Factors Contributing to a Successful Photography Business

by Startacus Admin

Photography is a field with near-universal appeal. It’s a creative and fulfilling pastime, but it can also be a reliable source of income. Making the transition from amateur snapper to a professional photographer, however, is not as straightforward as you may suppose. Let’s run through a few of the requirements.

Experience and Qualifications

Firstly, you'll be, you'll need to be able to demonstrate to would-be clients that your services are worthy of their investment. This means garnering professional experience and potentially taking a course via which you’ll be able to quickly learn the ropes. But to do that, you'll first need to build an impressive portfolio to showcase your skills. It should be diverse, easy to navigate, and it should reflect the sort of work you're looking to attract. If you're looking for work as a wedding photographer, then your collection of wildlife photographs are probably not going to be especially compelling.

Business Cards

Secondly, you'll need some high-quality business cards to hand out. This is an especially powerful means of marketing, as they can be distributed at every job you attend. At a wedding with hundreds of guests, a handful may ask whether you're available for further work. If you have a business card to hand out, then you’ll create exactly the required impression. Not only will you spend less time faffing around in search of a pen and paper, you’ll also reinforce the perception that you are a professional.

instantprint recently carried out a study to discover the true science behind the best business card design. Fundamentally, there are 3 main components that contribute to a high converting card. These are colour, logos, and text. Yellow, white, blue, and green themes all have the best initial impact, catching the consumer eye instantly. Easy to read, classic fonts are essential for keeping the consumer interested. Jon Constantine-Smith, Head of instantprint said, “Driving new customers can be challenging for any business, so turning someone off when you hand a card over is of course something to avoid!” So, remember that more isn’t always better and keep your text down to the essentials and evenly spaced.

The printing company also delved into successful business cards within different sectors – they found that most photographers like neutral and big colours on business cards. Finished with a standout logo. Italic fonts also see the best results in getting new clients.

Equipment

In a field like photography, the quality of your work will be to some extent dependent on the gear you're using. If you already have an enthusiasm for photography, you'll be familiar with the sort of equipment you might need. And if you're making the step to doing it professionally, it might be a good time to invest in a few choice items.

Business plan

Every successful business starts with a coherent business plan. This should detail the sorts of services you'll be offering, and the price you'll be charging for them. This should include the amount you’ll need to break even, and what success will look like. Your business plan will allow you to quantify success later on, as well as setting you on the right path to begin.

Soft Skills

Success in photography requires more than technical skills. You'll also need the soft interpersonal skills required to liaise with clients. Fortunately, this is the sort of thing that can actually be developed over time. You'll just need experience in talking to strangers, which can be accrued on the job.

Online promotion

You'll also need to promote yourself digitally. Photography is an inherently visual medium and lends itself to platforms like Instagram. Consistent posts that generate interest will bolster your potential bookings. As well as social media, you should have a professional-quality website in place. This will establish you as a serious prospect, and provide a place to showcase your portfolio.

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Published on: 29th July 2020