Getting Started

I get e-mails occasionally from women who are interested in starting their own children/family photography business. The most common question they ask is “What should I do first?” And while I am certainly no expert I think I can offer a few tips to get started.

1. Become comfortable with your camera. Read the manual and play with the settings until you feel like you understand its capabilities. Believe me, I don’t use half the settings or buttons on my camera but I know they are there if I need them. If nothing else it makes me feel like I know what I’m doing.

2. Practice like crazy. Take pictures every day of anything you find interesting. And if you have kids or animals use them as subjects as much as possible. Flowers and buildings are great subjects too, but they won’t prepare you for photographing a two year old. In fact, nothing will prepare you for photographing a two year old short of actually doing it. Which brings me to the next step.

3. Start building a portfolio of images. After becoming comfortable with your camera and practicing on your family you will be ready to start building a portfolio of images that will showcase your work. When I was ready I contacted some friends and let them know that I was planning on starting a photography business. Then I asked them if I could offer a free photo session of their children and a cd of the best images from our shoot. Now here’s some advice that I learned the hard way. Really pick and choose people who will value the gift that you are giving them. Even though you may feel that they are doing you a favor by allowing you to photograph their children, you are giving away your time and talent. I had a couple of unfortunate experiences with people who had gotten my name from a friend of a friend and they were only interested in getting something for free. They had been perfectly happy with Sears portraits for years and didn’t realize that wasn’t my style. If you do find yourself giving a free session to someone you don’t know, let them know ahead of time what your photography style is - that way there won’t be any surprises. Some photographers will disagree with me about the “free” part of portfolio building. They’ll say that you should still charge for the session and cd but just give a discounted rate. That is perfectly fine too, but I went the “free” route because it made me feel less nervous about screwing up. I wanted to be able to experiment and mess up as much as I needed to without worrying that people were wasting their money. The downside to that was dealing with the people who did not value my work because they hadn’t paid for it. One more important step in the portfolio building process is to get a model release signed by each party that states that you have the right to use their images in advertising or on your website. Otherwise you’ll have images that you can’t use in your portfolio. There is no set number of portfolio building sessions but I think I did six or seven free sessions before I felt ready to start fully charging and building my business.

That is how I began the process of starting my business. I hope these little bits of advice help those of you that are thinking about starting a photography business! I know that I’ve just barely touched on a small part of the “how”, but I’d be happy to answer any further questions. Feel free to leave them in the comments!

Comments

[laura - dolcepics]

These are great tips. I know many fellow sisters are looking to take then next step in to the professional world of photography.... I'm one of them! Just started booking some paid shoots as I feel ready now. It's so exciting! I'm all for sharing experiences and helping each other. Thanks Paige for the great advice. It's always nice to hear stories from others.

Here's one I did recently for my 'first' pro shoot! I'm so new at this and it was tons of fun!
http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/morning-glow/

[Shawna]

Thanks for all this info! For me it's just a distant dream and I figure the market will be saturated before I get my foot in the door. Still, as long as I'm already taking photos, I figure why not try to build a portfolio. The release information was just what I was looking for. So, thanks again for generously taking the time to help all of us aspiring photographers!

[jody]

I know eXactly what you mean about 2 yr olds jumping around. Gosh almighty! I took some photo's of my GD yesterday and I got over 50% with her face down. Or back to me. She wouldn't just look at me and smile with that dreamy look you wish you could catch. Ohhh no. I was exhausted lol.

But in the end I did capture some nice active type shots of her and some sweet shots of her baby sister. Maybe next year she'll sit and just smile at the camera. For now I have to try and Catch a few =)

[shelli]

This is great information. I've toyed with the idea of asking some friends if I could take their portraits for practice. I know what you mean about choosing people who will appreciate it. I've taken photos of my neighbors with their children twice (once when they were playing in my yard and once when we were over there for dinner), and I got a few good ones, so I put them on a CD and gave it to her. I have never gotten a thank you, and I think that's because she's never even looked at them! They just don't seem to be into photos. They have a few studio shots on their walls and that's it. Oh well.

[Irene]

Yes, this is my dream too. I am now in the process of offering free photography to families or couples (engagement). Some people think it is a little crazy that I am offering free shots, but I also like the fact that it takes a lot of pressure off of me to deliver perfect shots.

[Traci]

thanks so much for the wonderful information. i am in the beginning stages and have offered 2 free sessions so far. they have turned out well and i am thankful for the practice.

[renee @ FIMBY]

Thank you so much!! I'm about to do my first free session this week for a couple friends. Just kind of fell in my lap when they asked me "how much do you charge for taking photos". "Um.. nothing, yet". I'm excited and super nervous. Thanks so much for helping us all get started!

