Tag: business

How To Sell Your Fine Art Photography

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Alice Zilberberg

I’ve been selling my fine art photography prints for a few years. The first few of which were spent experimenting, looking to see what works and what doesn’t. Lucky for you, I bring you the ins and outs of the where and how so you can get directly to work!

Is your work sellable? Finding your market

Before even looking to sell, ask yourself: “Is my work even marketable?” Whether you shoot landscape photography, professional nude photography, or make surreal photo manipulations, it’s always healthy to be aware of the demand. Even if your work is marketable, finding the right clientele might take some time. You could start off by making a small batch of prints. Then asking those around you if this is something they would want to put on their wall. Consider offering them at low prices, or even give a few away to those who are interested. Your mom will always love your work, now it’s time to make personal connections with experts like gallery owners and art buyers. When I say personal connections, I mean to meet them in person. These people are too busy to take cold calls from a stranger. Ask them if they know of the right platforms for your work. Remember that not all art types will have a same marketing strategy.

Sell your photography online

Selling prints online are becoming more and more common. The advantage to this is that you can sell artwork directly from your studio. One obvious element to selling more work is to get more people to visit your website. Consider getting your work on other art related websites with a link to your own website. This could increase traffic to your website.

Automated Online Stores

There are websites you can upload your prints to that do most of the work for you. Customers can buy prints, and products made automatically from the uploaded artwork in the form of mugs, t-shirts, laptop and cell phone skins, clothing and so on. This can be a great source of passive income. A percentage of sales is paid to the artist automatically once products are sold. The disadvantage is that these sites typically sell open edition prints at cheaper costs, decreasing the value of your photography. The percentage the artist makes this way is much smaller than selling independently (around 10%) so even if your products sell in large quantities, you’re not making millions here. My recommendation is to create or choose work from your inventory especially for these websites in addition to your limited edition prints which you can sell using other platforms.

Some examples of automated art print stores are Curioos, Society 6, Zazzle, Red Bubble, Cafe Press, Threadless, iCanvas, Eye Buy Art, 500px, and Art of Where.

Curioos

Curioos specializes in producing gallery-quality prints designed by graphic artists. A quick glance at their selection of wall art will show you a range of styles that would fit very well in a Bohemian gallery in SoHo. Shoppers can choose from canvas, aluminum, acrylic glass, and even aluminum disks, integrating unique and stylish textures with grassroots artistic expression.

Curioos also makes it very easy to browse through artistic themes and genres that you like, with an alphabetical sidebar menu ranging from abstract to vintage and everything in-between. For artists and photographers, it just takes a few minutes to set up a free and mobile friendly shop.

Society 6

Society6 is one of the names in the print on demand marketplace that has been established for years. Artists and photographers will be amazed by the wide range of different products on which their design can be printed, from furniture to laptop cases to throw pillows to rugs.

One of the best features of Society 6 is that artists can choose the markup, allowing them to balance out pricing with royalties in order to maximize sales and profit. On the homepage Society 6 features some of their favorite artists, which of course can bring additional traffic to their shops. Setting up a free online store just takes a few minutes. Artists should keep in mind that different items have different file requirements in terms of quality and size for uploading.

Zazzle

Zazzle has also been around for a number of years and has a slightly different business model than many custom printing shops. Zazzle will pair artists with independent manufacturers. Another great thing about Zazzle is that they have partnered with many large companies in entertainment and media along with sports teams to create collections that vendors can also sell, such as Disney (however, there are specific rules you have to follow if you’re selling this merchandise).

Of course, if you’re mainly interested in selling your own art or photography, there are dozens of different products. Zazzle claims that there are over 300 million different unique products on their site.

Red Bubble

RedBubble is a publicly traded Australian company. Some of the artists on there have sold parody material with envelope pushing content, leading to a somewhat edgy reputation in the past. But RedBubble has certainly moved on from that controversy and become a venue where artists can sell their art around the world.

There are 70 different products from shirts to mugs, allowing artists and photographers to put their creativity out there in a way that appeals to almost any online shopper. Shoppers can also filter art by category, price, and medium, which can make it easier for potential customers to find your work.

