81% of American adults owned a smartphone in 2019, while only 35% of the same demographic own
2011.
The widespread use of smartphones in the US has made it so nearly every American has a camera with them wherever they go. With the rising popularity of social media sites like Instagram, it is a far more common sight these days to see people taking photographs of the environment than it has been in recent years.
While cell phone photography has come a long way since the earliest flip phones, it takes more than a smartphone to start a professional photography business.
Are you interested in taking your interest in photography to the next level? Let’s take a look at all the tools you need in order to upgrade your hobby into your profession.
A Professional Camera
The most obvious tool you will need for any photo studio or photography company is a professional camera. This purchase will set you back anywhere between a few thousand dollars or $10,000 depending on which brand and model you choose.
The Right Lenses
Depending on what type of new photo studio you are starting, you will need lenses that support your niche. If you are starting a portrait or family photo studio, you will want a portrait lens.
Other types of lenses that you might find useful depending on what you are photographing are wide-angle lenses, telephoto lenses, standard lenses, fisheye lenses, macro lenses, and tilt-shift lenses.
Adobe Lightroom
One of the most essential tools you’ll need as a part of your photography business is a program such as Adobe Lightroom. This program will make it easy to cull unwanted images and spend less time in postprocessing. You can also use some presets to make it easier for you and produce real-good output.
Adobe Photoshop
You’ll likely find yourself in a situation where you need to retouch some of your images. Adobe Photoshop is probably the best program for this purpose.
InkJet Printer
While we will talk about photo printers later in the article, any business a regular inkjet printer. Even though photography is an art form, you are running a business and this means that you will need to be able to print off forms and paperwork.
Laptop or a Desktop
You’ll want to have a computer that is powerful enough to not slow you down when you are editing your images. Laptops can be great because you can bring them with you on your shoot or wherever you go. Desktop, on the other hand, are less portable but you might be able to get more bang for your buck in terms of its quality and power. You can also use something like fixthephoto to get your images edited professionally.
Drawing Tablet
Having a drawing tablet like a Wacom tablet can help you to retouch your photos perfectly and professionally. Using this tool will help to speed up your process which means you will be making more money per time.
Are you looking for more advice and information about starting a photography business? Check out the Creative Force photo studio blog.
Reflector
One of the most important factors that all photographers deal with is light. Understanding the way that light falls on a subject is a crucial aspect of becoming a professional photographer. Luckily, you can modify light with tools like a reflector.
Compact Flash Cards
Having enough memory to take all of your photographs when you’re on a shoot is absolutely essential. Keeping an extra class card around so that you never have to miss a shot is a pro move.
Card Reader
In order to get the images off of your camera, you’re going to need a card reader. This way you can upload the photos from your camera onto your computer for postprocessing.
Extra Camera Batteries
Whether you are a wedding photographer, a real estate photographer, or a landscape photographer, you never want to be caught with a dead or dying camera battery. Always carry fully charged camera batteries with you so that you are never unprepared.
Backup Software
Losing images is one of the nightmare scenarios for professional photographers. This can be disastrous for both you and your client, to make sure you have a backup software application to backup your files with.
Cloud Photo Storage
Honestly, you can’t store your photos in too many places. To avoid losing your client’s precious memories, you can also utilize cloud photo storage.
External Hard Drives
In the case that your computer is the broken link that causes you to lose access to your images, you’ll also want an external hard drive. This could absolutely save the day if your computer crashes.
Jump Drives
Jump shots are just another way that you can backup your images. Seriously, you cannot back your images up too many times.
Projector
When you are selling your services to potential client, you don’t want to cut any corners. If you’re going to be making in person sales presentations, consider purchasing a projector to ensure that you make the sale and wow your future clients.
Photo Printer
Sometimes projects call for a small photo printer. A 4 x 6 photo printer will do the trick.
Database Software
Keeping track of your clients, past clients, vendors, mistakes, and co-marketing partners in database software is essential. Creating a system where all the information you need is in one particular spot can ensure that you work as efficiently as possible all the time.
Financial Management Software
While you might consider yourself an artist, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to deal with the regular aspects of gentry associated with owning a business. Finding a financial management software that works for you and your company is important to ensure that your finances are always above board.
Branding and Marketing Plan
Unfortunately, it’s not enough to be a skilled photographer. You also need to brand and market your company so that people know who you are and want to hire you.
You’ll need to come up with a professional logo as well as a design scheme for your brand. This is how you can make yourself stand out from the competition. You’ll want to choose timeless fonts and graphics that will stand the test of time.
It’s also important to consider how you are going to market your services. Social media, content marketing, and SEO can all help to ensure that people find you when they are looking for a new photo studio.
A Website With a Portfolio
You’ll want to invest quite a bit of attention to creating your website in your portfolio. Your portfolio is how prospective clients will decide whether or not they want to hire you. You shouldn’t just rely on social media as a portfolio, as this does not make you look very professional.
You can certainly social media platforms like Instagram to help increase your reach, but you’ll want your social media profiles to link to your professional website.
It’s also important for your website to be mobile optimized, current, and relevant. You only have a couple of seconds in order to convince your audience to stay on your website. This means that you need to catch their attention right away or else they will bounce off your site.
Creating a professional-looking and high-quality portfolio is easier now than ever. There are a number of companies that offer website templates that allow you to easily make a beautiful website without much in the way of design experience.
Model Release Form
When you’re taking photos, you’ll never know which photos you might want to use later as a part of your marketing. In order to save time and hassle in the future, it is a good idea to make model release forms a typical and standard part of your practice.
Pricing Formula
While you might love photography, you’re not just doing this for the heck of it. It’s important for you to turn a profit so that you can continue to work as a photographer rather than heading back to that drab 9-5 office job.
When you start to create a pricing formula, you’ll want to keep it simple. Focus on your own income requirement and your overhead costs rather than simply copying the prices of other photographers online.
These Tools Will Help Ensure That You Have Everything You Need For Your Professional Photography Business
Setting a photography business is a wonderful way to merge your passion with your profession. It’s important that you have all of the necessary tools so that you can succeed in your chosen field.
Did you find this article on the tools you need for a photography business interesting? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more fascinating and informative content!
