Getting Started in Photography - 10 Steps to Jump-Start Your Photography Business

Getting Started in Photography - 10 Steps to Jump-Start Your Photography Business

Here are ten key steps to start and grow a profitable, debt-free photography business.

1. Practice!  Keep a camera with you all of the time.  Study other photographers and try to emulate images that you love.  Spend time learning basic and advanced image editing.  Learn your camera in and out, and practice with settings and modes that you don't normally use.  Take advantage of free and low cost photography blogs and web sites.  Consider joining PPA, WPPI, SEP or a local photography group or club.  Make a list of 50 things you want to do with your photography and try to cross of one item each week.

2. Define Your Business. Create a business name and get some cards printed up.  You can get several hundred cards for under .  Do your web research to make sure you aren't choosing a name that is already used.

3. Define Your Finances. Get a separate business checking account.  You will want to completely separate your business financial activities from your personal finances.  Get online banking so you can check your balances.  Keep a spreadsheet at home or use a program like Quicken to track and record your expenses.

4. Get online.  Hosting a website is not expensive.  You can purchase great photography web templates for under 0.  Create and feed a blog.  Get on Facebook and create a business page.  Search for and join web-based business locators like Merchant Circle and Google Local Listings.  Create coupons and special offers to draw in customers.

5. Define your target market, both geographically and demographically.  What kind of work do you want to be known for?  Seniors?  Weddings? Landscape?  What other work would you take?  Draw three columns on a sheet of paper.  In the first, note the kind of work you would love to do; in the second, what you would be OK doing, and in the third, what you would rather not do.  It will help you formulate your mission and marketing messages.

6. Set Your Prices. Define your value proposition to your customers.  You can't give work away, or undercut everyone, or you'll go out of business.  If you factor in your time and the cost of everything to keep your business running once you get established, you will understand why prints cost what they do from other professionals.  Benchmark your competition and understand their pricing and offerings.  It's better to be in their range but not highest or lowest as you are getting started.  If you price cheap, people will undervalue your contributions and as you grow it will be harder to command the prices you need to be profitable.  It's OK and expected to change pricing.

7. Spread the word.  Read "Guerilla Marketing" books by Jay Levinson, and "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin.  Blog like crazy.  Study "Search Engine Optimization" to make your web's page rank higher.  Look for ways to generate publicity.  Approach family, friends, co-workers and people in church for special "starter" sessions.  Offer your customers rewards for referrals.

8. Develop Partnerships.  Create cooperative relationships with local businesses, nonprofits, schools, churches and other organizations.  Become their "go-to" person for event photography and promotional photography.  Donate sessions, products and gift certificates to fund-raising auctions and galas.  Get to know the leaders in your community and find ways to make them successful and visible through your work.

9. Grow your business debt-free.  Create a list of the hardware, software and purchased services that you would like to have.  Price them out and rank them in order of your need.  Only buy them when your business bank account allows it.  Make sure you have reserves in the account to cover samples, upcoming fees and taxes and insurance.  If you devote a high percentage of your first few years profits into growing your business assets, you will be able to stay debt-free and keep the business growing, while still taking some profit each year.

10. Pay your Bills.  Make sure you collect and pay sales and use tax.  Retain and pay quarterly federal and state taxes if appropriate.  Have the right amount of liability insurance.  Keep good records of mileage, supplies, prints, office expenses, education, advertising and any other expense category that would count as business expenses.

What about equipment?  Of course you will need a camera and other equipment, but don't assume you need to run out and get the latest and greatest SLR and lighting systems.  Start small, with your current camera or an older model picked up off of Craigslist or other used gear source.  Add some inexpensive reflectors and/or home-grown lights to start with.  As you earn money, you can work your way through your list, and you'll appreciate every new piece of gear even more.  The same goes for software.  Free, open source image-editing software such as The GIMP is a great way to get started.  Corel's Paint Shop Pro is also excellent and very reasonably priced.  And you don't need a printer, other than to print normal business correspondence.  Hook up with a good local or national professional lab and you can get great prints and great support.  One idea I have found useful is to put your wish list on Amazon, and drop some hints around the holidays and other occasions.  Your family will appreciate knowing that what they buy you will be put to good use!

