How to start a photography business

Invest in photography equipment

The camera

The tool of your trade, your camera(s) is going to be one of the most expensive items in your arsenal – and it’s worth investing in a decent one. But what should you be looking for?

Any self-respecting photographer should be looking for a DSLR or mirrorless camera with at least the following specs and features:

• Sensor type – professional photographers usually opt for a full frame sensor. This gives you a large field of view and allows you to capture much more of a scene. Alternatively, a crop sensor, or APS-C sensor crops out the edges of the image, giving a more zoomed in effect, which affects the focal length of the lens used
• Megapixel count – the more megapixels, the better the resolution, and the larger the prints you can produce from your photographs. You certainly don’t want anything less than 20-megapixels. If you want images that can be blown up to any feasible commercial size then we’d recommend opting for something around or above 35-megapixels
• Shutter speed – the faster the maximum shutter speed the better the camera is at shooting moving subjects, which makes it good for sports or animals in motion. Opt for something with a shutter speed around 1/8000 seconds
• ISO range – determines how the camera performs in low light. Something in the region of 100-51,200 would give a good low-light performance
• Autofocus – the more autofocus points the sharper the detail, and the better the camera will be at capturing moving subjects. You really only need one autofocus point, yet the most high end cameras can have hundreds. More often than not, the success of the image will come down to the skill of the photographer

The above barely scratches the surface of specs that dictate the performance of your camera but, for our purposes, those are the most important.

Remember, good specs do not equal a good picture. You can’t compensate for a lack of talent with an ultra-high end camera. Learning how to use your camera properly, and learning the fundamentals of good photography are much more important.

Enoch uses two Canon 5D ‘bodies’ which he supplements with a wide range of lenses.

Cost: £1,500 – £7,000

Lenses

Start researching lenses and you’ll quickly find it’s another chance to dive into a click hole of jargon, prices, and baffling technical specs.

But what do you actually need to know?

A lens manipulates the image that’s projected onto the camera’s sensor. Most professional photographers own a selection of interchangeable camera lenses, which are designed for different functions.

The two main categories are prime and zoom lenses.

• A prime lens has one fixed focal length, making it lighter, and allowing for clear, high-quality images
• A zoom lens allows you to adjust the focal length, meaning you can easily reframe the scene without changing lenses or physically moving closer to the subject

There are also speciality lenses. E.g. macro lenses for ultra-close-up shots, and super telephoto zoom lenses for ultra-long shots.

Bear in mind that lenses from most major camera brands will only fit cameras from the same brand. However, some small, independent lenses will fit multiple brand cameras.

Likewise, lenses for DSLR cameras often won’t fit a mirrorless camera and vice versa. You can buy a lens adapter, which enables the use of some camera and len combinations from otherwise incompatible brands/camera types.

Cost: £20 – £16,500

Tripod

For such a simple bit of kit, it’s amazing how much a tripod can transform your photography. A stable camera support opens up all sorts of possibilities, including panning, long exposures, and remote shutter shots.

But which is the one for you? The decision could come down to something as simple as camera size. A heavy DSLR with a long telephoto lens will require a bulkier, sturdier tripod. For a more compact mirrorless camera, you could make do with a smaller, lighter tripod.

Check out the max load of any tripod model to check that it’s suitable for your camera, and check out the max height to check it’s suitable for you (you don’t want to give yourself a bad back bending over to see through the viewfinder!). If you’re likely to travel a lot for work, see if the folded height, and the weight, makes it feasible for you to travel with.

Tripods can range in price from £10 to hundreds of pounds, but the cheap ones are often flimsy and unsuitable for professional purposes. We’d definitely recommend spending more than £100.

One thing that can really affect the price is whether the legs are made from aluminium or carbon-fiber. Aluminium is cheaper, but weighs more. Carbon-fiber is lighter, and more shock absorbent, but can be much more expensive.

Cost: £100 – £500

Lighting

Lighting kits 

The good thing about lighting is that, unlike everything else in professional photography, it’s quite simple. You can buy comprehensive ‘kits’, which include everything you need for specific kinds of shoots.

You can buy battery-powered kits for location shooting, and mains-powered kits for the studios. There are also flash setups, and continuous LED kits. LED lighting is most suitable for video shoots or for when you want a more consistent, predictable look. They are, however, much less powerful.

And that’s about all you need to know. If you need additional lights, just buy them separately and position them appropriately.

There are extensive guides on the techniques for actually lighting a shoot, and, as any worthy photographer will tell you, good lighting is the difference between an amateur shot and a professional one.

Check out Digital Camera World’s breakdown of the best photography lighting kits here.

Cost: £150 – £2,000

External flash

Affixed to the top of your camera, an on-camera external flash is far superior to any in-built flash, and much more portable than a lighting kit. It’s an instant way to elevate images when the natural light isn’t playing ball. It can also help to achieve balanced exposures in daylight conditions, and improves shots of fast-moving subjects.

Cost: £20 – £500

Develop a photography marketing strategy

Creating your photography business website/portfolio

If you want to get noticed, you need a portfolio – a curated collection of your best work that will wow any prospective client.

Enoch says: “It is undeniably hard to stand out in a crowded market, but that’s why it’s so very important to develop your own strong visual style. You have to very quickly figure out how to market yourself – get on social media, make a good quality website and simply showcase your work as much as possible.” You can check out Enoch’s impressive portfolio here.

A physical portfolio can be a nice, tactile differentiator but, these days, most professional photographers opt for an online portfolio. And, thanks to website builders, it’s never been easier to build and manage your digital photography portfolio

For a picture-perfect photography business website, look no further than Squarespace. According to our researchers, it’s the second best website builder for small businesses, and more importantly, it’s the best for design.

So, what does Squarespace actually offer photography businesses?

When you upload a photo, you can set a focal point and Squarespace will automatically create perfectly cropped versions of your images for every device. You can then choose to showcase your work in multiple presentation formats, including full-screen slideshows, lightbox, and more.

Then, using the website builder’s numerous social integrations, you can make sure your work gets noticed by connecting with your audience across multiple platforms.

It’s no wonder some of the world’s best photographers use it. Lexis Rother, Jules Davies and Caylon Hackwith to name a few.

Find out everything you need to know about creating a portfolio here. 

Getting a photography agent

Let’s be clear: you don’t need a photography agent to be a successful photographer, but it can certainly help you clinch those higher profile jobs.

Photography agents represent photographers in client-facing discussions, and help find work in return for a fee. This includes negotiating fees, setting up shoots, and giving you career guidance.

It’s this kind of administrative support that a lot of time-poor professional photographers really value, as well as the handling of those potentially awkward business conversations that a lot of creative types are averse to.

If you do decide to work with an agent, find one that you can have a fruitful and productive relationship with. After all, it’s likely to be the closest relationship in your professional life.