Why Start a New Portrait Photography Business?

Firstly - I'm a parent, and there are certain pictures of the children that take center stage, and that's well done portrait photographs. I can stare at them for ages. My mother had little portrait shots covering every available space on her dining room cabinet of friends, children and pets too. Everybody will buy a good portrait photo if if captures a special memory.

Ollie, a good friend of mine, has always loved taking all types of pictures, the walls of his cottage have beautiful prints of shots Ollie and his wife favor mostly, their children - 4yr old beautiful twin girls. As you can imagine there are quite a few pictures of the girls all around. He has a canny way of 'capturing the natural' in his photography. in-fact on first looking at his photographs I thought they were professional prints!

Anyway, Ollie's hobby took center stage. The twins often had friends over to play, and when the parents came to collect their children they saw all the photography. Like myself they assumed they were professional portrait pictures. So when finding out that Ollie took them they would often ask if he would take portraits photographs of their kids. Soon enough he was taking bookings for portraits, christenings even weddings. He was getting very busy just by word of mouth.

I got a call from Ollie one morning, quite out of the blue. He said that he was considering starting a new portrait photography business; to be completely honest I knew he was good but I wasn't sure he could make a living out of it... Until he explained to me, that even I pay $70 for a single portrait picture of my kids. I thought about it for a second and then smiled to myself as I knew that of course it's possible.

So there you have it starting a new portrait photography business can be done quite easily if you have a good camera and a passion for taking pictures. I for one can't resist buying pictures of the people and the animals I love ... Who can?

If your thinking about starting a new portrait photography business have a look at how my good buddy Ollie got his venture off the ground. He essentially works from home now and says he's earning far more than he ever expected. Starting a new portrait photography business even whilst your working, is a great second income.

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Portrait Photography Tips - How to Start a Home Studio

If you're interested in making a career or part-time job out of photography, it's easier than you may think. Portrait photography is needed in almost every city and it doesn't require a lot to have a working home studio. The best thing about starting in portraiture is that you can begin with the bare essentials and add equipment as your business grows. Here's how to take the first steps:

Set Up Your Photo 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. Much of this equipment can be purchased either used or at low cost for entry level quality or you can improvise if you're short on cash. It would also be a good idea to buy a laptop and equip it with some photo editing tools - the portability of a laptop will make your work run much more quickly.

Additionally, you'll need some working space. An extra room, living room or even garage can often fit everything you need. Windows can provide natural light, white walls can act as natural reflectors and different colors of bed sheets can act as backgrounds.

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. Make sure you have small business software such as QuickBooks for your invoicing and payment tracking before you bring in your first client. It is absolutely critical that you track your income, both for eventual taxes and so that you can spot possible issues with your pricing structure.

It is also a good idea to have a business website with your online photo portfolio available for browsing. 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 build a simple site or hire the work out through a freelancing website such as Elance. Make sure it has your contact information!

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 instance, people are willing to pay more for photographs of their pets or children, and if you specialize in one of those fields you'll have less competition to contend with.

Once you have the studio up and running, the cash flow handled and have the strategy of the business down, you should be ready for taking the plunge into professional portrait photography. If you use effective word of mouth marketing and some other forms of advertising, there is no measuring the potential a small studio could have. And don't worry because if you provide excellent photographs to your clients, no one will ever remember you used bed sheets as backdrops!

Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames and loves picture frames. Shop online and see our selection of 8 x 10 picture frames and many other sizes by visiting our online picture frame store or calling 1-800-780-0699.