Portrait Photography Business - Starting A Home Studio

If you want to make a part time job or career out of photography, it's easier that you might think. Portrait photography is in high demand in almost every city in the nation and it doesn't take much to build a working studio in your home. The best thing about starting with portrait photography is that you don't have to buy a lot of equipment at first- you can instead add equipment as your business grows. Here's how to take the first steps:

Set Up the Studio
There are a few things that you should pick up before attempting professional portrait photography. Obviously you will need a camera (preferably digital as it's easier for inexpensive photo editing) but you will also need a tripod, a basic light setup and some sort of light reflector. Most of this equipment is available at entry-level quality for a low cost, or can be improvised if you're short on cash (for instance, white poster board can work as a light reflector). It would also be helpful if you can get a laptop with some photo editing software as the portability of a laptop will come in handy.

Additionally, you'll need some working space. An extra room, garage, or living room can usually fit everything you need. White walls will act as natural reflectors, windows can provide natural light, and backgrounds can be provided by different colors of bed sheets.

Setting Up the Business
If you are really serious about starting a portrait photography business, you'll need to treat it as a serious business. You should consider getting some basic small business accounting software like Quickbooks for invoicing and tracking payments before your first client. It is essential that you track your income so you can identify possible problems with your pricing and plan for paying taxes on your services.

It's also a great idea to build a website for your new business with an online portfolio. With so many people using the internet to locate professional services, an online presence is a powerful way to bring in new business. You can either build a simple site yourself or hire it out inexpensively at websites like Elance. Just make sure you have your contact information listed!

Finally, think of ways to set your portrait photography studio apart from the rest. If you want to get a competitive edge, try focusing on a specific photography niche. For example, some people are more willing to pay for pictures of their pets or children and often with specializing you have a little less competition.

Once you have the studio set up, the cash flow handled, and a strategy for the business, you should be ready to take the plunge into professional portrait photography. With a few advertisements in local papers and good word of mouth, there's no measuring the potential your small studio might have. And remember, if you give your clients excellent photographs, no one will remember that you used bed sheets as backdrops!

Nurturing Relationships And Your Photography Success

Regrets, Advertising Assignments, and Relationships
I don't have a lot of regrets at this point, but I do have a few. And one of those regrets is not keeping up friendships. Due to a variety of factors, divorces (eeks'plural), being a workaholic and so forth, I have lost touch with many of my friends both in business and in my personal life.

If I had it to do over again, I would have retained more friendships. One piece of advice I was given as a young photographer, just entering the world of advertising assignments, was not to look a job as a $3,000 dollar day (back then day rates were in'I chose $3,000.00 because that was what I was asking at that time), but rather as a $100,000.00 relationship.

Relationships and People You Genuinely Like
Obviously it is important to keep relationships healthy and alive for one's personal life, but it could be useful to take a look at the role relationships play in our photography business and careers. These relationships range from bankers and accountants to models and fellow photographers to art directors, designers and, yes, even your non-photographer friends. It is important to realize that in a good, healthy relationship you will not be taking advantage of people. I think it is important to cultivate relationships with people you genuinely like and respect'there are plenty of them out there!

Art Directors, Communication Friends and Fun
Of course, it is obvious why you would want to cultivate relationships with Art directors and other clients. It is more fun to work with friends, it fosters better communication and teamwork with a trusted friend can result in better work. But good things can come from unexpected places, and the chances of those good things coming increase with the number of close and positive relationships you have.

Exotic Video Cameras, Helicopters and Blend Images
A close relationship with my primary computer vendor has resulted in the opportunity to shoot with exotic video cameras, and to play with cutting-edge storage systems. A relationship with my knee surgeon resulted in one of my best paying stock shoots ever, using his facilities as a location basically for free. A relationship with a helicopter pilot led to countless opportunities for aerial shooting'and a heck of a lot of fun! And relationships with a couple of my peers resulted in my becoming one of the founders of the stock agency Blend Images (that was a big one'). I have many such stories, but have let many more get away by failing to nurture and maintain relationships that had the potential, but that I neglected to death.

Who You Know, and Things We Can't Imagine
It is sometimes said that it isn't what you know, but whom you know. I think what you know is vitally important, but it often is whom you know that allows you to put what you know into practice. The people you know can provide you with opportunities from locations, to models, to inspiration to guidance to things we can't even imagine.

Nurturing Relationships
How do you nurture those relationships? You give of yourself. You give your time, your enthusiasm and your heart. You do your best to see the world through their eyes. You give them honesty, an ear, and respect. If you do that with no expectation of getting something in return' you will be amazed at what does come back.

Handshakes Challenges And Success As A Stock Photographer

Blend Images, a Recession, and Opportunity
The negative news in the photography world is rampant, and it would be foolish not to pay attention'and not to be concerned. But I can't help but believe that with the tremendous demand for images there isn't also a lot of opportunity. I will come out and say it: There is a lot of opportunity!

Blend Images, of which I am a part of, has just licensed more images than ever...even in a recession year. And they weren't doing it by discounting. As a matter of fact, one of my associates had one sale in Blend's just introduced Rights Managed collection for over $9,000.00.

Don't forget, despite the doom and gloom there are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on stock images.

Our Challenge as Stock Photographers
There are opportunities'but how do we take advantage of them? One way is to shoot the old tried-and-true concepts, but to shoot them in a new and different way. Let's take the example of a handshake. Kind of makes you cringe, right? I mean if anything has been done to death, overused, and driven into the ground it is the business handshake.

