Ten Things Photographers Need to know about Achieving Success in Professional Photography
To be a successful photographer…
1. You have to love photography. Okay, I know this one seems obvious. But when I say, you have to love photography, I mean you really have to LOVE IT. You will also need to have a strong interest in the business of photography. It’s not easy to create the product you are going to sell, which is what photographers do, and in order to sell a product there has to be a business. If I’ve already lost you, we might be in trouble. Photography is a business and when the business side gets tough, and it will, your love for photography is what will help get you through.
A little reality check here, your love for what you are doing can ebb and flow over the years, that’s natural. People often tell me, you have the best job in the world and I agree, I do. But… and that’s a big BUT, there are days when I don’t feel like doing it. It feels like work, because it is! Still I love it, and after 25 years in this business, most days when I opened the studio door I think, ‘wow, I am so lucky that I have been able to make a living doing this.’
FYI, I’m not entirely sure I have ever been on a proper vacation. While I make my living as a portrait photographer, I love to photograph wildlife. I am a photographic adventure kind of girl. I love traveling and exploring the world while hauling a ton of equipment through airports. My happy place is standing out in the freezing cold photographing bears, up at 5 AM chasing animals through the Serengeti until dark, or maybe standing in a field of wild flowers snapping away. Now that’s what I call a vacation! You can love photography anyway you like. You might prefer another subject to photograph, and that fine because we are all different, but if you don’t have a never-ending itch to pick up a camera, it could get tough.
2. You have to identify a niche or type of photography that you want to specialize in. There are literally hundreds of ways you can make a living as a photographer, everything from real estate and food, to children or wildlife. The list is endless. But some choices will pay better than others. Since this list is about being a successful photographer, not just taking pretty pictures, choose wisely. You are going to need a different business plan if you are photographing birds rather than children. Sadly, birds don’t buy pictures, people do. And while people do buy pictures of birds, it’s going to require an entirely different mindset to become a successful wildlife photographer rather than a portrait photographer. That said, either can be fabulous and require many of the same skills when building a photography business.
I have friends that are the head photographers for NFL teams. It’s a great job, if you love football. Personally, not my thing. There are many photographers who photograph people and their pets. Now I don’t dislike cats and dogs, but again, not my thing. I love photographing people. My niche is children and with children comes families. That’s great for me because parents like to buy pictures of their kids, why wouldn’t you want a beautiful portrait of your child?
I photograph a lot dancers, however most of my dancers are not professional, they are under 18, still children. Almost everything I do as a professional photographer is portrait work with an emphasis on children. Start thinking about what type of photography you could put some effort into, something that you’re going to love for a long time. Don’t be afraid to try a few things. You might find out you really enjoy photographing something you didn’t expect to like. I did not want to photograph the first dance school I did twenty years ago. Dance moms I thought… no thanks! A client begged me to give it a try and I instantly fell in love with it. All these years later, dancers are still one of my favorite subjects to photograph and a big part of my businesses income.
The worst job in photography is one you hate. Start with a subject you are naturally drawn to. If babies aren’t your thing, newborn photography would not be a good choice no matter how lucrative it might be. A little introverted and shy around people, you might want to re-think a wedding business. The smartest choice will always be what comes natural to you and where you are most comfortable.
3. You must have a learning mindset. Things change fast with technology and this industry, like many others are driven by those changes. You have to be nimble to keep up with it. I learn something new every day, even after all of these years in business. I attend annual conferences like Professional Photographers of Americas’ Imaging USA where I can check out new equipment and learn from my peers. I enjoy learning from other photographers, even if they are in a niche or type of photography I’m not currently interested in. What they are doing may pique my interest, and who knows, maybe I will decide to give that type of photography a try. If you don’t put yourself in a learning environment and see what others are up to, you’ll be trapped in your own little world. You won’t know what’s going on and it’s important to be open to new opportunities.
