4 Easy Steps to Starting a Home Based Photography Business

To get started in a home based photography business you need to first think of the area you want to focus on.  To start in this lucrative business, it is important to pick an area to specialize in.  Once you establish your business and have a few clients then it is easier to branch out into other areas.  This way you can quickly get to a point of bring in revenue (money!) by seeing what works and what does not in this specific area.  If you are spread out in a lot of different places you will not be able to determine what improvements are needed.

1) Start off by focusing on one or two areas:

Develop competency in one area then move on to others.  To decide on which area to focus on I recommend it be something you are passionate about.  For example if you are an animal lover and maybe more specifically dogs and/or cats, then begin here.  Your passion will show through the lens and this will make the photos you generate more marketable.

Some of the other areas for you to consider are commercial photography, wedding photography, portraiture, and as mentioned, pet photography.  Some of the differences in these areas are the level of anxiety that might come with the business.  As you can probably guess wedding photography can have its benefits with the fun of the wedding and that it is pretty much a party after the ceremony.  But with this comes some pressure to perform well and produce terrific photos.  There are not many people more critical then a brand new bride and groom looking at their wedding photos. 

On the other hand if you love animals the pet photography might be your passion.  The obvious benefits are that the demand for pet photos (cute pictures of dogs, cats, birds, hamsters….) are always in high demand and most animals can be quite photogenic.  However, the pitfalls are that animals can be tough to work with. 

2) Decide on Your Overall Technique:

Technique refers mainly to whether you will prefer to use a candid style or more formal style in taking your pictures.  The style can be directly related to the area you pick.  For example, if you choose to start by focusing on portraits then that usually aligns with a formal style.  For weddings you could have a mixture of styles.  Usually it is more formal for the individual bride, groom and wedding party (bridesmaids and groomsmen) pictures, and yet more candid for the rehearsal dinner and reception.

From my experience, if you are just getting started, if your passion is to get into wedding photography you may want to try an area that is a little less difficult.  Weddings can tend to be very high pressure due to the tight schedule, the amount of people your dealing with and the high expectations.

3) Determine the Level of Competition:

For any business you have to know what the competition is.  Otherwise you are going in blind and chances are you will not succeed or at best it will be very difficult to gain a foothold in the business.  By knowing your competition, you will be able to see what type of pricing.  A great way to do this is to search out other Photography Business websites and just peruse the site to see what they are offering and then determine from that how you can bring something unique and marketable.

4) Find a Mentor

Many professional photographers are willing to let you work with them as an assistant (most of them need the help).  From this work as an assistant you can pick up on the experience of your mentor.  As you gain experience, ask to be able to take more responsibility and your knowledge will grow quickly.  Even ask to be involved in the business side of things (not just taking pictures).  That way you will also pick up the knowledge of how to run a home photography business on your own!