Photography As A Career

Clicking pictures may be your hobby. Why not earn some money out of it? What is better than taking up your hobby as your profession?

This lens has all the aspects about photography before you start a career in this adventurous field.

Do you love taking pictures? Are you the one always forcing all the kids to take some funny and whacky pictures? Are you considering earning some money using your creative side but unsure if it’s a good option? Hopefully this article might help you.

There is one Golden Rule highlighting the qualifications for a good photographer: 

Career in Photography = Business Knowledge + Technical Knowledge + Creative Eye

Business knowledge focuses more on the marketing aspect. Just taking pictures will not give you money. You need the knack of selling them, testing your marketing skills.

Technical Knowledge: You must be thorough with the ABCs of the camera and all the other technical jargons.

Creative Eye is important to stand out from the other photographers that are offering similar services.

Creativity is the most basis trait needed in a photographer since it directly affects the image taken.  The other two, are also very important but there are ways of managing without them- though very risky !

A background in computers also helps in gaining the technical expertise. Such skills are required to get just the right look of your pictures as per the client needs. This involves camera and lighting skills, digital imaging skills and knowledge of the technical intricacies of the equipment.

Get Started:

To get started, it's a good idea to get on-the-job training by working with an established photographer. This will help you gain business acumen, client handling skills and a good idea of the problems a photographer faces in the field and learn how to them. Photography workshops are great hands-on experience as well.

Showcasing your work in online albums, communities and forums is another great way to get started. 

Enhance your skills by getting direct feedback and tips from visitors to your album. You can complement this by doing some freelance work. It further builds up confidence to approach other photographers and organizations from where you can get full time work.

Fields in Photography:

There are many fields within photography. Some may be more creatively challenging.

~ Fashion & Advertising Photography
If glamour attracts you, then this is for you. It involves working with models and is quite a lucrative and creative field. The work could be used for advertising agencies, fashion houses and fashion magazines.

~ Nature & Wildlife Photography
If you're a nature freak and also have a passion to capture it, then go for it. You can work for travel and geographic magazines, calendars as you travel around capturing waterfalls, landscapes, wildlife and other interesting shades of nature.

~ Event Photography
Event photographers work for weddings and other events like sports meets, family functions etc. This still has strong demand for film photography, since most clients would like a copy of the negatives.

~ Still Photography/Product Photography
This involves the capturing of inanimate natural or man-made objects. Portrait photography is one example of this, where you can capture pictures of children, pets etc. You can run your own studio or work for someone. Capturing pictures for cookbooks is another good opportunity.

~ Travel Photography
If you love adventure and travelling then travel photography could be good option for you. Travel photographers can work for the hospitality industry, travel magazines and websites. It requires being able to capture the right shot at the right moment.

Pay Prospects:

Initially, it's bit hard to make a living in this field but if you're extremely creative and prepared to put in the hard work along with getting equipped with good business skills, it could become a rewarding profession for you.

Starting off as an assistant to a senior photographer, working as a freelancer and then working as a full time professional will eventually give you a good amount of income.

Certain fields like Fashion Photography and Wedding Photography are more lucrative monetary wise.

If you've a passion for photography, there's no reason why you can't make it your profession -- be wise and practical and go for it!

Services Offered By School Photographers

With the growing popularity of School Photographs, the amount of services offered by photographers is increasing day by day.

Traditionally, a “Photo Day” included only one batch picture, with the entire class posing for a formal picture with their teachers and principals. This yet continues in schools in the East like India. For them its just a normal day, with a guy with a camera and a few benches that makes up the set.

But this is not the same reaction you will get if you mention the words “School Photograph” to a student is the USA or London! For them it is definitely a big deal. Not just the child, but the parents are also super involved in the preparations of the day.

It is not just the High School Seniors who get this privilege of a photoshoot. This highly structured event starts right from Primary School.

Portrait Day for them is far from a low key affair. Schools make sure that no stone is left unturned. The most important step is to pick up an expert  photographer who has experience in dealing with kids.

Along with the school, parents and children, the photographer too keeps in mind to give his client the best services. His services solely decide the tenure of their relationship.

Being unique and creative I the key to becoming a successful photographer. Kids like a person in front of whom they can be themselves, show their personality and most importantly someone in front of whom they do not shy away. Along with that, it is important for the photographer to constantly come up with new ideas which the other photographers do not offer.

Some of the services that are offered by School Photographers are:

1.       Traditional Class Photographs: This includes a very formal picture with students neatly lined up, smiling sweetly with their batch-mates, class teachers and principal.

Each child gets this postcard size image for memory.