You will need to educate yourself continuously. When I finally got a mirrorless camera, it was a tough transition for me. I had to relearn a lot about how to use the camera. It’s not that I couldn’t turn it on and get a picture out of it, I could. But to get the maximum use of all of the new technology in the camera I had to educate myself. Frankly, it was a much bigger learning curve than I expected. I now need to hold my camera differently than I have for the past 25 years so that I can make the most of what this camera offers, and that was a huge change for me. We get use to what makes us comfortable and change can be difficult. I still miss my viewfinder, but I’m learning. Continuing education will be critical to your success as a professional photographer. Staying on top of changing trends and technology is important if you want to stay in business.
4. You need to have a place to conduct business. This might be your home in the beginning but that would not my first choice. If you’re just starting out that might be where you have to be, wherever it is, you have to establish some physical place where you can do business, meet clients, and sell your work.
I bought my studio early on in my career. I know everybody is not going to be in the position to do that. But I was not in a position to buy mine when I did it. It scared the heck out of me. But I bought it anyway. All these years later, It’s been a great investment and place to conduct business. Regardless of where or how you conduct business, you need to be able to do it in a professional manner. Here are just a few ideas of places you can work without buying a studio. You can rent your own space, but that’s expensive if you are just getting started. You could share space with another creative professional such as an interior designer. I did this my first year in business. It was really smart to share space with someone who already had the clients I needed to be successful. I was able to build a client list from her clients and 25 years later, I continue to work with clients that I met in that space.
If you do on location work, you can work out of a spare bedroom in your home, but you will still need a place to meet with clients. Many libraries have conference rooms that you can reserve at no cost. I know a few photographers this has worked really well for. Spend some time thinking about it and come up with a plan that will work for you. There are many opportunities for work share spaces. If you choose wisely, this could help grow your client base much quicker. Remember, when resources are low, get resourceful.
Meeting in a public space is not a proper place to do business, it screams unprofessional. No matter where you decide to conduct business, you will need to present yourself as a professional to your clients if you want to gain their trust and grow your business. Where and how you conduct business will be the first impression they have of you. Think outside the box and make sure it is a great one!
5. You will need a plan to reach out to potential clients, or market your business. This is an extensive subject that can take years to master. Networking and promoting your business will be ongoing. Building a client base and learning to sell your work will require as much effort as perfecting your photography skills. I have spoken to many new photographers that tell me they want to do a certain type of photography because they don’t like dealing with people.
But any professional photography that is sold means you’re probably going to make your living relying on other people being involved… even if you’re not photographing people. Real estate photographers will be working with real estate agents. If you’re photographing food, you’re going to be dealing with an art director and chefs. You love fashion photography? Your day will be filled with models, designers and stylist.
I cannot think of a way you can make money in photography where you don’t have to work with other people. Photography is a people driven business and you have to have a plan in place to connect with those people.
Let’s say you’re a mom starting a new photography business. Your children have friends, so you are probably in mommy groups, and your kids may be in some kind of sports. A ll of those places are great avenues to get your name out there and connect with other moms as potential clients. Maybe you want to do food photography, you would want to start by trying to meet chefs. If you’re just starting out you could approach up and coming chefs. You could also work with a culinary school and photograph for them to get your name out there. Or perhaps a magazine needs food photography for some of their advertisers. There are so many ways that you can reach out to potential clients regardless of what niche you’re in. But you do have to have a plan in place and you will need to work your plan, if you want to grow a thriving business.
6. You are going to need to have a really good working knowledge of your equipment and understanding of light. This one sounds easy because you love to take pictures or you wouldn’t have gotten this far into the list. Cameras have gotten so sophisticated that understanding how to use them requires a lot education and practice to fully understand them. I know many photographers that struggle. When I try to pinpoint what the problem is, often I realize it’s because they don’t have confidence in their ability to control their equipment and light. The issue could be not fully understanding their camera, needing more practice with studio lighting or not understanding how to control natural light. Whatever the situation is, understanding light and how it works with your camera is the basis of all photography. Many photographers that consider themselves professional don’t understand how to control their camera or light and this will cause endless frustration and problems.
