Photography Business From Home

My wife gets most of her business from taking senior pictures. You don't need to own or rent a fancy studio, senior pictures usually look best when taken at a scenic location. Do a nice job with one customer and you will get referrals.

My wife started by taking senior pictures of my little brother. From there it snowballed. Jobs came from his friends, and their friends. Think of the family who has more than one child in high school. My wife got a job from a referral from one of my brother's friends that she did pictures for. 2 years later she called my wife to take photos of her other son.

Senior pictures are relatively easy and your clients usually will order a lot of photos. High school graduation is a big moment for both the graduate and the parents. The graduate wants to give their wallet size to their friends and the parents want to give photos to their family members. Also, this is a good opportunity to add on to the sale with graduation announcements. If you have a program like Photoshop, creating announcement cards are an easy way to make extra money.

I am going to be honest, weddings can be difficult but lucrative if you can handle the pressure. My wife was hired to take photos of a casual outdoor wedding (my ex-girlfriend....kind of awkward for me!). Anyways, she decided to take this job because she knew that the client was not "high maintenance" and the wedding was more casual. It turned out great and the clients were happy. My wife used her Canon DSLR and I used our backup Pentax DSLR. I am not a photographer, by any means, but I was able to get some shots that my wife was not able to capture.

If you feel that you possess the right equipment and can hire a worthy assistant , weddings can mean a big pay day. There is added pressure because the bride will want you to capture all of the moments that she feels are special. You don't want to miss anything important. But if you are up to the challenge, the money can be great. Many people will splurge on their wedding and are willing to pay for a good photographer.

My advice is to start with other aspects of photography such as senior pictures or family portraits first. Then move on to a small wedding if you want to go in that direction. Be honest with your client and let them know that you have done other photography work but that weddings are new to you. Everybody has to start somewhere.

Don't get wrapped up in thinking you need a lot of fancy equipment to get started. My wife started using a DSLR that only had 6.1 megapixels and it did a fine job. Make sure you get a DSLR camera. We have upgraded to a Canon. They are more expensive but very versatile when it comes to lenses. Canons can get spendy but a lower end Canon DSLR will work just fine. Also, a flash is important. We bought a tripod but hardly use it.

A lot of cameras use a rechargeable battery pack and some use AA batteries. Either way you want to make sure you have back up power. ALWAYS have an extra battery pack or batteries with. It doesn't hurt to have a cheap back up camera just in case.

We also invested in an Apple MacBook with Photoshop CS3. There are newer versions of Photoshop but they are very expensive. Try finding an older one to start with.

The person taking the pictures is more important than having fancy equipment. Focus on getting work first. You could always borrow or rent a camera to start. Then make a little money and buy your own camera.

Pricing can seem difficult at first. With little experience, you don't feel that you can command a premium for your services. But, you know that you have some talent and want to make this worth your while.

What my wife and I did was we copied the prices that a department store charges for their packages. We made a list and priced out the different sizes of pictures. As you gain a little more experience, up the prices. The department stores or photography chain businesses may not have experienced photographers working for them. Your services are special and charging a little more tells people that you are a professional.

The drawback to pricing this way is that you have to deal with order sheets and order the photos yourself. Also, you will need to put together a proof book. This can be time consuming, as we have found.

With our busy schedule (mainly 3 kids 5yrs old and under) we have found it easier to put the photos on a CD, charge a flat fee, and have the customer print the pictures wherever they want.

On average, you have the potential to make more money ordering the prints for your customer since you are up charging each print significantly. If you want to make things easier then put the pictures on a CD. This method is nice because you get paid for the sitting fee, and the CD, and could make $150+ for roughly a few hours of work.

Whatever you end up doing, make sure not to short change yourself when pricing. Compare yourself to the department stores, and also find experienced photographers in your area and check their pricing. A higher price, in a consumer's mind, usually means better quality.

Here are some ideas to add to your bottom line...

If you are taking pictures of high school seniors, you can offer to put together graduation announcements and/or grad party invitations. You have already done the "hard" work of taking and editing the portraits.

You can offer to take photos at parties. Grad parties, anniversary parties, family reunions etc. This can be fun because it is a relaxed setting. You would be taking a lot of natural photos.

Newborn photographs. If you have a friend or family member who is pregnant, offer to take pictures at the hospital. A lot of hospitals have photographers that do this but charge a lot for the service. Some mom's to be might want pictures right before their baby is due. My wife got some great shots of my brother and his wife, on a beach, just before they had their first child.

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