Six Things Every Beginning Photographer Should Know

nick fancher, columbus ohio photographer

Six Things Every Beginning Photographer Should Know

About once a week I get an email from a student or aspiring photographer that wants advice on how they can break into a career of being a professional photographer. I found that I was writing the same response every time. So for the sake of time just as much as my desire to share what I have learned, here is my list of six things that I think every beginning photographer should be doing.

1. Get a website

Even if you don’t have any money, you can have a website. First, buy your domain name, using your name if possible. Clients would rather say “We use John Doe for our photography” than “We use Shimmering Pixel Photography”. “Shimmering Pixel” could be one person or several. It can easily get confusing. Let your signature, instead, be in your work. If you don’t have the money to hire a designer to create a website for you, you have some cheap options. Both WordPress and Squarespace cost around $100 for a year and are super easy to use. They are also both very SEO compatible. Tumblr is a fantastic resource, for blogs especially, because it’s free and you can customize the html to make it look exactly how you want. It also allows for audio posts and video embedding. Not to mention, the site allows for people to subscribe to your site and reblog your posts.

2. Start a Facebook Business page

Facebook is another brilliant resource for photographers. Not only is everyone and their mother on Facebook, it’s free. I “friend” anyone I have ever worked. That way, when I post new photos to my Facebook business page, I can tag the people and instantly reach all of their friends. Since all of my work comes from word of mouth, having the ability to reach thousands of friend’s friends in one post is essential.

3. Create a Google Places page

Google has taken over the world, so you may as well embrace it. Creating a Google Places page is another free resource that nearly every business is already using. It allows you to post up to five searchable tags to describe your business such as “portrait studio” or “wedding photographer”, or you can write in custom tags. You can post up to ten of your portfolio images as well as one YouTube video. You can get reviewed by clients, which is huge. The more people that are searching for you and talking about you on Google, the higher you will rise on organic Google searches such as “Columbus, Ohio Fashion Photographer”. Not even Google AdWords is as effective as organic searches.

4. Join Flickr

Flickr may be affiliated with Yahoo!, but it is still one of the top ways to get your images to show up in Google image searches. Once again, make sure to tag the hell out of your photos. The best part of Flickr is their relationship with Getty. Getty shops Flickr user’s photostreams and invites select images to be added to their catalog. This means money. I have personally made money from several clients on Getty, through Flickr.

5. Shoot for Free

Selectively. Photographers are a dime a dozen these days. What gets you the jobs over someone else is, more times than not, if someone knows you. The second thing that will win you a job is your portfolio. So your portfolio needs to reflect a diversity of images. This means, multiple locations, subjects and styles. So if your portfolio isn’t very diverse, start thinking about the types of clients and jobs that you want to get, and then approach them. There are plenty of small businesses or bands out there that would be thrilled to have you shoot for them for free or for trade or a for a discounted rate. If it means that you get to add the types of images to your portfolio that you need, then it’s mutually beneficial. Not to mention, now this business owner or band that knows other business owners or bands is talking about you and your photography. Soon, people will come to you, asking for you to do for them what you did for the other business. And these guys may have money. If you aren’t busy with life or other shoots, you have nothing to lose. At the least, you have new material for your blog.

6. Share Your Knowledge

Everyone loves watching behind-the-scenes videos. This is our bread and butter, here at FStoppers. They are a great way to help others as well as promote yourself. If you know that you will be doing a unique photo shoot, consider having someone shoot some video. If you can, include technical info like EXIF data and lighting diagrams. Then send your video to every applicable blog you can think of. Even if this doesn’t immediately lead to paying work, it’s good juju.

