The photography industry is constantly evolving, so keeping up with the latest trends and technologies is essential for success. One such trend is the rise of mirrorless camera technology, which many believe is the future of photography. While styles in photography often change due to customer demand, photography business basics remain relatively unchanged.
Despite the availability of apps and software, providing an excellent client experience remains the cornerstone of a successful photography business. To create and sustain a successful photography business, it’s essential to focus on your photography business’ foundations first.
Photography Business Foundations First
A solid foundation for creating and sustaining a solid photography business.
When it comes to creating and sustaining a solid photography business, there are foundational points that are essential for success. These are the meat and potatoes – the basics of your photography business!
Quality
The first point is “quality”. While branding is important, your product is even more critical to your success. Just as consumers wouldn’t by Coke if it didn’t taste great, your photography must be excellent to get clients excited about displaying it in their homes
In addition to product quality, the service and client experience should be an extension of that quality. The packaging and delivery of your photography can also mirror the importance you place on your work. When done correctly, it communicates to the client that you care about your work and their satisfaction.
Hone Your Craft – part of photography business basics is knowing when to experiment. The best time to try new ideas is when there’s no pressure. Introduce new concepts to clients only after you’ve used your reliable poses and techniques. During slower periods you can even practice new techniques by inviting a friend to join you for a shoot.
Participate in Image Competitions – having your work judged by peers is an excellent way to improve. While receiving critical feedback on your photos might sting a bit initially, it is the most valuable way to elevate your photography.
Professional and Reliable
Being professional and reliable for our clients is both simple and challenging. A key element of photography business basics is the simple act of ‘keeping our promises’. This involves being organized and presenting a polished appearance to the public.
Our communication skills must be courteous and professional. Most importantly, we need to respond promptly to phone calls and emails. On more than one occasion, brides have mentioned that I was the only photographer who replied to their inquiries.
We often hear that our industry is saturated with too many photographers. Unfortunately, many of these individuals, though passionate about photography, lack business experience or training. This is a significant disadvantage, as about 80% of our time is spent on business activities, with only about 20% spent behind the camera.
80% Business
When I’m not shooting, I’m handling inquiries, working on marketing, e-newsletters, my blog, editing, retouching, album assembly…well, you get the picture. Mastering photography business basics involves excelling at, or even enjoying, the business side of studio life. Those who can do this will have an advantage because they prioritize the clients needs over their own. It’s not much good to the client if you only enjoy taking photographs but struggle to cull, edit, retouch, and deliver the final images in a timely manner.
Being professional and reliable is not rocket science. Just keep your promises and avoid biting off more than you can chew. By this, I mean don’t keep accepting new work when you already have a pile of unfinished tasks. Learn to prioritize your time.
Here are a few tips that I use…
- Schedule a certain amount of time each day to return calls and emails
- Keep track of your promises (i.e. when finished work will be ready or when you’ll be back in touch)
- Use your calendars to make additions and reminders on the fly
- Have a clean desk – unclutter your mind and your workspace
- Design your Winning Week!
Consistency
The definition of consistent is a person, behaviour, or process that is unchanging in achievement or effect over a period of time. If we can keep the quality of our photography, our service and our client experience consistent, then we will have little to worry about.
To consistently create great photographs requires that we constantly sharpen the saw. We must push ourselves to practise our craft and strive to improve our imagery and camera skills so that our confidence and abilities are consistent. Along with our camera skills, our business skills must also be repeatable and follow a pattern.
To be consistent a business needs to implement systems. Every successful business is successful because they follow a system. When you pick up your dry-cleaning they can find your clothes quickly and easily because they use a system. Your groceries are efficiently checked by using a sophisticated pricing and scanning system.
Create a Workflow
Your photography business will thrive and succeed only if you can maintain a solid workflow and keep things on track using a system. One of the photography business basics is implementing a simple yet effective organizational tool, such as a large dry-erase board or a chalkboard in your workspace.
Mark down all the steps from shooting to delivering your product across the top and list the client names down the left side. When a job is completed, erase it and add the next new one.
Do you check all print orders as they go out to ensure nothing is missed? This step saves time and frustration by verifying the accuracy of orders both when sending them out and receiving them back from the lab. It’s essential that whatever system or method you choose is one you are comfortable with so that you will use it consistently.
Making rules that you don’t follow is a road to failure. For instance, having a well-designed price list ensures consistency during an IPS session. This way, every client gets the same price each time, eliminating any chance of clients discovering they were quoted different prices for the same product.
You Got This, Photographer
While photography technology and trends continue to change, the way to retain clients or convert potential clients, is to meet the demands and expectations of our current clients.
We can do that by implementing the photography business basics – providing a high-quality product, being professional and reliable and being consistent in our business practices.
