Part II: The Business Aspect of Photography

JM: What do you feel that the key pieces for running a successful Photography business? How does your website play into this, if at all?
PS: There are several success factors:

Knowing your market and your customers
Identifying your goals
Learning as you go, and not repeating mistakes
Measuring your progress
Accounting for your costs and keeping them down
Creating great images
WOW packaging
Delighting your customers
Quick response, and timely deliveries
Selling, selling, selling

I have just completed an update to my web site at  HYPERLINK "http://www.PrestonSmithPhoto.com" www.PrestonSmithPhoto.com. People come to my site mostly to find out my shooting schedule. I am also active on Facebook and use it to reach out to my customers and let them know what I’m up to. Web sites are really important so that people can find me and contact me. It is also a place to show new clients examples of my work and explain what services and products I offer.

JM: What do you believe are common foibles?
PS: There are many:

Doing mediocre work, creating so-so images
Not knowing your market
Overestimating the financial potential
Not treating your business like a business
Not understanding your costs, and not counting all of your costs
Taking too long to deliver
Underestimating the effort and the financial investment that it takes to establish yourself
Not having the discipline to be your own boss, and get the work done

JM: What pieces do you feel are necessary for individuals to have before venturing into the waters for themselves?
PS: They need a solid business plan. I used to make a lot more money doing those for other people, but now I only work on my business plan and my photography business, and I love that. They have to be able to see light and to see colors. They must have the knowledge, talents, and skill set for creating images that sell. Then they have to possess the ability to sell themselves and sell their work.

During the age of film, I believed that you had to know your way around in the darkroom. In the digital age you have to master your computer, your image software, and your workflow.

JM: If you are 'business ignorant,' which I believe many photographers are, how do you go about developing a business plan? When do you go and hire a "Preston Smith" to develop your business plan?
PS: Take college level courses in Photography, get insights from your instructors. Then do an internship at a ‘real’ photographer’s business. Join the Professional Photographers Association (PPA) and use their resources to help develop a plan. Use local PPA chapters to network with other serious photographers.

JM: Also (assuming the person is competent), are they all [business plans] created equal? Do you need to see someone who specializes in your field (i.e. the arts, etc)?
PS: I think that almost any competent strategic consultant would help you do a market analysis, and then strongly discourage anyone from entering this field as a career.

To be clear about that: Barriers to entry are very low, anyone can purchase a competent camera at a low price point. So there is always the threat of new entrants and more competition. Substitutes for your work are readily available and inexpensive (clients can buy their own camera and shoot 10,000 shots until they get what they want) or call up an aunt or uncle with a camera to do the job. The level of competition is very intense – people retire and become photographers, people lose their jobs and start picking up gigs, kids start shooting just for the fun of it. Customers have enormous bargaining power due to the intense competition and availability of substitutes.

Therefore, a good consultant would likely steer you towards trying to make money off of wannabe photographers and do-it-yourself-ers; like the business models of Scott Kelby, Gary Fong, and Will Crockett.

Perhaps, a passionate and successful Photographer might be the best resource for getting good advice on how to succeed at Photography in today’s market.

JM: Do you have a health plan? (Pardon if that is REALLY basic...it is a recent obsession of mine)
PS: Yes, I am fortunate that my wife works for an employer that offers a reasonable plan under which I am covered.

JM: How do insurance issues fit into your running of your business?
PS: Having proper insurance to protect you, your business, and your family is just part of having good business discipline. You have to have it and account for it as a necessary cost. When some people start out, they price their services without rolling all of these ‘extra’ costs in. That is a mistake; it is a necessary cost especially when you work with unpredictable people and animals.

JM: In addition to health insurance and general liability for your photographic work, what other types of insurance would you consider?
PS: Equipment loss insurance. Your biggest single investment is probably in equipment, and if you travel with it then you need insurance.

It is not insurance per se, but the PPA Indemnification Trust is a great benefit of joining that organization.

