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Common question, uncommon situation
TJRidgway
Registered Users Posts: 26 Big grins
I've been lurking here for a while, and just joined today. I really enjoy the atmosphere here and look forward to participating in the future.
My question is in regards to starting up a part-time photo business without a studio. I have been reading everything I can find regarding small businesses in general and photography businesses in particular, but I am looking for advice and input from those who have done this successfully.
My situation is as follows: I am a 10-year veteran of the US Navy, currently 9-12 months from leaving the service to pursue further education (either another Bachelor's or a Master's) and spend more time with my family. I have been casually pursuing photography since 2001, and truly pursuing it now for a couple of years. In these last couple of years I have found that I truly enjoy it and would like to make it a bigger part of my life and career. To that end I am considering starting up a part-time business doing specific types of photography; in my case I believe there is an under-served market for military portrait (in uniform, on site) and event (change of command, reenlistment, retirement, holiday parties, yearly balls) photography in addition to family portraiture.
I do understand that I have much to learn about portrait and event photography. I have photographed three events (one wedding, two military ceremonies) and had happy "customers" each time (all were either family or job assignments), but I am still very much a beginner overall in that respect. Regarding portraiture, I am experimenting now and am getting some good results, but my miss rate is still high and I need more practice to get my lighting right. I am better with natural light than artificial at this point, and I know that is a major weakness, which I am addressing.
That said, I do understand that the majority of what makes a photography business viable is advertising, customer service, organizational/operational capabilities, and setting yourself apart from the competition. Photography may be the product, but people are as interested in the experience as the product in this business, as the two are synonymous in most people's minds. Though my degree is not in business I have a fair amount of experience in business thanks to my career in the Navy (I run a business office for a regional repair site; my responsibilities include cost analysis and business solicitation among other things).
I suppose my question is really a request for advice. I would like to work part-time, I would like to clear $1,000 a month or better in profit within the first 9 months (I do mean profit; I fully understand the true cost of doing business), and I would like to continue to enjoy what I do. I do not believe these things are mutually exclusive. Advice or input is greatly appreciated.
My question is in regards to starting up a part-time photo business without a studio. I have been reading everything I can find regarding small businesses in general and photography businesses in particular, but I am looking for advice and input from those who have done this successfully.
My situation is as follows: I am a 10-year veteran of the US Navy, currently 9-12 months from leaving the service to pursue further education (either another Bachelor's or a Master's) and spend more time with my family. I have been casually pursuing photography since 2001, and truly pursuing it now for a couple of years. In these last couple of years I have found that I truly enjoy it and would like to make it a bigger part of my life and career. To that end I am considering starting up a part-time business doing specific types of photography; in my case I believe there is an under-served market for military portrait (in uniform, on site) and event (change of command, reenlistment, retirement, holiday parties, yearly balls) photography in addition to family portraiture.
I do understand that I have much to learn about portrait and event photography. I have photographed three events (one wedding, two military ceremonies) and had happy "customers" each time (all were either family or job assignments), but I am still very much a beginner overall in that respect. Regarding portraiture, I am experimenting now and am getting some good results, but my miss rate is still high and I need more practice to get my lighting right. I am better with natural light than artificial at this point, and I know that is a major weakness, which I am addressing.
That said, I do understand that the majority of what makes a photography business viable is advertising, customer service, organizational/operational capabilities, and setting yourself apart from the competition. Photography may be the product, but people are as interested in the experience as the product in this business, as the two are synonymous in most people's minds. Though my degree is not in business I have a fair amount of experience in business thanks to my career in the Navy (I run a business office for a regional repair site; my responsibilities include cost analysis and business solicitation among other things).
I suppose my question is really a request for advice. I would like to work part-time, I would like to clear $1,000 a month or better in profit within the first 9 months (I do mean profit; I fully understand the true cost of doing business), and I would like to continue to enjoy what I do. I do not believe these things are mutually exclusive. Advice or input is greatly appreciated.
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Comments
It's hard for me to provide any business advice, but I can see your a bright guy with a great attitude. While these two traits aren't any guarantee of success it's a good foundation to start with.
I tend to approach your question from the product side first. While the best gear isn't always necessary good high quality gear is. Your equipment needs to match the type of photography your pursuing.
I break down photography into the following:
Image capture, which involves general photographic knowledge of your gear and what all the settings mean.
Image processing, This involves your computer and software necessary to post process your captured images. Here we need to know about monitor calibration, color spaces, bit depth, file formats, image size in pixels, to name a few.
Printing, this is a lot more than pressing the print button. Here we need to know about the various output devices, paper, other media, icc profiles, soft proofing, etc.
Talent and creativity: Ya bring what ya got! Do realize you can develop and or wake up what ya got simply by trying.
The business side of photography, which was the heart of your original question. This can be the most difficult. My thoughts here would be to evaluate yourself on the first 4 areas of photography and develop a plan to improve your knowledge, ability, and experience, in these areas up to an acceptable level for a professional. You can simultaneously be developing a budget and business plan.
I would also recommend posting some of your work. Step out of your comfort zone and get some independent feed back.
Sam
SmugMug
Note that all of that is casual, I haven't set up anything formal yet, though I am looking into one next weekend with a friend. My watermarks, etc. are not solidified (I'm not a big fan of them in all honesty), and I am still learning smugmug. Advice on ANY of that would be greatly appreciated. Please ignore the websites; I have not started advertising anything yet and the websites are not up and running (aside from a horrid attempt at google sites). I do, however, own the domains.
Regarding equipment, I have some decent equipment but nothing on a pro level. I have actually been debating as to what I would buy into. I currently have a Panasonic GH2, Olympus 14-54mm, Zeiss 2.8/21, and an Olympus e-510. I used to shoot Sony and have passed my A100 on to my father. I would be willing to sell off my personal equipment if necessary to fund the pro equipment.
My computer and software is in order, at least for a foundation. I won't go into the full specs, but it is a home-built workstation class machine with CS 5.5 Production Premium and LR3 (student discount is a wonderful thing), with 3 levels of backup (none offsite yet) and a server class RAID-0 SAS array for working space. I have an NEC S-IPS 20" screen that I need to calibrate, and I recently purchased a Canon Pro 9000 MK II.
I am honestly open to comments and criticism. Ten years in the military have given me a tough skin, and I have an innate desire to learn and grow better at what I do.