A project dedicated to starting a photography business from scratch.
Project Purpose
One year ago for my birthday I asked for a camera. I have always had a passion for capturing moments and I had a film camera that I loved. However, I never used a real camera before. I was hoping that getting a camera would help me get better at photography and that it would turn into a photography business one day. That day did not come until 8 months later when I finally decided to start using my camera and start a photography business.
There were a few things I wanted to accomplish when starting a business. The first thing was to get better behind the camera. I wanted to learn how to pose people, how to manage the settings, and how to take the best photos. I also wanted to learn how to manage a social media account. I wanted to gain followers and know how to best promote my business. I also wanted to learn how to use Lightroom to edit all my photos.
Project Samples
The first image is a picture of a flyer that I printed and hung around my apartment complex. I was able to get 15 followers from the flyer and 2 photoshoots.
The second image is what my Instagram page currently looks like. I have had four scheduled shoots since starting my account and I have two more scheduled in the next week.
Challenges
The biggest problem that I encountered was getting people that would be willing to let me take their photos. Since I am a beginner and I am trying to learn, a lot of people did not want me to take their photos because the quality may not be as good as an experienced photographer. Another part of that was followers. I expected to get more followers in the beginning than I actually did.
Another problem that I encountered was the editing process. I had never realized how much goes into editing the photos. It was really stressful because I wanted to make sure I created an amazing picture but it was hard to navigate Lightroom and figure out my editing style. Along with that, it was hard to find a platform to upload the pictures to so that I could send them to my clients.
Project Process
Each week looked a little bit different on what I would do. Some weeks when I had photoshoots I spent most my time taking the photos and editing the photos. Some weeks I would spend time learning how to use my camera better and get more comfortable behind the camera. I aimed to spend roughly 5 hours a week on my new photography business.
Overall, this is what the process looked like from start to finish.
- Created an Instagram account
- Created a flyer to hang around my apartment complex
- Watched video’s on how to take and edit photos
- Get people scheduled to take their photos
- Take and edit photos
- Post the photos on Instagram after looking up what hashtags to use
- Continue to gain new clients and post the photos on my photography account
An overview of my experiences
This experience was a very humbling experience. It was hard for me to put myself out there and offer a service that I am not super talented at yet. But I have learned how much I love photography. I love that I am able to talk to new people and hear about their life stories. I love that I get to capture special moments in peoples lives. I love that I get to challenge myself and push myself to grow and try new things.
Overall, this has been an amazing and rewarding experience. It is a new hobby that I hope one day will turn into a business and something that will make me money.
Takeaways and Insights
My biggest take-aways and insights were:
- Being able to capture peoples special moments makes me happy and is something I want to continue to do
- Knowing how to be confident behind the camera will greatly impact the success of my photography business
- Knowing how to use social media has helped me promote my business and will help me continue to do that
I am so excited to continue this journey and I truly hope that one day it will turn into a successful business.