What skills do you need besides knowing the camera kit and how to take a good photo to make your fledgling photography business run, grow and sustain while still standing out from the crowd? What tools do you need and what websites are good enough to bookmark and check on a daily basis? These five tips will help you on your way.
It goes without saying that we need to be seen if we want to be found. Where is your ideal customer found? Most likely the internet. Social media trends, platforms, and channels are constantly evolving and changing. Just follow @mosseri (Head of Instagram) to see that staying in touch with clients and helping photographers monetize their content is critical to Instagram’s vision for 2023. TikTok (formerly a dance-crazy platform) is now reaching users with educational and informational content. Staying ahead of the trend curve means it will take a lot of time and effort to get your content right and sized correctly on these platforms, so here are the tools and websites I use to help me make this work.
Afterward: This website (and accompanying app) allows me to schedule my posts, check what’s trending, see the best times to post on multiple platforms, and gather information about where my media is being used on the web and by whom. The free account allows you to post a certain amount each month for free, but if you post to multiple channels then you’ll want to watch the paid channels.
The best hashtags: This is a great site. It’s simple and easy to use, and shows the newest and trending hashtags to use in your posts. I always check this site before posting. Including my theme here almost always comes with hashtags that I didn’t necessarily think of in the past. If more likes, comments and subsequent interactions are what you are looking for, then check out the best Hashtags.
Monkey QR code: A lot of QR code sites don’t allow you to download QR codes without paying for some kind of service. Different and free monkey QR Code (we like free!). I can generate a QR code for a client’s showroom and send it straight to the showroom after customizing their look and feel. I know people will have opinions on which one is the best, but this, to me, is great.
Manage your business quickly and efficiently
I’m not good at delegating. I know how my business works, and bringing other people into it has produced different results. I know I have to change. My business is at a growing point and I will have to get more help this year. Managing it all by yourself means working long hours, often being away from family and friends. Delegation is key, trusting others not only to shoulder the responsibility for your business but to improve it. Know what you can do yourself and what you can delegate to others. For example, I hate administrative work. Without a doubt, that’s the worst part of being self-employed. This is why we use all this time-saving software to help us, right? Here are some of the software and websites I use and what they do for me.
light blue: is key for people like me: creative people hate mundane things. The software manages the new client referral process, helps me stay in touch with them, and reminds me when I need to do things like invoicing and pursuing past due invoices, and send text messages to them. clients on their wedding anniversaries, birthdays, etc. It also allows me to plan their wedding day and submit forms, contracts and links for everything. Alternatives to this I’ve tried before are 17 Hats and Studio Ninja, but in the end, I still chose Light Blue for its ease of use and customizable tools.
Fiverr: I started using this almost five years ago. They do referral channels for YouTube and my business cards. I even outsourced the removal of bots from my Instagram account to improve engagement. There are actually hundreds of skilled workers there. Learn how to outsource and create key content while supporting individual skilled workers who are experts in their field.
calendar: Calendy is great because it connects to my Google Calendar, which my partner and kids have access to. It allows customers to view, book, cancel and reschedule an appointment. I can also have different appointment types and allocate different colors and time intervals to them so that in one of my Google Calendars I can instantly see what I’m up to in the coming days. The user-friendly interface and the ability to change things up quickly have made scheduling clients easy and stress-free.
Know the importance of personal projects
Take time to avoid burnout. It brings ideas to creativity and keeps us fresh. I visited France last summer with my kids and my partner doesn’t have a big camera rule but allowed me to bring one of my smaller Canon cameras. I managed to get some great shots in a genre I’m not very familiar with (landscapes and documentaries) and really enjoyed the process of not having to deliver on time and on budget. It’s just me and me alone, and it really relieves me of stress. This year, I will be doing more things, including taking pictures of my old motorbike and some friends who have old motorbikes.
Get ready to fail
I haven’t counted the number of times I’ve tried something and it didn’t work. Reinventing yourself as a pregnancy and baby photographer is not a good idea. That didn’t last long after baby number three decided to turn off my camera, I can tell you. You have to know when to fail, fail quickly, and accept when things don’t work out. It’s not always what you expect to excel at will make you money. Try to create a niche in your genre. Remember that when you try to please everyone, you will please no one, least of all yourself. The best advice I ever received was from my late friend and mentor, Andrew Appleton, who said, “find out what you want to photograph and show it off. If you try to guess Whatever people want, you’ll always fail and never get it right. Doing what you love means you’ll never have to change your style for anyone.” I’ve made mistakes in the past and will definitely make them again. Knowing when to get through the tough times to get to the good times is a skill we all learn. Grow it, and listen to your gut.
Follow, but not necessarily, trends in your area
When looking to target brides and grooms in my area, what I’m looking for is the Bridebook Annual Wedding Report. you can download This free of charge. It shows everything from how much the bride and groom spend on specific vendors to the most popular days of the week to get married. That is Saturday. What I’m saying is: know your practice. Know your market and customers before you decide to step out of the box and personalize your business. Being able to absorb all of this and give a guide to where your business fits in and how it will be different starts with research.
What I’m suggesting is that there’s a lot more to being a professional photographer than just pressing a button and creating an attractive website. Learn your skills and hire people who are good at it and outsource what you can’t do. Hit me with your comments and suggestions. I always want to hear from the community.
