Do you love taking photographs? Are you always searching for the right angle or composing the perfect picture? If this sounds like you – and you also are a passionate aspiring entrepreneur – there is no reason you can’t start a photography business.

Below we’ll discuss the initial steps necessary to lay a solid foundation for your photography business, including choosing a niche such as wedding, portrait, or commercial photography. We’ll also help guide you through some funding options, as most entrepreneurs need additional financing in addition to what’s in their bank account. And we’ll help you understand the business aspects like registering the business, obtaining necessary permits, and setting up proper accounting practices, and creating a compelling portfolio that showcases your best work – and help you attract potential clients for your photography services.

Once you feel like you understand the basics of the business, we’ll help guide you through exploring effective strategies for marketing your new photography venture. You’ll learn how to build a professional online presence and active social media accounts to engage with a wider audience. You’ll also gain practical advice for networking within the photography community and with potential clients through events and collaborations. Finally, we’ll talk pricing – and how to set competitive prices and expand your client base, along with tips on pricing services competitively and expanding the client base.

How to Start a Photography Business in 8 Steps

1. Find your Niche

Before you get started with financing and paperwork, take time to think about what type of photography business you’d like to start. If you enjoy photographing landscapes like beaches and mountains, then go with landscape photography. Here are some other niche ideas to consider:

• Wedding Photography: Capturing memorable moments from the big day.
• Pet Photography: Specializing in portraits of pets and their families.
• Aerial Drone Photography: Offering unique perspectives for real estate, events, and landscapes.
• Food Photography: Creating appetizing images for restaurants, chefs, and food brands.
• Fashion Photography: Working with designers and magazines to produce stylish shoots.
• Sports Photography: Documenting action and emotion at sporting events.
• Underwater Photography: Focusing on marine life or underwater portraits for divers and aquatic brands.
• Architectural Photography: Highlighting the design and elegance of both interior and exterior structures.
• Newborn Photography: Capturing the earliest moments of a child’s life.
• Travel Photography: Producing stunning images of travel destinations for publications or sale.

Whatever you enjoy taking photos of should be your niche or focus.

Why does a niche matter? You’ll get better results with your business if you hone in on one area, and you’ll be able to pull from a specific set of customers, or target audience. When it comes to marketing, this will matter. You can also make better decisions and collaborate with other photographers in the industry – without always having to compete with them.

Ready to discover your niche? See How to Find Your Business Niche in 3 Steps.

2. Purchase Your Essential Equipment

A high-quality digital camera is your first purchase, if you don’t have one already. A laptop or desktop computer and lighting are other necessities. Then, depending on the type of photography business you’re starting, you’ll need other accessories, too. For instance, if it’s a portrait photography business focusing on headshots, you may need to purchase or rent space to take your photos. If it’s a family photography business that focuses on babies or wedding photography, you will need props and the equipment to take photos outdoors. A tripod and camera bag can be helpful, too. Adobe Photoshop is popular for editing photos, and you’ll need storage or extra drive space.

For photographers who shoot with film and process in a dark room, you’ll have a specific set of needs.

3. Get Funding

When you have your photography business niche selected, you can start to think more about how you will fund your dream business. You have options, even if you don’t have a full savings account. Here are a few:

• Rollovers for Business Startups (ROBS), or 401(k) financing. Starting with ROBS means starting with no debt. With ROBS, you roll over your eligible retirement funds into a new account and use that to fund your business. Note that you can also use ROBS with another option, like a Small Business loan (more on that below).
• Small Business loans. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is behind these loans. These loans can be challenging to secure, so you want to entertain this option if you have a strong credit score, 20 to 30 percent of the loan as a down payment, and collateral like real estate.
• Unsecured loans. With unsecured loans, you get debt-free financing without needing to secure it with collateral, like the SBA loans. However, you will need a strong credit score again, and you’ll want to pay them off before the interest rate goes up.
• Portfolio loans. If you have a strong investment portfolio, these loans are an option for you. You can access your portfolio funds without selling your stocks. These can be risky, however; if the market dips, your money takes a dip, too.

Explore the top funding choices for small businesses in 7 Best Options for Small Business Funding.

4. Address the Paperwork

Paperwork, or filling out online documents, is a necessary part of the process when starting a small business. Here are the basics to get you started with your photography business:

• Choose a business name – and register it. Make sure the name you choose reflects your niche in the photography business so it’s easy to figure out what type of work you do. Then register your business name with your city and state.
• Solidify your business structure. Whether it’s Sole Proprietorship, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or a Partnership, you’ll want to decide and register it as such. The SBA has a helpful section on the types of business structures, and how they play into taxes at year-end.

5. Set Prices

Pricing is paramount. If you set your prices too low, you may make consumers doubt your worth. But if you set prices too high? Consumers won’t want to make a purchase. So, what’s a budding photographer to do? Talk to other photographers in your area about how they structure pricing. Some may work on an hourly basis, and others may offer photo packages. Do your own research, too – you can investigate websites of other photographers and see how they break down their pricing. Most importantly, be up front about your pricing and never hide any fees.

6. Showcase your Best Work

It’s time to build your website! Thankfully, creating a website to showcase your photography skills is easy today. You can use website builders like Wix.com or read more about all the different types in this Forbes Advisor article on creating a website. According to their list, Sqauarespace is a top contender for creatives like photographers.

Also, when showcasing your work, choose your best photos to highlight on the page, and ensure you provide an example or two of each type of photography.

7. Make Time to Market

Now that you have a solid business name, proper photography equipment, an engaging website, and you’re fully registered, let’s take a minute to discuss marketing. Bill Gates once said, “Content is king.” He’s not wrong. By creating high-quality marketing materials that showcase your best work and highlight the benefits of your business, you can drive more customers to your business and, ultimately, drive success. How do you do this? Marketing comes in many forms, but social media is a critical skill today. If you don’t have it, don’t worry – you can hire a social media consultant. They can help you develop a content calendar and create posts on sites like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. You can also do paid advertising and promote your business in local online or paper journals and other news sources. You can check out this Hubspot article for a more detailed look at the types of marketing – and how they work.

Explore effective marketing strategies for your business launch by reading our guide Marketing For Your Small Business Launch.

8. Get to Know Your Network

Chances are, you already have a network of people you know – acquaintances you’ve worked with over the years, friends, family, neighbors, and more. These are all people you can network with when it comes to letting them know about your new business.

In addition, you can join local photography organizations, and search LinkedIn for other photographers in your area that may want to meet up or collaborate. Take chances and keep talking to people – you never know who they might know.

Taking Your Passion for Photography to the Next Level

Keep in mind that continuous learning is essential for success. As markets and industries evolve, staying informed about the latest trends, products, pricing, and insights in photography will help ensure your relevance.

As you navigate running a photography business, remember that you don’t have to manage everything alone. Guidant is ready to support you with essential business services like payroll or bookkeeping and taxes, freeing you up to focus on what you do best.

Additionally, if you’re looking for funding to kickstart or grow your business, consider our expertise in Rollovers for Business Startups (ROBS) and other financing options. We’ve assisted over 30,000 small businesses and would love to help you achieve your entrepreneurial dreams. Don’t hesitate to reach out at 425-289-3200 for a free business consultation.

Picture this: You can start your photography business with funding from Guidant Financial. Pre-qualify today.

“When Falling Sky Brewing presented itself as a great opportunity for me, I needed the capital. Traditional lenders weren’t going to do it. I took a chance on myself that I could grow my business and my 401(k)… And I thought, ‘You know what? I could do this without overhanging debt.‘”

— Stephen Such, Falling Sky Brewing

Read the stories of REAL small business owners who work with Guidant.