up doing shoots almost eight dresses, and I really did not like that. Often people will request you for free shoots, promising to connect you with potential customers or clients. But most of the time, these promises do not lead to any real opportunity. It's just waste of time. You be very careful when you are planning a free shoot or collaborative shoot with anybody else. As long as you need pictures for your portfolio, I will suggest you to do the collaborative shoot. But if your portfolio is strong, then don't do collaborative shoots. Still shooting a celebrity or a favors personality, it is mostly collaborative shoots. Unless you are hired by an ad agency for the class project, I want you to check your portfolio. Is it good enough? Do you need better photos to display your skills to your prospective customers? If you do not have a proper portfolio to share with your customers, I want you to reach out to people in your photography niche and offer them a free collaborative shoot. Do your best work for this shoot so that you can use these pictures to show to prospective customers in the future. By finishing this project, you will already have a portfolio that you can share it with your customers. 9. Effective Branding for Your Photography Business: In this class, we will learn how to do branding for your photography business. Before we move forward, let's understand what brand really means. Think about it like this. When people hear about your business name, or just think about your business, what comes in their mind. Let's understand this by talking about pizza. Imagine you open a pizza joint. Your brand is like the reputation your pizza place gets. You known for super cheesy slice that people crave or go to a spot for unique, exotic pizza topping. Or you have a unique pizza crust. That's your brand, the impression people have about your pizza place. Now, branding is the way you make sure people remember your pizza joint for what it's all about. It's like designing a cool logo for your pizza boxes, using fun and friendly language in your menu, and making sure your place has a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. When people think about grabbing a slice of pizza, they think about you. They remember the delicious smell and the friendly services that you provide and the way your logo caught their eyes. That's the power of branding in pizza business. Now let's talk about photography. Imagine you are setting up a photography business. Your brand is a lot like the reputation your photography business has, or reputation that your photography business builds. Are you the go to photographer for vibrant and colorful portraits that captures personalities? Or are you known for your moody and realistic black and white shots? Are you expert in capturing moments that is your brand, the feeling people get when they think about your photography. Now, branding in photography is how you make sure people remember your work for what it's all about. It may be by creating a striking watermark on your image, using a consistent style in your portfolio, and ensuring your online presence showcases your unique style. When people think about hiring a photographer, they remember the emotions your photo evoke, the creative perspective you bring, and the way your signature style stands out. Having a powerful brand in photography can bring a bunch of cool advantages. First is recognition. When your unique style becomes recognizable, people can spot your work from a distance. It's like having a visual calling card that sets you apart from a crowded field. Second is trust. A strong brand builds trust. Clients know what to expect when they hire you because are familiar with your style and quality. It's like a seal of approval that reassures them. Third is memorability. Your distinct brand makes you memorable. Client and even other photographers will remember you and your specific approach, making it more likely that they will recommend you or seek you out for projects. The next is consistency. A solid brand helps you maintain a consistent look and feel across your work. This cohesion is impressive and shows your professionalism and dedication to your work. The next point is attracting the right client. Your brand y attracts customer who resonate with your style. It's like a filter. The client who appreciate you only will approach you because they like your work. The next is premium pricing. With a strong brand, you can often charge more for your services. People are likely to pay you more for your photographs because your style is distinct and you have a reputation. The next is storytelling. A powerful brand can tell a story about your work. It gives depth to your portfolio and connect your shot with a common theme, emotions. The next is networking. A strong brand can make you stand out in the photography community. Other photographers might recognize your work leading to collaboration and partnership and new opportunities. The next is personal satisfaction, and this one is very important. Creating and maintaining a strong brand can be incredibly satisfying. It's an expression of your artistic vision, your way of making a mark in the world of photography. Having a powerful brand in photography, it's not just about looking good. It opens doors. Build trust and set you apart for success in the competitive market of photography. Now we will see how to define your photography identity. It's your turn to write down what you want people to think about your brand when they see your photography. Remember, don't stress over creating the perfect brand, especially when you are in the beginning. These things evolve. You might want to refresh your brand every few years to keep it current and reflective of your evolving vision. Here are the top elements u of brand identity for photography business. First one is photography style. This is probably the most important. Your distinct style, whether it is dramatic, candid, minimalistic, or vibrant, defines your brand consistently. Delivering this style in your work creates recognition. Second is logo. A simple, memorable logo that incorporates your name or a photography related icon that gives your brand a visual identity. The third one is color palette. Choosing a set of colors that reflects mood and the emotions you want to convey through your photos to your clients. Use these colors consistently across your brand material, on your website, on