Portrait Photography Tips – How to Set Up a Home Studio
Autumn Lockwood
If you’re interested in making a career or part-time job out of photography, it’s easier than you may think. Portrait photography is needed in almost every city and it doesn’t require a lot to have a working home studio. The best thing about starting in portraiture is that you can begin with the bare essentials and add equipment as your business grows. Here are some tips for taking the first steps:
Set Up Your Photo Studio
There are a few things that you should pick up before attempting professional portrait photography. Obviously you will need a camera (preferably digital as it’s easier for inexpensive photo editing) but you will also need a tripod, a basic light setup and some sort of light reflector. Most of this equipment is available at entry-level quality for a low cost, or can be improvised if you’re short on cash (for instance, white poster board can work as a light reflector). It would also be a good idea to buy a laptop and equip it with some photo editing tools – the portability of a laptop will make your work run much more quickly.
Additionally, you’ll need some working space. An extra room, living room or even garage can often fit everything you need. White walls will act as natural reflectors, windows can provide natural light, and backgrounds can be provided by different colors of bed sheets.
Setting Up the Business
If you are really serious about starting a portrait photography business, you’ll need to treat it as a serious business. You should consider getting some basic small business accounting software like Quickbooks for invoicing and tracking payments before your first client. It is essential that you track your income so you can identify possible problems with your pricing and plan for paying taxes on your services.
It is also a good idea to have a business website with your online photo portfolio available for browsing. With so many people using the internet to find services, an online presence is important for growing a new business. You can either build a simple site yourself or hire it out inexpensively at websites like Elance. Just make sure you have your contact information listed!
Finally, think of ways to set your portrait photography studio apart from the rest. If you really want a competitive edge, try focusing on a niche market. For instance, people are willing to pay more for photographs of their pets or children, and if you specialize in one of those fields you’ll have less competition to contend with.
Once you have the studio set up, the cash flow handled, and a strategy for the business, you should be ready to take the plunge into professional portrait photography. If you use effective word of mouth marketing and some other forms of advertising, there is no measuring the potential a small studio could have. And remember, if you give your clients excellent photographs, no one will remember that you used bed sheets as backdrops!
Autumn Lockwood is a writer for YourPictureFrames.com. Shop online and see our selection of floating picture frames in a variety of styles and colors. Visit our website and see our archival floating picture frames or call 1-800-780-0699.
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