As a freelance photographer. I take a lot of pictures, spend a lot of time behind a camera so to speak. However, what most people don’t realize is, I spend more time doing other things related to the business of being a photographer than I do actually taking pictures. The other day, I spent about four hours doing a shoot for a commercial client. Of that time, half of it was spent setting up, tweaking the light and getting everything ready, when all was said and done, I really only spent about 20 minutes capturing images. When I look at my calendar for this week, it occurs to me that there is so much more to being a professional photographer that taking good pictures almost comes in near the bottom of the list of what it takes to run a successful photography business.
So, what else is involved? Well, let me give you a short list;
Web Designer – You can’t get new work these days without having a decent web site and being able to do the bulk of changes and updates yourself is pretty much essential to being current with the site and liquid with your finances.
Computer Tech – Same here, websites, image processing, email and all the technology involved in digital photography dictates that anyone trying to make money at photography today has to be pretty tech savvy. As a result the number of “Dummies” books I have is actually causing the shelves to sag.
Accountant – If you can’t keep track of what’s coming in and going out, the cold hard truth is, you’re not gonna make it.
Salesperson – Like it or not, you have to be able to sell yourself and your skills. Especially if you’re dealing with corporate clients. The communications and marketing people at most typical corporate accounts don’t get the whole “artist” thing and they expect you to able to communicate and interact with them as a business person. Part of that is being able to put together a decent pitch on why you’re good enough for them the next time they need new images for their corporate report.
Marketing Guru – Marketing and sales are two different things. And you need to understand the difference. Sales is now, calling clients or prospective clients, quoting a job and following up, delivering the job and making sure the client is satisfied. Marking is later, postcards, emailers, slideshows, portfolios, calendars, books. All these things are what keeps you “top of mind” with potential future clients. You need to be good at this and you need to be consistent.
Lawyer – Sadly, you’re eventually going to run into the need for some legal advice. Whether it’s about setting up a business, tax and accounting issues, contracts or contractual issues or copyright infringement. You’d be well served to at least know where the law library is in your town and know how to look up the fundamentals of whatever issue you’re dealing with. This way, when you do hire a lawyer, you’ll at least have some idea of what’s going on.
Secretary – Yep, answer the phone a lot, return a lot of messages and emails, keep a calendar so I know where I’ve gotta be and when. Organization is key and being highly organized will stand you in good stead in any career you undertake.
Travel Agent – Client calls and says “hey, we’re doing a piece on the leather craftsmen of Lower Mongolia, can you cover it for us?” Assuming your answer is yes, the client expects you to be able to get there and back on your own. And they certaintly don’t want a call from Tokyo saying you’ve missed your connection, what do I do now? Bottom line is, you gotta be able to get there and back on your own, feed and shelter yourself while on assignment and do it all at a reasonable cost.
Oh yeah, I forgot, you have to able to take decent pictures too.
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