Don’t let them see you sweat. You never want to let your client see you fumbling around trying to figure you’re your settings. Your goal is for your client to see you as a professional and not understanding your equipment will be a dead giveaway that you don’t know what you are doing.
7. You have to have a product to sell. ASAP, you’re going to need to create a product offering with pricing, because if you’re not selling anything, you’re not making any money and well, then you’re not going to be a successful photographer.
You will need samples of these product to show your clients, not just the physical products, but sample images as well. You must be able to show them you can do the work and deliver the product they expect.
What physical products such as portraits, books, and prints do you want to offer your client? You sell what you show and you must have samples of your work and your products.
Having a portfolio that is representative of the kind of work you do will help you and your perspective client determine if you are a good fit for each other. The bottom line is you have to have a product to sell if you want to make a living as a photographer.
What will that product be?
How much do you need to charge to be profitable?
How much is your time worth?
Only you can determine your value in the marketplace.
8. Don’t sell only full resolution files of your work. While this may seem like a fast way to make a little money, it will be hard to sustain a business. our client may think this is what they want, and they may ask for it, but this is usually because they don’t know what else to ask you. It will be your job to educate them on better options. Commonly referred to as shoot and burn this seems like an easy way to make some quick money, and it might be. But, if you want to build a reputable business that can support you long-term, you are cheating yourself and your clients by only offering digital files.
Offering a product that you create from start to finish is a proven way to make a good living and build a solid business. Creating products that are unique to you is how you create a style and a name for yourself as an artist. Don’t sell you or your clients short by taking the easy way out.
9. You must conduct business properly. Listed below are just a few of the many things that you need to have in place to be a successful business.
• Payment processing
• Website
• Email service
• Phone and Text
• Insurance
• Taxes and license
You will need to make sure you have complied with the legal requirements in your area to open a business. Being a photographer sounds glamorous until you look at a list like this and realize how much work goes into being a professional. You are building a business, it doesn’t matter what product you’re selling, you just happen to be selling photography. With that comes legal and professional responsibilities.
10. Finally, to be a successful photographer, you have to be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your photography business won’t be either. Being a successful photographer is not something that’s going to happen overnight and your success will be directly correlated to your tenacity and the amount of hard work you’re willing to put in.
Tenacity and patience are the biggest attributes a photographer needs to be successful. It’s true, the harder you work, the more successful you can be. The better you become at the art of photography, the more people will want to buy your work. The more comfortable you become at selling the more you will sell, and the more you reach out to perspective clients, the more people will want to work with you.
All of this takes time. Give yourself a little grace. Be willing to learn and be tenacious. Many young photographers think they know it all, trust me, you don’t. Many people give up right when their success is ready to happen. You have to be willing to get up and go at it one more time.
What’s going to get you through all of this? How do you cultivate patience and tenacity? Your love of photography will get you thought the growing pains. Taking pictures of bears? You need to be tenacious and patient. If you’re on a football field, tenacity and patience will help you get the winning shot. When photographing a newborn, trust me you are going to need a lot of tenacity and patience.
There you have it ten things every photographer needs to be successful. YES, it will be a lot of work, but it can also be a great adventure. I am excited for you, because you CAN do this. But to be successful you have to be as excited about the business as you are the camera. It’s about more than taking pretty pictures, it’s about creating a style and brand around what you do… this is what keeps clients coming back for more regardless of what niche you are in.
If you know being a professional photographer is what you want, GREAT! You are way ahead of most people that are still wondering around out there trying to figure out what they want to do with their life. Do it your way and create an incredible life for yourself. Good luck and don’t give up!
Susan is a internationally awarded, PPA certified professional photographer and holds the coveted Master of Photography degree from Professional Photographers of America. She is Past President of this organization of over 36,000 professional members. Susan has been awarded the American Society of Photographers highest honor, the ASP Fellowship. She is a member of the prestigious Society of Twenty Five.
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