I wish I would have known these 9 business tips when I was starting my photography business. When I was starting out as a photographer, I made plenty of mistakes that have led me to where I am today. While I’m thankful I’ve learned these lessons, I want to help guide you and lessen the mistakes to push you forward in your business. Here are some things that I learned:
- You do not need all of the best equipment. A huge lie that surrounds this profession is that you have to have ALL of the best equipment right away to be your best. That is far from the truth. While having higher-end equipment helps, it does NOT automatically make your images and business better. You are the one working that camera so no matter what, it is up to you and your knowledge to create bomb photos!
2. Crop in Camera → Don’t crop off limbs. Cropping in camera will make your life so much easier and will lessen the amount of post processing that you will have to do.
3. Learn the basics of your camera and make sure you’re shooting in manual mode. Shooting in manual mode allows you to create the type of image that fits your style. You can change your lighting, warmth, focus, and more.
4. Shoot with more sky and less ground. Having more sky in your image makes it less busy and also adds more contrast to your images.
5. Comparing myself to other photographers who were years ahead in their business. If you are comparing yourself, it will only set you back more. I know that it’s really hard not to do, but just remember that they have years of experience under their belt. You are doing your best right where you are and you WILL get there in your own time.
6. It will take so much time and practice to be where you envision yourself. Jumping off that last point, don’t think that it will all just come to you. Those who you look up to and are doing well within this business have worked extremely hard for it. Create goals, plans to reach them, and PRACTICE!
7. Ask for constructive criticism and run with it. They truly want to help you. If you have a mentor or trusted source that gives you advice, don’t let it hurt your ego, make the changes because they just want to help you hit that next level within your business.
8. Continue learning and investing in your education. Investing money = getting money. I know that is hard to do when you’re starting out and have little to go around. Even investing a small amount into your business and what you do can be impactful within your business. Continuously growing allows you to become a better version of yourself and scale more within your business.
9. Have a contract. As you buy all of your equipment, buy a contract as well!!! Seriously, you need to have yourself covered in case anything happens. One of the best things you can do for you and your business is to make sure that you have a solid contract.
Want to see more?
Building a Portfolio as a New Photographer
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