Photography is my passion and what I love to do. Capturing priceless moments is something I take very seriously. However, even though photography is another source of income alongside my full-time day job, I supplement my annual earnings with other photography services. Whether your photography business is geared more toward commercial or consumer audiences, it's a good idea to consider offering additional services.
If you are considering photography as a full-time business, diversification of services is a must. While doing sessions or mini sessions may not bring in a lot of money at one time, sessions are easier to book and provide you with the flexibility to book a half or full day of shooting with multiple clients. This helps to get your name out there and also supplies the opportunity to market your other services to potential clients who could refer you to friends and family. I would suggest adding a few types of sessions or photo shoots to your list of services, such as family, newborn, modeling, portraiture, and boudoir.
This doesn't mean you need to offer everything but the kitchen sink, but diversity is what will help you remain profitable beyond peak wedding season. It makes perfect sense that having a wider range of services will attract more potential clients.
While many photographers may not have the capacity to support videography, it is worth consideration. There are many reasons why certain photographers choose not to include it, but videography is something that can bring you a lot of additional business. Many clients like the one-stop shop experience and knowing that they are getting a team of individuals, hand-selected by you, who are capable of capturing, illustrating, reproducing, and preserving their finest moments without having to hire multiple individuals or companies separately. When I began taking photography seriously, I decided to add videography to my portfolio.
Of course, you should test the waters. Not every experience when offering a new product or service will go smoothly. You may bump into some difficulties, but don't let them discourage you.
One of the first issues I encountered happened pretty soon after I started doing weddings and offering both services at once. I realized that I hadn't planned sufficiently to add such a time-consuming and important element to my packages. First, I didn't have a large enough team to support the requests for the services I wanted to offer. I needed to have someone who was able to troubleshoot the entire operation during the day, and I wanted to find someone with the technological knowledge of gear or someone who could be taught quickly. I also made the mistake of not investing heavily in professional equipment and relying on consumer-grade equipment instead. I know, I know – shame on me. I've spent chapters and chapters in this book preaching the value of investing in the right equipment. Honestly, I selfishly invested more into the photography aspect of my business because it was a bigger passion and had proven to be so significant. Because of this, I didn't give the videography services a fair chance at first, and I lost a few larger contracts. Just like anything else in life and business, if you're going to try something new, you need to plan it out and set it up for success. I soon realized that my videography services wouldn't be able to compete with larger firms using the right equipment.
Proper videography equipment is very expensive. Stabilizers, video tripods, and camera jibs are just a few of the items that can transform a video from ordinary and lackluster to amazing. Many photographers use their DSLR cameras to shoot high-definition video and, while the quality of the video is more than adequate, the controls of the DSLR are less than ideal for videography. This doesn't mean you can't shoot video with a DSLR but, to get great control of the camera, you'll have to put additional rigs on the camera itself.
After testing DSLRs in a wedding environment, I realized that these systems have limitations. For example, most DSLRs can only record in 20-30 minute increments, which is less than ideal for most weddings. You can overcome this by connecting a clean HDMI ‘out' signal to a Ninja box or an external recorder, but this means you'll have additional equipment to haul around. Using zooms and controls on the DSLR can be harsh or jarring when using certain lenses, unless you use follow focus systems. A follow focus system is called racking focus or pulling focus. It has gears and other parts that work together to help you focus more precisely. The primary function is to follow the subject and keep precise focus. While focusing can be done without this system, it’s not as smooth and cinematic as many professionals would like. Because of these issues, I decided to invest in a camcorder system with interchangeable lenses. I prefer the traditional form factor of a camcorder for my video needs.
That said, I decided to invest in the Sony E-Mount camera system. Sony was attractive to me since Nikon uses their sensors. Using a larger APS-C sensor afforded me depth of field with DSLRs, and also the form factor that I have come to love using camcorder-style equipment. After investing in many cameras, accessories, and other equipment, I soon realized that great videography requires much more gear (and bags) to get the job done right.
Shooting video well is just a small piece of choosing to offer videography – you also need to understand how to edit with precision, or hire a professional who does. If you were unfamiliar with any aspect of recording or editing video, it would be wise to team up with an experienced vendor who has these capabilities. You would offer that vendor a percentage of one of your packages and you would take a booking fee. Teaming up with another professional can also help you generate more business if they agree to share their network with you. It goes without saying that it would be ideal to search for videographers whose businesses revolve solely around video and who don't also offer competing photography services. Working with like-minded professionals can push your business faster, since many are usually willing to share work with other providers like yourself.