[Diane Schuller]

Paige, these are all excellent tips. I did something nearly identical when I began building my portfolio: i did a few free photo sessions but I gave away 3 prints and 3 emailable prints for each session. I too had one unfortunate experience doing that: someone else wanting the free photos. I also had one person become extremely adamant about not giving a model release. What I learned in that was to get the paperwork (signing the release) done before we begin the photo shoot.

Thank you for sharing these great tips.

[laura - dolcepics]

I have a question:

Have you had any clients refuse to sign the model release? Or do you make it a mandatory thing in order to go through with the shoot?

I know privacy is very important, especially when we have young children. So far, all my friends have replied "Of course!" when I asked them if I could use their photos for my portfolio. But I haven't asked them to sign something yet. Do you think it'll turn them off?

Just wondering what the response to the release has been for others.

Thanks!

[Paige]

Laura, I have not had anyone refuse to sign the model release. Most people are happy to help. In the portfolio building stage it would have been a requirement for me. Now it is worked into a longer contract that everyone signs and nobody has ever thought twice about it. It is common practice and people seem to be fine with it. BUT, if someone asked me about that part of the contract now and didn't feel comfortable with me using their images for promotional purposes I would be totally fine with that. I understand that some people may not want their child's images on the internet. And since they are a paying customer I would just want to make them happy.

[laura - dolcepics]

Thanks Paige. I should integrate my release into the contract as well. Good idea. :)
Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[jfrancis]

First,
capture the passion
for early light
filtered through
morning mist
as geese mount
the gallant air,
swing southward
and rise on silent thermals
to ride the sky
where tailwinds
whisper the way.

[jennie]

That is such a beautiful picture. Do you mind me asking what lens you used? I am in the market for a portrait lens. I was thinking the Canon 85/1.8 or the Canon 50/1.4. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much.

[Kelly]

I just found your blog today -- after a lazy Saturday of blog reading. I think your photos are fantastic and truly inspiring. i have always wanted to get into photography more and just didnt know where to start. And thinking back on all my photos, the best ones are of everyday, normal things. Maybe that is where I should start out with my photography experimenting.

I will definitely visit your blog again! thanks for the beautiful and touching images!

[Christina]

What a wonderful post, Paige! I too am in the beginning stages of building a business. I originally offered free sessions to friends and didn't have much interest; I later went back and offered discounted sessions and have had people lining up ever since. So I am a believer in asking for at least some type of payment even in the very beginning - people just don't value it otherwise. I've now done about a dozen shoots, and the last two were at full price! I'm still waiting on orders from those; please cross your fingers for me! ;)

[Stacy]

Good points, Paige.

I have decided to wait on putting out my sign and starting into photography as a business. I will still do shoots for those that ask me, but I just don't have the time or the energy to commit to it. I still need to get a monitor calibration tool, since I have a hard time getting correct, consistent color. I also want to upgrade from my Nikon D50, but in this economy that is pretty silly when I can still produce nice images on my camera. Sometimes you just need to work with what you've got.

The market is getting pretty saturated right now, too. It seems like there are some people that get a DSLR camera one month and then decide to start a photography business the next when they have never moved the settings off of auto. It is bad for consumers and photographers alike, since the consumers expect that type of product from a professional photographer. I think the key in this type of market is to excel at both your product and your customer service.

[Jeanette]

Absolutely fab tips!
I've gone the "free" portfolio building route as well. I have 3 more to do, and then I'm starting to charge.

[Paige]

Jennie, the lens I was using there was a Canon 50mm 2.5 compact macro. But I think the 50mm 1.4 would be a great choice too.

[Shawna]

Good timing for me to find this post - I just booked a "portfolio building" shoot with someone who heard about me through a mutual friend. While I did my mutual friend's pregnancy photos for free, I got up my nerve and gave a number when they asked how much I charged. No pressure though because I also suggested that if none of the pics turned out well I wouldn't take anything for the session. Still, at least it'll cover my gas money to go and meet with them a couple of times.

I'll do the model release thing though, at your suggestion.

[Hannah]

Hey!

This is just what I needed!

Thanks

Han

[Nyisha]

Thanks so much Paige.
This is a big help.


~Nyisha

[Shawna]

Oh hey, it's me again (the 2nd Shawna) with a quick question: what about having the subjects sign something stating that they can't distribute your work if you provide them with electronic copies of the images? I did wedding photographs for my sister who was then profiled on a website and, along with the story on her wedding, they posted, uncredited, photos I'd taken that she'd passed along to them. Or is it supposed to be automatically understood that copyright stays with the photographer?