Photography Business: Starting Out As A Professional Photographer - The Right Way

Dec. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- Becoming a professional photographer is a very attractive proposition these days, especially with almost non-existent barriers to entry for the talented amateur lured by the prospect of making money from an activity they love so much. More and more people try to start their own photography businesses every day, often encouraged by their friends and family who tell them they take great pictures and could earn a living doing it.

"The most common question I get is how to start a photography business," says photography business coach Nigel Merrick, http://twitter.com/ZenologueBlog. "The problem is, most people don't like the answer, which is that it takes a lot of work and effort to succeed in this very competitive industry. In fact, the second anyone decides to make the move from amateur to being a professional photographer they're no longer a photographer. They're now a marketer and seller of photography, which is a big difference!"

That difference that separates the wannabe professional photographer from the true professional is thinking like a businessperson instead a photographer trying to make money through their photography.

To help with this transition, Merrick identified the "Six Pillars Of Success" that form a solid foundation on which to build a successful business.

These six pillars are:

♦ Mindset

♦ Positioning

♦ Marketing

♦ SEO

♦ Sales

♦ Client relationships

"These six areas are designed to work in harmony," explains Merrick, "putting the would-be photography professional on an upward spiral to owning a successful business. As it turns out, making a living as a professional photographer has nothing to do with the quality of the equipment, or how good the photographer is with PhotoShop, for example."

There's a great 7-part series of articles that explain these principles in a lot more detail on the Zenologue website at http://www.zenologue.com/blog/how-to-start-a-photography-...

Watch this short video, explaining the six pillars of success in more detail at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54JUeZbegaU



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About Nigel Merrick & Zenologue Photography Business and Marketing

Nigel Merrick is a professional photographer, business coach, and author of the popular Zenologue Photography Business & Marketing blog. Zenologue's mission is to help professional photographers succeed in their business through of proven marketing and SEO strategies, which is accomplished through an extensive library of articles, interviews, webinars and training programs.