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 external sites that Keith has found helpful. Keith is always happy to answer questions about anything on the site.

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The business side of photography

Running a photography business is about a lot more than just taking photos...

How to be a professional photographer
An article based on some of Keith's replies to the many emails he receives asking for information about how to become a professional photographer.
Probably the best article to start with, if you are new to the business of photography [January 2009]
Your friends say your photos are great - so what? [November 2012]
Industrial photos in a foundry - Some aspects of professional photography [July 2012]
Work for free? Is it ever worth it? - Some thoughts on different aspects of doing photography work for 'free' [July 2012]
UK camera sales plummet - Why things like this matter for our business. [June 2012]
50 Business tips for the aspiring professional photographer
- Do read through to the end though ;-) [June 2012]
Pick your photography work with care
Why doing what you love isn't always the best route to running a profitable photography business. [June 2012]
Pro photography - winning the lottery?
Having an idea what you are doing and why. [March 2012]
Working as a photographer on a cruise ship
A guest article by photographer Ian Kee. [March 2012]
5 business mistakes for Photographers
Some of the problems of photography business startups. [October 2010]
Will it sell? Selling prints - Something we get asked about quite a lot. Keith discusses different aspects of selling landscape/'art' prints of your work. [April 2010]
Will they sell? - Things to consider once you want to start selling more of your prints [December 2011]
The photographer in the orange hat - Differentiating your photography business from all the others out there is very important, but make sure you do it in a ways that help generate more profits [September 2011]
What to charge - simple numbers for anyone wanting to become a professional photographer [January 2012]
Business advantage - keeping the passion in your business - don't be too quick to lose the personal touch. [September 2011]
Are there too many 'Pro' photographers?
What to do on a crowded beach, when the tide comes in [September 2011]
Some things to do now for your future photography business - Even if it's a few years off, sorting out an effective web presence is one to consider right now [August 2011]
Photography - I can do that
Most people who dream of becoming a pro photographer only ever dream of it - some basic steps for turning a good idea into action [July 2011]
Tell your customers just where they can go... - Why what you won't do matters [May 2011]
The three ways to make more money as a photographer [May 2011]
7 Questions - Is -your- photography business different from the rest? [April 2011]
Photographers - Are you of value to your clients? - do you know what they want? [February 2011]
5 'M's - marketing for photographers
Why are so many photographers bad at marketing? [February 2011]
What's special about -your- pro photography business?
Thinking about how your business is different from all the others [March 2011]
Terms and Conditions
Our T's & C's. Make sure you think about things like this, BEFORE your first paying job.
And our price is...
A useful video clip to send to the next person wanting you to work for free or very little.
Should we regulate pro photographers?
Some of Keith's thoughts on the business after reading a recent survey [January 2011]

Photography - Personal views from Keith

Sometimes it helps to reflect on what it is that makes your work special - don't just rely on clients being able to read your mind...

Artists' statements - do you ever believe them?
Expected when you exhibit your work, how do you approach them [May 2011]
Black and white photography - thoughts and influences
From a specialist black and white photography magazine article, this extended version discusses some of Keith's thoughts about his approach to black and white landscape photography. [September 2010]
Why do photography review videos and podcasts suck?
If you are going to add a feature to your web site, do it for the right reasons [May 2010]
The Limits of altering pictures
Some brief thoughts on what is OK when altering the content of photographs? [June 09]
A 35mm film based black and white landscape photographer tries digital
Back in 2004, when Keith first moved to digital capture for his landscape work there were some notable changes in working to consider. This article gives some comparisons and results, along with some of his first impressions.

Book Reviews

Book review - On Being a Photographer
Make money with your digital photography - by Erin Manning

Some external links to info I've found of help

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.photographersindex.com /stockprice.htm
Stock price calculator - US$ price estimator
http://www.nppa.org/
National Press Photographers Association
http://digitaljournalist.org/
The Digital Journalist
http://www.danheller.com/truisms.html
Some very pertinent information that Keith points out to the many people who ask him about becoming a professional photographer.
Guerilla marketing - how to do things differently. There is a lot about this on the net. A friend of mine has this and lots of (free) related stuff at his business coaching site and business differentiation info
Business Link UK government advice and support for setting up your own business
Business in Canada
US Small Business Administration
12 skills for self employment

Technical issues

Whilst we have many technical articles and reviews on the site, some have more relevance if you are sending images to clients or producing prints for customers.

I'd always say that colour management is an important factor in producing consistently high quality work. When my files go off to clients, I like to know I've minimised the chances of things going wrong.

Room and office decoration and lighting for photo editing
Some information on what to consider when setting up a space to work on digital images and evaluate prints.
Colour management - basic introduction and links to all our articles and reviews.

It also helps to know something of what may happen to my images between leaving our office on a DVD and appearing in a company's annual report or brochure.

CMYK for photographers (2) - Press management
An overview of colour management for when your work is destined for large scale printing. [September 2010]
CMYK for photographers (1)
Some considerations when a client asks for images to be submitted in CMYK [September 2010]

Images on your web site

A few thoughts about some aspects of photography web sites - most are not optimised towards any real business objectives. They are almost like web based business cards.

Your business web site has a job(s) to do, like any other employees...

Better pictures for your web site
Keith was recently asked for advice on getting better pictures on a web site. His top ten tips cover the process of taking the pictures in the first place, through to sharpening and saving for web use. There are links to further information, tutorials and articles on this site.
Web colour management and Web photo galleries
A discussion of the various options for compression, sharpening and colour management when putting photographic images on the web.
Making your website easier to use
Some sites are easy to find your way around, others positively fight your progress. Keith offers some advice on creating a better user experience (There is also a collection of top usability tips, gathered from surveying many of the key researchers in the field). The article links in to our Usability and Design section.
Web browser colour management test page
Just how well does your web browser handle colour management (if at all). This page has a collection of test images to try it on.

Training - for companies

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

General photography training
Photography training for estate agents
Product photography courses.
Digital Imaging Technology (incl. Colour Management)
Bespoke personal photography training for individuals

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

Photography training directory - worldwide