your social media, and on the other places. The fourth is typography. Select a couple of font that matches your photography style and use them in your logo, website and marketing material. The fifth is tag line. You can have it or you can also ignore it, but I will just tell you a little bit about it. A short and catchy tag line will really help you to differentiate you from the market. The sixth one is consistency. Applying your chosen element consistently, like your photography style or color, or logo, across your website, social media, or promotional material, create a cohesive brand image. And the last is portfolio presentation. How you showcase your work on your website or portfolio platform should align with your brand identity. A well designed portfolio reinforces your style. These core elements are the foundation of your brand identity as a photographer. When they work together, they communicate your style, your professionalism, and the unique value bring to your client. Remember to create your brand with confidence. The most important thing is to keep creating and sharing your work with the right audience or with the right customers. Your unique photography journey is a story that unfolds when you click the shutter every time. Project for this class will be developing your photography brand identity. In this class project, your goal is to shape your photography brand. First, think about how you want people to think when they see your photography or when they see your photos or your work. What makes you special? Write three emotions or thoughts you aim to invoke in your audience and explain why they matter. Explore key brand elements like your photography style, logo, color, and others. Start creating these elements, like designing logo or choosing a color palette that represents. Though you don't need to finish everything right now, you have to start. You also start sharing your work confidently to help people recognize and connect to your brand over the time. Don't forget to share this class project in the project section. If you have any question, you definitely can ask me in the discussion section. 10. Boosting Productivity: When I started into my photography journey, there were a lot of problems. Mainly how to effectively manage my daily activities. I often found myself doing endless research for photoshoots or constantly monitoring my social media numbers. While these things seem productive, they failed to bring me closer to becoming a successful photographer. Then the concept of goal setting revealed its magic to me. In the beginning, I would just jot down a single goal each morning, for each day. This simple practice encouraged me to take at least one substantial step towards my daily goal. As I changed my approach, I discovered that setting up and pursuing specific goal help me on a daily basis to come closer to what I had been desiring for my photography business. Now every morning I do goal setting for photo shoots and for marketing activities like posting pictures on social media or running ads, networking or following up with prospective customers. This has increased my productivity manifold. I also set goal for dedicating some time to better my craft and check what are the latest trend in photography. Running a photography business is not all about taking pictures. In fact, taking pictures is probably just about the 20% of the work you do running your photography business. Many of my students assume that once they start their photography business, all they will have to do is take pictures. They just wait for the photo shoot to come to them and they do not want to do any other thing then take pictures. But running a photography business is just like any other fully functional business. You have different departments like marketing, and sales and operations and finance, PR, customer support, and purchase. Of course, in a very small scale, it becomes very crucial for you to be most efficient and productive in your daily activities. Take time to educate yourself by reading different books, or listening to podcast, or watching videos. Or to learn how to increase your efficiency and productivity. Some of the best book that I will highly recommend you to read are for Our Work Week by Tim Ferris and Atomic Habit by James Clear. To find more books, you can simply do a Google search for books for entrepreneur. Another effective strategy is end of the day reflection. At the end of every day, write down what has been accomplished, what remains outstanding, and the reason behind both. This practice will tell you about the unexpected obstacles that you may face on a regular day. I have come to realize that my productivity stops when I pick up my phone without having a particular work, and only because I was feeling bored. Additionally, I have also observed that my peak efficiency manifest in the morning hours. Making my to do list a preceding night optimizes my morning. Another productive hack you do would be to allocate specific amount of time for each task. Every day with a limited hour, your motivation will peak to the highest. Using this method makes me work better and even helps me to be more creative. I encourage you to embrace the strategy for the class project. Set three clear daily goals for your photography business, including marketing and skill improvement. Write down daily goals at the night before. After each day, reflect on your daily accomplishments and obstacles that you encountered. Implementing time blocking in your schedule will really help you to finish everything on time. Also, after a week, reflect on your progress and make adjustments accordingly. 