How To Start A Photography Business With No Experience: A Step-By-Step Guide
Updated Oct 9, 2024 | Published Aug 27, 2024 | 16 min read
With a limitless potential for creative scope, photography is one of the most enduring pastimes today, with millions of photographers worldwide.
Learning how to start a photography business is a great way to transform this passion into a source of income and hone your skills.
If you’re considering starting a photography business, this guide will explain everything you need to know to attract the best prospective clients.
Photography is one of the most popular hobbies in the world, offering an endless scope for producing creative results by shooting a wide variety of subjects.
Unsurprisingly, many amateur photographers aspire to turn their passion into a viable income and create a photography business to generate revenue.
If you’re an aspiring solopreneur looking for a change in your career, here’s how to start a photography business without any prior experience.
The best freelance ideas stand the highest chance of success when the business owner understands the target market and best industry practices.
This is as true for setting up a photography business as it is for anything else, so you should begin the process by conducting extensive research into the subject.
The nature of your research will vary depending on the photography niche you hope to break into, but there are a few core rules to remember.
Before you start a photography business, spend some time researching the following aspects of the craft:
This research will help you assemble a comprehensive photography business checklist to formulate your business plan.
It should also be viewed as an ongoing process, to stay current with the leading photographers and learn new techniques and industry trends.
Learn more: Discover the best tools for freelancers to help start your photography business.
Determining the niche of your photography business will inform many of the decisions you make when setting it up and developing a marketing strategy.
Whether you use photography as a side hustle or make it a full-time career, your niche will influence your business name and target market.
If you’re unsure which photography niche is best for you, here are a few of the main subjects that have the potential to become a successful photography business.
One of the most popular subjects in the professional photography industry is wedding photography, which can earn thousands of dollars monthly.
A wedding photographer needs to be sociable and well-presented, able to engage groups of people, and able to shoot plenty of images.
While some wedding photographers can be relatively functional, there’s ample opportunity for more creative shots beyond the typical format.
To become a wedding photographer, you’ll need a wide selection of lenses, a second camera, and the patience to filter and process large volumes of images.
Like a wedding photography business, portrait photographers must have great communication skills when working with clients.
While they mostly work on family portraits, they can also be requested for corporate gigs or collaborations with other institutions.
Getting set up in this niche can be expensive, as you’ll need to open a photography studio and invest in professional lights.
If you prefer getting into nature and shooting landscapes and animals, you can earn money through a photography business.
A car is a must, and you’ll need lots of patience and time since nature photographers often spend hours waiting for the perfect light.
Telephoto and super telephoto zoom lenses allow you to view the action from a distance and are typically used for nature and wildlife photography.
Although these can be expensive, many high-profile wildlife photography awards can significantly enhance your professional credibility.
A more mundane but potentially lucrative photography business idea is shooting product photography, which can generate a steady income.
It can be accomplished from your studio or garage, making it an excellent home-based business idea for casual income.
As a brand photographer, you’ll be sent the products to photography and edit, then email them to the client for approval and final payment.
Another perennial photography business idea that can bring in consistent work for photographers is real estate, typically working with local agencies.
A wide-angle lens can produce impressive images of homes for sale, and some real estate photographers also use 360-degree cameras.
For reference on how to get the best possible shots, check out some of the best architecture websites for examples of stunning photography.
Other types of photography you can earn money from include stock, food, sports, and commercial photography.
Deciding on your chosen niche will inform you about the cameras, lenses, accessories, and other equipment you’ll need to run the company.
Whatever style of photography you’re aiming for, all photography business owners need to own several core considerations and types of equipment.
Here’s a brief breakdown of this equipment so you can factor it in when adding up your potential business expenses:
With the option to upgrade your cameras, lenses, and software over time, it’s one of the best small business ideas for long-term evolution.
Photography demands a powerful online presence, and a photography business website should be at the top of your to-do list.
Whether you sell fine art photography or want to build a list of potential clients in your area, a website helps create a solid first impression.
It can be used for many resources, from promoting your business name and portfolio to sharing rates and insightful blogs.
As part of your research, you will have visited the photography websites of your competitors to see how they manage their assets.
Based on this research’s findings, you can draw up a website design timeline to ensure that everything you need to include is covered in the process.
If you find a photography website that stands out as a good model for your own, you can find out who designed it and what platform they used.
