Expenses

 

Expenses as photographer is inevitable – even top photographer professional consider on how they can save money on production costs to maximize the revenue. Finances are very important to all individuals especially when you are a freelance photographer – because be honest, there are no definite amount of money that will come on your bank account, so maximizing the use of your finances can be a big help for you to pursue the business that is out of your passion.

You as freelance photographer should know the things that can cause you a lot. You have to know the difference between fixed expenses and variable expenses. To give you a quick background, fixed expenses are the cost that you will incur regardless of how many photo shoots you conduct – on the other variable expenses are the cost of doing business that will vary depending on how much work you go throughout the year.

Here are helpful ways on how you can maximize your expenses.

• Rent – do not buy – certain equipment

It is for sure that things like camera, basic lenses, flash are the things you want to own/ but studio lighting is an equipment and other equipment can often be rented in a cost – effective way. Do you know that top photographer also rent equipment like that – well the benefit of renting outweigh the cost of buying, storing and maintaining and insuring equipment that could be technically outdated in just a few years.

• Share: Equipment and studio costs

As freelance photographer for sure you have friends who would want the idea of sharing payments with equipment and studio cost, that way you can lower down the expense of renting for equipment and studio costs.

• Shoot multiple scenes

When you are still creating your entire portfolio and you’ve asked for a model – you have to maximize the payment you have made with your model. Shoot different angles, facial expressions, orientations, clothing and scenarios in a singe shoot.

• Shoot videos and stills at the same time

More and more cameras have a high definition capability. High definition video is an increasingly popular in the stock market and videos are often licensed at a higher price. Increase your earning by creating both during the same shoot.

• Try before you buy

All photography software can be very expensive. Good thing there are companies who offer thirty days (30) free trial on their software. That way you can check whether that particular software is best for you.

 

You as a freelance photographer who constantly hustling to find new clients and make connections the only logical place for you is to live in a big city where you can meet new people and create new connections. Big cities are where all ad agencies are located and brand headquarters are, so this is where the most creative people are living and the network is huge and will definitely takes place.

As a freelance photographer you constantly travel to meet new clients and create your work. These two aspects of your work tent to conflict the high cost of living in a city and the numerous costs of travel do not exactly lend well to a freelance income.

Here are few tips on how you can lessen your expenses.

• Join a points program

Whether you are flying anywhere in the world to create your name or just snapping out of photos for your yearly vacation – it is a fact that traveling is expensive and points add up. You have to do some research into what point cards are best for you. There are some cards that will give you a great return on flight deal and upgrades while others can give you free stay on the hotels.

• Create social content for big brands

It is an easy way to cut down on some upfront expenses for travel is to reach out to brands and companies and get free stuff in return for a content you have made for them. The content you produce can come in the form of photos and videos that the brand can post on their social accounts or fi you have large social followers then you can offer to post photos of their product on your personal social media platforms. As a photographer you have what it takes for everyone to like your content, because you have the ability to create one.

• Use Strabucks wifi

If you need wifi connection on your trip for uploading video content, or photo work or anything that you want to put you need to look for Starbucks or other café where you can connect to their wifi to upload those contents.

• Sell every photo you’ve taken as stock photography

Once you get back from your travels and you have thousand of photos available from your trip, put any images you don’t sell to brands on a stock photo site.

 

Your passion or hobby can be transformed as a business – that is the good thing about how passionate you are with the hobby that you have, because you can enhance it anytime you like, you can start a business out of it. Looking to put up a business out of photography? These days, there won’t be a shortage of platforms where you can sell your photos. However there are some equipment you need to be able to start your photography business. In starting it, you are required to have a wide set of skills and talent to make it work.

List of equipment you need to be able to start your photography business.

• A good camera

If you are considering making money out of your passion, you might want to consider upgrading the camera you have. There are plenty of options to consider. Some work well in certain situations than others so you want to allot time doing a lot of research on what models will work best for you.

• Tripod

This is an essential piece of equipment since it can help you keep your camera steady and allow you to take as many pictures as you want of each subject without moving around the camera.

• Camera bag

If you are the kind of person who transport from any points of the city, you need to make sure that your camera is protected. So you must invest in a good camera bag that you can use to keep your camera from getting broken or damaged.

• Lighting

This is an essential element of any good photograph – and while natural light is fine and preferred, you’ll also likely to want to invest in some studio lighting.

• Lenses

There are plenty of choices you can use to get different types of images on your camera. So it can be a good idea to invest in some different lenses to improve the quality of your photos.

• Backdrops

Depending on the types of photos you plan to shoot, you might find it necessary to purchase or create some backdrops that you can use for studio or portrait photographs.

• Props

It can also be a good idea to invest in some props where you can use on different photo shoot you will be having.

• Studio space

You might realize that this is also necessary to rent or purchase some studio space for your photography business, especially if you plan on having clients travel to you for your photos .