2.       Individual Portrait: In some schools, this is nothing than a professional photoshoot. Costume, lights, set etc. all chose to perfection to give the student a perfect picture.

3.       Group Portrait: A group of best friends taking a picture with the funny props that describes them.

4.       Customizes Articles: Once a portrait picture is clicked, the photographer can make it available on many articles and items for the student.

For example: Mugs, class t-shirts, boxes, book covers, calenders, bookmarks, mouse pads, photo frames, stickers, postcards, yearbooks and memory books, etc. 

School Photographers and Photo Retouchers

No photoshoot is complete without the work of photo retouchers. Be it fashion, food, jewelry, car, model or just any kind of photography, a little magic by retouchers is always required.

Photo retouching is a process which eliminates any unwanted effects, objects and backgrounds and gives the picture a nice elegant look. There is nothing wrong in retouching photographs as long as its not overdone.

For all those wondering that retouching the image will make it look artificial, you are in for a surprise. 

Retouching is nothing but a little clean up to the image. Editing a few details here and there to get the perfect look

So why wont School Photographers send their pictures to retouching agencies? After all even they want their models and picture to be perfect too. 

For those who are wondering what school photography is, ask any high school student and see the sudden excitement on their faces. Its perhaps the most important day for them in school which they take no chances to miss. It involves taking class pictures, group and individual portraits. These are the things students and their families look forward to and keep with them forever.

They are also willing to pay a huge amount to get these photographs. These are generally clicked by school photography experts who have good experience in the field.

These pictures are taken in school, during school hours, so there are many things that may go wrong on the day. Like a stain from lunch, soiled clothes etc. The photographer knows the solution to all these problems. The answer is Post Production Services.

Post Production services are applied in every field, to every photo. It can be as simple as covering a stain, removing background images, to something as elaborate as a complete makeover. School Photographers usually give their pictures to retouching agencies since they have a variety of effects which can be added onto these pictures. 

School photographs are supposed to be funky and capture a lot of funny memories in them. Adding effects, funny captions and props is something that a retoucher can help the photographer with. Parents can give an idea of the type of mood they want in the picture and the reotucher can give them what they want.

One more advantage of keeping a retoucher on hand is that no need to keep all the props handy. If you find something missing, just tell the retoucher to add it.

Along with school portraits, yearbooks and scrapbooks have also become a trend. Retouching photos opens the opportunity to make a funky yearbook with a lot of captions and taglines.

Retouching services include Color Correction, Background Change, Cropping, Clipping Path Services, funny captions, combining pictures etc. which all make the final image appealing.

Concluding,  I would suggest that a retoucher is a must for every photographer. Hiring someone to do all the retouching services will give the photographer less things to worry about and enable him to take more pictures. 

Marketing Tips For Photographers

Technical knowledge - Check!

Exotic locations - Check!

Glamorous Models- Check!

Decent Clientele - Check!

If you satisfy the above four criteria, you are good to make it big in the photography industry.

Well, not really. What about your Marketing Skills?

One of the main challenges for photographers is how to get clients. Your technical knowledge may be to the T, but what about the business and marketing aspect? Marketing is needed to promote any service. Don't worry! Marketing doesn't have to cost much money if you are willing to put in a little time and effort.

Photography is a profession where you are the sales, the production, the operations, the logistics and the marketing guy. So your business entirely depends upon you. It is upto you to get clients and provide them with new and quality services.

I agree being a photographer you may not have a lot of time after your photo shoots and events, but this is something you absolutely must do. Unless you give time in the present, your future business will not thrive.

Keeping in mind every photographers busy schedule, online marketing is not something that will take you ages to learn and execute. Just a few minutes of chatting with your friends, reading and posting a few articles will give do the work.

Below are a few proven methods of promoting your business and getting clients, without putting a lot of time into it :

1. Say Hello!

Networking is a great way to get your name out in the market. Meeting people, attending exhibitions, functions can lead to partnerships and future business developments Engage in friendly chats with established photographers and make sure you talk about your business plans too. But do not over promote yourself.

2. Online Signatures

Make sure to add a signature with every comment /mail you send. This becomes like a mini campaign for your business.

3. Facebook & other Online Networking

Facebook is probably the easiest way to market your business amongst friends and family. You can create a page with all your photographs. But make sure you do this with the permission of the models in the pictures. Marketing on Facebook is more informal and fun! Online chatting, sharing images, getting comments and likes are all proofs of effective marketing.

Other social networking sites like Twitter, MySpace will do the same. LinkedIn is more serious and professional kind of marketing.

Also participate in various online discussions and forums of your industry. This will help you learn a few things and also help you get your name in the market.

