23 May 2023
After having spent some time combining your current job and your passion for photography, you have reached a point where you are considering taking the plunge and are considering what photography business to set up. Because you’ve reached the point where you’ve made up your mind and you want to set up a photography business, to give up that job that doesn’t suit you in order to devote yourself completely to your great vocation.
Congratulations! At Arcadina we know that the beginnings can be a bit dizzying. That is why we have created for you this small 6-step guide to know which photography business to set up that will help you take your first steps as a professional photographer. Because at Arcadina we want you to advance in your career as a photographer with determination and a firm step.
Would you like to find out which photography business to set up? Then follow the tips in this guide.
Contenido
- Which photography business to set up if you are just starting out?
- Do you already know which photography business to set up?
- Headache for your photography business? Take an Arcadina
Which photography business to set up if you are just starting out?
If you are reading this article it is clear that you want to take the plunge and find out which photography business to set up in order to make a living from what you really like. This is a very important decision in your life that you have to meditate and study before making, but with enthusiasm and good planning you can achieve it.
When it comes to defining how to change your job to do what you really like, let’s start from the assumption that you already have a good education and some experience. Without these 2 points well established, we recommend that you don’t go ahead and change your job, but once you have enough knowledge in the field and with the help of these 6 steps, becoming a professional photographer will be easier than it seems. Let’s take a quick look at what steps you need to take:
- Study and assess what kind of speciality you want to work in and what the clients in that sector are like.
- Depending on the type of photographer you want to be, you will need to have specific equipment and tools to work with. This will be the next step in your career to become a professional photographer.
- Start creating your brand identity (logos, fonts, colours, style of photography, etc.) that will eventually make you recognisable as soon as they see one of your publications.
- Before you start reporting, research how to get clients and what kind of rates will be most appropriate for your type of client.
- Create a professional photography page where you can show how you work and what your style is.
- Offer your services. Promote yourself in all possible media and look for recurring clients.
1# Define your speciality and target audience
When it comes to taking the plunge and becoming a professional photographer, you may be trying out several specialities, our recommendation is to stop for a second, study each of them separately and, at first, focus on just one. With time and experience you can gradually expand your photography business and add new services, but in the beginning it is much better to focus all your efforts on one type of photography.
When deciding the type of reportage you want to do, it is also important that you take into account the clients, because it is not the same to work with an engaged couple as with a businessman who is organising an event, it is also important that you take these aspects into account.
To help you make this decision, we are going to share with you some recommendations from different specialisations.
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2# Get the necessary equipment
When it comes to becoming a professional photographer, you are going to have to invest a good amount of capital in getting all the professional equipment that is necessary to do this kind of work.
Regardless of the type of photography you want to do, there will be a series of materials that will be common to all specialisations, for example:
Cameras
It is recommended to have one or two professional SLR cameras.
Lenses
At first you may choose to buy a more versatile lens, such as a prime lens or a standard zoom lens that allows you to capture different types of photographs. Over time, depending on your specialisation, you will need to expand the type of lenses.
Tripod
If you are shooting studio or outdoor photography with long waits, such as sports photography, having a tripod among your equipment will help you keep your camera steady and get sharper images.
Lighting
In many of the specialisations, you will also have to use the help of flash or external lighting at certain times if you are in the studio.
Memory cards
It is advisable to have several large capacity and good quality ones so that you don’t get stuck in the middle of a session. And before you buy them, make sure they are compatible with your camera.
Batteries and chargers
This is another must when working on a shoot. Having extra batteries already charged during a shoot is the number 1 rule for every photographer.
Computer and editing software
This part of your business is also important to take care of. You need a powerful computer that supports the editing programs you will have to install and that has a good capacity to respond to the accumulation of queued tasks.
Equipment rucksack
If you are going to be shooting on location, you need to carry some of this equipment safely. Make sure your bag or backpack is padded and designed to carry this type of equipment.
This would be the basic material for almost any type of reportage, but when acquiring all the material, bear in mind that you will also have to have a series of extra material, props, sets, etc. that will be specific to each type of photographic session.
At this point, it will also be interesting for you to consider whether you want to open a photography studio or not. Here is a very interesting article.
>> How to set up a photo studio?
3# Create a brand and visual identity
When creating your personal brand as a photographer you will have to make a number of decisions, for example:
- Brand name: choose a name that is easy to remember, unique and representative of your specialisation. And before you get attached to it, make sure it is available on your domain and on social media.
