How To Start Freelance Photography In 2023
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- Опубліковано 12 гру 2022
- In this video I go over my experience in the freelance photography field, how I got my first clients, what camera to buy as a beginner, and so much more.
let me know if you have any questions regarding starting a photography business, additional photography gear, what to post on social media for photography, etc.
For consulting & mentoring to scale and grow your photography business, book a call here:
calendar.app.google/WgvXHd4Gh...
Here is the link to a good beginner camera set-up!
www.amazon.com/Canon-T7-420-8...
As usual check out my podcast for all things entrepreneurship!
open.spotify.com/show/2yjUB0Z...
My portfolio:
www.madisonoliviaphotography....
More Contacts = More Contracts
Love your energy, so down to earth and confident.Steps that don't give me anxhiety, thanks !!
Yay this was soooo informational 😄 thank you for getting to the point and hitting every point I needed 💪🏽
Straight to the point and real. I loved it!
I am just starting out with my Photography Journey and found your video very helpful. Thank you!
I’m starting out as a photographer/videographer and this video was very helpful. Thank you.
Awesome vid, love your attitude with it. Helpful thank you !
Awesome advice! I love the on camera confidence.
This video was so helpful. Thank you SM!!
great tips! thanks for sharing some info about what camera to start with!
Gave me a few good clues. Thank you !
I recently had a shoot done at a farm with cows! I loved it so much. The photographer told me that it wasnt her farm, and that a portion of her money goes to the farmers who allow her to use thier farm and cows. I thought that was such a cool idea. I live in a rural area and I think it's nice to keep that theme in your portfolio.
Thank you so much... found this very useful.
Very interesting. After 8 yrs within studios this has been very informative, thank you
I take pictures out in the desert in Arizona color and B&W ..... I print them on Hahnemuhle Matte Photo Rag (16x20 18x36 30x40 24x36} and sell them at small booths on the weekends at flea markets-small booth set up at malls and it's easy to make $2k to $5k monthly ......
great advice! do you sell them framed or just the photo?
Wow good for you man that's incredible numbers for a little side gig (ofc that 2-5k monthly is paying for all the time spent getting better at it so not really small LOL)
@AndrewHarper-qp1sr this comment makes zero sense lmao LOL
@@shayber1914 pls tell me how it doesn't make sense. I referred to him spending a lot of time getting better and then stated that the "little" side gig wasn't really small because of that. How at all does that not make sense. Use your brain.
@AndrewHarper-qp1sr lmao my bad after reading it again, I realize you weren't meaning he ends up spending all the earned money on the gig it self. I thought you ment he was making nothing because of expenses.
Thanks for tips stay Amazing!!!
So glad I found your video.
Great video especially the part about the LLC 👍🏾
Great tips. Thanks.
Thanks for the advice
thanks . just ordered a renewed T7 from Amazon.
Awesome content !
I started commercial photography by accident. I had a large recording studio and on the sessions I worked on(3 studios in stand-alone-building) that only did major artists albums and there are often times where there is a break while working out some detail between the artist and produce which presented interested human studies, especially since I had my film camera loaded with monochrome film, so the candid shots has a moody artist character. I just did it for fun until a group wanted to see the snap shots I had done for a 3 month project just completed but not turned over the record label yet. The group's manager and lead singer insisted on using a few on the album liner notes. I told them, go head, and thought nothing of it. As it turned out the art director loved one moody image and put it on the back cover of the album. The album sold well, really well(my studio did 197 gold and platinum albums) and the groups manager had used his name for rights clearance, instead of mine, which was fine with me. The royalties for a million sells album cover art was a lot. The manager got the first royalty payment and called and said he had a present for me, and sent a FedEx overnight counter signed check for $86,442 in my name. He gave me his royalty income for the photo. The album went on to produce a number of similar checks over a few years. Labels did not want to buy rights, because all expenses that push off to the artist's royalties so if it did not sell well, the label has not wasted money on a photo that did not earn anything. That got me into more serious photography with an agent to deal with the labels.
That was a lot time ago when $86,000 was the cost of home that now might cost $1.5-2 million
That camera and 50mm lenses with me all the time after that
I an 74 yo now and still doing photography but no longer recording albums I moved from California to another country 23 years ago and started 3 businesses including a photo service.
