How To Start A Photography Business In 9 Simple Steps

While the term “Business Plan” might sound daunting, it isn’t as scary as it may seem! A business plan is simply a written description of your planned business and business strategy. It will outline your vision of how your business will be organized, operate, and be profitable.

Business plans look different for every business, even businesses in the same industry. They’re highly personalized, but they all include some similar elements:

• Executive summary
• Company description
• Market analysis
• Sales and marketing strategy
• Operating plan
• Organization and management team
• Financials

Use this plan as you’re first getting started to set some goals, build out your marketing strategy, and predict future expenses.

Read our article on how to write a one-page business plan for more in-depth steps and information.

You’ve made your business plan and have a basic idea of how you will operate your business and some future expenses. Break down exactly what it will cost to start your photography business. Do you need to purchase equipment, such as a camera, lights, backdrops, and props? What about editing software and a web platform to share files with your clients?

When making this hypothetical budget, be sure to account for things such as licenses/permits, website/domain fees, payments for any insurance policies, and future marketing costs.

Your equipment and editing software can make or break your photography business. High-quality, well-edited pictures delivered on time for a reasonable price will make you stand out against your competitors.

Here are the types of software you may consider purchasing:

• Photo Editing Software: This is a non-negotiable purchase. You can be great at taking photos, but the lighting will never be perfect; there will always be a hair out of place, and having this software allows you to branch out into more creative kinds of photography.
• Video Editing Software: While videographers are an entire industry of their own, you may choose to dabble in some behind-the-scenes recording or expand your offerings to include professional video services. Some photo editing software will allow you to edit videos, but you might get better features and quality from software specifically designed for the task.
• Document Editing Software For Contracts: You may be able to use the same software for this and file sharing, but at the very least, you should have a Google Drive or Adobe PDF account. You will need to make your own contracts to either send to clients to sign virtually or bring with you to your photo shoots.
• File-Sharing Software: We wouldn’t recommend emailing final photos to your client because the quality will likely be reduced. Consider using portable storage devices, such as USB drives, CDs, and external hard drives. Google Drive or Dropbox are other popular options for new photographers.
• Scheduling Software: Make your life easier and allow clients to schedule appointments via your website or dedicated scheduling software. This way, you can manage the appointments after they’ve been made, not over text or Instagram DMs, where messages are bound to get lost and clients frustrated. Check out our scheduling and booking software recommendations.
• Accounting Software: This isn’t something you will likely need at the very beginning of your business journey. It will be important as you begin to bring money in, receive payments from clients, send invoices, and potentially hire employees. You can read our article to learn about the best accounting software for small businesses.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it will get you started off on the right foot!

The main perk for most photographers is that they get to set their own rates. Rates can vary from photographer to photographer, even in the same city, depending on your experience level, the kinds of photography you offer, and the locations of your photo shoots.

Multiple sources offer the figure of $150-$350 per hour to hire a photographer. Event photographers typically fall on the more expensive end of the scale, while school sports/class photos tend to be a little cheaper.

Photographers who charge the most tend to have at least five years of experience, photograph day-long or extended events  (such as weddings), or work as commercial photographers in real estate or even high-end car sales.

While determining your prices, we recommend researching the rates of local competitors or other photographers in your niche. After you have a better idea of that range, consider the budget you made in your business plan, the taxes you’ll have to pay on your wages, and the time it takes to prepare for a photo shoot.

Now that you know how much you’ll be charging per session/event, it’s time to decide what you’re going to charge for digital and physical prints/files. Much of this will be determined by the company you use to print your finished products.

You can offer polished photo books, large canvases, and/or portraits printed on metal or wood, but the most lucrative and accessible way is to offer all of the images on a USB or other physical drive. It’s up to you if you want to offer all of the photos with edits made, unedited photos, or different amounts (10, 15, etc.) of photos.

The world is your oyster when it comes to how you give your clients their pictures. You can even decide not to offer anything other than digital files and allow your clients to find their own printing services. You could find a local printer and partner with them to offer lower rates for your clients in exchange for promotion or part of their profits. Whatever works for you and your clients is the best choice!

This step is most likely going to be optional for your photography business.

If you do decide to operate as a sole proprietorship or partnership, you don’t need to register your business because it will exist as an extension of yourself.

There’s a good chance you won’t need to register your business with state or federal agencies. You will likely need to file for a local business permit in your city or county, and your business will be subject to local taxes.

Learn more about how to register your business in our complete guide.

In 2023, photographers must have a strong web presence. There are a few ways we recommend building this presence and setting yourself up for success:

• Make A Website: Make yourself an attractive, easy-to-use website that will become the online home for your photography business. This will add credibility to your business and increase potential clients’ confidence in your ability. There are many user-friendly and cost-effective website builder tools that you can use to set up a site in a matter of minutes!
• Make Social Media Accounts: To get started using social media for marketing, first set up accounts for your photography business on social media sites you know your clients use most frequently. For photographers, that will typically be Instagram and Facebook because of their capability to upload large, mostly high-quality photos. Include important information, such as the photography you specialize in, a link to your website, and examples of your previous work.
• Create A Yelp Page: Creating a Yelp page will encourage happy clients to leave good reviews and give you the opportunity to address unhappy clients properly. This can help direct new clients to your business. You can consider adding a testimonial widget to your website if your builder allows it as well.

The website builder you choose might include its own payment processing software, which could be perfect for your photography business. If you don’t like the in-house processor for one reason or another, plenty of options offer integrations with your existing website.

No matter what processor you choose, you’re going to need to make sure you can take cards and/or send invoices. You can have a physical card reader or a QR code that allows your clients to scan and link to your payment processing software; no physical card is required.

We’ll talk more about potential payment processors later in the article.

To have a photography business, you’re going to need to have clients to photograph!

Identify your niche — quirky headshots, pet photography, nontraditional weddings, etc. — and start taking some photos. Offer free staged engagement shoots, discounted rates for friends and family, and model calls, anything to get some examples of the work you can do into your portfolio if it’s currently empty.

The business plan you made earlier will come in handy again at this stage in the game. Your marketing strategy is not set in stone; it should change depending on your current network and intended audience.

Here are some ways you can consider marketing yourself:

• Start an e-newsletter using email marketing software and add your current network as subscribers
• Allow new clients to subscribe to email communications via your social media or a button on your website
• Use social media to announce your new business
• Advertise in person, and think about places your clients are likely to be: bridal boutiques, pet stores, daycares, etc.
• Share customer reviews/testimonials
• Make some 21st-century business cards with QR codes and an eye-catching design
• Take advantage of services that allow you to create virtual business cards, so you don’t have to worry about re-prints

Commercial photography tends to be the most profitable, even if it isn’t the most fun.

Photojournalism (typically photographing for a news source) is always in high demand, especially now with the prevalence of online articles needing eye-catching photos to win clicks from readers.

The five top-paying states (in order) are New York, Minnesota, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont.