Photography Business

Today, I’d like to have a brief word with all the newbie photographers out there.

One of the hardest things for artists to learn is how to make it professionally. In this video, a commercial photographer describes his journey and the obstacles he overcame to achieve success.

Standing out from your competition can be daunting. One easy way to do this is to make sure your business shows you are inclusive and welcoming. A lot of photographers say they are inclusive, but they are not projecting that. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself to help you figure out where you can improve your business.

If like me, you have always wanted to be a commercial photographer, then having a good agent is a really important part of this. However, there are far more photographers than there are agents, so how do you get one?

If you're looking into hiring a wedding photographer, you may not have much experience with the profession. Although you can pick photographers you like, there is more to the story than just that. So, how can you make sure you're hiring the right photographer? Here are seven tips that can help ensure you aren't disappointed.

It is one of the most upsetting things that can happen to a photographer, and it is frustratingly common: you discover your images have been stolen and used without permission. What can you do in this situation? What can you do the prevent it in the future? This excellent video essay features a seasoned photographer discussing the issue and offering a lot of helpful advice. 

No one enjoys the hassle of going through airport security, but for photographers and filmmakers, it can be especially frustrating and tedious to deal with having all of our gear unpacked, inspected, and repacked, and it can be a serious delay. TSA PreCheck has the potential to alleviate a lot of that, though. Is it worth the $85 fee for five years? This great video essay discusses the topic. 

The mirrorless camera was an innocuous enough invention that stemmed from Olympus' early innovation, but is it Sony that has managed to change the camera market for good and upset the CaNikon apple cart?

Frame.io, a leader in building software for collaboration, client review and sign-off, and cloud-based workflows in moving image productions, is being acquired by Adobe for $1.275 billion. Why is this such a big deal?

For the majority of photographers, their website is the central hub through which potential clients will find and decide whether or not to hire them. And so, it is important to put a lot of careful thought into your website, as it can make or break the success of your business. This excellent video tutorial discusses some mistakes beginners make with their websites and how to fix or avoid them.

Beware, those with gear acquisition syndrome. Blackmagic Design has just dropped the price of their URSA Mini Pro 12K to $5,995.

Nikkei recent published a synopsis of Techno System Research's Market Share Survey for 2020, a detailed paywalled survey of camera shipment data from major manufacturers. The headline is a 5.0% drop for Nikon, decreasing its total market share. This isn't great news for Nikon, but is it all it seems?

Like many small businesses, I decided to use the very popular restaurant recommendation site Yelp to advertise my business after seeing they automatically created a page for me. Here’s how you can avoid the disasters that come with making that same mistake.

Image theft is both morally wrong and also incredibly frustrating. As a photographer, my images have been stolen so many times that it now no longer upsets nor surprises me. Until recently there wasn't a great deal I would do about it, but now I have a great system.

Making a living in an oversaturated marketplace can be a challenge even without a global pandemic present to further shrink the marketplace. It takes a lot of tools, even some unexpected ones, to make it the distance.

It doesn't matter what you do, if you do it well, you will be called talented; people will attribute your good work to a natural ability that you almost definitely do not have. But, not having a built-in talent is a good thing.

Eventually, as we progress in our commercial photography careers, we will become a part of sizable shoots with producers attached. Your first shoot with an experienced producer will feel like flying first class for the first time; you will never want to go back.

Nikon recently posted its first quarter financial report which shows improved sales but still leaves many questions unanswered about its post-COVID recovery. Is it making or — indeed — losing ground to its competitors?

Selling prints can be a fantastic way to create a bit of passive income from your photography, but with so many images and photographers out there, it can be difficult to get a bit of traction to start generating sales. This helpful video discusses a photographer's experience selling prints online and some of the things he has done to increase his sales. 

Professional photography can be a really secretive world. Finding out what your competitors charge, who they are shooting for and how they got the contacts, and the way they managed to light that epic image can be a real challenge.

Things are still topsy-turvy with certain restrictions around the world, but in New York City, clients are bringing me into their offices again for headshots, so I wanted to share what I bring and why.

Someone looking to get their first professional-quality headshots taken might find themselves surprised by the price. Why are they so expensive and how do photographers justify charging so much money for so little of their time?

Canon has just published its results for the second quarter of 2021 and it will make positive reading for the company’s shareholders.

Sometimes, to grow as a photographer, you have to take two steps back to go three steps forward.

The internet has a wealth of information available for free, but there are some questions that photographers seem to dodge as a question. Especially the more British of those. Let's try to answer a few of these.

The sad and often frustrating truth is that many times, there are very talented photographers who do not find success as professionals, no matter how good they are with a camera and how many interesting creative ideas they have. So, what, if not only talent, does it take to find success as a photographer? This important video essay discusses the traits of successful photographers.

Income is important, but passive income is incredible. While it can be tricky to develop revenue streams that pay you passively (even just to a degree) in every industry, it is possible, and if don't correctly, can free you up to work on what you love.