One way I got clients was promoting a headshot or portrait session in a popular bookstore and promoted it on social media, special deal, $10 each. The cost of living here is very low so that was a pretty good income, and the first event had 31 clients. That was about 1/2 months total cost of living. Then I contacted a large bank about corporate head shots since I knew an executive there and I was tipped off that every year all the managers go head shots and full length and charges $22 each in a package and had 54 people done, all in one day. Then offered the cast of a play staring an ex-GF with whom I am still close with. That included the promotion captures during dress rehearsal. That led into staging master classes for actors twice a month with 20-60 attending the 2-3 day event which produced portfolio images, head shots, 1 minute intro video and a video of dialog pages. This was a class for stage actors wanting to transition to cinema. So just those 3 initial clients have recurring needs for photos. My suggestion is to use any inside access you have, and specialize, a generalist has a hard time growing out of prom, engagement and other general photography. Find a specialty where it is practical to specialize. So now I have a crew and my own studio, and primarily work with actors, opera and ballet, which is an upscale client base and little competition. I will only do weddings for people I know, and for free. I do not want to do them. Engagement sessions are more fun, less pressure and not having every relative with a phone camera getting in the way.
One thing that i should mention is that avoid spending too much time on youtube videos, they focus on gear. Gear has very little to do with the quality or cost of the gear. Investing in lighting and learning to use it is far cheaper and more important than camera body or lenses. I shoot Nikon D850, D800 but 90% of my work is with a mirrorless Z6. It is light, rugged, very good performance 24mpx and available for $600-800 used as a 4 year old camera. The other two are 47 mpx and 36mpx DSLRs. A used mirrorless is a good investment since they offer good video performance and stills. The DSLRs are larger heavier and not very good for video. By specializing you can greatly reduce the cost of your kit since even lighting is going to be easier and cheaper if you specialize in something. To be able to a wide variety of work, you need a lot more lenses, and accessories. Good lighting does not have to be expensive and still makes a bigger difference than camera or lenses. Low cost speed lights can be very effective so you will not need high power strobes until you start doing some specialty that requires them. There are good reliable speedlights as little as $50, adding a $40 36 inch soft box, or $12 umbrella can make a world of difference in portraits or head shots. Even buying all pro gear makes photography one of the lowest cost businesses you can start.
what a cool and interesting journey! thanks for typing all this up and sharing!
Loving the rough breakdown of this business venture!
Thank you! Any cirques on what I could do better?
Loved this!!!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed!!
I loved this!!! please make more videos about how to become a photographer I need the help and I recently also got the same exact kit to start practicing and actually become a photographer.
I definitely will! Filming one today about the booking process, packages, and delivering.
Have you started yet?
I've been freelancing almost as long as you.
I have recently got myself into a variety of promotional advertisements and word of mouth across my city.
Again, being a side hustle while I currently cover 5 other jobs (three of which are photo related jobs).
very helpful, thank uu !
I’m so glad you found it helpful! You’re welcome!
Great video, thanks!
You’re very welcome!
Thank You. 😎
Outstanding information!! Thank you 😎 🍿 🍿 🍿
Of course! Thanks for commenting!
You explained so well! Id be so interested in a video about how you get such perfect photos! Your website has such beautiful images!
Thank you! What do you mean by perfect? Haha I appreciate it! But what’s your definition of perfect?
@@lets-talk-growth Your welcome! they are just so crisp and the colors and skin tones are perfect!
@@greenleaf4274ooh! Okay! I plan to do a video on editing! As for being crisp, I’d say a low aperture, high shutter speed and perfect focus.
A sharp lens always helps too
Super helpful
Awesome!
I’m worried I’ll get into legal trouble if I don’t start an LLC but also worried I won’t make enough. I know I need practice and to focus on that and building my portfolio. I just have so many styles I like and I will have to find a way to create and organize the best of the best photos I can get to represent myself. I’m stuck between wanting to make a portfolio as quick and well as possible so I can apply for a job (my job just let me go because they’re going out of business) and wanting to really just slow down and not worry about missed opportunities and make what I love at my own pace because if I miss it it wasn’t really meant for me. But I haven’t been unemployed once in my life and it’s stressed but I know I’ll get through and prevail :)
Very helpful
That’s great!! Thanks for watching
thank you so much! Could you make a video about posing the model and making them comfortable, please? I think that is something I would struggle and I don't see many videos about that topic (just about selfies)
You’re very welcome!
