Bethany Cleg is a small business owner at Bethany Cleg Photography. She is an avid writer, photographer, and tech geek. When she’s not writing or taking pictures, you’ll find her hiking with her family.
Find Bethany on Twitter.
The photography industry is a very rewarding but competitive world. There are photographers who grow quicker than others on landing jobs and attaining high paydays. Getting into this industry can be very tough considering that almost anybody can purchase a DSLR and consider themselves a photographer. Depending on what kind of photography career you want to attain, these tips will help you to separate yourself from everybody else.
10 Creative Tips To Breaking Into The
Photography Industry As A Newbie
– Building A Portfolio With Quality Images
As a photographer, you’re only as good as your last photo. The key to making money in this industry is a good resume and portfolio to convince people what you can do for them. You can ask friends to model for you and allow for you to take photos for them to be a part of your portfolio. If you’re a good photographer, you should be able to capture the essence of their beauty.
– Stick To A Career Based Off Of Your Location and Highlight its Events
If you’re living in Los Angeles, it may be worth the investment to focus specifically on headshots. If you live in a location where weddings take place very often, providing wedding photography can be your next best bet. After you have found out what is most profitable in your area, you’ll make more money and land more clients by focusing on providing photography for that niche.
Uinta National Forest
– Work Off Of Referrals
All you need is one client to make money, and from that one person, you can achieve referrals through that one person. When you have somebody who has huge connections with people in need of professional photos, you’ll be able to get a huge amount of referrals.
– Free Discounts
When you’re starting out, try giving away free photographs for FREE. When you give clients free services, you’ll be using them as your next source for gaining clients since they can give you referrals.
The Rockies
– Headshots And Family Portraits Are Huge
Family portraits are always going to be very profitable. There is big money in this industry because there are always people in need of these types of photos. However, you do need to understand that this is best as one of your current services. Headshots are huge if you are in a prime location for actors. Los Angeles, Atlanta, Orlando, and any other city with tons of acting opportunities will make a headshot photographer plenty of cash in this industry.
– Market Your Services Online
The way to marketing your services online is by simply creating a quality website. You want to have all of your top notch photos shown on your main website. Participate in forums for photographers. Using classified ads may seem redundant, but it’s still worth it to finding more potential clients.
Beach
– Ranking Your Site on Google
When somebody types in to Google, “your location + Photography” you’ll have more clients if your site is on there. Hire a search engine optimization professional who can rank your website for those top keywords. Photographers can get a lot of exposure for highlighting events specific to their town. For example, during the local Music Festival in Indio, CA, people are asking what is Coachella? This interest sheds a lot of light on the local area during its two week run, and people are more likely to find your local photography.
– Working With Other People In The Industry
There are some companies whom you can work with to get a head start on getting clients. For example, there are wedding planners who will always need photographers for the weddings that they work on. You can connect with other videographers who may have clientele for any events that they do, and you can probably do the photography for them. With a bit of creativity, you’ll be making strong connections and building relationships that can network you to future clients.
Uinta National Forest
– Sell Photography Online
You should consider selling your photographs online. While this doesn’t involve working with clients, it’s a great way to get started. There are many open marketplaces online that allow you to put your photography up for sale. If you’re looking to make money both for short and long term growth, selling photographs via stock photography is worth trying. This involves selling the same photos over and over again. People will pay you several cents or even a couple dollars for every time they use your photo.
– Invest In Quality Equipment
As a photographer, you need to have quality equipment that your readers will enjoy. You’ll make more money when you can showcase to your clients that you have the equipment to get them the best photos possible.
Standing out as a photographer is all about properly promoting yourself. Give out business cards, network, attend art shows, and attend as many parties as you can. Attending different parties allows for you to network and meet people who may have a party down the road very soon. There is still room for a new photographer to join the industry. You just need to work a bit harder than everybody else to get started.
Silver Lake Timpanogos
Buried Under Books 