PixelatedImage Blog

Photographers, for all their professed ability to see, can sometimes be terribly myopic when it comes to business. I guess it’s a downside to be so darned artsy-fartsy right? Well nothing says “legitimate starving artist” quite like a bankruptcy, so if you’re going for that particular positioning in your marketing, you may totally ignore the following.

Five Ways To Avoid Totally Tanking, Going Bankrupt, and Becoming a Horrible Cautionary Tale For Years To Come.

1. Work on Your Craft. Constantly.
The biggest asset you have is your vision and your ability to put it within the frame, and if you aren’t constantly growing that asset by intentionally, pro-actively, working on your craft then you’re probably moving backwards relative to your competition. That’s the commercial concern. More tragic would be never evolving as an artist.

2. Get a Mentor.
Find someone who’s been where you want to be. Seek their counsel, their honest critiques, and learn from them. Paint-up, Paint-down, Daniel-san.

3. Put a Designer in Your Back Pocket.
Unless you’re good at design you should let the pros do it. Back design is bad visual communication and it will work against you in your marketing efforts. Assuming that good photographers are automatically good designers has resulted in too many bad websites and promo using comic sans font. Don’t let this happen to you.

4. Put an Accountant in Your Other Back Pocket.
If you want to be in this for the long haul you need someone who understands money to help you with taxes, savings, and the basic stuff you need to know to run a tight, clean ship with no holes.

5. Keep Your Overhead Low.
No one cares what gear you own. OK, that’s not true – lots of people care what gear you own, but they’re the creepy people who also hope you care about what kind of gear they own. If you buy your gear to appease them or to make yourself feel you’re the kind of photographer you wish you were, you’re leaking money. If you’re going to use that new tilt/shift lens a couple times a year, rent it. If you only need lighting for occasional paid location work, rent it and build it into your pricing. Purchased gear needs to be stored, fixed, insured, and eventually replaced and unless it earns you consistent solid money, you don’t need to own it. Let the rental houses take this one for the team. Stay lean, put your money where it will earn you something: in savings, an RRSP, or the designer and marketing coach you can now afford.

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While we’re on the subject of business, check out David Ziser’s post about quoting on large jobs – the advice is sound for all quoting.