Business Degree

[Mom and Coastie Wife]

Hey all!

I have been stalking this site for a short time, trying to learn what I can about becoming a professional photographer. I hope to have my own photography business in the future but I want to make sure I go about this in the correct way! I am by far a very amatuer photographer who is still shooting in full auto! This is something I am trying to work on learning the ins and outs of my camera and all about photography ie aperture, shutter speed, etc. I also know from reading on here that pretty much everyone says you not only need to know the photography side of your business but you really need to know the business side of it and how to run a business and market it! I have looked into business classes here but as many classes as I want to take plus the prereqs that I would have to take I am seriously thinking of getting a degree in business.

I guess I am wanting to know if there is anyone out there who has a degree in business who has there own photography business? If you do or don't I would love to get your input on what I should do and how I should go about doing it! I am a military wife and in a very remote area on an island in Alaska, so my options are pretty much limited to online colleges. I know that I qualify for the max amount of grants but don't know where I go from there!

[Dodge]

Well, i'm not a pro photographer by any means, but I've crashed and burned a couple of my own businesses in my time.

My best advice really is that you need to know and understand your product (in this case photography) inside out, backwards and forwards and upside down before you should even think about going into business.

Now, ok, I may be a very slow learner, but I've had my dSLR for a year now and honestly, I still don't know jack about photography. I've read lots, asked lots of questions and of course taken lots of pics (some pretty good ones, well I like them, but those have been more by sheer luck than any kind of judgement or skill). I was asked in the street by a neighbor to shoot her daughters wedding, even offering me up to £1000 to do it, as their photographer had let them down. I refused point blank because if nothing else, I have learned just how difficult it is taking high quality pics, let alone high quality pics on demand. And if you get it wrong, you screwed up the most important day of someones life. Not a nice position to put yourself in.

I would suggest that you really need to be as proficient and natural and at ease with your camera as you are behind the wheel of your car before even thinking about going into business with it.

Another thing to consider is your target market. With cameras now being so commonplace and easy to use compared to the old days of film photography, more and more folks take their own pics or 'know a friend' with a camera. Journo photography I'd hazard a guess that you need work based or college based experience for and to sell stock photography you need to really stand out from the crowd to sell over others in the same marketplace, pushing images of things that have already been photographed a gazillion times in every way imaginable.

Sorry if I am throwing water on your camp fire, but especially living in such a remote area, where will your business come from? If you eventually move, you will find yourself competing with already established and experienced photographers etc.

Just my 10 cents though. I'm not trying to be smart or mean, just honest and realistic. So many guys pass through here asking a similar question and are never seen again.

All that said though, don't be put off if its what you really want to do. But just don't try to run before you can walk. I'd expect to spend at least 3+ years, heck maybe more, I dunno, learning to be a photographer, gaining work based experience on the way, before even thinking of starting a business with it. A business degree can never do any harm in the meantime, whatever the future holds, be it photography or something else. Remember, though, if earning a living at photography was readily viable, almost everyone here would be or have been doing it already and most aren't, which tells you more about how difficult it is than anything else.

Best Regards,
Rog'.

[Mom and Coastie Wife]

Rog,
Thanks for your input! I totally understand what your saying. Maybe I should have been more specific though about when I say future I mean 5-7 years in the future! I really want to take some photography classes and read tons of books/forums and get out and learn by experience all about my camera and the reasons behind what I am doing. I would like to spend 1-2 years out of the 5-7 years just to work out my business plan and however long it takes for me to learn about business. I plan on shooting as much as possible over then next 5-7 years and learn as much as possible. We will be moving in 2 years back to civilization where I will hopefully continue to build my portfolio. In the meantime being here I have had several of my friends (other Coastie Wives) offer to let me "practice" with their families. I also very lucky to live in a remote area here as I have a ton of wildlife and scenery that I can shoot, not to mentions all of the opportunities to shoot the Coast Guard in action! Have no fear of throwing water on my fire, thats why I came here to ask! I love the real life answers of reality! Thank you for replying!

[Raoul Isidro]

A general background of small business practice relevant to your area will be a great asset of knowledge. There are night courses that you could go to, perhaps.
Does your expensive full frame DSLR count as a tax deduction? Will it have to be straightline depreciation or staggered? It helps to know these things when starting out a business venture, not only in photography,but other small business.
The breaks and opportunities come with your quality of contacts and exposure. It would blossom from there, word of mouth or by advertisement backed with great testimonies.
Good cheers and best to all.

[Jim Bryant]

These help also. Best business practices is a great book. Most of the legal forms can be downloaded from ASMP.org. But I have those forms in the book as well. Good info there. Photographers market place is always a good reference as to where to sell photos.

[Dodge]

Originally Posted by Mom and Coastie Wife

Rog,
Thanks for your input! I totally understand what your saying. Maybe I should have been more specific though about when I say future I mean 5-7 years in the future! I really want to take some photography classes and read tons of books/forums and get out and learn by experience all about my camera and the reasons behind what I am doing. I would like to spend 1-2 years out of the 5-7 years just to work out my business plan and however long it takes for me to learn about business. I plan on shooting as much as possible over then next 5-7 years and learn as much as possible. We will be moving in 2 years back to civilization where I will hopefully continue to build my portfolio. In the meantime being here I have had several of my friends (other Coastie Wives) offer to let me "practice" with their families. I also very lucky to live in a remote area here as I have a ton of wildlife and scenery that I can shoot, not to mentions all of the opportunities to shoot the Coast Guard in action! Have no fear of throwing water on my fire, thats why I came here to ask! I love the real life answers of reality! Thank you for replying!

Ohh, my apologies, the original post came accross differently. I see now that it's a bit more clear that you have a realistic plan, some of our more experienced guys are joining in ............ well, I started the ball rolling if nothing else lol. Kudos to you for looking at it as a time investment and not a fast buck, and the very best of British to you ! Hopefully you'll share your photographic journey with us on here too and have some fun along the way. (The fun part is vital to stay youthful and enthusiastic ........Just look at Jim's Avatar Pic above, he's actually a hundred and seven, hard to believe, I know.)

[Swisstony10]

Originally Posted by Dodge

Just look at Jim's Avatar Pic above, he's actually a hundred and seven, hard to believe, I know.

That's very hard to believe - he doesn't look a day over 94...

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Sorry Jim! You know we love you really!

I have an MBA but am not a full-time pro. I've crunched the numbers and figured out that I can't make nearly as much as I do now as a professional photographer, so now it's just a side biz.

A few good things to learn about in business school is marketting and general accounting. Marketting will help you understand your customers and their expectations and create your products based on their needs and filling an hole in the market. Then you can smile at all the posts complaining about craigslist photographers and how you need to "educate your customers"...

Accounting classes will give you the general feel of how some business investments pay off, and whether something is worth investing in. This not only includes tangible items like camera equipment, but marketting as well (ads, web stuff, etc.).

Do you need a degree to learn all this? No, but it helps. If I had to pay the tution ($25,000), I would've said "My business classes taught me that the investment in business classes was not a smart investment". But since my company paid for it all...