Photo booths are a fun pastime that was formerly only available at theme parks. Thanks to advancements in technology, photography professionals have been able to purchase photo booths for their own businesses and profit from letting customers rent them. Photo booths are an attraction that is becoming more popular with couples, corporations, families, and nonprofits. There are two basic versions to choose from - an enclosed booth and an open-air booth.
Enclosed photo booths are smaller areas where people will sit inside and take a series of photos. There are usually controls with either buttons or a large, colorful LCD screen. I decided against this type of package due to the bulkiness of the design and limitations for group shots. Besides the larger amount of parts required to assemble the booths, I personally wasn't as attracted to the style, setup time and overall look of enclosed booths.
Open-air photo booth systems are becoming more and more popular. I found an all-in-one photo booth system that is much easier to setup and maintain during an event. Having the open-air concept is also a selling point, since there aren't really limitations on how many people can be in one shot. The company I chose uses only studio-quality lighting and high-end electronics to get the job done, all wrapped up in a very elegant package. Along with the booth, we employ a fast and affordable printing system. Dye sublimation (dye sub) printers are specifically designed for this speed and quality. Unlike ink jet/laser printers, they do not rely on ink or toner. They use a color ribbon that contains cyan, yellow and magenta. It's not a CMYK printer, since its missing black, but it combines those three colors to mimic black tones. Dye sub printers can normally produce a 4x6” print in about eight seconds.
There are many types of photo booths out there, so finding one that suits your needs and style might take some research. Each photo booth manufacturer usually offers something different or unique, which can be a selling point and project your photo booth as a viable option within your portfolio.
Another suggestion: Create a separate brand to advertise your photo booth company so that it can act independently from your wedding photography business. It helps keep separate the more formal aspect of weddings and allows you to design a more playful website oriented around the novelty and whimsy of your photo booth system. Discounts are something that I do occasionally, if they book certain services together, just be careful on becoming too dependent on providing such discounts all the time. You should always value yourself as a creative professional and charge what you are worth. If you decide to offer discounts, the goal of those incentives are to motivate clients to book you for multiple services which can lead to a larger profit margin. Never discount a single service just to get a job, always value yourself as a professional that deserves to get paid the appropriate amount.
One piece of advice: Never limit yourself or doubt your abilities. Because photography encompasses many different avenues, there is so much you can do with it. I started off with wedding photography because of the positive cash flow it brings to the table. That being said, wedding season isn't an all-year-round business. Spring and fall are where you're likely to make most of your money for the year. While it's not impossible to book winter and summer weddings, they usually just aren't as popular. Consider offering family, baby, maternity, or boudoir sessions on the side. These small one- to two-hour sessions can provide the extra amount of income to get you by during the slower months.
Real estate photography requires a different perspective on shooting architecture. It's a niche service that isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if you have the patience, technique and editing skills, you may be able to venture into this particular field of photography.
In real estate photography, the interior photos are typically shot with an ultra-wide-angle lens to give a sense of the room being larger. This alone requires an expensive specialty lens. Besides having the right lens and body, lighting is very important. High dynamic range (HDR) images are not preferred, as this leads to a photo looking rather unrealistic or having a rendered quality to it. I prefer shooting on a tripod while an assistant uses a wireless strobe to illuminate different areas of the room as I take multiple shots. This lighting control allows me to highlight areas of interest in the photo and also illustrate a very dynamic scene once the images are compiled into one photo.
It may be more work, but the results are worth every minute you spend. If you do it right and effectively market the service to real estate brokers, you could end up building another avenue that keeps you busy while the wedding season is slow.
When shooting real estate photos, make sure you have a strong and sturdy tripod. You'll either be taking longer exposures at night, or during the day you'll be taking multiple photos and compiling them. The last thing you want is for a photo to be blurry because of a wobbly tripod. As with anything else, buy quality equipment and you'll be rewarded with quality results.
Regardless of what type of photography you concentrate on, being flexible with the type of photography you are willing to do will set you up for greater chances of success. It's not to say that one day you can just shoot what you like, and make a living do so, but in the beginning, you may have to shoot various types of gigs to at least make a living comfortably. If you love photography, all of these examples will come naturally to you.