There you go!  By following these ten steps, you can take your vision of being a pro photographer and make it a reality!  What are you waiting for?

skinid neutrogena montel williams pressure cooker review bike basket wicker

Stanley PPRH5 450-Amp Professional Power Station with Built-In Air Compressor

List Price : $159.00

Sale Price : $129.95

Stanley PPRH5 450-Amp Professional Power Station with Built-In Air Compressor Overview

When you are on the move, don't be tied down to a household power outlet for your electrical power needs. The Stanley Professional Power Station combines a portable household AC power supply and DC power supply with a jump-starter and 120 PSI air-compressor. Whether you are headed to the beach, campsite, or tailgate party, you can power up and recharge your personal electronics for up to 10 hours. Charge laptops, cell phones, MP3 players, lights, radios, and more.  If you are stranded on the road with a dead car battery, you don't need another vehicle; you can jump start your battery instantly with this power station. The Stanley 120 PSI compressor fills vehicle tires, bicycle tires and sports equipment with ease. The Stanley 12V DC outlet and USB port allows the user to power or recharge many types of devices and appliances. The Stanley low-profile, anti-roll design gives it a more stable base when being transported. It won’t roll around in your trunk like other jumpers. The 3-LED area light is bright and powerful and located in the best location for use.  Never lose or confuse the charger again. This unit has a built-in AC charging cube and can be recharged with any household extension cord. The Stanley Professional Power Station helps get the job done.
RelateItems

• Kershaw Ken Onion Tactical Blur Folding Knife with Speed Safe
• AmazonBasics Portable Stereo System for MP3 Players (Black)
• Scotch Magic Tape with Black Shoe Dispenser, 3/4 x 1000 Inches, 12 Rolls (810K12C30B)
• VueZone System with 1 Indoor Camera and 1 Indoor Motion Detection Camera (SX2500)
• Fulcrum 20031-101 Motion Sensor LED Porch Light, Silver

Tommy Hilfiger Shower Curtains night vision security system outdoor speaker depot coupon

How to Make Yourself Jump Higher in Two Easy Steps

How to Make Yourself Jump Higher in Two Easy Steps

Have you ever wanted to know how to make yourself jump higher? Have you ever seen Kobe, LeBron or even someone at your school or on an outside court dunking and wondered if you could do the same? Look yourself on your own... you can't. However with the help of the little known tips in this article you can!

Tip 1 - Perform Jordan Jumps

Jordan Jumps are named after Michael Jordan who did them every other day. You want to stand with a straight back and very slightly bent knees; only bend them enough so that you don't have rigidly straight legs. Make sure that your feet are a shoulder width apart, and rest your hands on the back of your head.

You want to jump as high as you can, with your hands staying on your head. Make sure that you keep your back straight but bring your knees up as high as you can before landing and standing up into your starting position again. You want to do 15-20 of these per set and try to do 5 sets and work your way up to doing 10 sets at a time.

Tip 2 - Nutrition

This is the most overlooked and misunderstood aspect when people, especially basketball players want to learn how to make yourself jump higher, It's not a case of cutting down on food, how to stave yourself, make recipe or how diet works. Yes, if you look yourself in the mirror and you're overweight then you can jump higher if you loose some fat.

darien lake camping foam mattress camping greg lemond road bikes

How to bang alpha a gas scooter

How to bang alpha a gas scooter Video Clips.

kick starting a gas scooter

Keywords: gas, scooter, cool, kick, start, Hicksindahood

cloth diaper reviews coleman cabin tent

3 Easy Steps to Starting a Business With Practically No Overhead Costs

3 Easy Steps to Starting a Business With Practically No Overhead Costs

It has always been the American dream to start a business and have it become extremely profitable with little work. The fact is, it's not only an American dream, but actually a world wide dream. Nearly everyone wants to find some way of making money without having to deal with bosses, schedules, or having to commute to work. People want to stay in the comfort of their own home and work as little as possible to be able to live life to the fullest.

In this article, I will let you know 3 simple facts to starting a business. If you play your cards right, it is very simple to start making a lot of money with minimal work and minimal costs.

The first step is finding or making a plan. You will have a very small chance of success if you jump into starting a business without a plan. One needs to know where they are going and how to get there. The best thing to have when starting a business plan is a coach. Someone who has been down that road before and that has become successful doing it.

It may be hard to find a coach or mentor that is willing to put their time and energy into helping you. If you follow the link below you will find that I have found someone that was willing to put his time and effort into helping you out. He has spent years upon years perfecting his plan. All you need to do is carbon copy what he is doing and you are sure to succeed.

