{"id":1387,"date":"2024-03-09T13:09:17","date_gmt":"2024-03-09T18:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/?p=1387"},"modified":"2024-03-09T13:16:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T18:16:56","slug":"148-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/148-2\/","title":{"rendered":"148"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_code _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-11553753\"><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1316116\/11553753-12-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-starting-a-photography-business.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-11553753&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h1>Mentioned in this Episode<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;17px&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/app.convertkit.com\/users\/signup?plan=free-limited&amp;lmref=infgmA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ConvertKit<\/a> &#8211; Free for a 1000 email list<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.22.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>Transcript<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.24.2&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>12 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Photography Business<\/h1>\n<p>Ok, let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>1)\u00a0 You are not just a photographer<\/h1>\n<p>At the beginning of your photography side hustle, you will quickly realize how many extra skills are needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few that come to mind;\u00a0 Bookkeeper, marketing director, social media manager, graphic designer, website designer, customer relations, wardrobe consultant, and treasurer.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re just starting out you don\u2019t need to be an expert in any of these things. If you struggle with graphic design work, you can find someone on fiverr.com to do it for you or canva.com where you can easily do it yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Most are things you will learn as you go. Just be aware that it\u2019s not all photography.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>2)\u00a0 Find something to shoot in your off-season<\/h1>\n<p>When I started out shooting figure skating I found out in spring that I didn\u2019t have anything to shoot until the next winter. I hadn\u2019t even thought about it and it took me a few weeks to get some portrait bookings.<\/p>\n<p>If your niche is seasonal, find something to shoot in your off-season. Try to fill your year with bookings.<\/p>\n<p>Now if you shoot weddings and need the winter to get over the trauma, I fully understand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>3)\u00a0 Don\u2019t buy unnecessary equipment<\/h1>\n<p>This is something 99% of photographers suffer from. It\u2019s a technology-rich market and we all need those special features.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I was a major buyer of unnecessary equipment, and I still am from time to time. Before I started shooting weddings I bought a rain cover for my camera. My lenses were waterproof but my bodies weren\u2019t. It didn\u2019t occur to me that a bride wouldn\u2019t want to be out in the rain. So the rain cover wasn\u2019t used until I tried it at a dog agility event. It turned out to be a pain to use and it\u2019s now stuck in a box somewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So my advice is to start shooting, find out what you need and then buy. Remember, your side hustle needs to make a profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>4)\u00a0 Be Different<\/h1>\n<p>You need to stand out from the crowd. Check out the websites and work of your competition but don\u2019t try to copy them, try to identify what they don\u2019t offer.<\/p>\n<p>If they don\u2019t offer Black and White portraits, then you should. Offer images that your competitors don\u2019t. I used to do a jump shot at weddings, where I got the wedding party to jump and I tried to capture them airborne. These were very popular and memorable. No one else in my area was doing this and I stood out from the crowd. The last jump shot I did was the groom and three groomsmen wearing kilts. I still haven\u2019t fully recovered.<\/p>\n<p>If you shoot family portraits check to see if any of your competitors are using a drone. Imagine the shots you can get, like in winter a family doing snow angels shot from above. Or the family sitting on the end of a jetty being photographed from over the water. The options are endless, and if you are the only one in town offering it, you win.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>5)\u00a0 Dream big &amp; Set Goals<\/h1>\n<p>I think I suffered from squirrel syndrome when I started out. It wasn\u2019t until I set goals that I started getting some traction.<\/p>\n<p>Now the downside of setting goals for me is breaking them down into bite-size pieces. I never complete them, and the goal just sits there. I much prefer thinking about the big goal and aiming toward it.<\/p>\n<p>Remember these are your goals and there is no punishment for failing to achieve them. Aim high, like shooting 8 sessions in your first month. If you only shoot 6 don\u2019t worry, you\u2019ll do 8 or more next month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>6)\u00a0 Streamline the customer experience<\/h1>\n<p>The easier you make the booking and product purchasing, the happier your customers will be. This is where a good website is needed. If they can book you and pay the session fee in one visit to your website, you\u2019ll get more bookings than if they need to call you and discuss it. Make it as easy as buying from Amazon.