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http://twitter.com/Jensthetraveler Jens Marklund
Like this?
http://www.Jensmarklund.com
http://www.Flickr.com/Jensmarklund
Gavin Chapman
Or this?
http://www.gavinchapmanphotography.com/
http://profile.yahoo.com/OWPMADIHXR6T2RJXUWXYHCJ55A Drew
If they really are a beginning photographer, shouldn’t #1 be – take the time to learn the skills and become a good photographer first? Many people put time and energy into promoting images that aren’t going to get them anywhere. Doing work for free isn’t likely going to lead to paid work either- it’s doing work for people who don’t pay for photography and aren’t going to suddenly change that policy or habit.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=15915653 Mike Newton
Helpful tool I use to check my name (as a potential username) across all the big sites: http://namechk.com/
http://twitter.com/tobiassolem Tobias Solem
Agree with everything except for point 5. Devaluing the work of photographers even further by working for free is bad, Mmmk.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=15915653 Mike Newton
I should have clarified: its always best to have the same name across all channels (facebook, tumblr, instagram, linkedin, etc) so this will do a single search and tell you which are taken and which are available.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=611390693 Joey Colletti
Yea I would add learn to shoot in Manual before advertising one self as a photographer as a job. I am definitely nowhere near complete in learning (nor will I ever be) but I really struggled with my confidence before I understood how to compensate for lighting/composition issues and I think that forcing someone to shoot in Manual really trains the brain versus the camera doing most of the work.
It’s like driving a car… I think if you can teach someone how to drive stick (manual) before an automatic their attention to detail in driving skyrockets.
Just my 2 cents from a guy who is a baby photographer (only been in it for 5 years…)
http://www.facebook.com/nico.socha Nico Socha
Another good thing is, create an account at 500px.com, there you can very well see how others vote your photos. The site has a good traffic and you get really great response i think.
and of course, i do some self advertising here now, i hope at this article its ok to do that :D
http://500px.com/nicosochadesign
http://www.nicosocha.com
http://twitter.com/rcdurston rob durston
1. if you take it on as a business, please know what your overhead is.
2. take a small business class
3. pursue a career in what you love to do and make money from that, you’ll be much happier in the long run than trying to make a living at something you don’t love.
4. don’t take on a space until it can pay for itself
5. don’t buy equipment until you have the work to pay for it.
6. don’t get hung up on the gear
7. know how to operate your equipment at least, real masters will know the limits and how to push them
8. be confident but humble
9. learn how to speak properly and clearly to people
10. learn everything there is to know about your field; people, styles, competition etc
11. practice x3, the more you do it, the easier it will come to you and the easier it will be for you to trouble shoot when the real jobs come along
12. wear comfortable shoes
13. eat properly and avoid processed foods
14. arrive early
15. there are no good reasons only poor excuses
16. no regrets, go into projects whole hearted and give them your all or don’t bother accepting them no matter how much they are going to pay you.
17. only show your best work, don’t show me 40 images and only 10 are good but you like the others. People will latch onto the extremes
18. don’t get caught up in other’s gossip/work. Stay focused on what you do best
19. never pass up an opportunity to help someone else.
20. there are no rules. For every rule in photography and imaging, there is a great example of someone breaking it, so enjoy and rebel
http://www.facebook.com/poolkenny Sascha Kretzschmar
thats really true…
so as example:
Calvin Hollywood (Retoucher and Fotoartist) is not the best photographer and retoucher, but ha have the publicity by working in the digital sozial live so he earns a lot of money with that what he can DO and he can PUBLISh to his costumer
http://www.facebook.com/people/Birgit-Engelhardt/1443459364 Birgit Engelhardt
These tipps should be called: How to get known as a photographer in the internet.
The first tips (despite “RTFM!”) would be “learn to organize” and “learn to delete”.
Tom Gormley
Umm… #1 should be: “Be good at what you do”
All of the rest is pointless if you can’t shoot a decent photograph.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=698408807 Mat Barry
You should have wrote this. And add “at least attempt to have a decent personality”.
http://nickfancher.com/ Nick Fancher
People are coming up with many great additions to my list. The list is by no means exhaustive. Of course coming up with original and well executed content to populate your site is the most important. And as in many things, less is more. Populate your site with a few, diverse images from multiple shoots. Save the rest for your blog.
http://www.facebook.com/travisgrayequalsawesome Travis Gray
Ooooooh I get it. These are just some of the things you should know. He left out the other millions of things that one should know, and this is just a tease before he releases the actually important ones…
…right?
http://www.patrickhallphotography.com Patrick Hall
I disagree with this statement. The only way you are going to be able to take control of your images and work with a team of people to produce awesome images that WILL get you work….is to shoot for free. When you shoot for paying clients, you lose a lot of your ability to do what you want and cater more towards what they want (which isn’t always best for showcase work).
