Taking beautiful images that impress your clients requires more than the latest in camera gear and an eye for getting the shot. You also need tools that help turn your photography into a profitable business. Whether you consider yourself a freelancer or the owner of a photography business, these tools help build a foundation so you make enough money to pay the bills, save for retirements and still have some left to enjoy right now.
Pricing Calculator
Determining your pricing requires a few steps, including looking at your direct competitors to determine their pricing structure. Use pricing calculators to determine how to charge for stock photos if you sell your images for corporate, editorial and advertising use. A calculator is available from the Photographers Index in which you choose the type of media in which the photo will appear, the size and the distribution or use. A range of prices appears to give you an idea of where to start negotiations. The book, Pricing Photography: The Complete Guide to Assignment and Stock Prices by Michal Heron and David MacTavish, provides detailed information on how to price all types of photography.
Software
You may take beautiful photos right from the start, but most photographers require the use of image processing software to turn raw images into works of art customers want to buy. The software helps you make minor adjustments to correct exposure and sharpness, crop the image to meet the specifications of your client’s project and prepare the images for printing. You also need an easy way to organize hundreds, if not thousands, of photos, so using software that organizes and takes into account your workflow is critical to streamlining the process.
Online Portfolio
A website gives you a valuable tool for creating a gallery of images so prospective clients get a feel for your work and want to hire you to take photos. Adding password-protected pages to your site provides a way to let clients privately review the images from a photo shoot so they can choose the ones they want to buy. Add a free tool, Google Analytics, to your site to better understand where your traffic comes from, to learn about the prospective buyers who visit your site and to see what search terms they used to get to your page.
Business Plan
Creating a business plan helps you figure out how to turn your skills and images into a financially sound business. The plan needs to explain the types of images you take, who will buy them and how you plan to market your photos. An important part of the plan includes the financial section, where you calculate the total cost of the camera, equipment and other expenses you’ll incur to take, process and print photos. A free calculator offered by the National Press Photographers Association helps you identify the expenses and income factors to include.
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