Tracy Dorr - How to Start a Photography Business

AUTHOR A BOOK WITH AMHERST MEDIA!

Are you an accomplished photographer with devoted fans? Consider authoring a book with us and share your quality images and wisdom with your fans. Its a great way to build your business and brand through a high-quality, full-color printed book sold worldwide. Our experienced team makes it easy and rewarding for each book soldno cost to you. E-mail today!

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Tracy Dorr is a photographer, writer, and the co-owner of Capture Your Heart Portrait Studio. She is the author of four booksAdvanced Wedding Photojournalism: Professional Techniques for Digital Photographers; Engagement Portraiture: Master Techniques for Digital Photographers; Set the Scene: Props for Portrait Photography; and The Beautiful Wedding, all from Amherst Media.

Tracy holds Bachelors degrees in English and Photography from the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) and has been shooting professionally since 2003. She won three Awards of Excellence from the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International competition (WPPI) and was a Master Class teacher at the WPPI convention in Las Vegas, in the MGM Grand.

Her work has been published in numerous local wedding publications and is on display in a number of local businesses. Her images have been published in seven books in Amherst Medias 500 Poses series by Michelle Perkins, on the subjects of brides, men, couples, groups, full-length portraits, children, and infants and toddlers. She also contributed to Michelle Perkins book How to Photograph Weddings; the work highlights her aesthetic and point of view in an interview about her craft.

Tracy lives in Williamsville, NY, with her husband Bill and daughter, Annaleigh.

To see more of Tracys work, visit her websites at www.tracydorrphotography.com and www.captureyourheartstudio.com.

YOUR PERSONAL ROAD MAP

Do you dream of being your own boss? Do you imagine spending your days working passionately and creatively?

There are many satisfying and rewarding aspects of being a photographer. If you fantasize about starting your own photography business but find yourself perplexed and overwhelmed by the hurdles inherent in getting started, this book can help. It will define the basics of the business and, more importantly, establish a dialogue of relevant issues that you will need to understand in order to form your own opinions about how to run your business. Those issues will inform most of the choices youll have to make.

Sometimes it seems as if there are so many business considerations that it can be hard to know what the best decision is. The truth is, every photographer will make their own choices based on personal opinion, guided by experience. When you dont have experience, look to those who have gone before you and ask how they feel. Their opinions and history will inform your decision-making process. This will be a powerful tool as you venture out.

Images by Tracy Dorr.

Image by Tracy Dorr.

In this book, you will learn about the myriad issues facing new business owners. In the majority of sections, you will find sidebars in which the pros present their (sometimes opposing) opinions on various matters. These insights will provide valuable guidance. In general, there are no hard-and-fast answers to business startup questions. In most matters, there is no clear-cut right or wrong approach (legal and tax matters are an exception). As you read through the sidebars, you can adopt the strategies that make the most sense to you and seem to best suit your goals. Let the pros experience and anecdotes inspire you.

Turning a hobby that you love into a lucrative profession is filled with challenges. Begin by asking yourself if you have a clear idea of what type of photographer you are at this point in your career, and who you hope to become. Personal growth is crucial in this business. At the end of your journey, who do you want to be? How do you envision your future in five years? Ten?

Over time, you will define your own path, and this book can help you start off on the right foot.

YOUR NICHE

There are many different types of photography businesses. Theres no set formula as to the size of business or style of photography you need to choose in order to achieve success. Individuals working alone enjoy full control over all aspects of the business and have the ability to engage in intimate, one-on-one transactions. They may specialize in portraiture alone. Some studios consist of a husband-and-wife team or a partnership of two like-minded individuals. A larger studio may employ several photographers and have all of them out working at the same time so that they are able to take more jobs and create simultaneous income. A business of that size could easily handle several weddings in a day and can generate double or triple the number of word-of-mouth referrals.