If you setup free bridal, food, fashion, architectural shoots for free, then it’s YOUR job to make sure the production is high enough to attract the types of clients you want to book down the road. If everyone is donating their time for free, it’s easier for you to act as an art director and take the photos you want.
I do agree with you about people promoting bad images on their websites. That’s def a problem. I’d be willing to be though that some of the best images on your favorite photographer’s site were done for free as a personal project….and that’s how they wound up booking the big paying jobs.
http://profile.yahoo.com/7EKFKRHUHEGQ4C6LF4HMNL3M6Y NerazT
Fail! website uses flash.
http://www.patrickhallphotography.com Patrick Hall
I don’t think you are devaluing the work of other photographers anymore than they already are. People don’t book “photographers”, they book people they like and have relationships with. But you also have to have those amazing images that justify the asking price you give during your bid. Hopefully when you work for free, you are getting images that land you larger jobs and then you don’t have to work for free as much. Working for “free’ doesn’t mean for paying clients either. You should be working for free with a team of creatives to produce an image you can all use….not working for free for a company that has a budget for photography in the first place.
Artur Borns
Nah. Like this:
http://500px.com/borns
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=670836252 Marc Pagani
I saw this headline and was totally expecting at least one (preferably the first) point to be “learn your craft”, as in “understand aperture, shutter speeds, ISO, composition, lighting, and learn how to edit, etc.” Having a website and marketing yourself in the other ways listed will not get you far with poorly exposed, out of focus, poorly composed images that show no understanding of how light works in an image. I think that’s one of the big issues with the proliferation of digital cameras…people wanna skip the learning/understanding part and go straight to the “check out my website” part. I know many young “professional” photographers who have no idea how an f/stop relates to a shutter speed, and their images show it. Learn first, then market.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1523253818 Dan Lizama
Good tips. Bad Heading. I would say these are not the types of things a “Beginning Photographer” should be worried about, once he has the sufficient skill to produce decent photos, then he can go on advertising, otherwise, his poor-skilled work will only dampen his name to the people that get to see him on Flickr, Facebook, Google, etc, and scare away potential clients.
“6 Great ways for an aspiring Photographer to Promote his work” Would be better IMO :)
Cheers!!
tyleremt1
This list is what is wrong with the industry today. Clients see 100′s of so called photographers, or know someone with a camera, and feel it is ok to pay NOTHING for services. There are a few things a beginning photographer should know, this list isn’t even in the ball park. First, understand your camera. Know it well. It’s a tool, and like any other tool you had better know how to use it properly. The more familiar you are with your camera, how to change settings, and how to focus lenses on it, then your ready to move on to step two. Step two, LEARN about photography. Take a class, read a book, watch numerous tutorials. Take your first 1000 photos with a purpose. Don’t just pull the trigger and use the “accuracy by volume method”. Be specific, and calculated. Know that if you make a mistake, but correct it, you have learned which helps you later. Step 3 is shoot shoot shoot. The only way to take good photographs is to shoot photographs. Step 4 is important, but cannot come before the first 3. It is learn all you can about light. Not just flash, or studio light, but actually watch people, and see how light hits them. Know that at noon, it’s much different than 8am, or 8pm. Once you see how light works, then you can move on to step 5 which is putting light right where you want it, deliberately. I run into many people that say “I’m a photographer” simply because they have a camera. I will tell you there is a big difference between someone that shoots a picture (my mother takes lots of pictures) and an actual photographer. If you always do things for a reason, and have a vision, your photos will get better and better with time. Long after you have done all these things, you can think about starting a website, and marketing your craft. Never in all my years have I seen an industry flooded with people saying “I’m a photographer” simply because I have a camera. Does this mean “I’m a surgeon” because I own a scalpel? I think not. It takes time to be good, and more time to be great. I’m good, but I’m working on being great.
Holger Hessenthaler
There is no West-Germany in 2013!!!
http://twitter.com/MisterMcNaught Chris McNaught
I realize it’s a matter of semantics, and most people might not even notice, but the title and the 6 things don’t match. I’ve noticed this is a trend with your articles and one that could be easily remedied.
The title says there are 6 things photographers should know, but the article lists 6 things that should be done.
Maybe just a title change: Six Things Every Beginning Photographer Should Do
Gavin Chapman
Sigh, yes it does :-(
http://www.facebook.com/jhalmaas Almås Jan Helge
Nr 1 and 2 like this http://www.studiohelgeland.com ? ( Still working on it, lots of text is going to be added soon )
sy
Good observation skills..!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_I6SK6HEETSYEJKPOWNLJLBR73U Julio
Also naming your business after yourself is ok unless you would like to sell your business one day…Joe Blow photography would be a hard sell to Aunt Suzie…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1161657585 Ryan Cooper
Working for free doesn’t devalue the work of other photographers nearly as much as working for cheap does.
