Photography business secrets

PHOTOGRAPHY

BUSINESS SECRETS

The Savvy Photographer’s Guide

to Sales, Marketing, and More

Lara White

ii

Photography Business Secrets

Photography Business Secrets

Published by

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

10475 Crosspoint Boulevard

Indianapolis, IN 46256

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-48840-9

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States

Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy

fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the

Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ

07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy

or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for

a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained

herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering

legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person

should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web

site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher

endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware

that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department

within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions

of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included

in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley

products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012956407

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or

vendor mentioned in this book.

iii

Photography Business Secrets

About the Author

Lara White is a wedding photographer,

educator, speaker, and author based in the

San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with

her family. Prior to her career in photography,

Lara spent many years in non-profit executive

management, raising millions for literacy

programs, victims of domestic violence, and

other charitable projects for underserved

populations.

She transferred many of the skills and practices

that made her successful in the non-profit

sector, helping her manage and grow a thriving

wedding photography studio with a team of six.

Lara’s effortlessly evocative wedding

photographs have been featured in dozens

of top-flight magazines, media, and trade

journals—Professional Photographer,

Rangefinder, Grace Ormond Wedding Style,

The Photo Life, This Week in Photo, Digital

Photography School, Business Insider, and

scores more. But it’s her business savvy that got

her there. And as passionate as she is about

photography, she’s even more passionate about

helping photographers at every stage of the

game make it in this demanding business.

Lara White is the founder of PhotoMint, an

educational and business development resource

for photographers. In just under a year, the

PhotoMint community has grown to more

than 9,000 readers. Please visit PhotoMint at

photomint.com/photography-business-secrets

to get your bonus materials that accompany

this book.

iv

Photography Business Secrets

v

Photography Business Secrets

Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Courtney Allen

Editorial Program Coordinator

Carol Kessel

Project Editor

Jennifer Bowles

Technical Editor

William Beem

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Editorial Consultant

Alan Hess

Book Designer

Erik Powers

vi

Photography Business Secrets

vii

Photography Business Secrets

Acknowledgments

Writing this book has literally taken a village, and

many people contributed and made it possible.

The Team

I would like to thank Courtney Allen, without your guidance and

support this book would not be possible. Alan Hess, words cannot

express my gratitude for all your hard work, long nights, and many

pep talks. Carol Kessel, you made miracles happen behind the

scenes. Jennifer Bowles, you have no idea how much I appreciate

your editing skills and patience with me. William Beem, your

feedback, ideas, and questions added so much to this project. Erik

Powers, you are truly a gifted designer, and I count myself lucky to

have had you on my team. Barry Pruett, thank you for supporting

this project and making it a reality. Of course, I know there are many

others behind the scenes at Wiley, and I wish to thank each and every

one of you.

Mentors and Inspiration

Many people have inspired me throughout my career. I’d like to

thank Julia Woods especially—you taught me so much about this

industry. I’d also like to thank Bambi Cantrell, Ann Monteith, Jeff

Kent, and Scott Kurkian for your support and guidance throughout

the years. Additionally, I would like to thank Ed Dale, who doggedly

encouraged me for years to get on my path to photography

education. And Robert Somerville, I want you to know that you are

achieving your life’s work—this book is proof of that.

Peers

The photography industry has been my home for many years. I would

like to thank Kevin Chin, Suzy Clement, Michelle Walker, Becker,

Dane Sanders, Brook and Alisha Todd, Jamie Swanson, and Frederick

Van Johnson in particular for your friendship, advice, and support.

You make the industry what it is. I am also deeply grateful to all

those who allowed me to interview you for this book: Tamara Lackey,

Emma Case, Jody Gray, Lauren Lim, Elizabeth Halford, Lindsay Adler,

Christine Tremoulet, Jamie M. Swanson, and Jenika. Ladies, your

honesty, generosity, and willingness to open your hearts and share

your advice, successes, and challenges with my readers make you all

superheroes in my book.

viii

Photography Business Secrets

Behind the Scenes

I would like to thank Kelvin Leung for your many beautiful images

gracing these pages, Noel Mallari for all your support and talent, and

Ashley Jankowski for sharing your design and branding genius with

the world. To my PhotoMint readers, supporters, and fans, thank you

for believing in me. You are my daily inspiration.

Family

To my dad, who has always supported and encouraged me. To

my mom, who thinks I’m a superstar no matter what I do. To

Brittanie, who kept me fed through many days and nights when I

was working on this book. To my husband Geoff, who has inspired

me, encouraged me, challenged me, supported me, and loved

me through everything in life. Through your patience and love,

you’ve taught me to be a better person. Finally, to my grandmother

Catherine, who taught me to read. May your Irish eyes be smiling

down upon us all.

ix

Photography Business Secrets

For my ever-loving husband.

Avec toi, je suis libre.

x

Photography Business Secrets

xi

Photography Business Secrets

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

Section 1: Moving from a Hobby to a Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1: Photography as a Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Business or Hobby? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Specialized vs. General Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Path to Your Photography Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Full-Time vs. Part-Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Lifestyle Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 2: Training and Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Gaining Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

On–the-Job Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Building a Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Workshops and Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Online Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Chapter 3: Choosing Your Niche and Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

The Difference Between a Niche and a Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

The Different Types of Photography Business Niches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Picking the Right Niche for You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

High-Volume vs. Boutique Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Generalist vs. Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Section 2: Business Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 4: Business Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Business Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Business Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Calculate Overhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Create a Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Business License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Name Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Types of Businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

xii

Photography Business Secrets

Chapter 5: Accounting, Legal, and Insurance Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Legal Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Chapter 6: Your Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Branding Mistakes to Avoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Name Your Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

When to Hire a Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Template Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Logo Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Business Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Custom Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Your Online Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Signature Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Brand Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Industry Insiders: Tamara Lackey on Branding for Photographers . . . . . 100

Chapter 7: Pricing and Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

How to Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Weddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Portraits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Consider Your Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Living Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Single-Price or Package Model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Working for Peanuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Other Pricing Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Chapter 8: Clients and Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Customer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Managing Client Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Educating Your Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Handling Difficult Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Industry Insiders: Jenika from Psychology for Photographers . . . . . . . . 148

xiii

Photography Business Secrets

Chapter 9: Day-to-Day Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Internal Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Production Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Photo Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Automating and Streamlining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Chapter 10: Client Deliverables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Prints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Digital Files............................................... 181

How Many Photos to Deliver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Delivery Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Section 3: Sales and Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Chapter 11: Getting Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Be Attentive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Be Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Sell the Experience......................................... 192

Be Creative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Consultations: The Key to Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Increasing Your Odds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Selling Add-On Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

In-Person Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Successful Portrait Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Industry Insiders: Lauren Lim of Photography

Concentrate Shares Tips for Shy Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Chapter 12: Growing Your Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Grow or Stay the Same Size? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Annual Business Retreat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Outsourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Hiring Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Adding a New Service or Product Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Raising Your Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Business Snapshot: 3 Years in Business Emma Case Photography . . . . 226

Business Snapshot: 5 Years in Business Elizabeth Halford,

Gracie May Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232