4. Pinterest

Pinterest is for members to share pictures and memories. This can be a great platform for you to connect with clients and potential customers. Uploading pictures (with permission) will increase your marketing reach over the web. Make sure to add details about every picture and complete your profile with your website link, Facebook page and other details where people can contact you.

5. Blogging

Blogging is a great way to communicate with your audience. It is a place where you can educate, learn, converse, share bits about your personal lives and showcase your images and products. Post articles on regular basis to get a good fan following. Link your blog with your Facebook, LinkedIn and other accounts.

6. SEO & Keywording

No don't be put off by the technicality of the word. It is very easy. Search Engine Optimization will help your company to pop when anyone types something related. All you have to do is add keywords for your blogs. For example the keywords for a Photo Retouching Service would be - photo, service, editing, retouching, inexpensive, photoshop, XYZ Company etc. More the keywords more are the chances of people coming across your blog

7. Classifieds and Local Online Listing

There are many companies that allow you to post free ads. You can post offers and discounts to attract customers. Also give your company's URL to online directories. People looking for services will refer to these directories.

8. Recommendations

Make sure you request your clients to recommend you in their circles. Ask them to post their satisfied replies on your website and blogs.

Happy customers attract customers!

How Does School Photography Work?

Have you always wondered why a few school photographs cost you a bomb?? Most of the parents don’t land up buying them – cause its too expensive! Well for the most part I agree with them. School photographs can cost you easily in a few hundreds. Ever wondered why?

When the rate card comes, we obviously think that the photographer must be rolling in piles o money with the amount he is charging us. Are you sure what you pay goes directly in the pockets of the photographer?

NEVER! In order to book a school, a photographer has to pay commission, like a donation. This donation amount started with a small amount, but over the years this amount has increased to almost 50%. This means, that almost half that you pay goes back to the school.

If you are the leader in the industry, it would be easy for you to “buy” the schools by offering a large amount to the school. But if you’re a freelancer, forget about doing a session with the school for free also ! Big companies often keep the schools in their pockets with a large number of photographers on hand to cover a large area.

One more thing to worry about is conflicts. Largely there are three parties that are working:

1.       Photographer  - maximize earnings and customer satisfaction

2.       School Administration – minimize cost, least disruption in the school functioning

3.       Students  & Parents – reasonable but excellent quality photographs

If you notice, all the three parties have conflicting wishes. It all comes down to how the relationship is maintained. Photographs must maintain a healthy relationship with the school if you want to establish a long term business relationship with the school.

The commission that is received from the photographer is usually used to fund school programs or sometimes photographers just provide with small things to the school like pencils, books etc. which schools are more than happy to accept!

Do you buy your school pictures? Why or Why not? 

Leave a comment and pass along / share/tweet / email this post to someone – I’m really interested in everyone’s thoughts!

School Photography At A Glance

Why School Photography?

Whether you are a Portrait Studio, Wedding, Sports or Event Photographer, School Photography can compliment your current business plan. While much of your current business occurs on weekends, School Photography is done on weekdays- giving us the time to earn some extra money!

Once considered a "seasonal" business, Elementary School photography has become a virtual year-round revenue opportunity. Limited local competition is another good reason to consider the School Photography business. While there may be an abundance of photographers in your area offering senior portraits, weddings and sports photography, in all probability there are just a handful offering services to Elementary Schools.

Also, In contrast to Senior Photography, there is a much larger potential client base. For every High School in a school district there are often 3-4 Middle Schools and 8-10 Elementary Schools "feeding" the system. When you choose to service seniors only, you miss a significant market segment that buys portraits year after year- not just once at graduation.

Entry Barriers

There's never been a more opportune time for Independent Photographers to enter the School photography market. Schools in your area may be receptive to fresh, new alternatives to the traditional business model used by the photography companies who currently serve your local schools. Industry surveys and feedback indicate that many consumers want better quality portraits, more variety of background selections, a choice of poses and a wider selection of packages than they may be getting now. Independent photographers have the opportunity to address all these concerns with a customer-centered approach that highlights your personal creativity and harnesses the potential of digital workflow.

Capital Investment

The initial capital investment in equipment to do School Photography is significantly less expensive than it once was. You probably have much of the equipment you'll need to get started. Digital cameras have made life much easier by enabling you to store a large number of files with unique names for each.

Services to Offer

Digital portrait production for school day packages is becoming available and affordable to everyone. The full range of photo services schools expect- student record photos, ID Cards and badges, digitally-enhanced composites or group photos and photo CD's for Yearbooks.

 An additional Spring Portrait program is also offered in many schools. These programs allow students the opportunity to be themselves and often feature casual posing and backgrounds. Students are often encouraged to bring small props from home to "personalize" their portraits. Backgrounds and posing props should be chosen carefully to be age-appropriate for the grade levels being photographed.