This industry is infamous for having a low average wage, particularly if you're a self-employed photographer or videographer. However, there are plenty of people earning a good wage, and here are 10 ways you can too, with examples of videographers who are already doing it.

There are endless apps and web services available for small business owners to build a CRM database. For those not familiar with CRM, it stands for Customer Relationship Management. Basically, it's where you store, categorize, and update your customer’s information.

With the news that Instagram's focus has shifted to be far less centered around images, many photographers who have spent years building their following and brand on the app are left out in the cold. This isn't the first, nor will it be the last time you are reminded of the dangers of building a large part of your business on someone else's platform.

From modern-day yogis like Kelly Slater to Tim Ferriss, all have one piece of advice that I will paraphrase here: if you want to excel at your craft, you must always be the student, not a master, and immerse yourself into your discipline at all times.

Running a successful photography business takes a lot more than simply being good with a camera and having creative ideas. Part of it comes down to simply being able to create opportunities for yourself through networking. If that is something you struggle with, this helpful video tutorial will give you five tips to improve your chances of success when networking. 

An overabundance of junk email this morning reminded me that turning a passion into profit sometimes means returning to one very basic concept.

Taking your passion and making a career out of it is the dream for many, but it stays an abstract dream for the majority. There are a lot of factors involved, but if you are in a position where you can and might take the leap, it's worth knowing what's on the table.

When I look at product photography and video in the fashion and beauty product industry, many of the shots are now computer-generated. It might be at a steep cost initially to get the team to create the products in 3D space, but once that’s done, the product can be used in any scene you need for the client. Are we beyond photography?

During what is likely the most tumultuous global period in our lifetime, it's easy to become jaded, frustrated, and feel as if you have lost your way. The question is, why that happens, how do you pull yourself out of that rut before it does real damage?

While most of us are not full-time stock photographers, the idea of selling some of our work online to earn some passive income on the side is quite appealing. That being said, there are literally dozens of places to sell your work, so which is the right choice? This great video takes you through a photographer's earnings on many different sites throughout 2021 so far and discusses his experience. 

For photographers, the "Blue Tick" next to your name is an important signal to clients and customers that you are of some merit. Here's how you can get verified for free on all your email accounts.

Notwithstanding problems with ramping back up production to pre-COVID levels, manufacturers have been generally optimistic about the emerging camera market as consumers start spending money that has been hoarded over periods of lockdown. Canon looks set to be the big beneficiary, but what about the other manufacturers?

It has never been an easy task to make a profession out of something that is fun, and to keep that thing fun, and in 2021 photography is certainly no exception, but are our expectations wrong?

Doing photography professionally will change the way you shoot and operate. If you are planning to go professional or have recently done so, these might be of help. 

When you make the decision to become a professional photographer, it's easy to get wrapped up in all the gear you need, the software, and the technical abilities. However, there's a lot more to a successful career in this industry, and overlooking many of these elements can hold you back.

NFTs have become a very controversial topic in the world of photography. Whether you believe in their model or think they are the ultimate waste of resources, there's a lot to digest here, and I encourage you to join in on the discussion.

I listen to podcasts every day on all sorts of topics, including photography. Thus, I began thinking about how you start a podcast from scratch and whether, ultimately, you can turn them into money. I asked a veteran podcaster these questions and more.

Photography is a business, and like any other business, clients can be downright annoying sometimes. If you are in the mood to commiserate a bit or just need a bit of a catharsis, check out this great video essay that discusses some of the annoying things clients do that photographers have to deal with. 

For many years, manufacturers were quite distant from their consumers, choosing to sell through a series of distributors and dealers. While the last couple years have shown a little change, via developments like roadmaps, influencer connections, and some direct-to-consumer sales, it’s still tough to make your voice heard. A new announcement by Wedio and Cooke Optics shows that you might have a closer connection with the maker of your next lens.

Sometimes, photography, like life itself, can be a dance of one step forward and two steps back. So, allow me to divert from the nuts and bolts of camera gear for a moment to talk about something just as important to sustaining a career.

Becoming a full-time landscape photographer can be difficult to navigate and there are many paths you can take. I've focused heavily on developing a YouTube channel to hopefully turn my passion into more, and in this 3rd update, I go over my progress, revenue, setbacks, and what the future holds. 

The proliferation of cameras that can produce impressive photos with minimal user intervention (all in a phone) has been great in a lot of ways, but on the other hand, it has also led to a lot of potential clients thinking they no longer need the services of professional photographers. So, how do you deal with that? This excellent video essay discusses how to handle ever-evolving attitudes toward professional photographers. 

Photographers generally like full control over an image from the moment they press the shutter to when they export it and send it off to the client, and as such, the idea of handing over retouching responsibilities to someone else can seem ludicrous. Some photographers do it and actually prefer it, however, and this interesting video essay features one successful photographer discussing why.