Duncan Ferris
Hannah Nemeth
Artistic talent and good business sense can help you turn photography from a passion into your own thriving business. You might take wonderful photos but need to learn how to conduct market research, register a business or get your head around copyright rules.
Starting a photography business is not simple, so we’ve created a simple five-step process to help any budding professional to set up their new venture.
Why start a photography business?
- Follow your passion: Working in photography is a labour of love for many in the industry, allowing them to make a living through their skills and creative expression.
- Be your own boss: Starting any business can mean having more control of your life, allowing you to choose when, where and how you work.
- Capture the incredible: Setting up a photography business might allow you to immortalize beautiful or important moments in history, nature or people’s everyday lives.
Start a photography business in 5 steps
1. Research and choose your market
If you want to take the first steps toward starting your own photography business, conducting market research will be a key activity. When done right, it will help you to learn about your competition, potential clients and overall business plan.
You should find out more about the competition by examining what other photography businesses in your area offer, charge and how they advertise their services. You can do this online, or by reaching out over the phone or in person. To learn more about your potential customers, get in contact with people who have hired photographers before and ask questions about their experience. Did the customer get what they wanted? How much did they have to pay? What could have made the experience more satisfactory? How did they find the photographer they ended up hiring?
These questions will help you to understand how the photography business works and give you ideas about how to make your project stand out from the competition.
Remember to keep in mind these questions:
- Is there demand for my photography business?
- What kind of customers am I targeting?
If there is enough demand for your services and you understand your customer base, you should be well-equipped to build a viable business. At this point, it’s also worth considering what kind of photography business you would like to start. Some options include:
- Weddings: Taking pictures of a couple’s big day can be a lucrative business for photographers with the right sense of style and communication.
- Studio: If you want to take photographs in your own controlled space, studio photography may be right for you. Setting up your workspace can be expensive and you may also need to decide what area of studio photography you want to specialise in, from portraits to fashion or food.
- Travel: If you want to travel the world taking photographs of breathtaking views, stunning scenery and exciting cultures, this could be perfect for you. Start-up costs can be high though, as you will likely have to build a portfolio before making any money.
- Sport: For those obsessed with sport, photographing professional athletes can be a dream come true. Get credentials at local stadiums and sporting events, so you can start snapping away and improving your skills, before contacting publications to sell your photos.
- Photojournalism: If you want to cover news, head to events like protests, festivals, religious holidays and ceremonies with any appropriate credentials. As with sports photography, you will then need to sell your photos to news publications.
2. Create a budget for your photography business
Following your market research, putting together a business plan and budget is the next important step in starting a photography business. This will set out how much money you need to fund your business, as well as monthly costs, key objectives and overall viability. It’s not just worth doing this for your own piece of mind – most lenders will require you to supply a business plan if you apply for a business loan.
You can learn more about how to put one of these important documents together in our article about how to write a business plan.
You will also need to create a budget, which should include start-up and regular costs. For a photography business, some key elements of your budget may include:
- Equipment: This will likely be one of your most significant start-up costs. You may just need a camera that can take pictures of a high quality. However, most photographers will also require tripods, camera bags, a laptop or computer, lenses, memory cards and more.
- Transport: This cost will vary depending on how far you plan to travel for work. Travel photographers could rack up thousands of pounds in costs as they jet off to exotic locations, but those who operate more locally will still need to consider the cost of a car or van, petrol, vehicle maintenance and public transport where necessary.
- Utilities: Bills are essential to keep track of – especially if you have your own studio space where heating and electricity costs can pile up.
- Software: Professional photographers will usually use editing software to touch up their images, or artfully edit them into collages. This can be a significant cost, with Adobe Creative Cloud costing £56.98 per month. You may also want to pay for subscriptions related to maintaining an online presence for your business, such as portfolio sites like Wix or Pixpa.
- Qualifications: While you do not need formal qualifications to become a photographer, it is essential to understand that it is a nuanced art that requires great skill. University degrees, college courses or apprenticeships can provide great opportunities to hone your skills before you start out on your own.
- Insurance: Photographers rely on a great deal of expensive equipment, so insurance is an essential way to protect against loss, theft and damage.
For a detailed guide, explore our five-step guide to creating a small business budget.
3. Register your photography business
Registering your business and establishing its structure is another key step in getting up and running. There are several different structures to choose from:
- Sole trader: Small-scale businesses run by a single person often operate as a sole trader. Choosing this structure would make you the sole owner of the business and allow you to keep any post-tax profits. You and your business are not subject to any legal distinction, which does leave you responsible for any losses. If you choose to operate as a sole trader, you must register for self-assessment.
- Partnership: For businesses run by two or more people, partnerships can be a good option. In this structure, two or more parties, known as partners, share the responsibilities, risks, profits and losses. There are different types of partnerships to consider, including business partnerships, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships. If you are starting a general partnership, you will need to inform HM Revenue & Customs.
