Photography and business

Articles about the business side of photography – how to be a pro photographer

Keith often gets asked about becoming a professional photographer.

As he usually says, it’s more about business acumen than photographic skills… and has written a number of articles specifically covering different aspects of setting up and running a photography business.

This page indexes all our business related articles and links to a few external sites that Keith has found helpful in this area.

Keith is always happy to answer questions about anything on the site – it’s often where he gets inspiration for all our articles.

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More specialist index pages

• Keith’s photo blog
• Articles and Reviews
• Colour Management
• All about using tilt and shift
• Equipment Keith uses
• Photography book reviews

For even more detail, check the category listings and search box at the right of the page

Articles reflecting business aspects of photography

• Video: Keith’s kit – Peli 1535 Air CaseVideo: Peli 1535 Air Case review and what it's used for. One of Keith's commercial photography equipment choice videos (3 mins)
• Disk Drill recovery and photo backupsDisk Drill file and photo recovery software and photo backups for Macintosh and Windows. Backup strategies for photographers, so you shouldn't be caught out
• Stock photography is not the answerWhy stock photography is not the answer - bespoke photography is almost always a better solution for representing your business on your website and your marketing materials
• Looking for a bigger photo printerImportant questions to ask yourself when looking for a bigger photo printer wider than 13 inch width or A3+. Things that it's useful to know if you want a 17" (A2) or larger printer, it's about more than just bigger prints.
• So, can you start a photography businessSo, can you start a photography business? Will it last? Are you sure you know the difference between photography as a hobby and running a successful and profitable photography business. Some of the things you need to think about.
• Book Review: The photography exercise bookBook Review: The photography exercise book by Bert Krages. Training your eye to shoot like a pro. Subjects to study and photograph that will help train your photographic vision and produce the photos you want (and know why)
• Book Review: Starting Your Career as a Freelance PhotographerBook review: Starting Your Career as a Freelance Photographer (Tad Crawford, Chuck DeLaney) Just how do you run a photography business. What things do you need to address? How will you market and sell your services, and make your business last.
• Book review – Marketing and promotionBook Review: The Photographer's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion (Maria Piscopo) Reviewed by Keith Cooper, professional commercial photographer and author of many of our business related articles

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Some of Keith’s personal views about photography

• Is your camera good enough?Quality standards for stock images - Is your camera good enough? Alamy have a list of cameras that they deem 'not worthy'
• What am I happy ‘fixing’ in photos?Image editing: What am I happy 'fixing' / manipulating / editing / removing in photos? Are there limits? Where does my own line go - does it matter? Is it even my job to bother about it?
• People ‘borrowing’ stuff from your siteWhat do you do about people using content from your web site - when is it theft? What can you do about it?
• We have two pricesWe have two prices: free and full price. Being asked to do work for free is a regular hassle for many photographers. Why I insist on being paid, until I find a shop exchanging photo credits for food.
• How to be a professional photographerSome of Keith Cooper's thoughts and observations for those wanting to become a professional photographer. Things it's worth knowing about. Yes, you can be a pro photographer, but it takes more than photography skills
• Usability – Making your web site visitors’ lives easierWhy considering usability can really help make your web site visitors' lives easier. Happier visitor make for a better and more successful site.
• Pictures at an exhibition – preparationProblems, considerations and issues encountered when showing and displaying an exhibition of large photographs by Keith Cooper. Making it work for your photographs

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Lighting, colour and web use of images

• Looking for a bigger photo printerImportant questions to ask yourself when looking for a bigger photo printer wider than 13 inch width or A3+. Things that it's useful to know if you want a 17" (A2) or larger printer, it's about more than just bigger prints.
• On site product product photography setupBasic colour management and photography options for photographing large numbers of products out of the studio. Efficient setup reduces the processing needed
• What paper should I use?With a massive range of different papers available, how should you go about seeing which papers work best for your photos. Some of the choices you can consider when looking at paper types and brands for printing your photographs
• X-rite updates i1Profiler LicensePerhaps not something I'd normally report, but given all the kerfuffle over the i1Profiler EULA (license) when it came out, it's worth noting that they have retrospectively altered the license.
• CMYK – beyond the inkjet printAs a photographer with work in books and magazines, it helps to know the basics of large CMYK printing and how it affects the reproduction of your images. A guide for photographers
• CMYK for photographersThere is usually no good reason for photographers to work with CMYK images. Article looks at some of the things you need to consider if you need to use CMYK.

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Books and reviews for photographers with a business

• Book Review: The photography exercise bookBook Review: The photography exercise book by Bert Krages. Training your eye to shoot like a pro. Subjects to study and photograph that will help train your photographic vision and produce the photos you want (and know why)
• Book Review: Starting Your Career as a Freelance PhotographerBook review: Starting Your Career as a Freelance Photographer (Tad Crawford, Chuck DeLaney) Just how do you run a photography business. What things do you need to address? How will you market and sell your services, and make your business last.
• Book review – Marketing and promotionBook Review: The Photographer's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion (Maria Piscopo) Reviewed by Keith Cooper, professional commercial photographer and author of many of our business related articles
• Book Review On Being a PhotographerKeith Cooper reviews the book 'On Being a Photographer: A Practical Guide' by Bill Jay and David Hurn ISBN-13: 978-1888803068
• Book Review Make money with your digital photography Erin ManningKeith Cooper reviews Make money with your digital photography by Erin Manning, a comprehensive guide and introduction to the business of photography

Training – for companies

Training other people to take better photos means I have to reflect on my own work and practices – never a bad thing to do every so often.

These are aspects of training that I provide (on location, not at our offices) as part of Northlight’s business.

We also have a training directory that is freely available for any professional photographer who offers training.

It’s arranged by location, so as long as you are a pro photographer, a free link is available

Useful external resources for photography businesses

• Model releases and commercial use – Great article by Dan Heller about why most of what you hear on the internet about the need for releases is rubbish
• http://www.danheller.com/truisms.html
  Some very pertinent information that Keith regularly points out to the many people who ask him about becoming a professional photographer.
• Business Link UK government advice and support for setting up your own business
• Business in Canada – useful advice, not just for Canada
• US Small Business Administration

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Other areas of our site that may be of interest...

All the latest articles/reviews and photo news items appear on Keith's Photo blog 

Keith explains tilt and shift lenses

Keith has written a book that looks at the many ways that tilt/shift lenses can benefit your photography from a technical and creative point of view.

ISBN 9781785007712

Book now available

There is also a specific index page on the site with links to all Keith's articles, reviews and videos about using tilt and shift.

We've a whole section of the site devoted to  Digital Black and White photography and printing. It covers all of Keith's specialist articles and reviews. Other sections include Colour management and Keith's camera hacks - there are over 1200 articles/reviews here...

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