When you work for free it is implied that you are working for something else of value that does not have a monetary association. (Such as experience, portfolio, or a favor). This way people automatically assume that while they are gaining a bonus for getting it for free that you won’t be able to always offer it for free because you no longer will need that non-monetary reward. They expect that price to eventually go up.
However, if you work for cheap you set a monetary value to your work and work similar to that which you are doing. This creates market expectation and is very difficult to shift.And like Patrick says, don’t work for free for anyone. Work for free on projects of your choosing and for those who do not have budgets to afford photography or with those who also mutually benefit. (for example a model, photographer, and stylist might all work together for free so they all gain better images). As a rule I would say never work for free for someone who is making money off that work. (For example doing free product photography)
http://twitter.com/georgesocka George Socka
works great on a PC
http://markbeaumont.co.uk/ Mark Beaumont
I think the ‘shoot for free’ point is a little misleading, a better way to put it is to shoot for something other than money. Your not shooting for free, you’re shooting for portfolio content, and forging links.
http://twitter.com/adamgasson Adam Gasson
This. A shoot is free when it’s a normal fee paying client who suddenly asks you to work for no money and on a job that has no portfolio benefit to you. Shooting personal work you don’t get paid for is part and parcel of the industry.
the_pro_amateur
I completely disagree with this list and I’ve found huge success with my immediate family on facebook following these rules:
1. Be a poor to horrendous photographer with no desire to improve.
2. Post on craigslist looking for foot, underwear, and nude models age 18-18 1/2
3. Set up a *professional* studio using a desk lamp comprised of 30% duct tape, an office chair, and a wrinkled bed sheet on the basement wall.
4. Be a total creep/snob/asshole.
5. Frequent YouTube and other photo “how to” sites and just try to copy what other people are doing (don’t forget to ask what gear, exact settings, and Photoshop tweaks they used). Having your own vision and knowledge will get you nowhere!
6. Use the word “professional” a lot.
7. Use the words “budget” and “affordable” A LOT.
8. Ruin someone’s wedding day after following #6 and #7 so people are increasingly paranoid about real photographers.
9. If it’s an otherwise bad photo, just HDR the hell out of it, or make it black and white. That’s art man.
10. Actions.
Follow these simple rules and you’ll be on your way to becoming as good as I, a proud PPA and ASMP member (just like everyone else).
http://twitter.com/adamgasson Adam Gasson
How could you sell a business when you ARE the business? Unless you mean sell off a library of images, in which case the business name is irrelevant.
http://twitter.com/adamgasson Adam Gasson
I think points 1 to 4 are really a single point – have an online presence. I also don’t think that every social network platform out there is applicable to every photographer. Facebook is great for wedding and portrait photographers but next to useless if you shoot editorially for example. While Flickr has some great tools I wouldn’t sign up in the hope of licencing images to Getty. Why not cut out the middleman (and increase your percentage) here and go straight to an agency?
I agree with shooting for free, but not for people how are usual fee payers who might be trying to get a freebie. It’s essential for personal career development though. The point raised here is worded badly, especially the “And these guys may have money” line – makes photographers sound pretty desperate.
snapdragon58
I love how people are so quick to criticize free advice! Thank you for the ideas that you did provide…they were helpful to me ;) (oh and by the way…i often shoot for free and it has led to paying gigs)
http://www.rlmorris.com Lee Morris
I think you guys may be talking about 2 different things. Shooting a paying job for free vs shooting for yourself for free.
http://twitter.com/simnw Simon wardenier
How about: Learn how to take good pictures, develop your own style, make prints, connect with people?
http://www.facebook.com/carlie.roach Carlie Roach
i agree with Drew, if someone advertises
that they want you to work for free for your portfolio or more work your going
to get more work for free. You will still have the restrictions of a paid job
as you are still working for them.
And if you don’t know anything about photography yet, you’re already
giving yourself a bad reputation.
Now collaboration is that way to go. No one
gets paid but your doing the work for you. Model Mahem is not a bad way to find people wanting to be
models, make sure you book a few though they arnt the most reliable of
sources. If your doing any
photography that doesn’t rely in interacting with a model just go out and take
photos, practice try work out what’s good about photos out there. Learn! because there are too many people with SLR’s out there that
are calling themselves photographers, and they dont know what depth of field is
or dynamic range they may not even know what SLR stands for.
Make sure you have good work to put on that website.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=712477702 Kevin Wilton
This has to be about the worst business model I have ever seen. For starters, the marketing is all passive and secondly, you never, never, never, NEVER discount your work or do anything for free.
woofa
Well that’s a matter of opinion on whether it’s a fail or not. However to do a slide show like you have Flash is not required. Nice clean page.
Mbutu Namubu