- Limited company: With a limited company, limited partnership or limited liability partnership structure, a business owner (or partner/s) will be legally and financially distinct from their business. Limited companies have shares and shareholders, with the company holding on to any post-tax profits. Directors are paid through dividends or salaries. Register as a limited company at Gov.uk.
» MORE: Should I register as a sole trader or limited company?
You will not need any specific kind of licence to run a photography business, but you may need credentials to attend certain events and functions.
4. Fund your photography business
With a business plan, company structure and budget in place, establishing a source (or sources) of funding should be your next objective. Here are some ways to drum up the funding your photography business will need to get started:
- Personal savings: Some new business owners use their own money to bankroll a new venture. This will allow you to retain full ownership but could endanger your financial well-being if you overcommit.
- Friends and family: Your loved ones may be happy to help your dream business get off the ground by lending or gifting money. Using friends and family comes with its own set of challenges though, as money trouble can cause rifts in even the strongest relationships. Make sure you have written agreements before any lending or gifting takes place, so everyone understands the terms of the deal.
- Small business grants: Non-repayable and partially repayable start-up business grants can offer an invaluable source of funding. There are also grants specifically for businesses based in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Government business loans: A government business loan can provide valuable start-up or expansion funding. Like grants, these may only be available to businesses in certain regions or industries.
- Business loans: Traditional banks and other financial institutions offer business loans to suit a variety of needs. However, these can be tricky to secure.
- Angel investors: Attracting the attention of an angel investor is not common, but it could provide access to major funding. These investors are generally wealthy individuals who look to make a strong return by funding businesses in exchange for equity or convertible debt.
- Crowdfunding: Some new businesses aim to gather funding in small chunks from many different donations or investments in exchange for perks, such as equity or early access to products. This is called crowdfunding and is often conducted through online platforms.
When establishing a source of funding, you will likely need to open a business bank account so you have somewhere to put your money and manage your transactions. Sole traders can continue to use a personal account if their bank permits it, but limited companies and partnerships are generally required to have a business bank account.
5. How to make money as a photographer
The final step of starting a photography business is starting to make money. Considering the wide range of photography businesses, there is no one-size-fits-all way for your photography business to earn money. However, here are some useful tips to get started:
- Spread the word: Regardless of whether you are offering wedding photography or fashion shoots, you are more likely to be commissioned if more people know about your business. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, so tell friends, family, neighbours and whoever else you can think of about your new venture.
- Build a portfolio: Construct an online catalogue of relevant work to showcase your work to prospective clients. Using a portfolio builder website is a quick and easy way to do this that allows you to display your work online.
- Cultivate relationships: Is there a business nearby that hires event photographers for their annual conference? Are there wedding planners in your area who frequently book photographers for the day? Does your local newspaper buy images directly from photojournalists? No matter what business you are in, some people are useful to know. Make sure to find out who they are and reach out.
- Use social media: If your pictures are eye-catching and distinct enough, you may be able to build a following on social media channels by posting regularly. Some photographers have amassed millions of followers and even gone on to gain sponsorships or partnership deals with major companies.
- Sell or license your images: As long as you own the copyright and are not restricted by the terms of a contract, you can make money by selling or licensing your photos through online image libraries, such as Shutterstock or Unsplash, or by selling physical prints through sites like Shootproof.
How does copyright work for photographers?
As a professional photographer, you will generally own the copyright to any new images you create. There are exceptions to this rule, such as where a photographer has agreed to license the copyright to a person or organisation with whom they are working.
But why is this so important to photographers? Owning the copyright of an image gives you the right to use and duplicate it while preventing others from doing so without your permission. This allows you to fully realise the ownership of your work and control its use by others.
You can make money by licensing or selling the copyright of your images. Licensing will allow somebody to borrow the image while selling the copyright involves relinquishing your ownership of the image.
If a company uses your images without permission, you should reach out to them and attempt to resolve the matter quickly by requesting a fee or the removal of the image. If this does not solve the problem, you can take legal action or use the Intellectual Property Office’s mediation service.
Copyright protection is automatic and free for the creator. To make it abundantly clear that your work is protected, it is wise to mark it with the copyright symbol (©). Also name and date the image when you upload it to your social media channels or photography website.
Insurance for photographers
Most businesses should at least consider different types of insurance, and photography is no different.
Public liability insurance can be a good idea if you are likely to spend any significant time working with people on photoshoots. It protects you against claims made by members of the public, such as customers and visitors, who suffer injury or property damage as a result of your work.
As photographers are likely to work with a great deal of expensive equipment, protecting it is essential. It’s a good idea to take out contents cover if you are working from a studio or other place of business, while you can also take out specific insurance on your cameras and associated equipment.
Employer’s liability insurance will be a legal requirement if you have any employees (other than close family members). This will protect you against claims made by employees who have become injured or unwell due to work-related activities.
Professional liability insurance is another form of insurance worth considering. It protects your business when your clients may have suffered losses or damages as a result of negligent advice or services from your business. For photographers, it can be useful if clients feel that their work lacks quality, or there are breaches in copyright or other mistakes made during a shoot.
Image source: Getty Images
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