A question that has frequently been on my mind as I’ve been pursuing professional photography is: how do you know when you’re ready to go “pro”? Well, let me tell you, there is no right answer. In fact, if you read forums or other blogs you’ll have a hard time finding an answer, and when you do, it will be very different than the last answer you read. The simple fact is, I think it’s different for everyone. Some pick up a dSLR one day and the next they are “ready” to start photographing weddings. Others take it slowly—baby steps are taken to reach a decision. And then there are others who are somewhere in between.
So, instead of trying to provide advice for others who are trying to make it in the photography world, I thought I’d just share my experience. It’s not necessarily right, nor do I think it’s wrong. It’s just what I did and how I decided to go “pro”, and am now taking the necessary steps (legally and business world speaking) to do so.
Shooting Experience: I am a strong believer in gaining experience by shooting for free before charging (and hence, becoming a business). I was obsessed with photography, learning everything I could through online classes, forums, and blogs for a solid 11 months before I shot my first free session this past September. I remember being so nervous going into it (even though I was just shooting my little cousins), and nothing will calm those nerves more than gaining experience.
But calming one’s nerves is just a miniscule part that shooting for free offers one. I was able to practice with multiple subjects, young and old, people and dogs, individuals and families, photogenic and not-so-photogenic. I was able to shoot in different settings—playgrounds, parks, inside, outside. I had to experiment with different light. No two sessions were alike. I personally would not have felt comfortable charging for even one of those sessions going into it knowing that I had no experience in shooting for their particular situation. While my confidence was building session to session, I knew I had to get to a point where I was comfortable in the situation/setting I was shooting and was delivering consistent results before I ever thought of charging.
Developing a Workflow: What many people don’t realize is that photography is so much more than the session. What goes into a session prior to shooting and post is incredibly time consuming. Therefore, I thought it was vitally important to develop a workflow that I was comfortable with from the first contact with a client to the session to culling and editing and finally to delivery of the images. As I shot more and more free sessions, my workflow improved. I was doing things more efficiently.
Finding Your Niche: One thing that I knew I wanted to do was really narrow my focus down on what I intend to shoot as a professional before starting KCP as a business. I knew from the online courses I’d taken from some of the top photographers in the world that really knowing yourself, what you love to shoot, and focusing on that is key to becoming successful. It’s nearly impossible to be a master of all trades. Therefore, I knew it was going to be impossible to shoot everything—newborns, children, families, high school seniors, engagements, weddings, and other events. There are just too many genres of photography out there, each requiring a different set of skills (and equipment), and to really succeed, you have to focus on what you do (and enjoy) best. By shooting for free over the past four months, I was able to get experience with a variety of shoots, and while I may branch out and try weddings somewhere down the line, for now I know that I enjoy and feel I’m best at photographing children, and that’s what I intend for the majority of my business to focus on. If I had just jumped blindly into starting KCP as a business, I may have gone a whole different route, one that I would have likely regretted.
Crossing My t’s and Dotting My i’s: One thing I can freely admit is that I am a researcher. I research everything—before I buy a new gadget, before I decide on a new salon to try, before I choose a restaurant to eat out at—I literally research everything. While this can be overkill, I believe that this characteristic is one that will pay off when it comes to opening a photography business. I’ve heard of a few photographers who blindly jump right in without realizing all that goes into a business and what needs to be considered. I’ve taken the time to research and set myself up for success. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent researching. My husband can probably give you a bit of an idea, but let’s multiply that by three. Just take a look at the list of things I’ve been researching for the past couple months:
- Sole Proprietorship versus LLC (liability versus cost of each)
- Registering the business (county, state, federal)
- Equipment and business insurance (got to cover the potential for liability)
- Pricing (and trying to decide what I want to offer; DVDs of images only, prints, etc.)
- Financial Software (which by the way, sales tax for photography in Illinois is crazy wonky and difficult to figure out)
- Equipment purchases (what do I NEED to start, what do I WANT to be able to afford in the first year, etc.)
- Website Options (yes, this website here will be getting a MAJOR overhaul in the coming months)
- Branding
- Contracts/Model Releases
- Client Management Software
- Budgeting
- Packaging
- Proofing Software
- Client Relations
And this is truly just the beginning. Starting a business is no easy task, and I didn’t want to just jump in feet first. I wanted to research and make sure I was going about everything as legally and “business smart” as I could.
I feel like I’m rambling. Basically, what I’m trying to share with you in this post was that it took four things to happen that really made me feel like I was ready to pursue photography as a part-time profession:
- I needed enough experience photographing subjects that led me to delivering consistent and high quality results and feeling comfortable doing so. (As an aside, I also needed to hear that clients were pleased with their images and the experience/customer service as a whole.)
- I needed enough experience to develop a bit of a workflow and appreciate just how much work goes into each and every session.
- I needed enough experience to decide what I truly enjoy and am good at photographing so that I could focus my business on that niche.
- I needed to have enough knowledge on what it takes to establish and run a successful business before running off to the county clerk’s office and registering.
As you can see, establishing Kari Campos Photography as a business and becoming a “pro” is not an easy or quick road. Luckily, I am at the point where all of that research I did in the fourth step is being applied as I legally establish KCP and get it up and going over the next two to three months.
I hope you’ll stick with me and follow along on my journey. I’ll do my best to share along the way. And if you have any words of advice, I’d love your input!