And yet, what better symbol is there for such important and necessary concepts as sealing the deal, agreement, success and teamwork? Handshakes are a quick read and we all get the point. Handshakes really are a necessary image in the business world.

As creative photographers, as artists if you will, and certainly as stock shooters, it is our challenge to take such mundane concepts and take them to a new level.

Photos That Stand Out From the Crowd, And Success
Our continued success certainly depends on our ability to do so. I don't really know if the crushing glut of images will spell doom for the careers of most stock shooters, but I do believe that there will always be success and good rewards for those who can create photos that stand out from the crowd. One problem, though, is getting paid adequately for creating such photos.

It could be that if you create exceptional pictures and put them into micro you might have a volume of sales that justifies the blood, sweat and money that goes into such images. Of course, one danger with that is that you might have every Tom, Dick and Jane copying your better selling images.


No Guarantees, Negotiation and Possibilities
I believe it is a better strategy to put such images into Rights Managed collections. There is no guarantee that whoever is negotiating the fee for the images will do them justice, but there is at least the possibility! Too, if the demand for great images does result in higher fees then Rights Managed can easily step up to that task. Once you release an image into micro, or even RF'well, what's done is done.

Diversification and Knowledge
That being said, I am putting images in both RM and RF. I am staying diversified in as many ways as I think prudent (micro not being one of them'yet*) in order to both minimize the impact of changes in the market, and to have the first hand information of what is selling and for how much.

As they say, knowledge is power'sort of. Whether I put images into RF or RM, I want them, ideally, to be fresh, and filling a definite need in the marketplace. I am positive that if you can create exciting and compelling photography that fills the needs for business, there are ample opportunities for success and for making a very good living.

Call me an optimist!
*A word about micro. I don't mean to bash micro. I don't begrudge the participants of micro. I just don't believe that it is the right business model for me. Micro opened up the stock photo door to everyone and, in a sense, leveled the playing field.

It has forever changed the landscape. It isn't good, or bad, it just is. Heck, some photographers are amazingly successful with that model, and maybe someday it will be more attractive to me, but right now I believe I can earn more through the traditional outlets.

Darkroom Photography Guide To Getting Started

These days, developing film and making prints in a darkroom seems a little outdated. Why would we want to spend hours in a dark, smelly room, sweating over our images and struggling for the perfect print when we can just upload them to our computers, fire up Photoshop, and have a hot chocolate? There's no arguing that digital is more convenient and is growing increasingly flexible as camera capabilities and software options improve, but sometimes it's fun to break it down to the basics and spend a little time in the dark. If you have never been in a photo darkroom before, this is your dark room guide to getting started.
We'll skip developing your film and getting supplies for now and just talk about the actual process.

Making Prints with an Enlarger
An enlarger is exactly what it sounds like '“ a machine that makes your tiny squares of film into large, printed photographs. It does this by projecting light through your film and onto the surface of your photo paper, exposing the light sensitive chemicals buried inside.

In order to print a photo, you'll need to line the frame up with your enlarger's light source, project it onto the blank mat, and ensure it is correctly focused (usually by adjusting a knob on the side). Most darkrooms have magnifying glasses lying around; make sure you can clearly see the grain of your image. You'll need to mess with the exposure timing to ensure the image comes out right, then you should be good to go.

The Chemicals
Once you've decided on the correct timing and exposed a full photograph, it's time to get your hands dirty. Darkroom chemicals have a smelly and distinct odor and will ruin any clothing they come in contact with so make sure to wear an apron or wear old ratty clothes. The chemical process can be broken down into four steps:

1. Developer '“ Soak your paper, which will still be completely white, in the developer. This chemical will activate the photo paper and over the course of a few minutes you'll start to see your image come through. If you don't like the contrast or exposure, just head back to the enlarger and get another piece of photo paper and adjust your timing. Once you have a print you like and it's done developing, move it to the stop bath for a soak.


2. Stop Bath '“ The stop bath will prevent your image from developing any further by neutralizing the chemicals found in the developer. If you have ever been in a dark room, the stop bath is the distinct smell you probably remember. If you want to make sure your print is done sitting in the stop bath, rub your fingers on the paper to see if it will squeak. If it squeaks, then you know the chemicals have been properly stopped. This should only take a few short minutes.

3. Fixer '“ While the stop bath will stop the effects of the developer chemicals, your paper will still be sensitive to light exposure. Fixer is the last chemical in the process so once your print has soaked in this, it can be exposed to light without ruining the image. You don't need to soak your images in fixer for too long, but 5-10 minutes depending on the chemicals and paper is usually a safe bet.

4. Rinse '“ Naturally you'll want to rinse your photos of all the harsh chemicals you've soaked in them. Most darkrooms have a sink of some sort that keeps a continually flowing tub of water for rinsing and you really can't rinse for too long, so leave your images in the rinse as long as you need. While waiting, this is a great time to print other pictures from your negatives!

Once you've enlarged, developed, stopped, fixed, and rinsed your images, set them out to dry in a safe place and come get them the next day. Remember to rinse them well '“ one of the main reasons photographs turn brown over time is chemical left on the print. Pick up your dry prints and put them in a heavy book or photo press to straighten them out. After that, your prints are ready to frame.

The darkroom can seem intimidating, but once you have a bearing on the process you will enjoy printing your own images. It's a wonderful creative outlet and gives you a lot more control over your final images then having someone else print them. Just remember to ask around before turning on the lights!