The reason why business is so difficult for young folks starting out is that the economy is a social system. Markets are based on relations between people that are constantly changing from moment to moment. Any attempt to apply a formula or learn how to run a business through classes at school etc is probably the wrong approach because it doesn’t account for the day-to-day changes in states of affairs.
A photographer’s reputation is the most important precisely because the market is social. This means that it’s perfectly fine to shoot for free if it will increase a photographer’s reputation in some manner. For example, if working for free gains access to special locations or subject matter that might increase a reputation through a portfolio then it’s definitely worth doing. Meanwhile, working for a fee and producing bad work can only hurt a photographer’s reputation. The point is that the most important thing to be concerned with is reputation and it can often be aided by working for free as well as harmed by working for a fee.
Also, commercial has a much different culture than wedding/portraiture. The best business advice I ever got for shooting commercial was to “never do a shoot for less than a grand.” It turned out to be true based on my experience. The worst jobs and clients often dwell in the below 1000 dollar range. Again, part of gaining a reputation also has to do with what jobs a photographer is willing to reject.
Photography is different than other careers because there is no “working your way up.” In other words, don’t expect to charge low fees and eventually move up to higher fees.That rarely happens. Working for free can actually be less dangerous than charging low fees because free work is a favor. Many times, a favor can even more valuable than shooting a paid job. It just depends on the situation.
Just some thoughts…don’t know if they’ll help anybody or not
http://twitter.com/the_gris Andrew Griswold
Nailed it again Nick! Simple and direct rules to starting out and being able to market yourself as a photographer. Tons of great responses and I am really glad Lee and Patrick are fighting back for step 5 shoot for free. Its about building upon the work you have, you are gaining experience for one and chances are you are working for a friend most the time so you are familiar with the scene and person. Makes it that much more fun to create something you are directing and wanting to shoot.
http://www.facebook.com/alex.toloczyki Alex Toloczyki
Yeah, the site with your name…How would you call your site if your name was “Alex Toloczyki”? It´s a difficult name, strange name…I choose “http://www.ATcam.de”. I would like to have a name like “John Doe” but I don´t have :)
http://www.patrickhallphotography.com Patrick Hall
If I read what Nick said, he’s not saying offer a paying client a free shoot but rather shooting for yourself for free by finding a small client that might need images.
http://www.facebook.com/m.nirvana Maikeru Nirvana Zhang
Yea I agree with alot of people here. Sorry FStoppers, I don’t mean to criticize, I usually find all your posts amazing, but this time I don’t find this post as very productive advice. I believe the first and foremost aspect a photographer should know first before becoming a pro is reflect and assess – “am I good enough as a photographer to charge people for my images? Would people pay for what I can produce?”
With that in mind, then polish their art if need be by shooting heaps, start their own projects, learn from others and share knowledge with other photographers, get proactive.
Once they passed that stage and have the essential skills to produce “good-enough” images that people would pay for, then start with your list of approaches. Although I think steps 2-4 is essentially the same step.
Step 4 is very controversial, we have all shot for free, volunteered or done unpaid work. It is kinda inevitable. However, It is also one major ideology that most clients have in their mind that also destroys our industry. We as a collective of photographers from the world should educate clients or whoever that photography costs money, business or not, projects always have a production cost and overhead costs. Surely photographers just starting out could gain alot of experience from shooting for free – from another pro, or a fellow photographer. But definitely should not get confused with shooting an unpaid “job”. I’m not saying all clients every look for are what’s cheap or that they don’t appreciate good photography, I’m not. But we can’t deny the fact that it does reduce the size of our market, making it even harder for the beginner to start charging money for his/her work. How many times has anyone hear “Oh, I’m just gonna ask my cousin to take the wedding photos for me because he has a new DSLR camera”. Shoot for free only for yourself and no one else. Only if you believe the images you produce will be beneficial to your portfolio or will give you a wealth of experience and knowledge.If you do come across a situation of opportunity from a potential “client” then charge them an overhead or discounted fee, or something. Don’t just jump in for free. Keep the industry healthy guys.
Sarobar Kasaju
your home button looks like your logo. but nice website.
Sarobar Kasaju
works on mac too. Its ipad and iphone who fails to play flash.
Sarobar Kasaju
Nice one but your website is slow.
http://www.facebook.com/stefan.parol Stefan Parol
Honestly, you people, who do you think to charge for your service if noone talks about you cause you never did any freewillingly services for friends of friends etc… You just about to start and want to be paid emidiatly just as you had already prooven yourselfs.
I agree that its absolutely essential to sell yourself for a fair price and rely on what you think you are worth and able to do, otherwise people will just rip you off, but thats not what we are talking about. Helping out for free ALWAYS, in 9 out of 10, will lead to something good, even if it just was a nice day connecting….

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