The Photographer's Market Guide to Building Your Photography Business


Book Description

Make Money Doing What You Love The Photographer's Market Guide to Building Your Photography Business, Second Edition is an all-in-one resource full of practical advice to successfully start or maintain your business. Experienced photographer, studio owner, and photography teacher Vik Orenstein provides you with the skills you need for every aspect of your photography career. Whether you're just starting out, are looking to revamp an existing business, or have been in the business for years, find out how to make the most of every photo you take. In this revised edition, you'll learn how to: • Harness the power of digital photography • Target your audience through online marketing • Find your niche (or shift to a new one) • Craft a solid business plan • Network professionally with other photographers • Showcase and price your work • Get support from accountants and lawyers • Create a strategic path for your business at every stage • And more! Orenstein and other photographers from a variety of specialties give you firsthand insight into the many facets of this evolving field. In addition to more than 100 color photos, you'll find the know-how and encouragement you need to successfully build your portfolio and your career.




The Fast Track Photographer Business Plan


Book Description

NEW RULES FOR A NEW BUSINESS WORLD Thinking about starting a photography business? The first thing you need to know is that the rules have changed. Yesterday’s business models have collapsed. Creating a successful business in today’s "Digi-Flat" era requires a sharp new approach, one that Dane Sanders has practiced successfully and taught at Fast Track workshops and seminars all around the world. Some of the things you'll learn in this book: How to turn the very technologies that are "killing" professional photography—such as the Internet—into your tools of success -How to lead your business, not let your business lead you -How systematizing, scaling, and outsourcing are critical concepts even for a one-person business -How to radically rethink marketing, sales, and customer service for the 21st century -How to hone a creative vision that works—the most powerful step you can take as a businessperson The Fast Track Photographer Business Plan is not about building a "traditional" business plan that looks good on paper and impresses investors. It's about creating a vibrant, living business plan that will help you thrive in today's digital "Wild West," where creative content is freely distributed, where no one plays by the rules anymore, and where customers have unprecedented freedom in choosing what to buy and whom to hire. It's a groundbreaking look at running a creative business. Whether you're an amateur looking to go pro or a professional whose business has stalled, Dane's practical, on-the-ground advice will launch you on the fast track to business success. Includes free access to Dane's online "stress test" to diagnose your business's strengths—as well as where it needs help!




The Business of Studio Photography


Book Description

This revised and expanded edition of an industry classic offers a comprehensive strategy for launching and running a new studio or improving an existing one, with practical advice on every aspect of the business. Veteran photographer and studio owner Edward R. Lilley shepherds the photographer through a broad range of material and discusses the decisions to be made in structuring a studio. Coverage includes: choosing a location * financing and equipping a business * pricing your work * selling to the wedding, portrait, commercial, and art photography markets * devising short- and long-term business plans * handling paperwork effectively and efficiently A new section on digital imagery provides photographers with proven successful strategies for profiting from the latest technological advances in the field, this guide will start novice photographers in the right direction and help experts hone their business skills.




PROFITographers


Book Description

Opening a photography business requires more than a digital camera and a great eye for photography. To compete with the thousands of professional photographers flooding the market, photographers need to know essential business basics. Statistics show that most small businesses fail within two years, and a lack of business knowledge is a problem that contributes to business failure. Whether you are preparing to start a photography business or you have recently started a business that is struggling, PROFITographers: Creating a Successful Photography Business, will teach you the business basics you need to know to achieve success. This book is not about teaching the basics of photography - it will teach photographers the basics of running a successful business, offering step-by-step instructions that can be followed to start earning an income from a photography business. PROFITographers is a helpful guide that can help photographers navigate through the difficult parts of starting a business, such as pricing, contracts, marketing, and in-person sales. This book offers a comprehensive guide to starting a photography business. This book will teach photographers: How to set goals for your photography business How to create a plan of action to accomplish your business goals Tips for figuring out the net amount of money you need to make How to calculate your cost of doing business What every photographer's "perfect day" should include Important photography business mistakes to avoid Essential legal and liability issues to consider when starting a photography business How to set service and product prices for your photography business Tips for presenting photos to clients The benefits of photography in-person sales Dos and Don'ts of closing a sale How to handle client objections effectively How to ask for a sale Tips for recognizing and using body language when making a sales presentation How to identify your ideal client The basics of branding Marketing/Sales 101 Tips for creating effective marketing materials Offline and online marketing techniques And so much more... With a copy of PROFITographers, photographers will learn essential, proven business techniques that can be used to create and grow a successful photography business. Written by the successful photography team, Paul Pruitt and Melissa Escaro, this book teaches photographers business basics that they have learned in their decades of business and photography experience.