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>7)\u00a0 Never stop learning<\/h1>\n<p>When I was getting into using flash I was doing a Fall shoot for a young couple. That\u2019s Autumn to you Brits. They showed me a photo in a magazine that they wanted me to copy. Luckily I had read about reverse engineering lighting the week before.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I gave it my best shot and they were really happy. Afterward, I realized how lucky I was. If it had been 2 weeks earlier I would have failed miserably. So keep expanding your photography knowledge, it\u2019ll make your job easier.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>8)\u00a0 Your time is valuable<\/h1>\n<p>Don\u2019t give your time away. If you are booked for a 1-hour session, you shoot for 1 hour. If the customer wants you to keep shooting they need to know it\u2019ll cost them X amount. It\u2019s not your fault they were late or one of their kids had a meltdown halfway through the session.<\/p>\n<p>Every time you extend a session and don\u2019t charge extra you are reducing your hourly rate. You end up taking more photos that take more of your time to edit.<\/p>\n<p>Value yourself.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>9)\u00a0 Hire an accountant<\/h1>\n<p>Accountants love what they do. They are experts in all things tax relatable, and can probably save you money by preparing your taxes for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So stick to being a photographer, hire an accountant, and get lots of sleep.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>10)\u00a0 Ask for referrals<\/h1>\n<p>This is something I didn\u2019t do for years. I knew getting referrals was important, but never thought of asking for them.<\/p>\n<p>Try setting up a referral system. If someone refers a new customer, they get a $50 credit off their next shoot. Offering a reward for a referral can reduce your advertising costs. Give it a try.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>11)\u00a0 Market, market, market.<\/h1>\n<p>This is a constant in your business. Marketing Easter shoots in January, Fall shoots in July, and Christmas sessions in October is a never-ending rotation.<\/p>\n<p>When I started out I had very little marketing going on. Generally, I was always too late getting the word out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you shoot commercial photography, find out when a corporation is holding its Annual General Meeting and start your marketing 3 or 4 months in advance.<\/p>\n<p>Wedding photographers market year-round. Sports photographers need to market a couple of months before the season starts.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever it is you shoot, you need to think about when the decisions are made and hit them with your marketing in advance.<\/p>\n<p>You need to market your business to grow.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>12)\u00a0 Start building a list<\/h1>\n<p>This is the big one. Building an email list is easy to do, and allows you to let people know about your latest offers.<\/p>\n<p>You need to set up an email list as soon as you have a website. If you don\u2019t have one already, set one up today or as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p>To get website visitors to sign up for your list you need to offer them something. As a photographer, you can have a signup form that offers them all your latest special deals.<\/p>\n<p>Then every week you send out a special email offer, like a free 8&#215;10 print or $50 off if they book a family session before a certain date. It can be anything you want to offer. Whenever you need bookings, start sending emails, it\u2019s so simple.<\/p>\n<p>The best company to use at the moment is CovertKit. You can have up to 300 people on your list for Free. I think 300 is enough for most photographers. I\u2019ll put a link in the show notes.<\/p>\n<p>Ok, so number \u2026<\/p>\n<p>1 was \u201cYou are not just a photographer\u201d<\/p>\n<p>2 was \u201cFind something to shoot in your off-season\u201d<\/p>\n<p>3 \u201cDon\u2019t buy unnecessary equipment\u201d<\/p>\n<p>4 \u201cBe Different\u201d<\/p>\n<p>5 \u201cDream big and set goals\u201d<\/p>\n<p>6 was \u201cStreamline your customer experience\u201d<\/p>\n<p>7 \u201cNever stop learning\u201d<\/p>\n<p>8 \u201cYour time is valuable\u201d<\/p>\n<p>9 was \u201cHire an accountant\u201d<\/p>\n<p>10 \u201cAsk for Referrals\u201d<\/p>\n<p>11 \u201cMarket, market, market\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And 12 was \u201cStart building a list\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Those are the 12 things I wish I knew before starting in business.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mentioned in this EpisodeConvertKit &#8211; Free for a 1000 email listTranscript12 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Photography Business Ok, let\u2019s get started. &nbsp; 1)\u00a0 You are not just a photographer At the beginning of your photography side hustle, you will quickly realize how many extra skills are needed.\u00a0 Here are a few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1387"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1391,"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions\/1391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/photographysidehustle.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}