That’s my goal! My next video I want to bring y’all along on a shoot and break down how I direct and such.
I filmed it but it’ll be next week I’ll post it!
Check out my newest video about my income breakdown
Thank you
You’re very welcome!
me i recommend renting a camera first, then when you start getting paid then you start buying cheap camera or used camera.
That’s also a good idea! Although sometimes it can cost as much or more as a beginner camera if you rent for too long. Always good to keep your options open though!
Tankyou😍
You’re welcome!
Yes! Would love more of what to say to book the client. !
How many files do you include in a beginning session?
$100 session has how many files?
$250 session has how many files?
Thanks!!
I’ll definitely make more videos!
Hey, thanks for making this video. I have a question, do you have any tips how to approach people or send a message to offer a photo session to my university or companies that my friends work at? Thank you in advanced!
Hey! You’re very welcome.
As to approaching or sending a message I’ll say the first time you won’t be great, but remember the more you do it the better it’ll get.
Always be friendly, give a complement, talk about how you can provide value (to your university or to companies) and then say your offer.
Be ready for people to say no, but also be prepared for people to say yes !
Trial and error is my best way of learning
Subbed
Thank you mentioning that you do not need to register a business from the start, because all the videos that I have watched mentioned that you need to be registered and I have not made an cent since I decided to take up photography 😇
LEGALLY you should, but realistically it doesn’t make sense
I tell a lot of guys its skill and the lens
Good video. I've been trying all these strategies for a few months now. Hoping it's going to pay off eventually. Hard to get ant business started
You got this!!!
@@lets-talk-growth I appreciate that, thank you. I'm hoping I can make a similar video to yours on my channel soon. Kind of need the effort to pay off first but I'll get there. You've earned a new sub!
@@theuneducatedman5375 thanks man! I wish you best and I appreciate it!
great video, how do you deliver the photos to your clients?
Pixie set
Is it worth it for me to go to college for photography? Will I be able to get a job as soon as I finish school?
I recommend not going to college for photography. Everything you can learn is on the internet or you can work with other photographers and learn from them while getting paid.
Maybe take some classes but not a whole degree- I don’t believe it would be beneficial enough
Photography is more the business side than the skill set side. You can be average, and have amazing business skills and that can make you the best in the area
Do you have a degree or certification in photography of some sort? If so, do u think that helps/helped with gaining trust of new clients? Along with having a nice portfolio / people skills etc
Hey! I have no proper certifications or education
I don’t believe it necessarily helps, no one has ever asked
Biggest thing is good marketing, people skills and your portfolio and how you display your portfolio
What’s the first step to start freelance photographer? Buy a camera! Well, thanks for letting us know! I was gonna to buy a pizza oven to work as a photographer
Haha you’d be surprised! Some people may use their phones which won’t work
@@lets-talk-growthbut now in this day people dont want videos or pbotos they do it everything in their cell phones.
I can’t find the link to your portfolio etc.
What do you say after I’m a photographer?
When you meet people in coffee shop etc.
I know you don’t say I’m a photographer blah blah blah like you did in the vid.
Please help us!
Would love to see more photography videos, especially those who are women and successful!
Maybe you can interview other women!!
Here’s my portfolio:
www.madisonoliviaphotography.com
Thanks!
@@lets-talk-growth awesome thank you!
What about a sole proprietorship vs. LLc to write off/taxes
LLC because your business is liable if someone sues and not you personally.
I’d rather lose my business and gear than my home and car.
What methods do you use to track your business expenses?
I use Notion
What kind of Facebook groups would you reccomend joining?
Anything you can in your area
4:36 It seems you can’t do that anymore in post comments on IG - include links or mention DM’s
On Facebook!
I am looking a team to work with us.
What type of Facebook groups should I be joining?
Any groups in your area/ community!
Help me 😮❤
what kind of facebook groups did you join? can you share please
Local to your community. Not only photography groups. All of them in your area
can get a client if the gear getting expensive wyl clients getting poor 😄😅🤦 you invest thousands of dollar and they can only pay to you only 50USD 😬😅
but now in this day people don't want videos or pbotos they do it everything in their cell phones.
Highly disagree.
To bad I'm an impressionalist photographer so nobody really needs me lol.
Do you have an Instagram account
Not for my photography, no