How to Easily Start Up Your Own New Photography Business From Home

With modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras, you do not even need the room for a dark room. You need only to have a personal computer and a photo-editing program. The standard is Adobe Photoshop.

It is not necessary to clutter yourself with equipment you do not need. You can hire equipment on and when you need it basis. You have the freedom to work part time for a while until you can devote yourself full time to photography. All you need to be is a serious photographer. There are two types of photographers that makes their living from photography, the serious photographer and the very serious photographer. You can always bookmark this link and then you can quickly access just about all you'll ever need from here.

Whilst the technical skills needed to make a successful photographer have never been easier, other aspects have changed the business. The market for photographs of virtually every type has widened, the world seems to have an insatiable appetite for photographs. However the price has fallen as the marketing net has broadened. Photographers are needed in many more fields. For instance many people use car web sites, they simply did not exist ten years ago, and they sell their products as a result of photography. Cameras used by scuba diver's are now an excellent quality, and whilst they are initially expensive, they have forged a new market. People celebrate special occasions more with photography, than they did years ago. The travel and advertising markets have a greater need for landscape, travel and nature shots.

It is now easier than ever to turn your dream into reality and create a worthwhile business out of an engrossing hobby. However in today's modern world there is more to it than simply pointing a camera, and shooting a picture. You need to be aware of marketing techniques, and here marketing simply means transferring ownership of a product, in this case an image from a buyer to seller. You also need to be aware of any local gaps in the market in your local area. You should also try to be on top of your competitor's prices, to undercut an existing photographer is one choice, but to neglect to value your skills and not charge enough to cover your overheads is another matter entirely. Remember this, its an important point.

Use your skills to the best advantage of the business and define what you want from it. Writing a business plan helps to keep you focused on the areas you specifically want to exploit. A business plan helps you to define your goals and strategies, it will be changed and updated, but it will help you, to keep things in perspective. You can then refer back to it when things become confusing or complicated. Everyone's business plan will be different, as every objective will be different, but there are certain common factors that make up a good business plan which will help your business grow. It allows you to develop a professional attitude to your business, which not only helps you to increase your earnings, but also help you to finance your business.

For the photographer it should include, your business name, or your own, with full details of the proposed location of the business, a copy of your logo, as well as details of your copyright notices. What is the form of your proposed business (sole ownership, partnership, Limited Liability Company or Corporation). This should be followed by a table of contents, which focuses on a logical order. There are resources that will give you further details on such as profitable-photography.com

Included after this should be the type of business you intend to pursue, in a fair amount of detail, and it should contain the services you intend to offer. This section should include any future gaols or avenues you would like to explore, stating your clear objectives. This is so you can check at a later date whether your objectives are on course, or if you have got sidetracked.

If you envisage at any time you may need financial help, then you should include your personal business history.

You should also state a clear and concise marketing plan that should demonstrate how your business will differentiate from the businesses of your competitors. You should be able to establish whom your customers will be, as well as where your market will be, as in wholesale or retail or a combination of both. You should also be able to determine how long this type of market will be available to yourself.

The next section should clearly define your opposition, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This should include the ways you may be able to exploit any gaps in the market in the specific area where you live. A section should follow this on how you intend to market and promote your individual services.

A financial segment should be included as to how you intend to manage the day-to-day bills of the business. How you intend to price your services, and what factors influence this pricing structure, which includes a section on your competitor's financial structures. This means a fair amount of detective work as well as homework. Get your friends to ask from quotes from the local competition. Or try an even more direct approach, tell your competitor's that you intend to start a new business, and that you do not want to undercut them, as this reduces the cake for everyone. They may well offer to help you construct a pricing structure that ensures everyone's livelihood. It is in their interests to help. Not everyone will be cooperative, but it may mean you can get a truer picture of the market factors that govern your area.

Make a list of all the equipment you will need in your first year, as well as how and where you intend to purchase. Note any difficulties that may arise in obtaining your supplies. Note whether the prices of your supplies have a seasonal fluctuation, that may help you influence you when to buy. You should make a note of any local licenses that will be necessary, as well as any zoning restrictions, that may restrict the growth of your business. Your neighbours may not be thrilled at a procession of customer's to your door, check whether they can restrict your services. Make a study of all your business insurance requirements.