VisionMongers


Book Description

For those who want to make the transition into the world of vocational photography—staying true to your craft and vision, while fusing that craft with commerce VisionMongers is a great place to begin your journey. With a voice equally realistic and encouraging, photographer David duChemin discusses the experiences he’s had, the lessons he’s learned, and the practices he’s adopted in his own winding journey to becoming a successful working photographer. When it comes to this personal, honest combination of craft and commerce, there is no single path to success. Everyone’s goals are different, as is everyone’s definition of success. As such, VisionMongers does not prescribe a one size-fits-all program. Instead, duChemin candidly shares ideas, wisdom, and inspiration to introduce you to, and help you navigate, the many aspects of transforming your passion into your vocation. He addresses everything from the anxiety-riddled question “Am I good enough?” to the basics—and beyond—of marketing, business, and finance, as well as the core assumption that your product is great and your craft is always improving. Along the way, duChemin features the stories of nine other photographers—including Chase Jarvis, Gavin Gough, and Zack Arias—whose paths, while unique, have all shared a commitment and passion for bringing their own vision to market. With VisionMongers, you’ll learn what paths have been taken—what has worked for these photographers—and you’ll be equipped to begin the process of forging your own.




Business and Legal Forms for Photographers


Book Description

Fully revised and updated to reflect current trends and changes in professional practice, this book features 34 fully reproducible forms (on a Mac and PC compatible CD-ROM) which photographers everywhere will find invaluable. Each form is accompanied by step-by-step instructions, advice, and much more.




Commercial Photography Handbook


Book Description

Targeting new and experienced commercial photographers alike, this invaluable guide explores the different aspects and challenges of succeeding in the industry. Approaching the subject systematically, the topics begin with determining what kind of commercial photography to pursue and how to get the training needed to carve out a niche in the market. Continuing to delve further, the topics expand to marketing techniques, negotiation skills, estimating and charging for work, maximizing profits while minimizing expenses, and ethical business behavior. Armed with this information, commercial photographers who are developing or expanding their businesses will know how to evolve and grow during periods of both prosperity and recession.




The Passionate Photographer


Book Description

If you’ve got a love and passion for photography, and a feel for your camera gear and settings, yet your images still fall short–The Passionate Photographer will help you close that disappointing and frustrating gap between the images you thought you took and the images you actually got. This book will help you determine what you want to say with your photography, then translate those thoughts and feelings into strong images. It is both a source of inspiration and a practical guide, as photographer Steve Simon distills 30 years of photographic obsession into the ten crucial steps every photographer needs to take in order to become great at their passion. Simon’s practical tips and advice are immediately actionable–designed to accelerate your progress toward becoming the photographer you know you can be. Core concepts include: - The power of working on personal projects to fuel your passion and vision - Shooting a large and targeted volume of work, which leads to a technical competence that lets your creativity soar - Learning to focus your concentration as you shoot, and move outside your comfort zone, past your fears toward the next great image - Strategies for approaching strangers to create successful portraits - How to edit your own work and seek second opinions to identify strengths and weaknesses, offering opportunities for growth and improvement with a goal of sharing your work with the world - The critical need to follow, see, and capture the light around you Along the way, Simon offers inspiration with “Lessons Learned” culled from his own extensive experience and archive of photojournalism and personal projects, as well as images and stories from acclaimed photographers. If you’re ready to be inspired and challenge yourself to take your photography to the next level, The Passionate Photographer provides ideas and creative solutions to transform that passion into images that convey your unique personal vision.