I started my photography business in Fall of 2020.
I did so much research. SO MUCH RESEARCH! I know I am not alone here.
There is so much information on starting up your own small business, whatever that business may be, and the photography world is no different. In fact, there is such an over-saturated market for photographers, that I thought my business would be a bit redundant. I had doubts on whether or not I could be unique enough, special enough, or even good enough. More than once I read the statistic that most photographers don't make it past their first year as a business, and this made me hesitate in starting. I struggled.
I was still unsure of myself when I finally took the leap and registered my business, made and website, and started advertising and putting it out there for all the world to see. I didn't have all the details nailed down when I officially started my business, but I knew if I didn't just start, I would never take the next steps. So I went for it.
Getting My Name Out
I was BRAND spanking new to this. I mean I had zero clients. The "portfolio" I had was just fun pictures of my kids and the adventures we took as a family. I had never done a photoshoot and I had never directed someone in how to pose for any type of portrait session.
So how did I do it? I advertised "Free Fall Mini Sessions!"
Everyone likes free stuff! And most people love fall colors! So it was just great timing! I offered a free 30 minutes session at a location of their choice (I did give suggestions if they asked), with a gallery they could buy images from. Within in an hour of posting on local Facebook pages I had three inquiries about my photography business and the special I was running. I was so EXCITED!
I knew I only wanted to offer so many free sessions before I really started charging, so I limited it to five total free sessions. I felt this was a good number to build my portfolio off of and get some content for my website.
It was perfect. The families I gained as clients during my first few months were amazing people and I had so much fun working with them! All of the families bought multiple images from the galleries I send them and a few even bought the entire gallery! The reviews they left me were great confidence boosters as well. I was making this thing happen and it felt so good!
This biggest thing that happened with advertising my small business through free mini sessions was my actual paid booking I acquired. My first paid client! All of this happened within the first few months of starting my business.
What I learned
I had the talent. To get my portfolio together I knew I needed images that were not my children. These free sessions were perfect and since I advertised them for free it was so easy to get people to book them. This is a major thing! I didn't want to give all my time and talent away for free during this though. I wanted to see if I had what it took and to see if clients would spend money on me. Therefore I did charge for the images. The gallery I sent had between 15-25 images for the client to choose from and I charged $5 per image they chose. I did offer a full gallery discount price, and I think that helped in some of the clients choosing to go ahead and purchase the whole gallery. This proved to me that people were willing to pay for my services and work!
I needed to keep learning. Photoshop is a beast! There is so much you can do to an image and it can be intimidating! I had a pretty good handle on my camera and the functions I could use to get a good image, but posing my clients smoothly, making sure lighting is good (not running out of sunlight!), and just relaxing during a session (myself and my clients) were things I needed to work on! I took and am still taking courses on so many different things that have to to with the photography world as well as running a small business in general. You can never stop learning!
I had to structure my business. As I started scheduling clients and pricing out my packages and what would be included in everything I quickly noticed I needed some structure. I needed to streamline my emails so that I wasn't sitting at my computer wondering how to reply to an inquiry for 20 minutes. I drafted up templates and questionnaires to make booking a client easier and faster.
I remember being out with my family, exploring out new home, and getting an inquiry and for the next hour I was consumed with answering these emails because I didn't answer simple questions about my business and the services I included in one simple, straight forward email from the beginning! Not only did this take away from my family time, but it cost me a client.
Also learned that 30 minutes is TOO long for a mini session! I was able to figure out my packages and pricing for my services through these few free sessions!
Don't compare myself to others. If I am completely honest with you (which is what this whole blog is based on), I am STILL struggling with this. I saw other well known photographers in my area posting on social media and I thought I couldn't compete, so sometimes I just didn't. Someone would put a comment on a Facebook group asking about photographer recommendations and 15 other people would give out their business info so I would scroll on by without putting myself out there. This helped no one. It kept me from making myself known and growing in my self-confidence and it kept a potential client from gaining from an experience I could have given them. Who knows! I could have been just what they were looking for. I know this is easier said than done, because I am still doing it, but I am a different person than these other photographers and I offer a different experience, so I need to remember that and put myself out there.
Just do it!
If you area like me, it takes a lot to do something out of my comfort zone.
I love photography, and I knew I wanted to bless others with my talents and give them moments captured in time they could appreciate forever. This is ultimately what pushed me to just do it, to just start.
So figure out your why, name your business, and just do it!
