The photography business can be a competitive field, so it can be scary to think about starting a business with so much competition. Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. We are going to help you learn how to start a photography business with no experience even if you live in a competitive area.
How to Start a Photography Business with No Experience
1. Choose Your Genre
Your photography business should have a primary genre that your business should be built around. This is one of the great things about starting a photography business. You can choose a genre that is a specialty niche that no one else is doing. This will set you apart from the competition. If you choose a genre that is popular in your community, such as a wedding photographer, just make sure you build your brand in a way that makes you stand out.
Photography genres include the following:
- Wedding photography
- Family photography
- Headshots/portrait photography
- Landscape photography
- Real estate photography
- Aerial photography
- Sports photography
- Newborn photography
- Commercial/product photography
- Journalism photography/photojournalism
- Pet/animal photography
- Fine art/artistic photography
Your photography business can cover several of these genres; it doesn’t have to be limited to just one. For example, if you know you want to photograph people, then your photography business may cover newborns, families, and weddings; as such, you will need to make sure you advertise your business accordingly.
2. Research Other Photography Businesses
Look at how successful other photography businesses are and apply what works. At the same time, look at their reviews to see what is not working for them.
What are photography businesses using for props? Where are their shooting locations? What is the rate of the professional photographer? How long is each session? Do they offer mini sessions for a more affordable price? Do they have a studio or offer clients to come on location?
You should also read the customer reviews to see what clients are saying about the photography businesses. Have they made mistakes? Are clients unhappy with the photographer or their edited results?
This is important to know because it will help you know what to do and what not to do.
3. Build Your Brand
Before getting to the fun stuff like designing a logo, slogan, and website design, you’ll have to choose your business name and obtain a business license to do business legally within your jurisdiction. Then you’ll be able to put all of your creativity to work. This is where the fun begins. You’ll get to choose your brand and build it.
When building your brand, you’ll need to consider factors like your business name, logo, design, website, and social media presence. You’ll know you have successfully built your brand when clients can say your business name and others know exactly who they are talking about.
4. Market and Advertise Your Brand
Once you’ve built an online presence with a website and social media accounts, you’ll need to advertise.
These are some sure-fire ways you can reach clients both past, present, and future:
- Build an email list
- Offer specials/promotions
- Use a marketing firm
- Donate services
- Host a giveaway
- Network with other professional photographers
- Partner with similar service businesses
- Example: For every purchase that a client makes at the partner store or website, your photography business will give the client a discounted photography session
- Partner with charities
- Advertise in local newspapers, magazines, and storefronts
- Advertise on websites and social media platforms
- Create a referral program
Essentially, the goal here is to reach as many people as possible. The more creative you are, the more you will wow future clients, especially if you offer a service that no other photography business in the area is offering, such as partnering with another local business.
5. Build a Menu
Menus aren’t just for restaurants; photography businesses can use them too. Create a pricing menu that will tell clients what services you offer and for how much.
As a new freelance photographer with no experience, you’ll likely need to set your prices lower than the competition and then work your way up. You should also offer a variety of services including mini sessions, half sessions, full sessions, and holiday sessions.
The type of session is determined by how long the session will last, how many outfit changes you will allow your clients to have, and/or how many total edited images you will provide your client from the session.
For example, a mini session is typically around 20 minutes total, offers no outfit changes, and will provide the client with around 10 total edited images.
A full session can be up to 1 ½ to 2 hours long with multiple outfit changes and numerous edited images.
Having a broad menu to offer clients will undoubtedly help you reach more clients by giving something to offer everyone.
As you become more established, you can study your client’s trends to see what is most popular. For example, if you have offered holiday sessions and received very few clients, then you may want to eliminate holiday sessions from your menu and stick to what’s working among your clients.
6. Purchase Photography Gear
Starting a photography business is more than just buying a camera. For example, if you’ll have an indoor portrait studio, you’ll need to purchase backdrops, lighting, seating, and other props. Shooting freelance photography on location at various landmarks won’t require as much equipment.
No matter which genre you choose for your photography business, you’ll need a computer with photo editing software so that you can fine-tune your images to a quality that your clients will love.
You may not need to purchase all of the following equipment, but this list will help you know what you may need:
- Camera
- Camera bag
- Lenses (various sizes)
- Memory cards
- Thumb drives/CD’s for client images
- Backdrops
- Props (chairs, couches, seasonal items, etc.)
- Tripod
- Lighting (LED, ring lighting, etc.)
7. Build a Portfolio (Ask Friends and Family to Help!)
The chance of you gaining a client when you have no portfolio to show off your work is very slim. You’ll need to show examples of your work to potential clients who are interesting in booking a session with you no matter what genre you choose. This isn’t limited to family photographers. A real estate agent who needs professional pictures taken of their property will also need to see your work before they hire you.
Because of this, you’ll need a portfolio. But don’t worry! You can ask your friends and family to help, especially when it comes to photographing individual portraits or family sessions.
Ask if you can offer them a free session in exchange for using their images in your portfolio or for advertising purchases.
Conclusion
Starting a photography business with no experience isn’t difficult if you’re prepared. We hope that we have prepared you with everything you need to know about starting a photography business with no experience in this article.
If a photography business isn’t for you and you’re looking to start another unique type of business, check out our article on How to Start a Sticker Business.
