So let's talk about what kind of photography business you want to start often in my experience. Um it has helped to focus on one specific type of photography as you start out. Um you will get asked to do all these other different types of photography, but to help you get going and to help you target audiences and start making money faster, you should try to really hone in on one specific thing. I've sort of narrowed it down to three different bigger categories that we can kind of talk about throughout this class. Um so let's talk about those. The first one is portrait and headshot photography. Now this focuses on shooting people for headshots, for business profiles, for internet stuff. A lot of actors need head shots, a lot of people getting into business need pictures for their linkedin profiles, stuff like that. And this is actually what I'm doing right now. So we'll focus on that in our case studies For portraits and headshots. That also includes shooting families, you know, graduat...

ion photos, mother's day, maternity, all that sort of stuff really falls into this category #2 event and wedding photography. Now, I've been shooting weddings for over 12 years and I actually have separate websites for my weddings and events and my portrait and headshots, photography now. Um I do this because wedding and events is a definitely a different style than doing setting up portraits and headshots. Um it's way more date based and it's way more journalistic sort of photography based, but it also includes headshots and portraits while you're shooting weddings. Um So we'll talk about that because it's a little bit of a different way to set things up and stakes are a little bit higher because you're capturing moments versus setting a moment up. So we'll talk about that in as far as weddings and events goes, Number three is fine art photography. Now I call this fine art photography because it's a little bit more art based. Um and this is for people who are trying to sell their prints, sell their portraits, do stock photography again, you're not dealing with clients as much when you're shooting the photo, you're dealing with clients after you've printed the photo or posted the photo. So it's a little bit different than setting up a headshot or setting up a date for a wedding. Um, so we'll talk a little bit more about fine art stuff. I actually haven't done a whole lot of it, but I have a lot of friends that have and I know the tips and tricks to really get going with that and where to start selling your prints. So there are other different types of photography and there's different ways that you can make money with your photography, such as being a journalistic photographer in college. I worked for my newspaper and I used to just go out and shoot photos for the newspaper. Um, there's product photography. Uh and there's print ad photography now, a lot of these are more are more commercial client based. Um and it takes a little bit of time to get established. These are a little bit harder to just start as your own home business. So we're not going to be focusing on that as much, but you can definitely go get a job at a newspaper or go to events and shoot and try and sell those to a newspaper. We won't be covering that. Um or you can really start shooting products and going to companies and telling them that you want to shoot like their new toy that's coming out or the new jewelry that they're shooting. But again, that takes a little bit of a different motion than starting your own business and dealing with clients. It's more advertising for bigger companies and requires a little bit of a different aspect of what we're talking about today. There are a few things to consider when you're starting your photography company, as far as picking sort of what category you're going to be shooting. Um Often we're gonna be doing all of it because you want to work and you want to make money. Um There are things to take into consideration though, especially where you are. I'm based in Los Angeles and being in Los Angeles, the wedding industry and the headshot industry is totally saturated. In fact, the photography industry is totally saturated. So I've really focused on actor Headshots because I know that there are plentiful actors in Los Angeles and in Hollywood looking for headshots. Um I've really kind of stepped away from the weddings in Los Angeles because there are just so many wedding photographers. So when you're starting your business, think about where you are, what country, what city, um what region you're in? Um There are a lot of destination places. There's a place out here in California called Palm Springs where most of the photographers out there are wedding photographers because a lot of weddings come out there and so it's a really good idea to think about where you are and where you're situated and what's needed in that area to maybe think about considering where you want to push your photography in. Another thing to consider, especially starting out is what your personal network is. If you're at the age where all your friends are getting married and engaged, maybe you should lean into engagement and wedding photos. If you're at the age where a lot of your friends are having babies, maybe you should lean into maternity photos, newborn photos. If you're at the age where a lot of your friends are graduating from high school or they have kids graduating from high school, maybe you lean into those sort of sections as far as portraits go. So really think about your personal network because that's how you're gonna get your first clients and that's how you're gonna get your feet off the ground and then you can sort of start to like design and mold your own photography business from that. So really take all of these into consideration, because this will really inform everything from this time out. If you're a portrait photographer, a headshot photographer, that's what your website is gonna start to look like. That's how you're gonna advertise yourself. If you're a wedding photographer, that's what your website is gonna look like, and that's how you're gonna advertise yourselves. This is very important to start considering and make a decision about what type of photography you are and what type of business you're going to do. So get on that worksheet, and it's the first thing you're gonna check off and decide what kind of photography business are you.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

