If you have a DSLR camera in your hand and you are ready to introduce yourself as a professional photography businessman, this isn’t that simple. Well, you can treat yourself as the best NBA player and introduce yourself. But what will happen if you come down to the court and show your real moves?
No, I’m not demotivating you from being the best NBA player. But I think you need to be capable enough before establishing something as a profession. The same goes for the product photography business. Make sure you do your homework before making a business card and starting with your near and dear ones. And with the whole world.
I come in touch with a good number of professional photographers who are running their business successfully. The points that I will cover are also the thoughts I came to know from them regarding what they could have done when they got started.
- Know the why behind your business
Everything we do should have a purpose. And for business, this is plain and simple. To make money. But making money shouldn’t be the only mindset, even if it is justified. But running a business is not like walking alone in the park. There will be ups and downs in your journey.
What we are trying to establish here is, you are not going to have similar flow all the time. If you do photography as a hobby, then alright. But when it comes down to business, you need to think like a businessman.
For example, you need to figure out the costs of goods sold. This means you need to determine the costs associated with each photography project. Based on that, you can fix the pricing structure.
So, the mindset of a product photographer and a businessman should go hand in hand.
- Are you skilled enough?
In order to run a photography business, you need to be consistent. Especially when you are dealing with a good number of clients at a time. So, you need skills in order to meet the unique requirements of your potential clients. Look, yes, you will improve your skills as the day advances. But you should have known enough about the field.
Let’s give you an example. Someone is selling coffee, but he is not good at preparing the coffee you like. And you know it. Will I still give it a shot? We hope you don’t want to experiment with your taste. Kidding though!
- Determine where we are going to host the photography sessions
You probably have two options. You can set-up your own photography studio. Or, you can rent a professional one. Both have some pros and cons. If you want to set-up a studio, (maybe at your home) then you may not have the professional equipment.
Plus, working from home can create distractions, which is never good in the case of running a business. On the flip side, renting a professional product photography studio will cost you a lot of money. Now, if you initially had that budget, there’s nothing wrong.
- Know your photography style
How do you like to capture products? Now you have all the options in the world. You can go with in-house shooting. Or, the lifestyle photography for some products will do. At the end of the day, this depends on your personal preference and in most cases your clients have unique recommendations.
In recent years, product photography with white backdrop has become popular. This is just an example. Based on the products you are going to capture, the chance in style can take place.
- Don’t forget to learn, learn and learn
Never stop learning. This is a universal truth you keep reminding yourself of when you are in the business. The photography industry is huge. There, you will find individuals with years of experience doing so. While running the business, it is important to keep yourself connected with the community. This way, you will be able to better learn what you are doing.
- You need to invest in business, but how much?
Like any business, investment is key. But it’s completely up to the businessman how much they are willing to invest. But as you are just getting started, investing a massive amount won’t be an ideal move. And as we mentioned, if your earnings are below the cost of goods sold, you are making nothing.
But once you get some sort of flow in the income stream, this brings the flexibility of investing more as you are heading towards dealing with more clients.
- Know the equipment needed to get started
To run a successful photography business, you need to have access to some essential equipment. Well, you don’t need to have those from day one. But you will need them. First comes the most important component of photography and that is the camera. Make sure you have a couple of decent cameras along with some lenses.
If you have your own studio or want to set up one, components like tripod, background, lights and more are needed.
- Find clients
First thing first, you need clients. Without having some clients, you won’t be able to meet the purpose of your product photography business. So, looking at the clients is the best thing you can do. Here, having a portfolio product photography website will help you a lot. Doing SEO on the website will also help you present your content more frequently before your potential clients.
- Set standard pricing
Most beginner product photography businessmen find it confusing when it comes to setting up the price. Here, you need to consider quite a few things. For example, what photography tasks do you deliver, how will the clients access the content, what is the complexity of the work, and more?
Here, the best possible thing you can do is set a standard price after researching the market. There is nothing wrong with negotiating with your potential clients for this purpose.
But never ever go below the mark of standard pricing. Hope you’ve got the point pretty clear here.
10. Keep track of your expenses and income stream
For any business, at the end of the day, it is important to determine the profit margin. That’s the reason why, as a product photography businessman, you need to keep track of your day-to-day expenses as well as your income. This will help you determine how you are doing with your business.
It’s not like you need to do a PhD before starting a particular business. However, a basic understanding of the strategy you will follow is important. You are a good product photographer. But running a business is a different ball game. You will make it happen anyway.
Sometimes, the clients might ask you to edit the images. In this case, you can add additional pricing through discussion. You can also hire a professional photo retouching service provider to meet the purpose. These things matter, and you’ll better relate to them as the day advances.