Im sur eits been answered a dozen times....

[Durnik20]

I am in the planning stages of putting together a photography business. I am not half assing it and understand what that means. I getting a Bachelors from a good 4 year school, building a portfolio by working with local magazines and trying to find work as an assistant. I understand the cost involved in gear, and spend hours and hours every day learning all I can.

Whats got me stymied, is that I know I will need a website, and I am debating what is the best way to do that.

I can pay much more, somewhere around 1000-2000 and get a site thats well built, and very functional, or I can save that money, and use a template web builder.

So the question is, for me, is a site that can do more (like request quotes, check if dates are available, or send me an email) really worth the extra money for a starting business, or should I go simple at the start and build a better website later.

Any advice is appreciated. (on any topic really, if theres something you learned starting this yourself feel free to share)

[veritasimagery]

You said you're getting a Bachelors degree, in what? There are a lot of great photographers that don't have college degrees. Unless, of course, it a Business Degree to help with the business side of things. But in reality, you'd be better off spending your money on an art school that allows an emphasis on photography then on a 4-year degree at a general purpose university.

As for websites go, the more professional the better. But don't forget that with a site that you run yourself there is always the maintenance aspect, and that adds into the cost. Also, the convenience of a company like Zenfolio allows you to concentrate more on the photography side of the business for a small yearly fee.

I suppose it all depends on how much you love the business of photography. Personally I love the photography side of the business, the business side is something I just deal with. And the more help I can get with the latter, allows me more time to do the former.


Kevin
Veritas Imagery NW

[candleman]

Originally Posted by Durnik20

So the question is, for me, is a site that can do more (like request quotes, check if dates are available, or send me an email) really worth the extra money for a starting business, or should I go simple at the start and build a better website later.

umm... why can't a template do all those things and more?

my Photobiz site is Flash, mirrored HTML, and iphone/ipad compatible.

there is a calendar which shows my booked dates, contact form, password-protected galleries, I can do proofing as well as get a shopping cart feature if i wanted it too.

not bad for about US$300 and $15/month hosting fee..

[Biomech]

I was pondering that recently. What's everyones thoughts on a calender that shows clients when you're free / booked? It would allow you to, essentially, quickly respond to availability requests, but there might be cases when you can get cover etc.

[bhursey]

Originally Posted by Biomech

I was pondering that recently. What's everyones thoughts on a calender that shows clients when you're free / booked? It would allow you to, essentially, quickly respond to availability requests, but there might be cases when you can get cover etc.

Nah I don't like customers knowing what im doing..

[funcrunch]

Originally Posted by Biomech

I was pondering that recently. What's everyones thoughts on a calender that shows clients when you're free / booked? It would allow you to, essentially, quickly respond to availability requests, but there might be cases when you can get cover etc.

I considered making my Google calendar public for this purpose, but have decided not to do so until I have more dates booked, which will look better :-) Also, I'd need to alter or black out a lot of the contact and location info that I put into my calendar, for client privacy reasons...

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by Biomech

I was pondering that recently. What's everyones thoughts on a calender that shows clients when you're free / booked? It would allow you to, essentially, quickly respond to availability requests, but there might be cases when you can get cover etc.

I took mine down.. it's fully booked for the remainder of 2011.

I like getting the email requests, even though I know I can't take them. Reminds me that people still want me.

[slh]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

I took mine down.. it's fully booked for the remainder of 2011.

I like getting the email requests, even though I know I can't take them. Reminds me that people still want me.

Whoa, way to go! Need any help??, jk

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by slh

Whoa, way to go! Need any help??, jk

thanks, but it was moronic to book myself like that. Live and learn I guess.

[sk66]

Whatever you do, try using some of that 4 year degree and applying some grammar and spelling.....


Sorry, it's a peeve of mine.....I don't speak "text message".