How To Foolproof Your New Photography Business
Part One: Need-To-Knows + Equipment for starting your photography business
I’ve been wielding a camera for probably 8 years and have always loved documenting beautiful things, but after 4+ years into my professional wedding business, I believe I’ve got some great getting-started pointers, do’s and don’ts, and recommendations for equipment for starting your photography business.
I am breaking up this topic into 3 sections which are:
- Part One: Equipment + Need-to-knows for starting your business
- Part Two: Making your business your own
- Part Three: How to flourish in your photography
If you want to know about every piece of equipment I use and why, all of my subscriptions, how I set up my business, my workflow, how to’s, and more- KEEP READING!
Camera Equipment
Camera Bodies:
- I started my photography business on a Canon Rebel T5. Yes, a $500 camera kit I got for Christmas in maybe high school(?). They have tons of refurbished options on Adorama.com or even Amazon. I tried out a few Nikon cameras but I personally didn’t like it as much as Canon! I recommend renting nicer cameras as you get started from LensRentals.com or borrowing a friends. I worked my way up after the Canon Rebel T5 to a Canon EOS 6D, which I used for years, and kept as a back up camera. I again recommend getting these refurbished to save a ton of money, especially if you are still learning your way around a camera and gaining more experience!
- My big daddy cameras that I use now are the Canon Mark III and Mark IV. These 2 were the only pieces of equipment I’ve ever bought new! As you grow, always keep at least 2 cameras: one for main shooting and one for back up.
- A tip on ordering refurbished: Ask about the camera’s shutter count! Depending on where you buy, this will allow you to haggle the price down, but more so to avoid buying one that might need a shutter replacement soon! Do a little homework and buy the lowest shutter count camera body.
- Whats a shutter count? It’s the number of times your camera has “clicked” AKA taken a photo. It’s the part that opens and closes to let in light, and can get over-used and laggy. (This takes a while!)
Lenses:
- When I was shooting on my Rebel T5, I used the lens that came in the kit for a while! Then I moved to the 50mm 1.8 lens for the Rebel T5 body, which gave my images their first real “professional look. The 1.8 means the aperture, which affects the blurry-ness or “Bokeh” in the background.
- After moving to a full-frame camera (Canon 6D, Canon Mark 3 and 4), I had to buy new lenses (can also buy refurb!) to fid a larger body. Really the only 3 lenses I use are the 50mm 1.2, 70-200mm and the 35mm 1.4
- What’s the difference? the 50mm 1.2 is a portrait lens. This means it will show the same distance from you and the subject where you’re standing. It’s the most “real life”- not zoomed in, not wide- just normal. I use this lens for all of my portrait sessions like Engagements, Maternity, most Family sessions, etc etc. Anything that you won’t need a large group photo!
- A 35mm lens is one that’s a little wider than the 50mm. This lens is perfect for wedding days during bridal party photos and families. It’s also what a ton of photographers use for their portrait sessions too!! You will have a lot more background in these photos.
- The 70-200mm is perfect for literally almost any scenario. It’s able to zoom in close (200mm) and be an almost normal distance (70mm). Perfect for church ceremonies, or tough locations where you need the photo to be closer that you’re able to be – like proposals!
As you grow, investing in a good macro lens is necessary for detail photos and ring shots.
Miscellaneous Equipment
- ThinkTank Camera suitcase. PERFECT for wedding days, and very professional.
- Silicone camera case in black. Just recently started using this and I’m glad I did! So many days I have my camera in the rain, and this gives me peace of mind.
- My Flash. Able to do off-camera flash wish this also!
- A Laptop or desktop computer – I use a Macbook, but anything you can edit with Lightroom on is fine
- A video light for wedding receptions and dark send-offs
- Rechargeable batteries for flash and video lights
Subscriptions + Workflow
- Lightroom for editing
- Photoshop (not necessary but helpful if you know how to use it!)
- Honeybook for client booking, contracts, any digital “paperwork” can be put here to keep you organized! I HIGHLY recommend this when you start booking bigger clients. It’s easy to keep up with for scheduling and taxes.
- Buy a Domain name and get started on a website / blog! That way, you can start showing off your work, posting blogs on platforms like Pinterest and other social media sites to gain website traffic and inevitably clients. People want to see that you’re professional, and a website really helps. It doesn’t have to be fancy!
- If you’re DIY-ing your website, I started with Squarespace and used it for years. They make it super easy to make a beautiful website. When I got my website designed, I switched over to ShowIt.
- Photo Mechanic for fast session and wedding image culling.
- JPEG Mini for making image sizes smaller for your website and blog to help with loading time. (SEO!)
- Find some Presets you love! I have tried making my own, Fuji Presets, Kindred Presets, Lauren Fair Presets, GoodLight, C!ick Match, and Jenna Kutcher’s back in the day. I now have a marriage of a few different ones that I make into my own thing.
- Pixieset for uploading galleries to deliver to clients. There are others like Pass!
- Two Bright Lights for submitting weddings to get published. I would say use this for your first few years, but after you get a few published under your belt (if that’s a goal!), you don’t really need it. To submit to larger magazines, you will have to directly submit!
- Your own email account specifically for your wedding business.
- Google Calendar connected to your email so you can automate inquiries to your schedule
- Mouseflow for tracking viewer behavior on your website
- UNUM or Planoly for Instagram planning
- Survey Monkey for any email lists you want to make – good for things like mini sessions and having repeat clients!
- MileIQ for tracking mileage for right-offs.
- ExpenseTracker App for tracking right offs.
Ok, so you’ve got your gear. Now what?
I know, that was a lot! Feel zero pressure to follow mine or anyone else’s guidelines to a T. The great thing about owning your own business is that it’s YOURS! Learning from others will help you to sift through what works for you, what doesn’t, or what you might need to improve on. You don’t have to have all of that purchased and completed by tomorrow!
- When I decided to give my business a go, I started shooting everything and everyone. I asked friends and couples to model for me, which wasn’t hard to find because lots of people love free photos! The more you practice shooting, directing people, finding your flow, and building your confidence, the faster your business will grow!
- Absorb all the educational things! I learned from other photographers on Youtube, bought courses, got in Facebook groups, started second shooting weddings and asked to be mentored by some dear photographers in my area. Sitting down and talking through business things with someone who was in it was super helpful! I still do this!
- After some time, I felt like I started to understand my “why”. This took me about a year, but I discovered so much about myself and why I enjoy photography– weddings specifically– after digging in. Once you feel like you’ve got the hang of your camera, have gotten your feet wet with shooting different scenarios, I believe nailing down the reason behind starting your business will help you tremendously in goal setting, “staying in your lane”, and how to better serve your clients. More on this coming in Part Two.
- Make a business Facebook page, Instagram page, and start working on your Google business profile. Reviews and website updates are really great for SEO so you show up in front of more clients on Google! The earlier you start this, the better. Trust me, there is a method to the madness. More on this coming in Part Three!
My biggest advice is to be gentle with yourself. I hated being told when I first started out that this was going to take time to build because I wanted to be just like the big photographers I saw on instagram at the very beginning! But it’s true, this will take some time. You will be thankful you spent the effort you did on the front end in preparing and gaining all the experience once your business gets off the ground. You’ve just gotta muscle through it!
So get on out there and start shooting! I believe in you and am here for any questions you might have! Head to my contact page to ask a question or DM me on Instagram.
Up next: Part 2 and 3, making your business your own and how to flourish in your photography!
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