If you can afford it, you should also buy a lot of Life Insurance since you are unlikely to build a big nest egg to leave your next of kin with your income as a Photographer.

JM: Have you found that the insurance companies actually stand by them?
PS: Luckily, I have not had to find out.

JM: Let's talk about contracts a bit....and let me premise that that neither you nor I are an attorney, and people who are very serious should look consult an attorney. :P Now, having said that, in what situations would you use a contract in your personal work?
PS: When people sign up for a session with me, they are signing a contract. It establishes the expectations of the shoot and defines the ownership of resulting images as well as what will be delivered and when. As a photographer you know that (in the US) you own the copyright of all your images, but it is also your duty to educate your clients about that too. I make it clear to my clients that they purchase prints of images, and I grant limited use licenses for image files, such as for non-commercial web site use. But it is clear that I retain the copyright and ownership over images that I create.

Contracts are also the backbone of the business I do with publishers and licensees.

JM: When you decided to enter the photography market professionally, how did it affect your standard of living?
PS: Most professions would have been a step down from what I used to do, photography is no different in that regard. I live a happier life, but with less money. I am also very lucky to have a wife who is supportive of my career direction and is willing to put up with my weekend travel and clients coming to my home studio.


JM: Would you share your experience with publishing?
PS: The publishing market, for me, is part of my business plan. I need to make a certain percentage of my income from publishing and licensing revenues…that is one of my targets that I use to gauge my success. Unfortunately it is a market in decline. The way that content is currently supplied to the internet is a real problem. Everyone now seems to expect to get content for free. So newspapers and magazines are suffering. As suppliers to those markets, photographers are sharing the pain.

The thing is, the internet is flooded with free or cheap, but mediocre images. That is not what I do. As the free content expands on the internet I see diminished quality in the images. So I believe there will be an emerging market for premium content, which is a market that interests me.

JM: How do you develop an emerging market for premium content when the price of images are dropping so drastically?
PS: By being patient and by building a portfolio of high quality and hard to get images. The quality of stock images is dropping almost as quickly as the prices. Also, I target a very, very narrow niche market. If a publisher needs a specific breed of cat in a certain color and pattern, I can provide it whereas not many stock sites can.

It seems to me that we are currently at a point in time where print content is not valued. Magazines and newspapers are suffering greatly as people go to their web sites for free content. But what happens when all the newspapers go away? Then there will be no more web sites, or there will be sites that charge a fee. To compare this to primetime TV, when all the content consists of reality shows and dance contests, where will people go for entertainment content? I am hoping that magazines and newspapers eventually emulate the HBO model and find a way to bring high quality content to those willing and able to pay for it.

JM: Do you have any advice about getting into the publishing market?
PS: Create eye catching, mind numbing, WOW Images. Create unique and hard to get images. If you are really good, the publishers will seek you out. Do not give away your work for the ‘honor’ of being published. If you do not put a value on your work, no one else will.

JM: What experience, if any, do you have selling stock photography, if any?
PS: I license my images directly. I do not use stock because I do not want to lose control over how my images are used. I do not allow my images to be used in ways that disrespects my clients or the animals I photograph. In general, I see stock as a commodity market that competes on the basis of price. That is just not where I want to direct my time and effort.

JM: What advice do you have for people who are trying to get into stock?
PS: Do not do it. Seriously, you could make more money picking up bottles and cans along the roads and selling them to a recycler, plus you would be helping the environment.

JM: You are not located in a typical urban landscape...yet, you have been able to make a business performing pet photography. How do you think geography has helped/hindered you in your work?
PS: Here in the Midwest, we love animals. And there are a lot of people in the middle of the country who raise purebred horses, dogs, cats, you name it. Unlike many of my competitors I drive to all the shows. I simply can’t fit my studio into two carry ons and a couple of pieces of luggage. I’m working on that though. So, distance has hindered me since it takes time and money to drive across the country. However, being in Kansas City puts a lot of the US within an 8 hour drive. I travel a lot in order to reach my customers.