Cafe Press

CafePress is America’s largest customized product marketplace. Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area (like many other tech companies) it has since moved its headquarters to Kentucky, and become highly rated in the world of ecommerce vendors selling their own merchandise.

For graphic designers who are not so savvy with their own software, CafePress has a tool that can help layout designs for the variety of products they offer. Although artists can set up their own shops, CafePress also partners with retailers like Urban Outfitters, which can bring some foot traffic to your own offering of printed fine art.

Threadless

While many artists and photographers who view their work as falling into the fine art category would like to focus on prints, they should not overlook the market value of selling their creativity on wearable products!

Threadless is probably the best venue for selling apparel. The prices are good and the selection is very broad, with dozens of different shirts, sweatshirts, and other types of clothing that come in a variety of colors and fabrics. Threadless also has periodic contests, and also allows artists to submit work for Threadless to sell as featured designs. Threadless also doubles as a sort of social media platform where other creators can become potential buyers, if you like their products and follow their store.

iCanvas

iCanvas is the best place to buy art prints and works on canvas. While a number of automated art print stores sell a variety of products, and some even focus on other types of products like home decor and apparel, iCanvas is truly dedicated to two-dimensional displays of your best work. Customers can enjoy a very easy shopping experience, browsing by topics, themes, and genres like pop culture, motivational art, and scenic landscapes. Another great benefit for customers and for those looking to start a photography business is that shipping is free, making a purchase more enticing.

Eye Buy Art

With a name that has such an avant garde spelling, you can be sure that Eye Buy Art is the venue into which you will want to put your photography and artwork if you want to build a reputation as an artist. Unlike some of the other venues listed above, you Eye Buy Art is not a dropshipping or print on demand type venue selling a variety of products. This is, rather, a true distributor of fine art from both up and coming and established artists.

Eye Buy Art has been featured in PopSugar, Architectural Digest, Fashion, and InStyle, in addition to other industry publications in the art and design space. Marketing fine art photography can be a challenge for some creative spirits, so a venue like Eye Buy Art as an established name in the fine art photography space can go a long way toward getting your fine art photos out there.

500px

500px is a venue for stock imagery, which may not strike you as appealing as putting your photography or artwork onto a print or canvas or merchandise – but in many ways, is an even better way to get exposure and monetize your work. One of the struggles of freelance photography is the fact that sometimes your hard work can be appropriated by website builders and bloggers without your approval. Putting your images on a venue like 500px can watermark them so that anyone using them will have to pay, which means you collect royalties. You can also build up a reputation in stock photography via commercial licensing.

Art of Where

Art of Where may not be the best place for selling stunning landscapes or nude photography, but it’s a great venue for monetizing photos turned into patterns via lots of consumer friendly products…shirts, backpacks, and masks, for example. Art of Where integrates with Etsy, Shopify, Squarespace, WooCommerce, and other online ecommerce platform options. It also facilitates the creation of customized shipping labels, allowing you to create an immersive purchasing experience. Turning your photography into a print pattern or something fitting for home decor might be a little out of the box for you, but ultimately you could find it very rewarding creatively and financially.

Limited Edition and Online Art Stores

Unlike the stores above, these are stores that sell limited edition prints, typically at a higher price point. The sales are often handled by the artist, meaning that when an item is sold, you are is responsible for printing, framing, packing, sending, and handling client requests. You can set your own pricing, edition number, and keep a larger percentage of the sales.

Some examples of Limited Edition print websites are Etsy, Saatchi Art, 20 x 200, and Art Fido.

Etsy

Etsy is the name in art online. It’s a sort of art fair and art show combined, where everything from digital art to homemade crafts is available to a potential collector. Artistic photography certainly falls into the categories of items sold on Etsy. Etsy does not do any printing or fulfillment for you, so if you are turning your fine art photographs into something like framed prints or a gift card set, you will have to manage that yourself. However, Etsy does integrate with some sites that can take your photo prints and put them on merchandise or a fine art print, the most popular one perhaps being Printful.

