My future in photography

I have been doing a lot of studying and a lot research lately. [Naturally, seeing as how I’m just starting out.] I’ve read some business books and some finance books and some books specifically targeted at kick starting a photography business. All of them, by different authors, have said that the key to getting started is to establish some well thought out and well planned goals for where you plan to be. In short, I need to write out a 5 year business plan.

 

I’ve already started doing this, and I’ve already got a good list in mind for things that I want to do in the long run. So today, I’m going to get those out on ‘paper’ so that I can see them, remember them and hopefully have a place to turn to when I knock one off the list. This isn’t a “business plan” per say. I’m not going to include all of my marketing strategies or my financial hopes and goals or anything like that. This is solely and strictly a place for all of the little things that I want to do and accomplish through  my business.

 

First and foremost, I want to achieve success in Maternity, Newborn, Children's Photography. As a mom who didn’t have maternity portraits taken [aside from the ones that I took myself to measure my belly], I know how important those pictures are and how much they mean later on down the road. I definitely want to offer those. Same with newborns. The initial photos we took of Little Man when he was born are some of my favorite. Especially since babies grow so FAST! You blink and they are walking. Those memories should be preserved and cherished. Childhood is the same way. Children do some of the funniest and silliest things. It’s not always easy to capture those moments, but if I can offer that and achieve that for parents who can’t do it themselves, then I feel like I’ve given them a little piece of their children’s childhood that they will always be able to remember and go back to.

 

I definitely want to offer Wedding photography. And I mean that to include Engagement photos, Bridal Portraits, Rehearsal Dinner, Before the Wedding, during and after the wedding. A wedding is one of the most important days of someone’s life and I want to be able to successfully and creatively tell that special story. We had a very traditional photographer at our wedding, and while the pictures turned out good, their was really no story there. I look back now and wish that we would have had that. Just to really visually recall the day for people that weren’t there.

 

I want to shoot pageant photography. As a former beauty queen myself, I remember how much fun pageant photos were to look at and how much I enjoyed seeing myself all fixed up and beautified. I would also love to get into pageant coaching and makeup lessons down the road. If we live in an area where pageants are a big deal like they are back home where we are from, this is definitely something I can see myself doing on top of photography itself. I enjoy the coaching aspect of it. I enjoy teaching young girls how to be confident in who they are and their opinions. I love seeing a girl shine on stage as she answers a question or hearing her say that she really felt like she aced her interview. People can say what they want to about pageants, but they are really a wonderful confidence builder to girls who allow it to be. The girls who seek out pageantry in hopes of getting their voice and their opinions out there are so strong and so confident. I hope to be able to offer that someday.

 

The makeup aspect, I would like to offer to keep from having a client run around. I always hated when I went to have my picture taken, knowing that I would have to get started at least 2 hours early to get hair and makeup done. If I can offer that in studio that would bring in more revenue on my behalf and cut down on traveling and time for my clients. 

 

I want to offer Holiday Cards, Birth announcements, Engagement announcements, etc. though my studio. Hopefully as part of a package deal. You have your photos taken, pick out your card, and then voila. You’ve gotten a package deal without a run around. I plan on offering Military Discounts to families. I absolutely hate going places that don’t offer military discounts. Our military men and women sacrifice so much and they deserve that extra little something. Whether it be a percentage off their final package or a photo or their choice or something like that, I will offer them. Period.

 

Eventually, I would like to do charity work. Maybe take pictures for Saint Jude or something. Give back to people. I found a website the other day where the photographer offers one photo shoot a month to a deserving family. Kind of like an “extreme makeover” type deal. People love pictures and I would love to be able to give that to someone who can’t afford it otherwise.

 

A Business major or finance guru will never like my plans, I don’t think. Because I believe that if you work with clients, you’ll get much more of a response from people. I enjoy working with people who work with me. Offering payment plans, package deals, etc. increases popularity. Especially when you are working with families who can afford it, but can’t afford it all at once. Like my family. We live on a budget, as do most people out there. We can’t just jump up and go buy $1000 worth of photos. But if we set it up in increments and payment plans, we can. I plan to offer that.

 

Customer service is a biggie for me. I also want to set up my own studio someday. I’ll most likely be working from home for a while. I just can’t see renting a studio in a place where we are only going to be there for 4 years [Military Life…gotta love it.] If we can reach the point financially where rent a little bit bigger home, I will most definitely be doing in home studio shots. I do like natural lighting and outdoor pictures the best, but lets face it, people like studio shots too.

 

Anywho. Just wanted to put these out there. Just some things that I will be working for and some ideas that I have for my future. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts. Goals, ambitions, business ideas.