Be Your Own Boss, Start a Photography Business

Copyright (c) 2009 Tom Jackson

It is now a New Year, 2009. In the economic crises we are now facing, it can be very difficult to make enough money to pay the bills. Many people are being laid off, and finding work is becoming more and more difficult. One way is to start your own home based photography business using your digital camera. If you own a good quality digital camera, you can start your own home photography business. Wedding Photography is an approx. $5 Billion per year industry.

All you need is a good digital camera system, such as a Nikon or Canon DSLR system, and a motivation to create some great photos. An industry that is worth approximately $5 Billion per year. Many of today’s professional photographers began their careers shooting weddings. It is usually the easiest way to get into the photography industry because nearly all of us know someone who will be getting married. And they will need a photographer.

If you know the bride and groom well enough, you can offer them a deal directly or have one of your friends approach the bride or groom. In the tough times we face today, most couples will love the opportunity to save some money. Quality should always be your number one priority with every set of photos you take. You can download a course from the net if you are not experienced.

When I am teaching wedding photography, I always tell my students, that every photo you take needs to be good enough that it is one you would buy yourself if you were the bride. Even if you have never shot a wedding before, you still need to deliver a quality product. Make sure you give a quality product or the wrath of the bride will be upon you.

One way I make sure I have saleable photos, is to pose the couple, but not in a way that makes the photos look posed. Yes, many will need to be posed, like the photos of the parents etc. But if you can provide some photos to show off the glamour of the occasion or the fun that the couple had on the day, you will receive lots of orders for prints, and the referral of the couple to others they know who will need the services of a wedding photographer.

Whenever I have the chance, I will use items that are meaningful to the bride and groom in my photos. For instance, if the bride is wearing an item that has been handed down from one generation to the next, I will make sure I cover that item in one or more photos for the bride and her family to choose from and hence, make me some more money. This is a business, and you need to keep in mind that you need to make money so you can invest in new technology, as well as providing your clients with a memorable product.

If you check out the photo on the blog shown at the end of this article, you will see one such photo. Many of the grooms will have a favorite car that they own or one that a family member has, that they will use in the wedding. It was the main car for the bride and grooms arrival at the church and reception. So, to make a memorable shot, I had the bride take the wheel and pretend to be driving away in the grooms pride and joy, while he tried to hop aboard before she ‘got away’. The couple loved this shot. You need to have the couple work with you to make these types of shots work, in this case, he had to have both feet off the ground and I used a little Photoshop magic to make the car look like it was going faster than it was. Check it out, I think you will agree the shot works and the couple really liked it.