There’s no such thing as a good time to start a photography business, but there are certainly some tougher times.
I don’t know if there will ever be a perfect time to start a photography business; you never know what the future holds. But, I know that there are times when it’s harder to start one job than another.
I started my photography business in 2011 after the company I worked for closed down permanently. The housing crisis was still raging, and I decided to turn my hobby of photography into a full-time career. With all my hopes and dreams of becoming the greatest and most successful photographer possible, I began my journey. I’m not in my twenties and I just said goodbye to my thirties, so this has to work. I’m ready to make it work. I have no experience running my own business and photography has been my lifelong hobby, but I have no school or training. I spent the whole day watching Creative Live in free sessions and reading Fstoppers to learn as much as I could.
Unfortunately, all the hopes and dreams in the world won’t pay the rent, and this country is in one of the worst recessions ever seen, people aren’t spending money on unnecessary things like photography. However, there’s one thing people are doing to survive a housing crash to pay their mortgage, and that’s short-term rent.
I stumbled across an additional job on Linkedin from Airbnb, when it was still a fairly new company. They are looking for photographers to shoot their listings for $50 a shot and the only area they have available is Malibu, about 45 minutes from my house with no traffic, but nothing called There is no traffic in Los Angeles. so it takes at least an hour drive each way. I don’t care how far I have to drive or how low the salary is. I have to start somewhere. I love architecture and interior design, so I thought why not. Since I live in Los Angeles, my plan was to shoot actor portraits and eventually work full time shooting fashion films, but neither of those happened and my savings kept growing. exhausted. Yes, I even had to sell my Apple stock, which I originally bought for $12 a share – tough times.
Completely oblivious to home and interior photography, I took it! I was hired, I was so excited when I got my first job, then I panicked. I don’t know how to take pictures of the interior. Every photographer goes through this when they are hired for their first real paid job. It’s imposter syndrome at best, although I’ve actually never done this before. The company sent me a PDF of interior photography, best practices, and a list of photos. I started working out in my apartment, and the pictures were horrible. My first listing shots were really bad, but luckily the company is still figuring it out just like I am, and with their guidance and input as well as through trial and error, I was better. At one point, I did five or six shots in a day. I had to hustle, but eventually that caught up with me and I had to cut it down to four hours a day. I still post vacation rentals and real estate listings, which are really the bulk of my business.
As I continued to shoot for short-term rentals, I continued to pursue my career in portrait and fashion photography. Starting a portrait photography business is an incredibly difficult challenge in Los Angeles, as there are many new photographers doing the same job, but there are also very old companies that a lot of actors flock to. for brand recognition and referrals. To this day, I still shoot portraits, but that’s not much of my job. With that said, I literally just booked a close-up as I write this post. As a freelancer, you never really know where your next job will come from, but luckily, I was referred by someone. That’s where I get a lot, if not most, of my business, by the way, so always be friendly, punctual, and accommodating. That seems to have worked for me.
As for my fashion work, it’s still something I enjoy shooting. Fashion photography is a very creative process for me. I like to create a mood board and put all the pieces together: model, hairstyle and makeup, location etc and still try. I see job ads posting for free or filming six hours for $100. It’s insulting and yes, you need to start somewhere and they know it. I took many low paying jobs because I needed to make money. You should always be paying something. The people who get these jobs for free are the reason why companies continue to take advantage of our photographers. Now, if you’re doing personal portfolio work to benefit yourself, a model, a makeup artist, etc., then yes, those can be free. It’s for every participant to get the experience and photos for their portfolio and social networks. Do as much of this as you can and try to reach out to talented companies, attracting their new talent. I’ve been doing this for years to build my portfolio. They don’t pay, but you’ll get to work with models you’d probably never find on your own.
Next, COVID! In 2019, I added the fine art photographer to many of my hats. Of course, a few months after launching my ecommerce art site, COVID took off. I really know the best time to start a new business. The pandemic is a challenging time for everyone. I was lucky enough to still be able to capture some empty houses and apartments. They were few and far between, but they helped. I’ve been trying to make time for landscape photography for my art page, but I’ve also taken much-needed time for myself, which is one of the good things that comes from the pandemic. You have to be creative and be able to turn and be able to reinvent yourself, which I have done many times in my life.
The challenge today is dealing with near-recession and very high inflation, which presents its own set of challenges. Right now, my art business is where I put the most effort, because It brings me the most joy and where I see the most potential. But the art game is its own beast. Getting your name out into the art world is a struggle, but I keep moving forward and I just keep shooting new works to sell. I’m also trading markets around LA, which is a great way to meet people and make money.
With all that has happened and all that will happen in the future, all you can do is move forward. I still have days where I wonder if I should quit my job and become a real estate agent or move into a cabin in the woods and live in extraterrestrial life. Okay, that I would never do. The point is that a career in photography and life itself is full of ups and downs; you just get over it and never give up. If it brings you happiness or at least a fleeting joy during those difficult times, it’s worth it. Keep moving forward because the ride never ends as long as you live and who knows what the next crisis will be. So in a crisis, do whatever you can to stay alive, work harder than the next and hope for the best, because everyone needs hope.
