4 Simple Tips for Starting Your Photography Business

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If you recently started or are thinking about starting your own photography business, you’ve come to the right place. This guide shares a handful of simple yet effective tips guaranteed to help when starting your photography business.

You will be thrilled to hear that none of our top tips require you to be an award-winning photographer. In fact, none of them even require you to have any photography or camera experience at all! Alternatively, they all focus on easy and manageable tasks you can accomplish when the camera isn’t in your hands.

Now, without further ado, let’s dive in and discover four things you can do from day one to improve the bottom line of your photography business.

Check out the video above by Evan Ranft to learn the keys to starting and growing a successful photography business from someone who has done it firsthand.

Starting Your Photography Business Tips: Don’t be Afraid
Starting Your Photography Business Tips: Find Your Niche
Starting Your Photography Business Tips: Social Media is Your Friend
Starting Your Photography Business Tips: Use a High-Quality Printing Company
Final Thoughts on Starting Your Photography Business
Recommended Photography Gear

Starting Your Photography Business Tips: Don’t Be Afraid

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We know that starting your photography business can be downright scary at times. But you can’t let that fear and doubt control you, or you will never get your company up and running. The first big leap of faith, and often the hardest part of starting your photography business, is actually committing to it.

We recommend starting slow and not doing anything too drastic in the beginning. You don’t want to quit your nine-to-five before having reliable income streams, or your business will be underwater immediately. Instead, start as a weekend warrior and grow your business before or after your job. If you work hard and smart, you will be your own boss sooner rather than later.

Furthermore, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Western society has trained us to always want to do things on our own, but for small business owners, that’s a recipe for disaster. More than likely, you know other photographers who you can ask for help or advice when needed. And if you don’t, no worries. There are tons of amazing resources for photographers online.

Starting Your Photography Business Tips: Find Your Niche

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Next, it’s a good idea to focus on one specific genre of photography and make sure you have a clearly defined target audience when starting your photography business. Suppose you aim to be a “photographer” and try to dabble in everything. In that scenario, you will likely be spreading yourself thin, you won’t master any specific type of photography, and your business will suffer.

That’s why it’s crucial to find your “niche.” The easiest way to find your niche is to follow your passion. If you do this, your work will feel like play every day, and your images will shine. For example, if you enjoy nature and landscape photography, don’t start a wedding photography business just because you think it will be more profitable.

And while you might think that being a niche photographer will lead to fewer clients, studies have proven quite the opposite! The smaller and more precise your target audience is, the more likely you will seize a larger market share.

Learn More:

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Another tip for starting your photography business is to hop on the social media train. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok are everywhere today, and their popularity is growing daily. So, regardless of your stance on social media, it’s an invaluable tool for starting your photography business.

They are a free way to share your photos and videos with the world, and who knows, maybe one of your posts will even go viral! In addition to free posts, you can also pay to advertise your content. While you might be hesitant to spend money, it does expose your work to more people. And there is definitely truth to the age-old saying, “you have to spend money to make money.”

Many factors go into growing your social media presence, but consistency is the biggest key. Posting every day is much better than uploading a bunch of photos every once in a while. Also, try to jump on new trends early. The algorithms favor this material and boost their exposure. For example, short-form video content is all the rage at the moment.

Check out the video above by Adam Erhart to learn more about the best social media strategies for 2023.

Starting Your Photography Business Tips: Use a High-Quality Printing Company

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Last but not least, make sure you always partner with a high-quality, professional printing company. Starting your photography business is challenging enough as it is, and the last thing you need is to have your hard work ruined by a mediocre print job. That’s why choosing the right printer from the beginning is critical to the success of your business.

While you could always try to print your photos at home, you won’t be able to deliver the same stunning results as the professionals. Making a good first impression on your clients is a great way to keep them coming back, and while quality is always key, it's never more important than when starting your photography business.

With that said, our go-to printing company is CanvasPrints.com. They are a market leader in the online printing industry and offer a wide range of products and services, including wholesale and white-label services. Additionally, it’s impossible to beat their unrivaled combination of excellent quality, low prices, and professionally-trained staff.

Wholesale and white-label services are particularly useful for new businesses because they lower your printing costs and simplify the ordering process. And at CanvasPrints.com, you don’t have to worry about the quality of your wholesale or white-label prints because they use the same top-notch materials in every piece, whether you order one or a thousand.

On top of that, their entire product catalog is available when placing wholesale and white-label orders. So you can make bulk purchases on prints, home decor, custom apparel, gifts, and more at unbeatable prices.

Final Thoughts on Starting Your Photography Business

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Now that you know those four simple tips for starting your photography business, what are you waiting for? Get going and start implementing them into your business today! And as a bonus, here are a few more tips for new business owners: