Some of my seminar participant asking me about how to start a photography business from home because due to this disruptive era we might not need a glamour studio or office at the beginning of our career.
I think it’s a smart question cause if I remember back in 2012 when I rent a cheap studio here in my town than I got no sales from direct client who go to my office and put the money on the desk. It’s seems tragic but this is what I had few years ago till I believe that this situation may happen on yours too.
Hi lovely photographers my name is Bima and thank you for stumble upon my blog and let me share some of past experience that I had during 10 years and more running photography business from home.
First of all I would like you to know that I’m focusing on online based wedding photographer, so when you go to my portfolio that you gonna see some of couple that not coming from my country here in Indonesia. So what I’m focusing is about branding my self as a destination wedding photographer that could serve wedding, pre wedding, engagement, and some portrait session for worldwide coverage.
I think it’s a good idea to promote your services too for worldwide couple cause I believe that internet has change all the marketing strategy at all the present day. No matter where you are but as long as your potential client love your work so they gonna book you immediately and deliver their money to your bank account.
Why I (Finally) Choose Photography as My Primary Income?
Generally I graduate as an architecture student but I think back in 2008 if I choose working as a junior architect or drafter in Indonesia so I only get small amount of salary and I have to live in big busy city like Jakarta or Bali which has so many projects for developing their infrastructure and business.
I know that it gonna be a classic problem but I want you to know that I choose to stay in small town like Yogyakarta because my mom is a single parent and she has a hard diabetic health problem so rather than leave her alone so I want to take a challenge for being a wedding photographer and earn money by serving wedding photo shoot for nearby couple who wanna get married. Running a photography business in local market is so hard and one worse problem is the price war and if I only serve local market than I could increase my fee and just become an ordinary photographer that not belong to my dream.
Actually I love shooting everything since I was in second years of architecture campus so I got my friend came to my house and bring his Nikon FM10 which make me falling in love with photography. Through that time I try to offer some friend who need a photo services to contact me by SMS so sometimes I shoot for gathering, birthday, and surely traditional wedding, and yes I’m so happy on that time even I got only $10 for giving one 35mm film that consist of 34 to 36 printed photos, so if I shoot for 2 rolls than my client will give me $20 that truly blown my mind.
My first camera is Nikon F80 which is semi automatic than I change into Canon 400D which belong to Canon Rebel in some countries. Generally I start to focusing on wedding photography in 2008 after joining a 2 months short course in Darwis Triadi School of Photography in Jakarta. I know that this niche (wedding photography) will grow better so I’m focusing my self to work on wedding photography niche and put all the effort in it.
Working on Wedding Photography Job
I love shooting people happiness for sure even I often get my tears drop on the cheek when I saw my couple walking down the aisle with her dad, it’s so prestigious moment!
I ever watch an old DVD movie called Master Wedding Photographer that consist of Yervant, Joe Buissink, and Jerry Ghionis shooting on wedding and that was incredible moment and great day which change my mindset from traditional into worldwide photographer. Those maestros are insane, they shooting like a ninja who catch the moment in more personal, it’s not about great pictures but also creating untold story for their couple that gonna printed in a fine art album that will worth it for the next decades.
2012 is my last year of serving traditional wedding and one tricky decision had been made by shutting down all the traditional wedding offer and change it all into worldwide collection. First of all I wrote my portfolio with Bahasa and change it into English that promoting my services with the right SEO (Search Engine Optimization) methode that could put my blog at the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd page of Google. What I dreaming for is when I could put my photography blog on that place than somebody who need a photo services will contact me by email and once they love my works than we got a deal.
It’s a simple idea that still in my mind, so till I wrote this story to you I still receiving an enquiry from overseas couple who asking me to go to Venice, Hallstatt, Halong Bay, or even London and it was incredible!
2014 is my first year when a Singaporean couple drop me an email and asking me to shoot on their wedding that located in Bali just 1,5 hour flight from town. Those 6 hours wedding bring my first $500 into my pocket and if you could saw me during that time I was jumping on the floor and feel so happy with those achievement. I know that I used to receive almost $800 for traditional wedding but here I got my first deal from someone who leave far away from my studio and they saw my works online through my blog.
Bingo! this is what I want till in the next couple months I got another deal from Australian couple, Hong Kong couple, and some others too.
I know that it’s a milestone for me and this belong to my greatest achievement for my first decade working in wedding photography business so my task after this is upgrading my skill, knowledge, and networking so I could serve more and more amazing couple that will bring me and my wife shooting on their wedding in such greatest place on earth.
5 Things to Upgrading Your Photography Network
If you want to upgrading your networking than I found 5 (five) steps that you could do on your business, so let me share for what I did before:
- Joining a wedding expo
- Become a participant with international photographer association
- Joining a photo competition
- Creating a photography blog and branding your self by blogging
- Creating a Youtube channel and update it regularly
6 Differentiation of Money Stream as a Wedding Photographer
Through this business I creating a differentiation to set my money stream and I know you could do it too cause it’s quite normal for photographer like us to have some side job beside shooting a wedding. Some primary and side jobs that you could do here in wedding photography are,
- Become a wedding photographer — this is a MUST!
- Become a portrait photographer, I did it for family or friends portrait
- Become a speaker on workshop and seminar
- Write a photography ebook and sell it online
- Creating a post production tutorials
- and earn commission by sharing honest review from some products or services
My ‘Fun’ Work That Still in Photography Niche
What I gratitude for being a wedding photographer is I could travel a lot so I want is documenting my journey by shoot for travel photos that consist of cityscape, landscape, food, and culture. I know that I got so many humble and lovely couple who booked me a 5 star hotel during the session, I know that I really need it cause I must take a good rest before and after the wedding day but you know that every of us have adventurer sense so walking down the street and stay at affordable apartment will bring us to see another part of life.
I was in Hong Kong back few years ago for having a portrait session for group of glamorous ladies, after taking a great stay in Four Season Hong Kong with superb harbour view than I was checking into regular hostel in the downtown of Kowloon called Marigold Hostel, what I love for staying in this cheap hostel is I could go to MTR station within 2 minutes because its entrance is only 50 meter from my hostel building. I know that it just an ordinary hostel but there are tons of tasty street food around and 7 Eleven convenient store just within a minute walk.
So I’m get some fun with my wife and sightseeing around the Avenue of Starts just within 15 minutes walk, that was great and outstanding right?
5 Cool Things To Do After Finishing My Photo Session
So here you know that I got a lot of experience following my session, now I want to share everything that I know about my side life through this blog too. Some people know that blog is just for money even I know that I use it too but what I’m concern with is using this blog to share my legacy to as many people in this world.
Information is the best thing that I could share and I know seriously that if I can deliver many information that could help somebody so I will got my positive feedback too even one of them is also the money. Generally there are a lot of things that we could do to earn money just by sharing some information so let me share some great information that you also could try on your self,
- Share my journey following photo session through this blog
- Shooting for cool travel and food photos that I sell on Shutterstock and got royalty fee through it
- Write an ebook for journey and sell it online
- Write an honest review with some hotels that I booked and get some percentage of commission
- Creating a Youtube video where my next potential client will see what I’m doing during the photo session
How to Start a Photography Business If You are a Newbie
There is no late for everyone to learn photography business even till now I still watching youtube, joining an online course, attending a photography seminar and get my self go deeper on this business.
If you just begin your photographer career than I will tell you that this ain’t a short cut to be rich because I know that so many people still poor even already become a photographer for over than 10 years. Generally, being a photographer is a taught job for sure because we need to be more creative and strong to face all the challenges.
Starting business in 2020 is way easier if comparing than mine back in 2008, now you could learn and get everything from internet for FREE so all you need to be concern is just being struggle and doing a hardest work to reach your goals. In a short ways let me give you with some tips that I already did back few years ago, some of them are work but other’s are not but remember this, It just a tips from me, it could work on your self too but some part also can not.
- Joining a webinar, one cool platform that I ever join is CreativeLive
- Come and promoting your self to nearby wedding planner
- Buy some used photographer gears from Amazon, Ebay, or B&H because to start you career you seriously can afford it just by using a used photo gears
- Developing your photography blog, no matter now or later you will need a blog or website, it would be the same because working in digital era just like now than you definitely need a blog. My suggestion is using the Bluehost than buy domain and hosting in the same place, it just a simple step to create your first blog for less than $100 a year, super cheap!
- Blogging and share your work
- Creating a Youtube Channel and share your work
- Creative a professional social media like Facebook and Instagram
- Share your work on Pinterest, it’s a good platform that will bring a traffic to your blog
- Set your packages or collections
By the way it’s 00.36 when I wrote this story so after this I’m going to watch my favourite movie on TV but before it I was hoping that my story today is answering your question about how to start a photography business even if you are just a newbie.
I share my complete journey in my ebook called Wedding Photographer Nightmares, it could be good or bad story during past 10 years but I want you and everyone know that this ain’t a short cut because good mindset in business will help you so true to stand out in photography business for the next decades.
Last, I shared every information related to tips, trick, or daily life story in this blog so if you want to read more than you could go to Photographer Information category to read all my stories for FREE
It’s not easy! But, as long as you work so hard and believe on your dream than you could get your momentum shortly.