11. Streamlining Business Processes: In this class, we will learn how to maximize your productivity by streamlining all the processes that are there in your photography business. Streamlining all the different processes will free up a lot of time for you that you can use to do most important things that matters to you and your photography business. It'll boost your efficiency, keep your photography quality consistent, and help you to scale up your photography business. Streamlining all the processes will keep your customers happy for you will be able to give a quick turnaround and maintain the same quality standard over the period of time. One of the challenge of running your own business is to find the right balance between work and life. If you are able to properly streamline all the processes, it will cut down all the unnecessary task that you are bombarded with every day. The first step in streamlining all the processes is to analyze every aspect of your photography business. This will include the photoshoot booking process. Photoshoot, pre planning process, actual photoshoot and post production process In the photo shoot booking process, following are the points you should consider. The first is client inquiry. Receiving client inquiry from potential clients or customers interested in booking. Photo shoot can be done by various ways. You can have inquiry form on your website that your customers can use. You can also speak to them on phone and collect all the information. This will include type of photo shoot that they need, how many pictures do they need, where do they want to do the photoshoot, and what is their budget for the shot? Once you have all these informations in detail, you must move ahead and send them the price code. Don't forget to create a contract specifying the terms and conditions, and also obtain client's signature or client's consent on the E mail. After that, collect any required deposits or payment in advance to secure the booking. After the booking, you can coordinate with the client to set a convenient date and time for the photoshoot. Provide the client with any necessary information such as what to wear or bring for the photoshoot. The second is pre planning process, which includes location scouting. If necessary, visit the chosen location in advance to plan for lighting angle and composition. Have a short list. Create a short list or concept for the photoshoot, outlining the specific shots and poses to capture during the shoot. Also, create equipment checklist, ensure all the photography equipment is working and are in order, and prepare a backup plan if needed. The next one is to take permit and permission for photoshoot at a specific location. If needed, don't forget to hire an assistant or a team if required for the photoshoot. Then the next process is actual photoshoot. Arriving at the photoshoot location early to set up equipment and prepare the shooting area will be very nice. As the client arrives, greet the client or customer and make them feel comfortable. Provide guidance on how to, how to give expressions and how to position for each shot. Take photographs according to the short list. Experimenting with different angles and composition. Also periodically review images with the client to ensure satisfaction and make any necessary adjustments. If client, our customer is asking, remember to be flexible and adaptable in case of unexpected changes or creative opportunities. Capture extra shots to account for variations and ensure a variety of options for the customer. Stick to the schedule to avoid any unnecessary delay. The next process is post production review and select the best images from the photoshoot. If client wants to do the photopofing, let them do that. Once you have the pictures perform post processing, including color correction, retouching, cropping, et cetera. Organize and manage image files including naming, storing and backup. Create a consistent file naming system. For example, clients name, project, or event date. If you have a client named Emily Miller, or it was a wedding photography and may be happening on let's say 15th of September 2023, then your file naming will be like this. This will help you to identify the client project name and the date just by seeing the file name. You can create your own naming system after post processing, share edited images with the client. For review and feedback. If there is any correction suggested by the client, make sure to do that as well. After that, prepare and deliver the final edited images in the agreed upon format that could be digital or print. Send the final invoice to the customer and get the remaining payment done. Ensure that the client is satisfied with the quality of editing you have done and if there is any need for correction or if any suggestion comes from the client or customer for correction, you make sure that you do that. Ask client to give a review for your photography on your desired platform. Maybe Google Business profile or any other social media platform. And don't forget to add the best shots to your portfolio or website for future clients to see it. Another thing I want to talk to you about is outsourcing. Outsourcing would really help you to increase your productivity and free up time for yourself and for photography. You must also embrace technology for your benefit. Most things can be optimized, especially the things that you have to do again and again. There are various tools that can be used to automate different processes like booking, invoicing, social media posting, et cetera. Studio Ninja is one of the best photography business app that I have come across. I personally have used it. You also can use Studio Ninja for your online booking and for managing different workflow and invoicing, automating, e mails and managing your contacts, et cetera. There are various tools that are available. You can check it. If you don't have a budget for studio ninja, you can use similar tools that you can find on the Internet. By incorporating all these strategies, you will transform your photography business into well streamlined operation. Remember, the goal is to free up more time for you doing important work like boosting creativity and providing excellent service to your customers in the project. For this class, I want you to do the following. First, invest in software like Studio Ninja or some other software to automate booking, invoicing, and client management process, reducing manual task and saving time. Second, standardize checklist and workflow for location scouting, equipment set up, and team coordination to streamline pre shoot planning. Third, ensure that any process optimization maintain and enhance the quality of your photography service. Don't sacrifice the quality for efficiency. The fourth is focus on improving the overall client experience or customer experience. Streamlined processes to enhance communication and satisfaction throughout the entire photography journey for your customer. Fifth is continuously gather feedback from clients or customers and your team and adjust your processes according for ongoing refinement and improvement. 