In terms of selling fine art photography, Etsy can also be a very useful tool because it’s one of the largest and most popular marketplaces for art. Because it’s not a print on demand venue you can sell specialty items like a limited edition print that you sign and ship. Another great thing about Etsy for fine art photographs is that reviews are applied to your entire store and displayed by every product, making it much easier to accumulate a positive look for your beautiful fine art photography.

Saatchi Art

Saatchi art is a sort of combination of the fulfilled-for-you platforms and the curated online art exhibits. The look of the site is very much like Fine Art America (another venue for purchasing established pieces of artwork by famous artists) but it’s free for anyone to sign up and collect 65% royalties on each and every fine art photograph or piece of art you sell.

If you are doing fashion photography, nature photography, or street photography, for instance, this can be a great venue to display your work in a context that positions them as a fine art photography print. This is because the layout and look of Saatchi is much less geared toward merchandise seeking consumers or those looking for commercial photography, and more towards those looking to engage in the purchase of art or art photography.

20 x 200

The minimalist look of 20 x 200 makes it clear to browsers from the get-go that they are engaged with a curated collection of a particular aesthetic…modern, sleek, simple, and possessing a touch of the Bohemian.

At the time of this article, a fine art photographer or artist might be disappointed to learn that the website is not currently accepting submissions, but it would not be a bad idea to periodically reach out and see when they are.

Art Fido

Art Fido is more than a place to buy or sell fine art photography online. You can buy and sell artwork by communicating in the forums. Often, the transactions are auction-style. It is actually also a sort of curated museum space with articles and interviews and engaging content about the world of contemporary art and photography, and the artists and photographers who make it. It’s also very much a sort of social media posting and blogging space for creators, which can translate into building a following through the greater community of artists and photographers. Art Fido is less about making direct sales and more about marketing fine art photography.

Your website

You should always have the option for clients to purchase from your website. There are many website templates that allow you to build an online store, like the Squarespace E-commerce store which looks great and is easy to set up. Whether you choose to have an online store page or a contact page about prints depends on what works for you and your photography. It should be clear to your customers that the photography on your website is for sale.

Sell your photography at Art Exhibitions

Art Fairs

One of the best ways to sell your work is through different Art Fairs. You can start locally and perhaps expand internationally if and when you see there’s a demand for your work. Art Fairs are different than gallery exhibitions because they are typically a few days long, have more traffic, and are held at a large public space like a square or a convention center. There are Art Fairs exclusively for galleries, and others dedicated to individual artists. The summer season has the largest amount of outdoor art fairs for individual artists, and the outdoor shows are typically cheaper to sign on to than indoor ones. One advantage to Art Fairs is that after paying the booth fees, 100% of the sales go to the artist. These shows could be attended by just about anyone: art buyers, gallerists, artists, and much more. This makes Art Fairs a great way to get connected to people in the art scene. You never know who is going to walk into your booth. Furthermore, longevity pays off in this situation. Showing up year after year can help legitimize your work, showing buyers that you are consistently making art and that purchasing from you is a good investment.

I strongly recommend researching Art Fairs in your city and even contacting participating artists who have similar work to yours, asking about their experience.

Commercial fine art Galleries

Commercial gallery representation is often the first thing artists think about. Finding a commercial gallery can be a long process, and there are many things to consider before signing a contract. Having a source that sells your art for you is certainly an advantage. The gallery could an increase the exposure to your work by showcasing it in auctions and Art Fairs for galleries. However, galleries take a large percentage (typically 50%) of the sales. With additional costs like printing and framing, this leaves the artists with even less at the end. This model can work if the gallery sells a large volume of work. Some galleries have exclusive contracts, meaning that clients can only purchase work from them and not from the artist directly. Non-exclusive contracts allow artists to continue selling work independently or through other galleries in addition to the work sold at the gallery.

Choosing a gallery is a completely individual process and can take some trial and error. Remember that reading the fine print, keeping control over sales, and understanding legal issues are your responsibilities when partnering with a gallery.

