What do you need to start a photography busniess?

[JustJazzie]

For the record- I have no intention if starting a photography business anytime soon, so please no "if you don't know, then you're not ready" remarks.

It's been noted to me by several people that "all you need to start a business is a camera" I've always been pretty firm on the belief that until you have enough lighting equipment and experience to take great pictures any time/ anywhere you should probably wait.

With that said, I am curious what those on the inside consider absolutely necessary for starting up a business.

 

[runnah]

A bunch of boring stuff like forms, taxes, licenses and contracts.

As a wise photographer once said, "taking photos is 10% of the job."

 

[robbins.photo]

For the record- I have no intention if starting a photography business anytime soon, so please no "if you don't know, then you're not ready" remarks.

It's been noted to me by several people that "all you need to start a business is a camera" I've always been pretty firm on the belief that until you have enough lighting equipment and experience to take great pictures any time/ anywhere you should probably wait.

With that said, I am curious what those on the inside consider absolutely necessary for starting up a business.

Ummm.. a loose screw maybe?

Lol..

 

[jsecordphoto]

customers

 

[deeky]

Business skills, photography skills - in that order. Most small businesses fail not for lack of product, but because they don't manage the business well. Write a business plan, set a budget, have a marketing plan (much broader than just advertising). Sure, there are those exceptions that have made it by the seat of their pants, but they are the exception.

 

[Overread]

It depends what kind of photography business you want to run. Different focuses will require different equipment setups.

Portraits and family groups might require a lot more investment into lighting gear; course you'll also have to decide on studio or mobile - home or outdoor - which will influence what you select.

A sports photographer on the other hand might invest a lot more into some long range lenses and high ISO cameras whilst having a more simplistic lighting setup

A journalist photographer might only need camera and a few lenses and simple flash to do their work.

etc...


Then you have to come up with a budget and an order of priorities. You know what you want in an ideal world; but what you can get and afford is going to vary. You might not be able to save or get a loan to cover all you startup costs - so you might decide to offer limited services (limited compared to your end goals only) early on as you use profits to invest in the company to purchase equipment to let you branch out more fully.
You might also find that you have to consider saving for longer so that you've more money in the pot to tide you over should you find that with things like studio rent your running costs are going to be significant (ergo you need some saved up to tide you over through the early days).

So first your company focus will dictate what you need. That will also influence your need for a place of work (do you need a studio or just an office) as well as a whole range of other factors (eg if your office is at home that will affect your paperwork). So the first core before anything else in working out what you need to start a business is to really work out what kind of business you're looking to start.
Then you bring in your budget and start to see what fits and what doesn't.

 

[Tailgunner]

In a word,…Skills.

I know that is not what you want to hear but anyone can buy a camera. It takes someone with skill to produce an artistic image. So my advice is to spend time shooting and processing your images. Think of it as working on your portfolio. Then once you've got some time under your belt and a decent portfolio, look into a DBA (Doing Business As) Tax ID (most states just accept your SS#). This will keep you on good terms with Uncle Sam (are whom ever). As for equipment, it all depends on what you're planing to photograph.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Facebook page

 

[Tee]

Facebook page

...and a kick ass watermark/ logo courtesy of Etsy.

 

[Derrel]

Facebook page

...and a kick ass watermark/ logo courtesy of Etsy.

Thank Gawd somebody finally mentioned the need for a kick-ass watermark/logo/copyright notice thingy/eyesore/super-grande-no-me-molesta stamp!!!!

 

[kathyt]

These are some of the things I did. They may not be for everyone.
Tax ID
business plan (SBA is a good place to get help with this)
accountant
attorney for legal documents and consultation
website
organizational system for receipts/invoices/important documents. (makes it easier at tax time)
consistency in your work is really important.

 

[IByte]

A bunch of boring stuff like forms, taxes, licenses and contracts.

As a wise photographer once said, "taking photos is 10% of the job."

He's almost finished being grounded.

 

[imagemaker46]

A camera, couple of lenses to start, from there learn to use them, pick up more pieces along the way. Upgrading your gear from a basic camera body to better, along with much better lenses, learn how to use this gear, if you need lights, a basic setup works, learn how to use the lights, more books, classes, videos. After spending a couple of years at this level, new gear, better lenses, spend more money, try and figure out what you want to shoot. Sports and photojournalism would create the most expensive path to follow, gear for sports two higher end bodies and longer glass( to do it right will cost $20-25k) photojournalism, does require two high end bodies and a wider variety of lenses( $10-15k) After spending another 2-3 years hoping to be good enough to compete in a tough photo world, that will only be tougher in 5 years, you can look back on the thousands of dollars, thousands of hours spent trying to start a photo business and wonder why.

Or you can do just like you mentioned at the beginning, buy a camera, read a book, get a business card, shoot free for a while, listen to your family and friends tell you that you should do it for a living, web site, cute name and run with it. Regardless of which path you choose, there will be more days of disappointment than there will be days of enjoyment. This turns into work, and like other businesses the bills have to be paid.

 

[KmH]

Starting & Managing a Business | SBA.gov

What do you need to start a photography busniess?

#1 - A spell checker. lol!

What kind of photography business? Retail, commercial, fine art, editorial?

You start with a well researched and written business/marketing plan.
The research shows you which market niche is not being fulfilled.
A key to business success is making sure you have little, if any, competition.

Your business plan also helps you accurately calculate how much money you will need to start up and maintain the business for the 1st 3 years.

As mentioned the major skill set needed relates to business, marketing, salesmanship, self promotion.

Many make the mistake thinking that if they charge $100 for a 1 hour photography session that they are making $100 an hour as income.
The pre and post production time a 1 hour photo session requires generally adds up to 3 to 4 hours of work (both business and photography related) for the photographer.

At 4 hours of work per $100 1 hour photo session, 4 hours worth of the business non-reimbursed expenses have to be paid out of the $100.

A well run home based retail photography business can generate income at about 20% of revenue, so out of that $100 only $20 is income.
$20 divided by just 3 hours is $6.67 per hour, well less than minimum wage.

 

[Clee33]

..what Runna (and the rest said. Also consider joining a Professional Association, like PPA or NPA, to show you're dedicated to knowing your craft.
The NPA sometimes offers free or reduced student memberships to help aspiring photographers. Also make sure you have a second of everything, especially batteries.
Usually anything that can break, will, at the worst time!

Some helpful sites:
www.NationalPhotoCouncil.com
www.facebook.com/NationalPhotographicAssociation
PPA.com
www.facebook.com/PPA