12. The Power of Outsourcing: In this class, we will learn how to outsource various unimportant work that could be done by others. I personally love to learn new things and do things by myself, but doing everything by myself could be good and bad. Of course, you learn and can do things whenever you want. But because you tend to do everything by yourself, even the small and unimportant thing, the problem is that when you are busy doing unimportant things, you are not doing the most important thing that matters to your photography business as much as it is important for you to learn to do things by yourself. It is also important to learn to outsource the work that you can work that can be done by others for low cost. This then will free up time for you to do what matters the most for your business. A few things to consider before outsourcing your work. Make sure that the vendor you are outsourcing to has the expertise to do the work that you are giving him. Make sure that their quality of work matches your quality standard. They must stick to the time line. Most challenging thing in outsourcing that I have found is that people tend to over promise on the timing and not deliver things on time. This has ruined my relationship with many of my customers at least a few times. Make sure that the charges are in your budget. You don't want to pay more than you are making in a project. Inquire about their commitment to do the corrections or changes in the work you are outsourcing. The most important thing to consider is that you and the vendor must be compatible to work with each other. Assess the risk. As you outsource, consider the quality and delay risk and plan on how you will medicate it. Few things that you might want to outsource are video editing, album designing, photo editing of events maybe such as party photoshoot or baby shower photo shoot or social media posting. Work can be outsourced. Blogging, website development and management, all these things can be outsourced. The thing that I personally do not outsource are the photo editing for big photoshoots. Especially when I'm doing some big fashion shoot or wedding shoot that is very important or some brand shoot project for this class is to research and select suitable vendor who have the expertise to handle the task that can be outsourced. Second is to define your quality standards and ensure that the work delivered by the vendor matches your expectation. Develop a system to ensure vendor sticks to the agreed punt time line. Avoid delaying that could affect your client's relationship. If your turnaround time is 15 days, give your vendor seven days so that even if he is laid by 12 days, you are able to deliver it on time. Fourth is to evaluate the cost associated with outsourcing. Make sure that it aligns with your budget and you do not overspend. Fifth is also assess potential risk in outsourcing such as quality issues or delays, and create mitigation plan to address them effectively. 13. Overcoming Doubts: Starting a career in photography can be scary. We are programmed to avoid risk and uncomfortable situations. It's always very easy to think that you don't have good enough skill to start photography. Business self doubt can really stop you to move forward, but the only way to learn photography is by doing it. It's like learning to ride bicycle. No matter how much time you take on learning theory, the only way to riding bicycle is by actually riding it. Same goes with photography. The best way to learn photography is by ignoring self doubt and picking up the camera and going out there and taking pictures. Overcoming doubt is easier If you tell yourself why you are doing it or why you are doing photography. What reward will you get once you overcome the doubts and fulfill your goals? Being a photographer involves facing failure and rejection regularly while continuing to progress. Therefore, investing in your mental health is very crucial. Whether true exercise or healthy eating or meditation, or therapy, even talking to your friends, or spending time with your family or loved ones. It's important to remain creatively inspired. This might involve joining some workshop or communing with nature, or be with other photographer bodies. Remember, fear and doubt is part of life, but fighting it and doing what you want to do is called courage. 14. Choosing the Right Equipment: As you start your photography journey, you're bound to wonder, what kind of gear do I need to get my photography business off the ground? Well, I'm a big fan of bootstrapping, which basically means starting with as little money as possible and making the most of what you have got while growing your business with the revenue you earn. I have seen two kinds of aspiring photographer out there. Some are so eager to dive in that they want to buy all the fancy gears right from the start. On the flip side, there are those who are really cautious about spending a single dime and hope to kick start their photography business without investing a penny. In my opinion, the smart approach falls somewhere in the middle. Start with absolute essentials and then build from there. But what exactly these bare essentials are? When I started my own photography business, I took a practical approach. I borrowed a camera from my brother in law, who had one gathering dust. Once I started making some money, I invested in a Crow frame camera, the cannon, 60 D, and a versatile set of lenses. The 18 to 55 millimeter, 55 to 250 millimeter, and a fantastic 50 millimeter, 1.8 ****. I also picked up a flash gun and a reflector. You can absolutely follow the similar path To kick, start your photography journey. Here's a valuable tip. Renting equipment can often be more budget friendly than buying everything, brand new. Trust me, I have learned this the hard way by wasting a lot of my money on buying gear that I really did not use. Before you reach out to your wallet, pause and ask yourself, can I rent this instead or borrow from a friend? This simple question can save you a good chunk of money as you set up and grow your photography business. 