Individual art dealers

Aside from galleries who have a physical gallery space, there are also individual dealers who may represent your work and put you in different spaces like group shows. They may also sell to clients of their own. Sometimes they take a smaller percentage of the sales than commercial galleries do.

art gallery — Alice Zilberberg Photography

Auctions

Auction houses and charitable auctions are a good thing to try. Some ask artists to donate a piece of art, or take a percentage of the sale. An advantage of auctions for photographers is that if your print sells, the losing bidder might come directly to you to purchase the next available print in the limited edition for that piece.

Think Outside the box

You’re not confined to the platforms above. Be innovative! think of other ways to sell your work. Is your work tied to women’s issues? Maybe you can contact a women’s hospital to see if they’re interested in buying your work for their space. Do you shoot travel photography? Maybe a travel related company is interested.

Getting Started in Commercial Advertising Photography

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Jennifer Berube

There are many facets to photography that can be highly profitable to you. While you can spend years doing street photography and doing it well, nothing really beats commercial advertising photography for the amount of pay that you can make. It is also very rewarding to work in that industry because you are literally shaping the opinions of people with your photography. From shooting models for a clothing line to taking pictures of food for a fast food chain, each day is different and each day brings you new things to discover.

It is not as simple as just taking pictures for an ad agency. You have to really know what you are doing, and you have to know the keys to success in advertising photography. The first thing to know is that whatever you used to think about photography, it all changes when you are doing advertising photography.

Know Your Style

Before you get into commercial photography, it is important to know what your style is going to be. We all have different styles when it comes to photography, and understanding your style will help you know the campaigns to work for. With any art form, it is vital to know your style so that you can create something that is true to you, not to someone else.

Shooting your style will bring you grater success when you are working in advertising photography. It will resonate with you, and that will make you good at it. The better you are at it, the better you will do in the career.

Market Differently

Your whole job is finding new ways to sell a marketing message through photography. You have to think in a dynamic and interesting way. If that is the case, why would you go about things the typical way to market yourself? You have to think differently so you can market yourself differently. You can take pictures, build your portfolio and market yourself that way but this is just going to be a huge waste of your resources.

Instead, you focus on getting that one really amazing picture and start marketing that picture, rather than a portfolio of pictures. That will get you noticed and it will save you years of time.

There are several other things to consider when it comes to marketing yourself as a professional photographer so you can start making money, including:

Know the marketing process and be familiar with how marketing works. Use what you learn to teach yourself to market yourself, and be a better advertising photographer.
Know what clients you want and then begin to reach them. You can do this through actually setting up meetings, or through emailing them with your work. Either way, don’t be afraid to approach them and get them to see your amazing work.
Don’t spend years building your portfolio, as we already said. Send your one amazing picture right now and get noticed now. Why wait for years when you could be getting advertising work right now, at this very moment?

Be An Artist

You are a photographer right? Wrong, you are an artist and it is important you start seeing yourself that way. You need to start thinking of yourself as an artist so that you can start pushing the boundaries of what you can do. You want to push the limits of reality, and you want to choose what to render in the photo. Go down into your imagination and discover what it is that really makes you an artist and what will make the photograph pop as an advertising message.

It is the creative process of an artist that really makes a photograph something more. Don’t be afraid to experiment with what you can do, to make an image that changes how people see a product or service, through your photography.

When you are working in commercial advertising, there are going to be new challenges and opportunities for you to deal with. They will be rewarding and difficult, but it will allow you to explore yourself as a photographer and how you see the world. In many ways, being a commercial photographer can change how you see everything around you. It is an amazing career to be in.

How to Promote Photography on Instagram

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Kim Suarez

These days, social media is an essential tool to any business marketing strategy. First of all, it’s free. Second, it’s all-reaching, meaning nearly everyone is a user. Last and most important: it works. It works if you know how to properly use it to your advantage. I’ve even heard photographers who have gotten paid work on Instagram or based on their Instagram account.

If you have thousands of followers, you are considered an ‘”influencer” and brands will send you their product or book you for gigs because any image you post is like a free billboard for them, immediately garnering tens of thousands of views in a second.