Here are a few pages and elements you should include on your website to bring it in line with your competitors:
These are some of the core features you should include in your business website, in addition to the standard About and Contact pages.
As your photography business grows, you should expand the site to incorporate additional services and other changes to your business structure.
Use Friday’s website builder for your photography business website.
Setting up a business plan is another essential step to becoming a professional photographer, with a few necessary steps to complete.
Your business plan should clearly cover all of these factors so that once you’re established and working with clients, you encounter no issues.
A strong business plan begins with an executive summary that outlines your business name, location, and description of what it aims to achieve.
It should also include market analysis and marketing strategies, incorporating competitor research and detailing your planned services.
A comprehensive business plan must also outline all the financial considerations involved in establishing and maintaining a company.
While becoming a freelancer has plenty of advantages, it does involve a lot of paperwork and administration that salaried employees avoid.
Some of the processes you’ll need to bear in mind when you start a photography business include:
By setting up a detailed business plan, you can focus on taking photos that attract potential clients and work toward becoming a successful photographer.
A strong portfolio is vital for giving potential clients an insight into your photography style, subject matter, and ability level.
Like the best artist websites, it serves as an eye-catching introduction to your work and helps clients assess whether or not you’re a good fit for their needs.
When setting up a photography portfolio, there are a few rules of thumb to consider, so let’s review these to help you produce the best results.
You can promote your portfolio across social media to get more viewers, encouraging your followers to share their feedback and favorite images.
Use a Friday template for your photography portfolio.
When first starting a photography business, you’ll want to establish competitive rates to ensure you land your first client as soon as possible.
You can begin by advertising your services on services such as Upwork and Fivver, or posting ads in your local paper for nearby clients.
As part of your research, you should take extensive notes on what other photographers in your field charge for their services, either per hour or based on projects.
For example, if you’re setting up a wedding photography business, look into the average wedding photographer costs and see what the industry benchmark is.
This will give you a baseline to begin with, and allow you some leeway when negotiating with potential customers to reevaluate your fees.
In addition to rates for in-person photography services, you can also look into creating digital products that feature your photographs.
This can be high-quality prints that you sell through third-party online stores or directly via your website, promoted to followers on social media.
Always ensure you factor in your expenses when setting rates, including any fuel for travel, materials used, and other costs your business incurs.
Sell photography prints with an e-commerce website builder.
With an increasing number of businesses seeking higher-quality photos for their promotions, there’s plenty of scope to pick up high-profile clients.
While word of mouth will help in the short run, if you want to establish a healthy client base, you’ll need to develop comprehensive marketing strategies.
Here are some common strategies photography businesses use to pull in new clients:
The more business you pick up, the greater your marketing budget will become, so reinvesting in adverts and other methods will eventually pay off.
In addition to the use of marketing materials to promote your photography company, you can actively work on acquiring new clients.
One way to achieve this is to leverage your social media presence and engage with followers to foster conversations and see what requirements they have.
You can also create a spreadsheet of your ideal clients and proactively approach them to see if they’re interested in hiring your services.
If there are local networking events for these organizations, consider attending and introducing yourself to the relevant employees.
Once you’ve completed an assignment, try to pick up client testimonials and include these on your website, placing them in a prominent location.
If you have any upcoming events or have received great reviews for exhibitions, these can also be included on your site via the press page.
All of this feedback can enhance your social proof and help you demonstrate your value when approaching clients in the future.
Learn more: Use a press page to share your success stories.
Lastly, as your photography business expands, don’t be afraid to venture into new creative territory and expand your range of services.
Some types of photography complement each other, so if you’re experienced in sports photography, you’ll have the necessary lenses to branch into nature photography.
Take the opportunity to use your equipment outside of work projects, for example, while on vacation you can experiment with street photography.
This will not only improve your portfolio and demonstrate your versatility but can open up new potential for revenue through the sale of prints.
The more diverse your portfolio becomes, the more confidence your clients will have in your abilities, leading to repeat business and more bookings.
Share your photography journey with Friday’s blog website builder.
Building a photography business takes time as you establish a reputation, improve your portfolio, and network with potential clients.
As you continue to improve, you can upgrade your camera gear and focus on honing editing skills to deliver consistently professional results.
Return to this guide for a quick refresher when needed and update your photography business website with work that showcases your work in the best light.