15. Seeking Mentors and Partners: When I started photography years back, I took time to learn photography by myself. I was taking pictures of my friends and my family, but I really had no clue on how to start photography business or how to get customers where to buy the right equipments and what equipments to buy. I did not know how much money can one buy photography. I decided to find someone who is already in photography business who would take me under his wings. As an intern, I messaged a few photographers in the city and waited and waited patiently. Eventually, one kind photographer gave me an opportunity to join him as an intern. To cut the story short, I worked with him for five months. After five months, I had learned all about photography business. As you begin your photography journey, I would suggest you to find a mentor in your city or in your area. Join him or her for a few months to learn how things are done in your city and in particular, photography industry or particular photography genre. Make sure to jot down what all things are you going to learn from them. Take a strategic approach to it. If you don't preplan on what you are going to learn from them, you may end up wasting time and learn nothing. Another important thing that I did was to find new photographers who were just like me and I made friends with them. We started doing photo shoots together, teaching each other, and learning from each other. We started taking projects together. These were mostly small projects, but they taught us a lot about the real world scenario. Also must join some local photography community and some good online communities on Facebook or other social media platforms. It's crucial to surround yourself with people who understand the challenges you're facing as a photographer on a daily basis. And who can provide you with unwavering support. Whether you join a mentor or find a photographer, friends such as yourself, or join an online community of photographers, all these connections will undoubtedly play a role in your growth as a photographer. The ways in which they will positively impact your career might even surpass your expectations. 16. Finding Your First Customer: Finding your first photography customer will depend upon which photography genre you are targeting. However, the strategy that I am going to share with you will apply in most of them. I have used this strategy to kick start my photography business. I suggest you to do the same and encourage you to try it once. The best way to find your first customer is to do free shoot, collaborating with other people in the same industry. I will share how I got my first wedding photography gig. I did a photo shoot for a friend for free. He posted the photographs on the Internet. And by the way, the photos were really nice. His boss saw the pictures and called me up and then he asked me if I would be able to take pictures in his wedding. For which I said yes. I did a shot for a friend and I got myself first wedding gig. More or less, the pattern is same. You do a few free shoot to make new connections. These new connections will eventually bring you your fast customer. Another way could be a strong online presence. Because people needing photography also reach out to you on online platforms. Instagram, Facebook, Google Business Profile could be very helpful for you to get your fast customer, but you must have a portfolio to post on these sites. I would say networking is the key to succeed in photography industry. It is because you are not selling a product but you're selling a service. And your customer need to trust you. If someone has referred to them, then they will tend to trust you more. Feel free to share your own strategy of finding clients. Your creative insight and suggestion in the discussion below can inspire others to explore new opportunities. Engaging with the community allows you to learn from one another and discover innovative approaches. 17. Engaging with Your Customers: Your aim is to take your customers engagement from transactional to relational in your photography business. Because people value relations more than a product or a service. Also they are more likely to rehire you or offer you if they like you as a person and if they have a relationship with you. The goal is not to manipulate your customers but actually build a fruitful relationship with them. You should add value to their lives and your photography should also add value to their life. You need to find out why people are drawn to your photography. You can leverage those insights to increase your sales. Make sure that your photography has the highest quality and never compromise with the quality of your photography for it is the foundation of your photography business. Irrespective of how much money you are making with a particular shoot, even if it is a free photoshoot, make sure that your quality remains the same. And that's the key, I am telling you that's the key. You must have a customer centric approach to your photography. Photography is a matter of personal taste. This means that when you take pictures, some people will like them and others may not like them. So sometimes the photos you think are great may not be what your client likes. So it's important to collaborate with your client or customer, understand what they like and what they do not like. Ask them about their idea and their taste and what they want. And be willing to listen to their requests and worries. You should also be open to personalize your services for your customer. Don't try to stick only to a type of package. You should offer customization of your packages. Another way to keep your customers engaged is by posting their pictures on your website or on your social media platform and tagging them. Let them always know whenever you are posting their pictures on your website or on social media so that they can share your profile with their friends or their family. My customers often request me to share their photos on my social media profile so that they can tell their friends and family that their pictures are shared on my profile. Encourage your customers also to share their experience and their feedback on social media or on other listing sites on Google my business, and request them to write a review for your photography services. Also, don't forget to send them best wishes on important days of their life. Maybe it's their birthday or their anniversary. For your class project, reach out to three people who have hired you for photography before. Have a chat with them and start building a friendly relationship. 