This influencer status is not reserved only for the elite, or famous, or even the most talented. It is given to those who know how to play the social media game and win. Below are a few tips to using Instagram to promote your photography to achieve this status and grow your business and brand.

Be Yourself

Essential to any business or personal development strategy is to be yourself, to be truthful about who you are not pretending to be someone you are not. We can’t all be that cool, hip style-savvy blogger with thousands of followers who posts amazing pictures of themselves from all over the world. Honestly, there are too many of them anyways now. You are unique, you have a combination of qualities and experiences that no one else has. Give yourself the exercise of digging into these attributes that make you unique, and create your personal brand around these.

Curate and Captions

More important to photographers, since this is a visual social media platform, is that you curate your Instagram. This is your portfolio, and you only want to show your best work. Maintaining a high-quality standard is essential to booking high-quality clients and appearing in high-quality outlets. Be sure to follow the quality of quantity rule here. If you don’t have any quality images to publish at the moment, wait until you do.

In addition, captions and hashtags are important in Instagram posts. You want your caption to add to your story, and humanize the image and yourself. Tell a behind the scenes story of what it took to get that shot, or explain what brought you to that location. The more personal, the better. This will help fans feel more connected to you, it makes you more relatable. It will also build your brand, and give you a stronger presence in your desired niche. Hashtags are also a great way to caption your images, and tie in with Connect and Style below. You can use hashtags which are associated with millions of tags, adding your post to additional pools of images, seen by more users than those who follow you. If you want your images to be seen by magazine photo editors, find the magazine’s Instagram. They all have their own hashtags now, and you can add them to your captions to gain visibility.

Connect and Cultivate

If you do not interact with others on Instagram, they will not interact with you. Set aside a few minutes each day not only to post but to go through others photos as well. Make sure you curate those you follow to stick with your brand category. You want to be associated with these people, so when others see them, they will see you. Continue to build these relationships, and start to form new ones. You’ll never know what this could lead to in the future, whether it be work or investments or just great personal relationships. To tie into the above, liking and commenting on others posts will humanize you, and help others feel more connected to you. It will also help you feel more connected to others, and you can reach out to those you admire for advice or even opportunities to assist.

Style and Consistency

Style and consistency go hand in hand when building a brand, whether personal or business. If you followed the first tip and are being true to yourself, this should come somewhat easily. Being consistent in what and how you post will make it easier for others to define your brand, and to feel more connected with you. They will see images and writing and know it is you before even looking at the name. This is what you want because these you’ve successfully given your brand a consistent style. You want people to think of you when they think of a particular style. This will lead to more booked gigs and a greater understanding of who you are as a photographer.

Being consistent in your Instagram posting also means knowing what time of day to upload, and being consistent in this schedule. Those who are serious about using Instagram to build their brand, research their target market and know when they are looking at Instagram. Timing your upload to post within this time frame is the secret strategy successful Instagram users employ. Doing this alone will greatly benefit your brand’s Instagram presence within your specific targeted viewer pool.

While the above may sound daunting and like a lot of work, it is essential to building a strong and successful brand on Instagram. Those who are successful are not that way by accident. They are very strategic in their posting, community involvement, and research. But, you need to make sure that you are having fun while working at this. If it is not fun for you, you will not maintain the consistency necessary to build a large following. Using Instagram to promote your photography can be time-consuming, but in the end, can make or break upcoming photographers looking to become influencers and authorities in their specific category.

How to Deal with Difficult Clients – Photographer’s Edition

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Alice Zilberberg

In a creative field like freelance photography, it’s not uncommon to encounter difficult clients and have to deal with their strange requests. Don’t start pulling your hair out. Instead, consider the following when a challenge arises.

Smile

Yes, that’s right. The first thing you should do is smile. Whether it’s in person or on the phone, start on a positive note and don’t get emotional. Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain. This will only make the situation worse. This alone is likely to make them like you, and consider the situation handled without even knowing why. If they feel positive about you, they’re less likely to be difficult.

