How to start out with photography: the things I recommend
I want to start off by saying, I’m not the best writer in the world, guys, so bear with me!! I started this blog in hopes to bring some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the past two years of starting AHP to YOU. I want to share everything I’ve learned so far to hopefully get someone else inspired & take the plunge into this photography world. I get questions about it all the time. How did you start your business? What kind of camera should I buy? How do I learn to shoot in manual?
Well I wanted to talk a little bit about what I’ve learned. Now, I’m NO WHERE near perfect. There are so many things I want to accomplish & learn, but it’s just taking me some time. With being a stay at home mom it’s hard for me to get as much done as I’d like, & that’s okay. Being there for my clients & serving them well comes first, the fun stuff (like doing styled shoots, updating blog posts more often, etc..) will come with time & growth. I think that’s one of the biggest things to realize when you start this journey into photography, or any kind of craft/art. Success will not come overnight, it takes time. You have to just JUMP into it, take a leap of faith & know you are NOT going to be amazing when you first pick up your camera, & that’s okay! You’re not going to get 1,000 followers in a few months, it took me a whole YEAR. You’re never going to know everything, you should constantly be learning as a business owner/photographer.
With all of that being said let’s dive into this.
HOW TO START YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNEY:
You’ll definitely need a camera. I started off with a Canon 60D with a cheap 50mm 1.8 lens. What I recommend most with buying your first camera is to skip the kits. In my personal opinion, it would be be much more beneficial for you to find a used full frame camera and a cheap lens (50mm 1.8 lenses on amazon are around $200.00 here’s a link —-> https://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-STM-Lens/dp/B00X8MRBCW/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=50mm+lens&qid=1582306527&sr=8-3) it’s a fantastic starting lens. A good full frame camera that you guys can find would be a canon 6D (they are relatively cheap used, probably around $500-$600 on Adorama). If a full frame is just too expensive right now, canon 60D or 80D (I bought mine for $400 used on the facebook marketplace) are great options as well, even though they are crop sensors they are great to start out with.
After you get your camera, I suggest signing up for your monthly membership with Lightroom. It’s $9.99 a month & you will have access to Lightroom, Photoshop & other fun things that I actually don’t even use (haha). You will need both, to learn how to edit your photos. There are many recourses out there for you to learn how to edit a photo. How you decide to edit (your editing style) will be your preference, how you want a photo to look is completely up to you! I started off using presets & watching a TON on youtube videos on how to tweak the specific preset that I bought, from there my style of edited has changed a ton & yours will too! It all takes time & I still feel like I am discovering new things I like, when it comes to my style, every day.
Okay, after you have your camera & after you have Lightroom all set up you’ll want to make sure you have a good client management system to collect money, send out invoices/contracts & to keep track of it all. It’s very important to stay organized. I highly recommend signing up for Honeybook. I use it & I couldn’t run my business without it. I will be doing a blog post on Honeybook in the future, to give you my discount code & more info on how I use Honeybook. If you want the discount code now, DM ME!
After you have Honeybook set up you’ll want to create a website. I set my website up through Squarespace, it’s super user friendly, & they have templates for you to choose from.
Once you have your website up can create your Instagram & Facebook page under your business name.
Once you have that set up I then recommend signing up for some sort of client gallery delivery system (I think is what you could call it haha), when I first started I signed up for Pixieset. That way when you are delivering photos to your clients, it will be delivered to them through a gallery that they can download the photos from, share & also buy prints through!
Once you are ready to start booking clients you’ll want to make sure you’re a legal entity before accepting money from anyone. I contacted a local CPA & they gave my steps on the process. You can either become a sole proprietor or LLC. I recommend taking to a CPA to see what they recommend, you’ll need one in the future anyway to help you with taxes later on! The steps I took to become a LLC were: register your name with your state, get an EIN, set up a business bank account & then get business insurance (I use USAA).
Once you are officially a business (licensed and insured) you can start advertising & collecting money. When I first started I hustled my butt off. I reached out to anyone I could to do free shoots, along with mini sessions I held at $30.00 (SO CHEAP), but it was because I was still practicing & learning from every shoot I did. It was a time for growth & experimenting! I learned my camera, I practiced my editing style, I practiced shooting in all kinds of light (during the day, golden hour, and morning). I brought my camera EVERYWHERE!
One of the last tips I have for you new business & for yourself is to find a mentor. Find another photographer that you LOVE & ask to shadow them, or second shoot with them, reach out & see if you could help them with something. Anything! Ask for advice. Never stop learning & serving your clients to your best ability & success with come.
SOOOO, those are the steps that I have, I hope this has helped you to start your dream business! I know you probably have more questions now. What editing style do I like? What youtube videos should I watch to learn more? TAXES?! I can answer these questions some other time (in another blog post). If you have a specific question, please reach out to me! Id love to talk to you more. I remember when I was first starting out I was so intimidated by asking a well established photographer questions. I WANT your success, I want you to feel confident going into photography, this industry is hugeeee & EVERYONE needs photos. Never hesitate to reach out to me, because I will always be here for you!
Thanks so much for reading this far!! You are amazing & you only have this one life, DO WHAT YOU LOVE, work hard for it & the success will come.