18. Effective Marketing Strategies: In this class, we will learn how to market your photography business. If you're new to photography, you are starting with a clean slate, which is a good thing. As we have already discussed in the previous class about who your customers are, we will talk about how to market your photography to them. Marketing includes promotions and publicity. I will quickly tell you difference between both of them. Promotion involves paid marketing efforts, and publicity is unpaid marketing. To promote your photography business, you can use different channels, like local ads, Facebook ads, maybe Instagram ads, Google ads. You can also do e mail marketing, and this could be another way to do paid promotions. Having a photography website is a must. As you plan to market your photography to your target customer. Your website is the place where you can showcase your photography portfolio. You can hire a professional to build a website for you, or you can build it yourself on platform like Wordpress or for publicity. You can do editorial shoots. You can do free workshop, or you can sponsor an event. All these will aid in your marketing efforts. But the most effective way is referrals and networking. I take each of my customers as my marketing agent who can promote my photography business into their circle. You must do the same. Working with big companies is a little different than working with individuals. But even in big companies, you will be dealing with people with whom you can build a good relationship. The project for this class will be to develop a marketing strategy for your photography business. You will choose appropriate marketing platform and create a plan for both promotion and publicity. Write a strategy for promotions, which involves paid marketing efforts. Write down how you will use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Or how you will use e mails to promote your photography business. Also, write down the budget that you are considering and how you plan to allocate this budget for paid promotion. Outline your publicity strategy to which focuses on unpaid marketing efforts. Write how you will engage in activities like editorial shoots, workshop, event sponsorship, or other forms of publicity. Create a detailed plan for implementing your marketing strategies, including timelines, specific actions, and responsibility. And by the end of this project, you will have a clear roadmap for marketing your photography services effectively. 19. Pricing Your Photography Service: Pricing your photography, You probably are seeking a straight away price guide. However, every photography gig is unique and the price can fluctuate widely. There is no one way to define pricing for photography services. Various factors come into play, but don't worry. In this class, I will explain to you how to price your photography. I might not cover all the photography market or all the photography niches, but there are a few methods to set price for different photography services. Before deciding anything on pricing, you need to check how much other photographers are charging for the same services you are providing. You can simply Google it and see what photographers in your area are charging for a certain type of photography service. If you have just started, your photography skill and expertise may not be top notch. You may have to charge less than the market. But don't lose, you can make money later. First, you need to build your portfolio. Once you have built your portfolio, maybe by doing at least two to three project of certain type of photography, you must increase your price to the same level as other photographers in the market. After this, spend time to find your USP, which stands for Unique Selling Proposition. And later you can charge a premium price for your unique USB. Charging high for your photography services also enhance your photography's perceived value high. I mostly estimate price on the basis of how many hours I will be spending for a photo shoot and the number of pictures that I will be delivering to the customers after the shot. Doing the editing and all charging money only on the basis of number of pictures delivered is also not a right approach. It's because sometimes shooting for a few minutes, but traveling and setting up things and will take much more time. Let's say you are doing a corporate shoot, You need to take picture of a CEO. The shoot itself will not last more than 10 minutes, but traveling and setting up will take at least a few hours. Other thing to consider is how many hours are spent in the post production. Editing photos of a fashion brand shot will be taking much more time than editing pictures of an event. Other thing to consider is how many hours are spent in post production. Editing photos of a fashion brand shoot will take more time than editing photos of a small event. Sometimes editing photos of one product will take two, 3 hours. You have to get compensated for those hours you spent in the post production or in the editing process. So start by setting up per hour cost for your photography. And then consider how many hours does it take to do the photoshoot. Include the time spent in traveling, setting up actual shoot and post production process. And don't forget to add time spent in consultation with your customer. Another thing to consider is where your photos will be used. If you are doing a marketing campaign shoot, your pictures will probably be used everywhere. In such case, you must t a much higher price. One very important thing that I want you to know is that your focus should be on doing least number of shoots, maximum amount of money. Shooting 30 days in a month is foolishness. What you want to do is filter your customers on the basis of how much they are willing to pay for your photography services. Imagine your photography service is being auctioned, and only the person who is willing to pay the most should be able to avail your services. I personally reject 70% of my customer who approach me because they are not ready to pay what I'm asking for. And sometimes they are not the right fit for the services that I provide. Let's say if you are charging $100 per hour and you end up getting, let's say 30 shoots in a month. Consider increasing your price from $100 to $200 per hour and book only 15 shoots a month. With this strategy, you will end up doing half of the work and make equal amount of money. According to my experience, your goal should not be doing more than ten or 12 shoots a month. Do less than that, but charge high for that. For the class project, I want you to spend some time researching how much others are charging in your area for the same kind of photography services you are providing. Then you start with setting an average price per hour for your photography. Remember, the goal is to do less shoot and charge more amount of money for each shoot. Keep on increasing your price gradually. 