Watermarquee

How to start and grow a photography business

Starting a photography business is mostly a list of small, doable jobs: get the gear for the work you want, pick a niche, protect your photos, and get your work in front of people who will pay for it. Here they are in the order you'll need them, each with a full guide when you're ready to go deeper.

  1. Get the gear you need for your kind of work, and no more.
  2. Choose a niche you enjoy.
  3. Set up the business side where you live, and protect your photos from the start.
  4. Build a portfolio and a website.
  5. Get found, through search and social platforms.
  6. Win your first clients, and keep them.
  7. Earn more from the photos you already have.

What do you need to start out?

You don't need a studio full of gear to take your first paid job. You need equipment that suits the work you plan to do, a clear idea of what that work is, and habits that make your photos look professional from the first shoot.

Buy for the niche you're aiming at, not for every job you might take one day. A wedding shooter, a product photographer and a drone pilot each pack a different bag, so settle the niche before the big purchases. Count backups as gear, too. The equipment guide puts it simply: "Think of a hard drive outside as insurance."

The niche is the choice that shapes everything after it: your portfolio, your prices, your website and where you look for clients. The niches guide notes that "most professional photographers choose a particular niche" and build their business and customer base around it. Its advice for choosing is the right place to start: "choose a niche that you enjoy, and your work reflects your enthusiasm."

Then drop the habits that give a beginner away. The mistakes guide is blunt about file format ("Shoot in RAW") and about preparation: check your bag before every shoot so "batteries are charged, memory cards are empty, and all your essential parts are accounted for."

How do you protect your photos?

Set up the business side where you live, then turn to the thing you're actually selling: your photos. Every image you post is part of your product, and once it's online it can travel without you. Protect it before you share it.

Start with a watermark on anything you put online, so your name stays with your work wherever it ends up. Keep your full-size originals to yourself, and share smaller, marked copies in your portfolio and on social platforms. When someone uses your photo without permission or credit, you'll want to know what you can do about it, and the guides below cover that.

How do you build a portfolio and a website?

Your portfolio is what a client judges you on, and your website is where they find it. Keep both tight and easy to use.

A portfolio, in the portfolio guide's words, "should be a body of work that tells a story and shows off both your talent, your style, and the vision that you have." It suggests "10-15, or fewer" images for a professional look, and building it with volunteers from your personal life before the paid work comes in. The wedding guide gives the reason to stay selective: your portfolio "is more likely going to be assessed on your worst photo than your best." For a wedding portfolio, it suggests showing only 15 to 20 photos. Online, the same rule holds: the online portfolio guide warns that "a portfolio site is not your external hard drive."

On your website, make the next step obvious. The website guide says clients should "be able to see your email address and phone number right away," and suggests galleries built "around one specialty." Choose a builder for what you need: just showing work, or selling prints and downloads as well. A simple logo ties it together, and it can double as the mark on your photos.

How do clients find you?

A client searching for a photographer in your town needs to find you, so search is where your website earns its keep. The SEO series takes it in three parts. Part 1 is choosing keywords, including local ones, and it suggests a list of "at least six keywords that embody your business." Part 2 is the changes on your own site: page titles, headings, meta descriptions, alt text and file names. Its example is a good model: to rank for "Las Vegas Sports Photographer," that phrase "deserves to be in the title of your homepage." Part 3 is earning links from other sites, from photographer directories to guest posts.

Social platforms do a different job. The Instagram guide's advice is that Instagram "is not really supposed to be a carbon copy of your website or portfolio": use it to show your personality and style, and post consistently. Flickr can build an audience too. The Flickr guide suggests aiming for its Explore page, and not flooding your contacts: more than three uploads a day is, in its view, "asking too much."

How do you win clients and keep them?

Turning a hobby into paid work starts with showing people what you can do. The customers guide calls your website your "virtual storefront where clients form their first impression," then works through who your clients are and where they spend their time online. It suggests building three to five client personas, so you know exactly who you're talking to.

Early on, some free or low-cost work can open doors. The securing guide calls free work "a good investment in your business," and suggests offering your help as a second shooter to an established photographer if weddings are your goal. Mini-sessions are another way in: the customers guide says they are "less expensive and are more likely to attract new photography customers."

Then keep the clients you win. The customers guide suggests a discount for "clients who choose you again and again." The habits of working professionals keep the work worth coming back for. The secrets guide's reminder is that "being a professional photographer takes time and calls for perseverance."

How can you earn more from your photos?

Client shoots are one income. The photos you already have can earn as well. Stock libraries are one route, and the stock guide is clear about the bar: it's "a cutthroat industry," and color casts are "among the major reasons images are rejected." Prints, products, books and licensing are other routes the monetizing guide covers, along with the fees marketplaces take.

A drone can become a paid service of its own. The drone guide covers the gear, the practice and the portfolio.

Where do you start this week?

Pick your niche, then gather the photos that show it best. Everything else on this page follows from those two choices. When your portfolio goes online, add your mark with Watermarquee so your name stays with your work.