Show that you care

Listen to what they say, repeat it back to them, offer a solution, and then ask them how their son’s graduation was. Becoming genuinely interested in people and talking in terms of their interests is important with any client, difficult or not. Showing that you’re listening to them is crucial here, even if you disagree. Proving your points about how wrong they are will not get you anywhere good. Tell them that their issues will be taken care of and take care of them. After doing this, encourage them to talk about another subject like something personal you know they care about. Their kids, an article they posted on Facebook, or simply ask them how everything else is going. This is likely to clear the air and leave them feeling happy.

Don’t over-communicate with clients

Difficult clients are known to be creatures that harass you all day long with their requests. Consider that if you engage in this, you are using valuable time (typically unpaid) that you could instead allocate towards finishing the job or working on something else. Selectively ignoring your clients can be useful here. If your client tends to write you lengthy emails about what they want, do not reply to them with the same level of detail. If you understand what needs to be fixed, replying with “will do” is enough. I very often write emails using only the subject line. Putting “Updated images are in Dropbox” in the subject line and clicking send will take a few seconds, instead of writing a novel about your thoughts. If they interrupt you with many emails throughout the day, consider waiting until the end of the day to go over and reply to all of them at once. If they like to get on the phone and play personal therapy session for an hour, let them leave a message and let them know you have received their notes.

Finish the job

Don’t get immersed in the drama of it all. If you get frustrated, focus on finishing the job. Even if there are many disagreements, consider that it could be best to put money and creative differences aside, and just do what they ask. You can always introduce new terms for the next job you do for them. Doing this will show that you provide excellent customer service, something that may be seen as more valuable than getting an extra dollar or providing your best creative work.

When to fire clients: The 80/20 rule

If things get really frustrating, it’s important to consider whether you want to work with your client again. In the Four Hour Workweek, Tim Ferris explains that in any trade, 20% of the work equals 80% of the income. This means that 80% of what your time could be spent on things that are not efficient or effective for you and your business. Instead, it is better to focus on the 20% that you know brings you income. If this client is taking up a lot of emotional space and time, maybe they are not in your 20%. Consider saying goodbye and instead of generating new leads and focusing on jobs from other clients who are a better fit for you.

Make Money as a Photographer: 7 Steps to Start Earning Money

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Jennifer Berube

Many people love to photograph everyday life, capturing beautiful moments or scenery in a variety of ways, from a number of angles. Earning money from photography is a whole other level though, and takes more than just snapping a pretty picture when the chance arises. Fortunately, there are some basic steps you can follow in order to make yourself more marketable and bring more work your way.

Today we’ll be taking a look at the most important of these steps, so you can get started right away and ensure you’re on the right track!

1. Shoot Whenever Possible

This is a key to improving your performance as a photographer, and your confidence in yourself and your work. It’s a way to gain experience easily and without needing to rely on jobs, and is both a great way to improve your work in the field you want to work in professionally, and to try new styles or techniques of photography without any risk of upsetting clients. Friends and family make great resources here if you are interested in photographing people rather than items or scenes.

2. Create a Portfolio

Whatever work you do, whether paid or free, be sure to keep a copy. This way you can go through your collection of work and pick out the best parts, using them to create your very own portfolio. This can be sent to potential clients and also placed online, showcasing your ability and helping you to land more work. After all, nobody wants to hire somebody without seeing what they can do, right?

3. Get Good Equipment

At first it’s easy enough to start off with just a camera, and not a particularly great one at that. As you progress though it should always be a priority to upgrade and add to your equipment whenever possible. More equipment means you can cover more situations and do cover many different types of shots, adding to your repertoire. Better equipment also means better quality photographs, a must if you are serious about succeeding in this business.

4. Get a Mentor

The quickest way to get good at photography, and to start earning money, is to get a good mentor. A mentor is somebody who has already achieved what you are aiming for, and you don’t need to restrict yourself to just one either.

Your mentor can speed up the learning process for you as they show you what has and hasn’t worked for them, as well as passing on their experience in dealing with clients, knowing how much to charge, and marketing yourself. This information is incredibly valuable, as your mentor will have spent a long time accumulating experience and knowledge, something they can pass on to you in much less time than it takes for you to learn it yourself.