The second step is to make sure you follow through with the plan. Do not make a plan and decide to quit. A lot of people get bummed out after the initial planning and give up. A lot of those people probably could have made a lot of money, but instead they quit. It can be a variety of different reasons. Maybe a friend or family member telling you that you will not succeed or maybe you think it will cost too much money. Whatever the case may be, you need to stick to the plan and execute it.

Step three is simply keeping the ball rolling. Lot's of people start out with a great plan, continue to follow through with it, but somewhere down the line decide that they don't wish to continue. A large percentage of these people are either impatient or they want the money to fall into their lap without any work whatsoever. I'm sorry to break it to you folks, but there is no "get rich quick" scheme. There is no way of making money without any work whatsoever. BUT there is a way to make a very decent living with minimal work so that you can enjoy life instead of working through it.

braun water filter kwf2 Paraffin Wax Baths Revlon Paraffin Wax

Jump Rope to Burn Belly Fat!

Jump Rope to Burn Belly Fat!

In America, many people are struggling with their weight. In fact, recent reports suggest up to 30% of the entire adult population is in the obese category! In addition, much of that extra weight is being carried in the mid-section which is the serious pre-curser for heart attack.

Experts agree, you can lose that ugly belly fat by doing cardio workout on a regular basis. The jump rope workout routine, that is easily done in the privacy of your own home is an excellent method to amp up the calorie burn which results in weight loss and overall body tone.

Well, you might be saying -- "that's great for someone who is already fit -- I can barely jump a couple of times -- much less for several minutes!" But jump rope fitness is for everyone.

There are a couple of ways to add jump rope workouts into your routine -- even if you are starting from a low-fitness level.

Traditional jump roping routines are done with ropes with a handle on each end. The handles and the rope itself can be "weighted" to add an extra zing to the workouts. These traditional jump ropes are for people of above average fitness level and coordination levels. They also require ceilings that are high enough to accommodate the swing of the rope.

Alternative jump ropes are actually rope-less! They have the handles of normal jump ropes, but the actual rope is only a foot or so, hanging from each handle. The end of the rope is weighted to give the "feel" of the swinging rope, but your feet never even need to leave the floor with these "ropes."

The advantage of the rope-less jump rope workouts, is that anyone can do them. You modify the intensity based on your personal fitness levels. If you want to start slow and have a low impact work-out, that is easy to achieve by simulating the jumping motions.

You can work up to high impact jumping, still without having to worry about getting tangled in the rope and best of all, it can be done anywhere -- no need for high ceilings.

Just by adding some additional cardio with your jump rope workout -- you'll be on the way to melting that stubborn belly fat!

Happy Hopping!

green bullet microphone iomega 1tb screenplay plus hd media player nextbase portable dvd player

BMX - The Superman Jump

BMX - The Superman Jump

If you love showing off on your BMX and you think you are getting good enough to step up to the crazy tricks that the pros do, you will want to try the Superman no-footer. If you can land this mother and ride away with style you are going to look pretty damn cool. This is not for the beginner so make sure you can do some regular 'no footers' with confidence before you embark on this one....

Step one

To start with you are going to need to find a jump that's gonna give you plenty of hang-time, especially when your learning. A table top with a ten foot gap should be a good starter. You can progress to longer faster jump when you build up your confidence.

Step two

Approach the ramp with enough speed to get you easily across, you don't want to be half way though your superman pose and realise you're not gonna make it.

Step three

As soon as you lift off the ramp, slide your feet off two the sides. Do this gently so you don't push the bike away, if you do you wont be able to get it back in time and probably end up in a nasty tangle of limbs and bent metal.

Step four

Push the bike out in front of you smoothly, don't jerk or else you'll lose it, extend your arms into the Superman position, you should be able to get your body flat and horizontal so put your feet together and straighten your legs as if flying like a speeding bullet. The bike should be out in front and parallel with your body.

Step five

Hopefully you are at the apex of your jump about now and no further because the hardest part is still to come. Just because you got into the Superman position it won't count for much until you nail the landing. So start pulling you feet up towards the bike now...

Step six

Get back on the bike as you plummet towards the landing area; make sure you are coming in straight and level. You'll probably need to pull the back of the bike up a bit for a smooth landing

Step seven

Land it, smoothly and in control. Roll to a stop, get off and take a bow and soak up the applause.

shelf bras photos Lime Green Shower Curtains deni electric pressure cooker 9700