20. Mastering the Art of Sales: Many people avoid selling because it makes them uncomfortable. However, in the photography business, learning how to sell is essential. Whether you realize it or not, you're always promoting your photography services and selling it. Acquiring selling skills will greatly improve your ability to close the deal effectively. I will quickly give you a few steps that will help you to learn the art and science of selling. The first step to selling is to understand who you are selling to. The way you want to sell your photography services to a company is different than the way you want to sell it to an individual customer. Before you speak to your prospective customer or client, you must do a background research who they are, what they are, what do they do, where are they from? All these things you have to know, you find the point where you can get in touch with them on a deeper level. Share some stories about your photography to your client or customer that will help them to connect to you and your photography services or your photography business. As you plan a meeting with your customer, make sure to keep your portfolio handy. I will tell you a funny story, or maybe a sad story, of mine once I went to meet a big fashion brand. Before meeting, I had already sent them my portfolio online. But for some reason, the business brand owner did not get my portfolio. When I was meeting her, she asked me to share my portfolio then. And there I tried to show her my portfolio on my phone, but because I did not carry my ipad, thinking that, oh, they already have seen my portfolio, I don't have to show it again, we'll just talk about the other staffs. Uh, but to cut the story short, I did not get the project. Now I carry my portfolio on my ipad all the time whenever I am meeting any prospective customer. You also now make sure whenever you're going to meet your customers, make sure that your portfolio is handy. Also, when you talk to your prospective customer, don't just try to sell right away. Try to establish a friendly relationship with them. Talk about something that is in common between you and the prospective customer. So rather than telling what you have to offer to them, ask them what do they want. And once you know what they want, you can make an offer accordingly. You also should take time to find out answers of all the objections that your prospective client or customer may have before you close the deal. Questions like, oh, it's too expensive or you don't have enough experience or your offers are not as good as others in the market. For the class project, I want you to research your prospective customers and identify two potential customer profiles, and representing a company or business client, and another representing an individual customer. So conduct a thorough research on each customer's profile, including their industry, their need and their pain points. Document key information about each customer, such as their background and preferences. Next thing I want you to do is develop a personal story about your photography journey. Or about your photography business that can resonate with both the company, client, and individual customer. And ensure your story highlights your passion, your unique style, and your dedication to photography. And make sure that you document the storytelling approach for future use in customers interaction. The third thing I want you to do is prepare your portfolio. Create a professional and visually appealing portfolio that showcases your best work. And make sure your portfolio is easily accessible, whether in physical form, that is, an ipad or online document. The process of creating and organizing your portfolio as well identify potential objections that customer may raise, such as price concern or competition comparison. You must develop a strategy on how you will address the objection confidently. The four task would be, apply the skills and strategy you have learned in real interaction with prospective customer. And keep a record of your sales efforts so that you can use it for future, including meetings, conversations, objections, and how you close the deal. And document the outcome of your sales effort, including success deals and areas of improvement. You can also share your experience and outcome of your efforts with the class. Highlight successful selling moments and any challenge you faced or you are facing. And provide insight and tips on how navigated the objections and you closed the deal. And encourage your classmates to practice and apply their selling a skill in their photography business. Remember, this class project is designed to help you master the art of selling in photography business by researching prospective customer, crafting a compelling story, preparing a professional portfolio, building a relationship, and addressing the objects. And practicing your selling skill. You will become more confident and effective in selling your photography services. Share your journey and insight with the fellow students and support their learning as well. 21. Crafting a Strong Photography Contract: You might think this is just a small project. I don't need a contract. However, it's vital to have a contract in place for all your projects, even the smaller ones. Contracts serve as safeguard against misunderstanding and future headache. You must understand the contract clearly. Never sign. Blindly see clarity and understanding if needed. Consider hiring a professional to review the contract. And as signing without understanding can have significant consequences. If you find lengthy contract or legal jargon carry, consider drafting your own contract. While this is not suitable for large clients and high stake projects, it can work for small projects, for substantial projects, especially those involving considerable finances and other resources. Engaging a lawyer to review your contract is a prudent move. In the resource section, I have attached a wedding photography contract that I use, and you can check it and modify it according to your need for other contracts. Let's quickly discuss the key