You've Got Paying Clients - Now What?

It's such a great feeling when your work is truly valued, and especially when it starts paying the bills! There is so much more to running a photography business than just finding clients and taking pictures, of course. Following are a few steps that will take your business to the next level.

1. Surround yourself with people who are strong in ways you are not. Find a great lawyer, accountant, and insurance agent who understand the photography industry and will be able to guide you when you have questions. There are so many details that they can bring to your attention to help you save money and keep your business going in the right direction. Having a lawyer look over your contracts (remember to ALWAYS have a contract!) will save you from issues down the line.

2. Talk to your accountant/banker/lawyer about incorporation. Becoming an LLC was such a great decision for me, and it shows my clients that I take my business seriously.

3. Find client management software that suits your needs and can grow with your business. Keeping track of clients, to-do lists, and payments is vital to having happy clients and clear records. Being able to do that all in one place really helped ease some of the anxiety that was always gnawing at me. My program of choice is the recently launched 17 Hats, which lets me accept credit card payments, track projects from quote and contract to completion, and sync with Google Calendar (among other things). While this is exactly the type of program I have been waiting for, there are tons of options out there that may be perfect for you such as Pixifi or Simply Studio. Have a favorite already? Leave a comment with your experience!

Happy Friday!

-Friday Ambassador

Finding Your Niche

Taking the leap to become a student in the Photography program shows the world that you take the art seriously.  There are other schools out there that offer certificates and short programs, but ours is a big commitment.  Something each student has in common the day we start here is that we LOVE photography, but I think the majority of us have one more thing tying us together: we have no clue in which area of photography we want to end up!

You may have moments of doubt when you have to take a class for your degree that you don't think is up your alley, but even those you are least interested in can turn out to be your favorites.  You will come to realize that the Architecture class you thought you had no interest in actually taught you a great deal about distortion corrections and how to frame your compositions to account for post production work.  You may have no real passion for shooting buildings only to find that you love pulling out structural details to create abstract patterns (see below).  Fashion may make you cringe, but the Fashion Photography class you dread will help you with posing and teach you how to show off a product.  Each class will bring something new to your skillset to make you better in your final genre(s), and you just might find your passion where you least expect it.

Being a student is a full-time job on top of many other responsibilities, but if you have the opportunity to find an internship or a mentor in an area you are at all interested in, now is the time.  Taking advantage of every spare minute to help give yourself direction in the industry will help you focus and get a solid portfolio started.  I discovered early on that I had a passion for shooting weddings.  Because of my enrollment in the program, I was able to apply and subsequently get a student internship shooting with a national wedding photography company.  This is not something I ever thought I would do, but the position came up in a search when I was curious about the types of jobs available and it seemed fun.  Three years later, I've shot over 30 weddings and have loved every second.  The various Portfolio classes have left me with a physical and digital portfolio I am proud of.  Try a search of your own for photography opportunities near you and see if something catches your eye - you will never know how you feel about a particular genre until you try it out!

As you get deeper into your classes and opportunities come your way, my best advice to you is to say "YES!" to every chance that pops up.  You may find your niche through a class, an internship, or a random opportunity that comes to you through a friend of a friend of a friend... you never know!  Best of luck on your journey, and happy shooting!

-Friday Ambassador