- Logo: create a logo that reflects the personality of your brand and what you want to be remembered for. Here are some ideas to inspire you.
>> How to create the perfect logo for a photographer?
- Typeface and colour palette: depending on your target audience, you can choose a more classic or modern typeface and the same applies to the colour palette that you want to represent your photography business.
- Visual style: in addition to the typeface and colours, your photography style has to convey your own brand, so it is important that you pay attention to the type of photos you post on your website. Make sure they all follow the same style.
- Tone: the same applies when expressing yourself in any medium, whether it is your website, a blog post, a video, email or social media. Always aim for clear and professional communication that reinforces your brand and appeals to your target audience.
4# Establish a business plan and a dossier
When setting up a photography business, it is important to have some financial control, especially at the beginning where expenses will be higher and income much lower. That is why it is important to define the number of expenses you are going to have in the first months until your business starts running:
- Material.
- Study.
- Web page creation.
- Advertising.
- Manager.
- Etc.
Another very important point to take into account at this point is to define your prices very well, to do this make a survey of your competition, both of what you charge the reference photographers and those who are at a similar point to yours. Here our recommendation is not to throw away your prices, we know that the beginnings are hard but offering your services below the minimum rates does not benefit anyone, not even you. Nor is it advisable that at the beginning, especially when you don’t have the experience of the big ones, to match your rates to the photographers who are benchmarks in your sector. Look for a middle ground and little by little, as you take on more work, you will see how you can gradually raise your rates.
To get the business up and running it is important that you also establish a marketing and advertising plan, i.e. all the actions you will have to take in the coming months to get customers).
Here are some ideas:
>> Boost your business with digital marketing for photographers
5# Create a professional photography website
Once you have established your speciality, have your equipment ready, have started to create your personal brand and have all your packs well defined, the next step to take is to create a digital business where you can showcase everything you can do, i.e. a professional photography website.
With Arcadina, you can turn this website into a digital business where you will be able to carry out a series of very interesting actions for your business, such as, for example:
- Create private galleries for your customers to: view, select, download and purchase their images.
- Set up an online shop where you can sell photographs, professional prints and photography products.
- Have an online booking page (Booking) so that clients can book and pay for any of the photo shoots you have for sale.
And these are just some of the possibilities you can have with us. In the following video tutorial Felix Mezcua (CEO of Arcadina) explains how to take those first steps with us, because, in case you didn’t know, with Arcadina you can create a website and see our system from the inside totally free for 14 days.
6# Offer your services and build a client portfolio
Once you have everything ready and your business is up and running, you can add to your marketing strategy a series of extra actions that will help you to promote yourself and get more clients. To do this, attending events related to your speciality or organised especially for the photography industry will help you open more doors than you might think.
At these events, always take advertising flyers to hand out to the attendees where it is clear who you are, what you do, what your website is and how they can contact you.
You can also attract customers by running special promotions, for example:
- Give away 1 free photograph in the studio.
- Create sweepstakes on Instagram.
- Seek collaborations with other professionals, for example, a wedding dress atelier.
- Etc.
The important thing is to move around a lot, make yourself known and always have your camera ready to shoot.
Do you already know which photography business to set up?
When deciding which photography business to set up, it is important that you create a plan of action and stick to it little by little.
- First of all, get some training and experience to strengthen your decision to become a professional photographer.
- Study the different specialisations you can pursue and choose the one you like best. And don’t forget to look at the profile of your ideal client and check that you will be comfortable working with them.
- Create a list of all the material you will need depending on the speciality you choose and get everything you need to start working.
- Define your personal brand and make a list of all the visual elements you will need.
- Research in order to establish your rates and packs within your dossiers.
- Create a photography website with business opportunities to turn your dream into a reality.
- Go to the market, offer your services and gradually build up a solid and long-lasting client portfolio.
Would you like to try Arcadina’s services for 14 days for free?
On this occasion we would like to share with you the origins and extensive experience of one of our ambassadors, Joan Vendrell.
>> Meet Joan Vendrell, the new Arcadina ambassador
And to say goodbye for today, we would like to ask you a question about which of these 6 steps you are currently in?
Headache for your photography business? Take an Arcadina
Headache for your photography business? Take an Arcadina
Fulfil your dream of becoming a professional photographer with the help of our business solutions. Now you can create a website and business for free for 14 days with no commitment of permanence.
Thanks to Arcadina’s business solutions for photographers, your business headaches will disappear.
If you have any queries, our Customer Service Team is always ready to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We listen to you.