element you should incorporate into your photography contract. Well drafted photography contract is essential for both photographers and clients or customers to ensure a clear understanding of expectations, rights, and responsibilities. Here are the important points to include in your photography contract. First, name and contact details. Then you add event details, services and deliverables. Price and payment terms and conditions, cancellation and rescheduling policy, copyright and usage policy. Write down the cost and delivery timeline. Write down liabilities and dispute resolutions also include clients responsibility in it. And there could be many more things that you could add in contract, but these are the most important points that you should add. To put it, simple contracts are like solid ground on which your photography business stands. When you make agreements that protects your rights, income and relationship, you're building a strong base for your photography work. 22. Building a Strong Network: Networking is the most important weapon in the arsenal of your marketing activities. It is super important and it can help you in many ways for networking. Consider these three things. First, make friends with other photographers. This is good because you learn from them and even work together on different projects with them. Sometimes you will need a second photographer, or a videographer, or a drone pilot. And if you're friends with them, they will do a great job for you. Also share what you know and help each other out when you are in a tight spot. For example, once I forgot my camera battery. And the place where I was shooting was really very far from my place. Luckily, there was one friend nearby, so I gave him a call and told him that I have forgotten my battery. And he was kind enough to come to me and give the battery to me. And literally saved me from such a big embarrassment in front of my customer. The second thing that I want you to is get to know the people who supply you with photography stuffs. This can help you get better deals when you need equipment or other things. You can also team up with makeup artists or fashion designers and models to do some very creative shoots. And you can promote your work together. And it's great to have a reliable supplier who won't let you down. The third thing that I want you to remember is just don't take pictures and get paid. Build a good relationship with your customers. This can lead to new opportunity. Ask your customers to recommend you to their friends and family and treat every customer like someone who can tell other people about your photography services. Other people like their friends and family or in their circle to build your network quickly. Here I have some tips for you. Go to events and workshop where you can meet people in the photography community. Use social media to connect with other photographers or other people in the field. You can also join local photography club or local photography groups. Be in touch with your suppliers, visit them once a while, call them once in a while. You can also call your photographer friends over for lunch or for dinner once a while. To create and build a good relationship with them, you must keep a list of all your friends, family, and your customers. You can use a template to keep the track of your connections. I personally use a system where I stay in touch with my most important connections regularly. It's called Top 550.200 contacts. Top five contacts, I talk to them every week. Top 50 contacts, I check in with them once a month or twice a month. And top 200 contacts, I reach out to them every three months and ask how they are doing. I have attached a Google sheet to help you manage these connections. Lastly, I recommend you reading a book called Never Eat Alone. It's a great resource for building a strong network. For the class project, I want you to focus on growing your network in photography industry. Remember, networking is crucial for photographers to create opportunities and work together and make your business thrive. You can also use the 550.200 connection technique to keep your network very strong. 23. Registering Your Business: I wouldn't suggest you to register your photography business right from the beginning. Nevertheless, it will be a smart move to register your business once you start making some money out of it for registering your business. The most common option is sole proprietorship. You can also go for LLC, which stands for Limited Liability Company. Both have pros and cons, but you choose whichever suits you the best. You can also hire a professional to do the registry, It'll be a good idea. Next for your business name and domain name, avoid using common photography names like shutter bug or camera story, or Picture perfect, et cetera. These names are no good. Choosing a unique and creative name is very important. By the way, you can also use your own name as your photography name. Choosing unique name will make it easy to get the right domain name for your website. And it'll be easier for you to register your company because your name will be a unique name. The next thing that I want to talk about is taxes. And although it is not liked by any business people, we have to do our taxes. I will suggest that you hire professional to do your Texas. But if you can do it by yourself, it's well and good. Open a business account for your photography business and keep your personal and business finances separate. And by opening a business bank account, you can definitely do that. Also, insurance could be a good option to consider, especially for your equipment. 24. Planning for the Future: Finishing this course, superficially, will really not help you to become a successful photographer. You need to complete each and every project given in this class, as it'll help you to build a right strategy for your photography business. I would also request you to connect to different photographers and students in this community and in the discussion area to support one another and to help one another. Remember, building a successful photography business is not a short term game. It's a long term game. But you can win this game if you can play slowly and study, this is the end of the course. If you like this course, I would request you to please take some time and give a review for the course. Thank you so much, once again, for taking this class.