rick_armstrong1

<p>Allison, I don't have any links handy, but if you haven't used studio equipment before, I would recommend looking up some free online tutorials on the subject. I did it the other way around, bought equipment and then learned how to use it. Had I known some of the finer points of studio lighting, I might have made different purchases.</p>

<p>Aimee, actually a new owner has some benefits to buying a business with someone else's name on it. 30 years ago my brother Bill bought a place called Bob's Bicycle shop. I worked there for a time and on occasion people would come in wanting a better deal or faster service because "they had known BOB for years." That told me right there that if they had known my brother, they didn't know him well enough to know his name.<br>

If you name your company after yourself and you sell it, you're pretty much putting control of your reputation into the hands of another.</p>

<p>Adam, your statement about a ban on tripods reminded me of our family vacation a couple years ago. We got into DC earlier than expected (3 am.) We had plans for some night shots and decided since the weather forecast was poor for the next night, we would get some shots right then. Our last stop as the sun was rising was the Jefferson Memorial. By that time, the park rangers were on duty and I was informed that tripods weren't allowed. At that moment I thought: DARN! If someone has just told me that sooner I wouldn't have broken the rules at all those other memorials.</p>

<p>Hey Bruce, I'm in the same boat as you. I think to make any kind of money selling photography as art, you have to be even better at marketing than you are at photography. How are you at sports photography? If you have a long lens, good reflexes, and can talk to strangers it might suit you. If you don't have any experience with sports photography, see if any of your friends have kids that are into youth sports. You could practice on them to see if its for you. You might also pick up some paying customers along the way.<br>

That's my next project in an attempt to turn my long term hobby into a paying gig. Parents are suckers for pictures of their kids (I know, I'm a parent.) I don't stand a chance at getting the contract at team photos just yet, so I'm going for action shots. My wife and I have made up flyers and plan on hitting some youth soccer games this weekend. We plan to circulate among the parents before the game and offer action shots. We'll take down names, phone numbers, and email addresses of parents that are interested and then concentrate on getting as many shots as possible of those kids. The plan is to send proofs by email to the parents within 48 hours along with paypal links for ordering.<br>

BTW, 2 reasons I am involving my wife. 1) I really need an assistant and my wife knows a good bit about photography. And 2) I'm hoping that will help put people at ease about a stranger photographing their kids. There are a lot of freaks out there and I want to do all I can to keep people from thinking I might be one of them.</p>

<p>I have 2 cents to put in (and you can probably give me change back LOL) First the short story of my background. Like the OP, I am just now taking the plunge of seriously working photography as a sideline. Its been a hobby for about 30 years. My first step was to check out local pricing to see what the market would bear. With that knowledge, I then worked towards finding a way to bring in my product near that price. </p>

Dawn, you have gotten some good advice here on the technical aspects. Something that hasn't been mentioned is that the photographer sometimes (often/usually) has to "take charge," especially when rounding up people for large group shots. It can be a chore to assemble an entire family in a party situation. Since they are family maybe the will be cooperative and maybe they won't. It can be helpful to send someone to find missing family members while you stand guard over the ones that you have already rounded up, lest some of them wander away.

 

On the subject of the group photos, let me pass on a tip I got years ago. Start with the entire family, then start pulling people out as you are done with them. Keep doing that until you end up with just the bride and groom and parents. That won't cover ALL the shots you will want, but it makes for a smooth workflow for most of them.

People have mentioned keeping the battery or batteries in your pocket to keep the warm. Its a very good tip but I would like to add an addendum. Don't put batteries in a pocket with a lot of change or other metal objects. I had one short out against a pocket full of change and didn't know it until I felt it get really hot against my leg.