Photography Business Tip: Things Photographers Can Do During Stay-at-Home Orders
- Get Creative
- Be Productive
- Focus on Making Working From Home Better
- Stay Connected
- Find Ways to Make More Money
- National Geographic Photo Basics: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Great Photography
- Photography: The Definitive Visual History
- Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs
photo by scyther5 via iStock
While I’ve been under my stay-at-home orders in California for weeks, I’ve been trying to read at least one photography business tip everyday. As difficult as it can be to try and stay motivated during this time, I want to come out of this pandemic and be more productive as a photographer.
A lot of these photography tips during the pandemic focus on building new streams of revenue, because if you’re going to be stuck at home then you may as well learn how to make more money as a photographer through the internet. You can also check another post about photography ideas at home on our website PhotographyTalk.com.
Plus, most of my photography friends are struggling financially now because much of our most busy season was cut short.
So, here is a short list of photography tips you can use during the pandemic.
Table of Contents
Get Creative
Huge shout out to Nicolas Doretti for the helpful video that teaches you how to do a number of photography tricks, from levitation shots to working with beautiful shadows.
Although this doesn’t technically fall into the “photography business tip” theme of this article, I think remaining creative while being cooped inside is really important because it will help you to keep your spirits up so you can actually process information from your daily photography business tip.
One of my favorite at home photography ideas from this video is to use a colander to filter natural light streaming in through your windows to create more unique portraits.
But you can really use any interesting objects that only let some light through, like lace.
photo by mediaphotos via iStock
Another interesting idea is to do what everyone is doing and pull out your old Christmas lights, tangle your model (which could very well be your dog) in them, and snap away.
All photography tips during the pandemic need to keep you inside, and all of the tips from the above video do. Make sure to watch it for more.
Recommended Photography Reading
Be Productive
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
If you are like 95% of the photographers I know, then your equipment looks nowhere near as organized as the photography gear in the photo above. And that sucks, because it means you have photography gear you own but you aren’t using.
Tackle one bag (or, if you’re like me, one closet) at a time and divy up your photography gear into three piles: one for gear you use all the time, one for gear you use on occasion, and one for gear you haven’t used in the past year.
Then, take the gear you haven’t used in the past year and make more money as a photographer by selling it to purchase new gear that will allow you to offer your clients new products (like maybe a drone).
I’m doing the same thing this week and I’m selling my old gear on Gear Focus.
Gear Focus is great because it’s owned by creatives, which means they understand the frustrations of using traditional sales methods like Craigslist or eBay. The risk of scams on Craigslist and huge fees on eBay are primary reasons why Gear Focus was built the way it was.
So, not only are their fraud protections in place to ensure buyers and sellers on the site are protected, but Gear Focus also has one of the lowest seller fees in the industry (at just 3.5%).
Best of all, it’s free to join Gear Focus, and free to list as many items as you want. Seller fees only kick in when your item sells.
Give it a go, and you’ll see just how easy it is to sell your old, unused gear and make a little cash!
Focus on Making Working From Home Better
I did a video a little while ago with everyone’s least favorite home photography business tip: learning how to work from home as a creative.
I covered 11 tips (and you should definitely watch the video to see them all), but I think the two most important are to make sure you’re sticking to a regular schedule and to make sure you have a dedicated work space.
None of the tips in the video require you to spend any money and all of them will make your experience over the next few weeks more meaningful and more comfortable. What’s not to like about that?!
Stay Connected
Photo by visuals on Unsplash
This is the perfect time to ensure your clients know exactly what your photography business is doing during the pandemic. I know I tend to neglect my social media presence (especially during my busy times).
Social media check-ups aren’t my favorite part of my business, but in times like these when businesses are shuttering it is essential for you to keep your clients updated on what your next steps are.
While you’re at it, you can also host some online events for your clients to either educate them about parts of your photographic process or do some giveaways, but the important thing is that you need to strive to over-communicate.
For another photography business tip about staying connected, make sure you check out the video above. I’ve included lots of other tips on how to improve your photography business too!
Find Ways to Make More Money
If you don’t currently have an online store, now is the time to set one up. While you may not be able to photograph your clients in-person, you could still sell your services for a later date (at a discount) or sell prints of your favorite pieces all from the comfort of your house.
While you’re already on your computer, you can also sell your photography on some stock websites or reach out to clients you’ve worked with in the past to remind them of your services.
For more tips on how to make more money as a photographer, make sure you check out the video above.
