Are you ready to start your photography business?

So we have the holidays quickly approaching with Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas closing in after that. These are the times of the year EVERYONE wants pictures. Mostly family pictures to send to distant relatives and of course share on the all the social media sites. Some of us, it's our goal to photograph families, some of us we do it for the money as our passion in photography is else where, however the demand in family portraiture around this time is high.

Luckily despite your skill level, there is a client for you! So if you have only recently picked up a camera and still consider yourself a novice, you may offer a shoot for free. I want to offer you a fair warning about doing free shoots. Some people may tell you to NEVER shoot for free, while others will tell you to charge an arm and leg right out the gates. These are both poor suggestions. Being a beginner doesn't mean your time and little experience is worthless. What does suffer as a beginner is the lack of experience, perhaps you want to build up your portfolio. Talk to friends who have families. Offering a friend a free shoot is fine for establishing those portfolios and websites. You may want to even toss in the idea of bartering just so your time and effort doesn't go unrecognized. If you go this route, your friend gets a "free" shoot and you also get some photos into your portfolio. If you start out approaching people with full prices but have ZERO photos to show your skill, you will more than likely get no clients. Just like any job, start from the beginning and as you gain experience, you can raise your prices, just you would get raises at a regular day-job.

Are you getting comfortable shooting or rate yourself higher than novice? Approach others about family shoots, scout out what photographers in your area charge, see the quality they put out? Try to price yourself accordingly. Some families don't have a ton of cash to throw on family photos and can't afford the photographer who has been shooting for 20 + years and charging $500/hr. So this is were we can charge less, but still offer them quality work. It's a win-win. :) As you continue to shoot, you will see what your time is worth and will adjust your pricing to what works best for you and for your clientele.

So take advantage of the great opportunity to do some shooting, gaining experience, and most importantly learning! Each shoot you do, you will gain more knowledge and that becomes priceless as you follow your dream. Use these opportunities to build up your portfolio, landing clients through out the year and by this time next year, start booking up your schedule! Great times are ahead of you! Happy Thanksgiving!