Starting a business is a struggle, as well as keeping it successful. When you’re just starting out as a professional photographer, you’ll face a lot of challenges and might make some mistakes that will cost you the business. In this video, Chelsea Nicole talks about three common mistakes that could potentially ruin your business. If you’re just starting out, pay attention not to make these if you want to start and run a successful business as a photographer.
1. Reactive instead of proactive
When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to find excuses for not getting the jobs you really want. But, you should change your approach and be more proactive about finding the clients you want. You should get more involved in styling the shoots, scouting locations and choosing the right times of day for particular shoots.
Ask yourself: what are the goals of my photography? And then think about how you can make this a reality. This will give you more control over creating your work and help you achieve just what you want.
2. Not having backups
One of the things to take into account at the very beginning of your career is developing your backup strategy. And keep in mind that this refers to different aspects of your business. You need a backup camera body, to begin with. Chelsea says that it once happened that her main camera body stopped working – imagine how bad it would have been if she hadn’t had the backup.
Next, have spare lenses and a spare speedlight. You never know when something might stop working, or one of your lenses might get damaged. Also, make sure to have extra batteries and extra memory cards to be sure all the moments will be captured and saved.
3. Getting held back by perfection
Even if you’re already experienced, it will happen that you look at someone else’s work and think how much they’re better than you. I think it’s a good thing if it makes you push forward and work on your skills. But when you’re just starting out, all those gorgeous shots from other photographers might get you discouraged and make you give up.
If this happens, you have to remember that everyone had their beginnings and no one was perfect from the start. Don’t play the comparison game, but get inspired by those who are better than you. “Shoot for excellence, rather than perfectionism,” as Chelsea puts it.
[BEGINNER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES that could ruin your business via FStoppers]
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