I am thinking about starting my own photography 'business'..

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RedLampDistrict	I am thinking about starting my own photography 'business'..	Lead	[-]
Posts: 11081 (10/26/2009 6:41 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I currently am in a job that requires me to live in an apartment ON a college campus. I am getting my master's degree in education - mainly so I can 'move up' in student affairs and get paid better. The school is paying for my master's - otherwise there's no way in hell I'd be going to school. I am getting married next fall and really don't want my husband to have to live on campus, esp since he owns his own home. I have my bachelor's degree in photography. I LOVE taking photos, but wasn't able to find a job after college that I could work in photography professionaly while making enough to survive. I think that this summer I may quit my job (once school is out) and do some amateur photography. The girl who did our engagement photos this week is an amateur. She is a stay at home mom who books clients through her website. Then she meets them for an hour, does a shoot at the location of their choice (natural light ONLY, so no reflectors or equipment) and then edits the photos herself and puts 20-30 of the images on a CD. The client has full rights to the pics after the mails them the CD. And she only charges a $100 flat fee. I could totally do that. It would be somewhat simple, I'd LOVE it, and I could work from home (so I could have babies right away, not at a college! ) I could probably get away with charging a bit more since I have a degree in photography and am decent with photo editing. What are your thoughts? Anyone tried something similar before? I'm just worried b.c I'd be giving up on my master's... but I'm only doing the master's because it's free and a gateway to a higher-paying position. But I don't love what I'm doing, I'm just doing it b/c it's a job. Ugh, I don't know. I should also mention that if everything went downhill, we could live off of my fiance's salary if necessary. Decisions, decisions.
the lakes slave		#1	[-]
Posts: 64418 (10/26/2009 6:43 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	1) Why do you HAVE to live on-campus? 2) Post some of your pictures so we can judge if you're worth paying.
RedLampDistrict		#2	[-]
Posts: 11082 (10/26/2009 6:45 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	the lakes slave wrote: 1) Why do you HAVE to live on-campus? It's a requirement of my job. I don't have good pics on this comp, but I do have some I could scan in!
GrungeChild		#3	[-]
Posts: 18126 (10/26/2009 6:47 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	So, you're a resident director or something similar? Though I think that your friend got lucky with her jobs/clients, I'm not so sure that you would be able to have the same luck. Edited By: GrungeChild 10/26/2009 6:49 PM. Edited 1 times.
RedLampDistrict		#4	[-]
Posts: 11083 (10/26/2009 6:48 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	GrungeChild wrote: So, you're a resident director or something similar? Though I think that you're friend got lucky with her jobs, I'm not so sure that you would be able to have the same luck. Yes, but for all of the buildings rather than one.
StealthChasez		#5	[-]
Posts: 6187 (10/26/2009 7:09 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	just curious, where do you live?
blindpilot		#6	[-]
Posts: 1614 (10/26/2009 7:11 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	From what I remember of your photos, they are def. good enough to charge for. I think you SHOULD charge more than that, $100 for 20-30 images is waaaay too cheep. I actually think prices that low would put some potential customers off, because they would worry that you are cheep because you aren't as good as someone charging twice as much.
RedLampDistrict		#7	[-]
Posts: 11085 (10/26/2009 7:24 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Blindpilot - what amount are you thinking? Maybe 200?
multiplescreennamesfreak		#8	[-]
Posts: 88 (10/26/2009 8:22 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	If I was your fiance I would be PISSED that you would even consider quitting your job a few months before getting married. Especially in this economy, where people lose their jobs every day and go months, even a year or more, before finding another one. That doesn't sound like the mature thinking that a marriage requires. And how does your fiance feel about your plan? Why not start your "business" now and see how many people you get? Do it on the weekends while you are still going to school and see how people respond to your ads/marketing. If you get a good amount then maybe you have a good plan. But don't count on living off of your fiance's salary especially when you want to start having babies right away (and what's the rush anyway?) because what's to say he won't lose his job or there won't be some huge unexpected expense come up? And don't discount a master's degree, ESPECIALLY if its free. While you may not have a use for it now, it could come in handy later on AND it shows you stuck it out through hell to get that degree. Think carefully before you leap.
blindpilot		#9	[-]
Posts: 1616 (10/26/2009 8:28 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	RedLampDistrict wrote: Blindpilot - what amount are you thinking? Maybe 200? Well, its hard to say, I think it depends on what your subject is , how long you are going to be taking photos/processing images, how many images the clients expect stuff like that, how the images are to be supplied etc etc etc... plus I would add on travel expenses. You could also charge an hourly fee instead of a flat rate?
TealaB		#10	[-]
Posts: 2102 (10/26/2009 8:33 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Giving up on your Masters doesn't sound great - how much longer do you have? Could you start working on setting up the business WHILE continuing your current job? I know that you'd be crazy busy - but this sounds like the type of area where you should 'get your feet wet' a bit before totally quitting your job. It also seems like the type of job that would have you working a lot of evenings/weekends - AKA, when you aren't doing your current job.
mellei		#11	[-]
Posts: 2559 (10/26/2009 8:38 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I would start the business while keeping your job. Then you can see how everything works and if you don't like it or don't make much, you would still have a job. I know someone who still works (in the technology area) and does photography on the side.

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I am thinking about starting my own photography 'business'..

I am thinking about starting my own photography 'business'..