5. Take Whatever Work is Available

In the early days it’s always a good idea to take whatever work you are offered. Even small gigs can lead to repeat business and bigger jobs, and working in areas you don’t entirely want to at the start can get your foot in the door for more lucrative work later on. Also keep in mind that any paid work reflects well on you, as long as you do a good job. These jobs can provide good feedback, portfolio pieces, and marketing by word-of-mouth between potential clients.

6. Actively Look For Work

One of the most common mistakes made by newer photographers is to wait for work to come to them. Those who only post a portfolio and/or their details in various places, then wait for job offers, don’t usually get much work. Until you have a big base of clients and a well-known reputation it’s best to put as much time and effort as you can in to actively finding work.

Look for anybody that might need a photographer and try to offer your services, the more you get yourself out there the more likely you are to find work – and it’s a great way to build confidence dealing with new clients too!

7. Build a Client Base

Treat every client and job you get as a possible repeat customer and try to build up a number of clients that will come back to you for work when they need it. This gives you a steady flow of regular work and allows you to be more selective with the work you take on to fill any remaining free time.

With that said, clients who have been with you from the early days should expect to pay a little more as your ability and reputation grow, though it’s always a good idea to cut them a little extra slack when possible in return for their loyalty and to keep them referring others to you.

Follow these seven steps and you’ll notice it won’t be long before you gain the confidence you need to start making money as a professional photographer. It will take time, but it will be worth it!

Professional Photography: How Much Should You Charge?

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Sabina Sister

Its really hard to ask yourself how much you should charge. It seems like a really loose question without many guidelines but below are a few helpful tips.

A good thing for all professional photographers to know: once you enter the world of professionalism, part of your job will include doing things that are not exactly related to your job title such as figuring out your rates! Although boring, its a very important decision to make. Because of this, its good to have some small understanding of the duties of a professional photographer.

Firstly, you should always expect reimbursement when performing a service. Professional photography is a service that people seek out and request. Respect yourself as an artist and professionl in knowing and acknowledging your worth. Therefore, your work, your service, and your time is worth getting paid for.

Establishing monetary compensation says that you are good enough to get paid. While we certainly do not always agree that this is the case for everyone, make sure you keep that in mind when brainstorming ideas for yourself! Stay realistic and know that everyone has to start somewhere.

However, being a good photographer means you are constantly willing to evolve and learn, so most likely the very first paid shoot you do will not resemble the 89th shoot. As your skill level goes up, so should your rates.

But now comes the question of how high do I go? That is certainly a difficult question and varies for everyone. Personally, I want to charge enough to sustain myself but also maintain accessibility so a wide range of people can hire me. Because as your price range goes up, your clientele changes.

If you know anyone in the business, consult them! You can learn from their experience/

For example; weddings. A low budget wedding versus a higher budget wedding will be different in the areas of venue, dress,flowers, etc. and we all have our preferences of what styles we like best.

Be mindful of this as higher rates cater to those who can afford you which does impact who you work with and where.

Get to know the other photographers in your area as their rates determine the range you should be in. With this in mind, you want to start low but enough so that you could still enter the market and create competition. Careful not to price too low as that can make you seem cheap and turn you off from clients.

Our association with low cost and inexpensive services are not very good. Often time we think of cheap services synonymous with inexperienced or not good. When it comes to photography, your rates reflect your level almost.

Now comes the waiting part. This is the part where you wait until you reach a level of consistency and satisfaction that raising your rates seems like the logical next step. This can take months or maybe a year or two. Do this by assigning a percentage that you would like to see your income rise by every year!

I say this as someone who used this techniques which is by no means the only way or even right way. Shooting primarily weddings, I decided to start rising their increasing my wedding rates by 15% each year.

If you feel like the process is becoming arduous or that you’re just not getting it, consult a business adviser. They’ll be able to answer your questions and help you come up with strategies.

Its hard to start a business. Do not get discouraged. Remember how many people around you probably had to do the same thing and take comfort in it! There is zero shame in asking for help

Hope this helps. Happy shooting, y’all!