15 Tips: How Your Photography Business can be Adapted to Online Services

Start a Photography Business

Workbook

Worksheet

buy this class

$00

Buy Class

Sale Ends Soon!

starting under

$13/month*

Unlock this classplus 2000+ more >

79.7K Students

99% Recommend this Class

00 Student Work

0 Video lessons in HD
00h 00m of class content
Exclusive bonus content
Lifetime access, anywhere, anytime
Streaming access on desktop and mobile browsers
Download and offline access with class purchase
Offline sync with our iPhone & iPad apps
100% satisfaction guarantee

Philip Ebiner

Professional video & course creator, photographer & teacher to 1mil+ students; 10+ years experience with 1000+ videos.

SEE INSTRUCTOR'S CLASSES

Will Carnahan

11+ years experience as a cinematographer, camera operator, and photographer. Working with Disney, Nike, ESPN, PredPol and many others.

2,000+ classes ranging from fundamentals to advanced techniques.

What Kind of Photography Business Do You Want to Start

What Kind of Photography Business Do You Want to Start

Lesson Info

3. What Kind of Photography Business Do You Want to Start

Lessons

Welcome

Why Do You Want to Start a Photography Business

What Kind of Photography Business Do You Want to Start

Important Personal Note from Instructor Will

Case Study Starting a Photography Business

Quiz - Chapter 1

Introduction to Basics of Starting a Photography Business

Choose Your Business Name

Choose Your Business Structure

Register Your Business Name

Get Your Federal Tax ID

Get Your Business License

Get Your Business Bank Account

Register Your Online Accounts

Branding Your Business

Set Your Prices

The Photography Gear You Need to Start a Business

Case Study - Business Basics

Case Study - Equipment

Quiz - Chapter 2

Intro to Getting Your First Paying Clients

You Need to Prove Yourself

The Best Place to Find Your First Clients

What to Charge for Your First Clients

On Set - Partnering with Other Creatives

On Set - Getting Work in a Competitive Environment

Use Your First Shoot Wisely

Case Study - Getting Your First Clients

Quiz - Chapter 3

Introduction to Create Your Photography Business Website

Why You Need a Website and Platform Options

What Needs to Be On Your Website

Design the Perfect Portfolio

Case Study - Looking at Photography Websites

Quiz - Chapter 4

Introduction to Expanding Your Online Presence

Use Instagram to Grow Your Business

Use Facebook to Grow Your Business

Get Listed on Google

Get Listed on Yelp

Get Listed on Review Sites

Using Craigslist to Get Work

Case Study - Expanding Your Online Presence

Quiz - Chapter 5

Introduction to the Photography Business Workflow

Step 1 - Meeting Your Client

Step 2 - Booking Your Client

Step 3 - The Shoot

Step 4 - Editing Your Photos

Step 5 - Delivering Your Photos

Case Study - Business Workflow

On Set - the Shoot

On Set - Backdrop Placement

On Set - Paper Backdrop Rolls

On Set - The Back Light

On Set - Interacting with Clients

Quiz - Chapter 6

Intro to Business Infrastructure and Continued Growth

Productivity Tools to Make Your More Efficient

Get Business Insurance

Accounting Tools & Tips

Business Tax Tips

Scaling Your Prices Up

Use Conventions and Meet Ups to Grow Your Business

Case Study - Business Growth

Quiz - Chapter 7

Intro to the Selling Prints Section

Why Should You Sell Your Prints

Choose a Printer

How to Price Your Prints

Selling Your Prints Online

Selling Your Prints in Person

Wrapping up This Section

Quiz - Chapter 8