5 Ways to Organize your Photography Business

Like many other creative professionals, photographers often tend to be so focused on improving their craft that they neglect the business side of things.

But even though it will initially require some extra time and effort, getting properly organized will help things run more smoothly and can even allow you to spend more time doing what you really love. So with this in mind, here are a few tips for organizing your photography business more efficiently.

1. Set up a workspace

Even if most of your photo shoots will take place elsewhere, it’s important to have your own office or workspace where you can keep all your photography gear in one place, store important client and financial records, and work on your editing, marketing and bookkeeping.

Having a room or desk that you use only for your photography business will make it easier to keep track of things and can also help you shut out distractions when it’s time to work.

2. Develop your personal brand

Many beginning photographers assume that they’ll be able to make more money if they generalize and shoot everything from products to weddings to interiors. However, this isn’t usually the case.

Most clients want to visit your website and immediately be able to see what your specialty is, whether it’s nature scenes, weddings, kids, pets or editorial photography.

Of course, some types of photography such as portrait and wedding photography go hand in hand, so it makes sense to offer both of these services. But in order to build a strong personal brand, it’s usually best to choose one or two specialties and then work on building a good reputation and becoming an expert in that particular type of photography.

3. Schedule your social media posts in advance

If you’re active on social media (which you definitely should be), regularly posting updates and sharing images from recent photo shoots can eat up a lot of your time. One way to make your social media marketing more efficient is to schedule your posts in advance using apps like Buffer or PIXBUF.

This allows you to set aside just one morning or afternoon to work on your personal brand and plan out social media posts, and then schedule them to go out at the same time every day or every other day.

4. Create email templates

Rather than typing up a whole new email every time you get an inquiry about your pricing or availability, you can create a few basic email templates that can easily be customized for each client.

Having all the essential information typed up and ready to send will save you a lot of time when communicating with potential clients about your services, confirming photo shoots, or following up with clients after a photo shoot.

5. Offer printed products

If you’re currently only offering your clients digital files, a good way to increase revenue from your photo shoots and is to offer additional products such as photo prints, photo books or wall art. There are many companies that offer photo printing services and some even have their own design software which you can use to create photo books or other products.

Of course, whether or not this approach will be successful depends on the type of photography you’re involved in, as a client who has hired you to shoot their wedding or a family portrait will be much more likely to order photo prints or albums than one who has hired you for corporate event.

Do you manage your own photography business? If so, what are some of your favorite tips and tricks for getting and staying organized? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Special thanks to Tess Pajaron for this article. Tess is the Outreach Manager for Bob Books, UK’s top supplier of photographic paper books.