Traditional Classroom Group photos or digitally-created Classroom Composites are also offered in many Elementary Schools, and may represent another revenue stream. Consider producing these photos digitally; enhancing them with attractive border designs in the school's colors and include the school mascot, logo or crest, if possible. Adding student names under the photos makes them more "personal" and commands a higher retail price.

Unlike the comprehensive Yearbook programs offered at the High School level, Elementary "Memory Books" are by contrast, quick and easy to produce and inexpensive to buy. Most are soft-back, 32-60 pages in length and include portraits, candids, group photos and collage pages.

Commission

As a photographer, you or your company will be expected to pay some commission to the school for giving you business. Consider this payment as an advertising cost giving you the opportunity to be the exclusive photographer for the school. 

If you don't have immediate success, don't despair. It sometimes takes several seasons of relationship-building with prospective schools before they have confidence in your abilities to service their school. Increase your odds of booking new business by prospecting in smaller Private Schools and Academies. These are in less demand by the major competitors and are easier to photograph and service. This will allow you to get experience and gather great testimonials about the quality and service you provide. This will benefit your public relations efforts as you grow. 

11 Tips for School Photographers

 School photography is a growing niche. The western culture has very well started the trend of taking model like photoshoots with all the glitz and glamour.

Photographers have found this niche very rewarding as there are over lakhs of children finishing their schooling every year.

In many cities, large and small franchise studios have a monopoly on the public grade schools and high schools. However, there are many private schools, preschools and daycare centers that are open to the idea of using someone new. It not only is an amazing way to reach many families, but it can be an amazing way to generate a substantial income

Tips for School Portrait Photographers

1.       Be Organized

If you are doing this for the first time, make sure you plan and check everything before you go in action. Use a calendar to design your work schedule. Since you will be interacting with a lot of parents, teachers and students, there are chances of lot of confusions. Be sure to prepare a work flow of which you will intimidate all the parties before you work. You can conduct an informal meeting where you discuss your entire plan and service to avoid any confusion.

2.       Do not OVERBOOK

It may be very tempting to add on more schools to your client list. But this will lead to nothing but trouble. School photography is a time consuming process and you need to give the school 110%.

3.       Pricing

Pricing is a very sensitive topic and you do not want to lose out on business due to lack of communication. Make sure you tell your clients that this is a special project that you are taking and required special investment of your time, money and resources.

4.       Each Child Differently

Make sure to do something creative in the photoshoot of every child that you shoot. This will ensure complete dedication from both the parties. Even parents will not mind shelling out extra to get a one of a kind portrait of their child.

5.       Make a Story

Get them to giggle, dance and move around. Parents will purchase more when you have a sequence of shots that show their children having an awesome time.  It creates higher sales and makes people talk about you! That is the goal: make some money and get your name out there!

6.       Friend, not a Hindrance

Obviously you will be working within the school premises a lot, so make sure to maintain good relations with the staff, parents and children. They are the ones who will provide you with something that you need as well as give you company between shoots.

7.       Be sure to come back next year

There is nothing better than assurance that you will be returning the next year too to have a photo session. You want families to feel a sense of gratitude that you came to their school. You want them to be excited each year that you are coming back. When I say different, think of all the things that the typical school portrait photographer is and do the opposite—use awesome backdrops, take many different shots from different angles, let parents view before they order, and offer a few products that school portrait photographers don’t offer… Keep it simple, yet different!

8.       Manage the Quality

Keep the quality high, but not as high as your other portrait sessions. At the same time, do not do a poor job on the pictures either. You need to understand the essence of the shoot and bring the props accordingly. Instead of taking all your high end props that you use in your studio, take props that are fun, colorful and will allow the child to relate to. Make sure the props are cute and fun and chronicle the child’s age and personality.

9.       Create your Magic

Be true to you! Do not conform to what you think families will want.  Be true to your style as a portrait photographer. If you like deep, rich tones and colors then make sure your school portraiture looks the same. If you like light, bright colors then do that same thing when photographing a school. You do not want a huge disconnect from what you do in a full session and what you do at schools. If people loved what you did at the school enough to call and hire you for a full session, they are going to expect close to the same style.

10.   Retouch your Photos

Make sure to give your photographs to professional retouching agencies. By doing this, you will have time to take more pictures without worrying about retouching them. Also, giving it to experts ensures best quality.

11.   Keep  the Contacts

Since you have worked so hard with them, make sure all your hard work does not go in vain. Add parents to your mailing list and makes sure to include a little thank you note with your contact details in the final pictures. Send them offers from time to time to keep the communication open.