The final segment should be devoted to how you intend to finance the growth of your business, as well as isolating what your financial needs will be. This should include a projection on your future earnings, as well as an accurate assessment of your outgoings'. This should be assessed on a monthly basis for the first year, and on an annual basis for the following three years. An important aspect of the financial statement is an assessment of the break-even point of your business, in other words the minimum you will have to take to pay your expenses.

The purpose of this documentation is to allow you to enunciate what the core elements of your business will be, in doing this it should help you to be able to quickly evaluate the success of your business objectives. If you are not clear on your objectives then you cannot possibly make a plan to bring about the success of those objectives.

Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy is the author of the popular ebook, Income from Photography - a downloadable ebook which guides the reader on how to start up and market a Profitable Photography business. It can be viewed at http://www.profitable-photography.com A Free eBook is also available which helps you decide on what type of photography you would enjoy most at http://www.photography-business.blogspot.com

The information on this and adjoining pages may be reprinted and used on other sites providing all information remains unchanged and the article and all pages remain as they are found here in its current font size & image with all links in tact.

---

Digital Camera Batteries

Every device needs a driving force to operate, just as... Read More

Using Film Speed Effectively (Black & White Film Thoughts)

It's hard to find sometimes but it's making a resurgence,... Read More

Fuji Digital Cameras

Fuji digital cameras entered the market in the late 90's.... Read More

Digital Camera Memory Cards

A digital camera accessory you should purchase is a spare... Read More

Passionate Organizing: How To Create A System To Organise Your Digital And Traditional Photos

Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer,... Read More

Inspired Vision

A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes a... Read More

Infrared Photography and Big City Crime

One of the major problems of the larger cities of... Read More

Digital Zoom Versus Optical Zoom

The digital camera is but a technological advancement of the... Read More

Magic and the Photograph

It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997)... Read More

Photography 101 Part 1

Photography 101 Part One Equipment: camera, meter, flash, tripod This... Read More

The Best Wildlife Camera To Take On Safari

Good wildlife camera equipment on safari can make the difference... Read More

Megapixel Cameras: How Many Megapixels Do You Need?

Knowing which megapixel camera to buy can be intimidating. There... Read More

A New Way to Use Old Snapshots

If you're like me, you have hundreds of photographs sitting... Read More

The Primer on Digital Camera Printers

Once you have clicked photos through your digital camera, then... Read More

8 Simple Tips for Taking Great Baby Photos

Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way... Read More

How To Reduce Red Eye The Easy Way With Any Pro Or Point & Shot Camera

There is one simple technique any body can do to... Read More

How to Easily Select the Important Photography Category for Your Home Based Business

You may have already started to make money from your... Read More

Photographs Everywhere, But Is It Really Art?

I once heard a lady say to a photographer that... Read More

How To Avoid Or Reduce Red-Eye

Photography with the aid of a digital camera is beyond... Read More

Sepia Toned Prints from Your Colour or Black and White Photos ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

Quite often I will have clients bring in old photographs... Read More

Photography: The Basics

Photography comes from the Greek words meaning "light writing" and... Read More

Pinhole Photography: Right Back to Basics

Why Pinhole Photography?It's fun. It's creative. It's educative about the... Read More

The Naked Truth on Shooting Nudes

There are major obstacles to overcome to get into nude... Read More

Digital Photography: The RAW vs JPG Debate

If you use a digital camera (I use a Canon... Read More

Digital Camera Bags - Purchasing and Using

Some compact cameras are small enough to fit in your... Read More

Use A Tripod!

Using a tripod is essential when taking photos - and... Read More

Wildlife Scouting Cameras

For years I wondered how big the bucks were that... Read More

Photography 101 Part 3

ContentEven if you feel that you already know what kind... Read More

Sony Digital Cameras - Always On The Innovation Frontier

Sony was the first company to introduce digital cameras into... Read More

Travel and Scenic Photography 101

When you're driving through the mountains somewhere, and you... Read More

Home Run Baseball Photography Tips

Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!Baseball! America's Pastime, and a... Read More

Move Up to the World of the Digital SLR Camera

A digital SLR camera or a single lens reflex (SLR)... Read More

Why 1.5 Megapixels is Enough

Dots Per Inch is a useful measure of relative resolution.... Read More