thirty seven s…
volume 1 2006
By Jim Talkington

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In 2006 I started a photo blog and decided to publish a photo a day. There was a definite purpose to this. No, it wasn’t so much to get my work seen by a bunch of people, it was so I would commit to creating new work. It was a way to force me to continually create. As a professional commercial photographer I continually photograph for clients. You might think the last thing I’d want to do …

Last week we looked at what charging a fair value means to photographers, particularly those just starting out.
So what happens when you start your business, you’ve calculated your cost of doing business, but people just aren’t willing to pay what you need to survive? Should you take these jobs anyway? Last week we looked at value as it relates to the photography industry. Remember, if you don’t charge enough to preserve the value of photography in general then the whole industry goes down and you go along with it. This …

“Can you talk about pricing vs. what the market will bear? For example in the “Pricing Photography” book you link to , they insist that you charge at least your daily overhead, well that’s fine, but will the client be willing to pay for that? This is especially relevant to a starting business like myself. More established photogs have higher buying power, so to speak.” - Mike C.

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This question cuts right to the chase: how can I charge enough to survive while growing a business? If I …

This video is another response to a reader question: how do I make a portfolio? This was planned as a quick video but that just didn’t do the topic justice. It was better to roll the camera just a bit longer, I thought, and here’s the result.
While the internet is primarily used for initial review of a portfolio, most commercial clients (or photographers hiring assistants) also want to see a print “book”. It’s an effective way to view a photographer’s attention to detail and presentation. I show a few examples …

At the core of the photography business, whether it’s taking photographs or running the business end of things, my job is to be a problem-solver for the client. In order for me to solve their problems I need to ask questions. In this post I’ll mention three questions I find important to ask any new client. These inquiries naturally lead to other conversation. My job is to carefully listen and interpret what the client is really asking for.
As I’ve mentioned a few times, I then write down our conversation in …

Portrait and wedding photographers usually have a price list. Want to know how much something costs? It’s there on the price list. Public relations photographers may charge by the hour. For commercial photographers it can get a bit more complicated because most every job is different. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start and what questions to ask.

Last week I referred to Blinkbid software and how it greatly aids thinking through a job. Here’s a screen capture from the soon-to-be-released new version. How ’bout those numbers?

Most of our clients …

What’s involved in delivering professional photography? There are a core group of services we provide on most every job. I thought it might be interesting to show you what services we charge for on most every commercial photography job. This is the basic “skeleton” of charges. If stylists, props, rentals, etc., are needed then that all gets added and a 10-15% markup is tacked on for handling, facilitating and carrying costs. These are the basic core group of services that our photo studio provides.

I want to say that I used …

In high school I had a great class called “consumer decisions”. In that class we learned all sorts of practical things including defining purchasing decisions as either “wants, needs or desires”. Do you want, need or desire a new camera? When is it time to actually buy?
I’ve probably mentioned before that it’s much easier for me to make a purchase decision for my business than for myself. A business purchase must go through pretty defined justifications, including (primarily) return on investment (in other words, making money). By looking at the …

Over the years I’ve heard amateur and part-time photographers refer to making “extra money” by shooting this or that. There are an increasing number of ways to earn income with photography now that digital technology has made the production and distribution of images more accessible. Whether it’s a foray into microstock or becoming a second shooter on weddings, the door has been opened to more and more people wanting to generate income with their cameras. They don’t claim to be professional photographers, either, they’re just looking to pay off …

This is the final entry in this overview section of the business of professional photography, entry number fourteen. I hope that you’ve learned something in prior entries that will compel you to keep checking back with www.prophotolife.com.
We share something in common: a love of photography. When you want to make a living with photography that means you seek to combine business and pleasure. What could be better? Or, at times, more difficult?
Early in a career, photographers are married to each image. We have a very personal relationship with what we …