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| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"photography",<br>"author":"winstonwolfe",<br>"permlink":"so-you-wanna-start-a-photography-business",<br>"title":"So you wanna start a photography business...",<br>"body":"# <center>Friends who already know they are<\/center><center>getting a DSLR for Christmas...<\/center>\n\n<center>http:\/\/ipeedalittle.com\/listenup\/images\/logo.png<\/center>\n\nIf your ultimate plan is to start up a photography business of your own,<br> even if only part time,<br> I have some advice for you that is 7 years in the making.\n\n---\n---\n\n# <center>DO NOT START YOUR BUSINESS<\/center><center>AS A SHOOT & BURN PHOTOGRAPHER.<\/center>\n<p><\/p>\n\n<center>![ (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmXBwdZtsmLV2Sq7aaRhEUGVborHS6h2aF8G3HFxewLyQ1\/image.png)<\/center><center><sup>[Image Source (https:\/\/www.ophtek.com\/burn-disc-image-infrarecorder\/)<\/sup><\/center>\n\n---\n---\n\n### What is a shoot & burn photographer?\n\n- One who is hired,<br> shoots a session,<br> edits up the images,<br> and hands the digital files over on a USB,<br> disc,<br> or for download for the customer to do as they please.\n\nRight now,<br> there are readers thinking,<br> *\u201cWait. Isnt that the best deal? I\u2019ve always been told I need to look for photographer who will give me the digitals and a print release. Isn\u2019t that exactly what you do?\u201d*\n\nShort answers: No,<br> it is absolutely not the best deal. Yes,<br> you\u2019ve been misinformed (sorry to be the bearer of bad news). And,<br> until recently,<br> we have been a hybrid of print and digital.\n\nI don\u2019t know who started the lie that digital files were the best way to go,<br> but I totally bought into it,<br> too,<br> and that was how I first started my business. PLEASE,<br> learn from my mistake.\n\nOver the last 15+ years from the transition from film to digital cameras,<br> everyone has started realizing something - \u201cshoot & burn\u201d is a giant waste of money and time for both the client and photographer!!\n\n### Why??\n\n- The customer goes through all the trouble of planning and paying for a family photo session - the session fee,<br> buying new outfits,<br> online prints,<br> shipping,<br> etc. - only to watch the final products fade,<br> warp,<br> peel,<br> and fall apart within just a few years. USB drives sit in a box,<br> forgotten. Digital rot (or \"bitrot\") will eventually claim the images and they will be gone forever. When was the last time you even viewed something on CD? Computers are made without CD drives now,<br> and even if they were,<br> the discs they get burned to are rated to last - *if you're lucky* - only a decade or so before completely deteriorating and flaking apart to an unreadable state. \n\n<center>![ (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmTKUJzrm76PpXy2MmkPPQ2jRUDq3fifwCzNgxBrWPDHMY\/image.png)<\/center><center><sup>[Image Source (https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/322676\/why-can-i-only-burn-80-minutes-of-music-to-a-cd-if-my-mp3s-take-up-less-than-700mb-of-space\/)<\/sup><\/center>\n\n- Pro photographers have access to archival materials for printing that our customers can\u2019t buy on their own. These are inks and papers and canvases that are meant to last hundreds of years! You just won\u2019t find that on Shutterfly or Mpix. I swear it\u2019s called Walgreen\u2019s because you\u2019re going to have nothing but GREEN on your wall! Only a pro photographer can guarantee that their prints will match the digital image in vibrance,<br> tone,<br> contrast,<br> and sharpness. (Again,<br> because we have access to better quality materials that everyday people don\u2019t.) When your customer takes their digital to a lab and it comes back pixelated or off in color,<br> they sometimes blame the photographer for a bad file or a bad photo. There goes repeat business out the door because you didn\u2019t keep control of your final product.\n\n<center>![ (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmcj9WRSSYdyL3b2KcDCa39nwwJBdyxtdu5ZrDXfF8co2r\/image.png)<\/center><center><sup>[Image Source (https:\/\/tinytoesportraits.com\/where-should-i-print-my-pictures\/)<\/sup><\/center>\n\n- You cannot build a sustainable business by running $50 mini sessions with all the digital images and printing release included. You just can\u2019t. You will try,<br> you will run yourself into the ground,<br> you will cry yourself to sleep at night,<br> and then you will either change your business model (which is extra hard to do if you\u2019re already known as the $50 mini session photographer) or you will give up on your dream completely. Just don\u2019t do it. Skip it. You love yourself more than that.\n\n<center>![ (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmajdo38qM67PrfT98rYWwwguGzyPAjY5uHU4QiT6gNk2a\/image.png)<\/center><center><sup>[Image Source (https:\/\/www.trinityp3.com\/2017\/02\/overworked-agency-staff\/)<\/sup><\/center>\n\n---\n---\n\nRight now,<br> there is an industry-wide movement of photographers who are taking back control of the final product their customers display in their homes.\n\nSoon,<br> you will see more and more of us saying,<br> \u201cSorry,<br> I don\u2019t offer digital files.\u201d\n\nAnd I promise you,<br> that\u2019s a good thing. \ud83d\ude0a\n\n<center>![ (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmQpyL5fcDrSnE4rgZLRffK7VLpqaSpN4UudCoaFTu8U8m\/image.png)<\/center><center><sup>[Image Source (https:\/\/steemit.com\/introduceyourself\/@jazzyfish\/aaaaaaaaand-we-re-back-a-re-introduction-of-sorts)<\/sup><\/center>\n\n---\n---\n\nDo yourself a favor. When you\u2019re comfortable enough with that new camera that you can start taking on paying clients and can create a complete set of deliverable images every time you take your camera out of its bag,<br> dive in to the world of printing,<br> and start planning your physical products and their prices.\n\nIf you do,<br> you will likely fly right past me on the way to a successful,<br> profitable business. Photographers who retain control of their final product from the very beginning get a stronger start and have happier customers.\n\n<center>![ (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmbvarEG83v82SGqdRcJgpM3zBRNkuopycTRHWhvo82TvS\/image.png)<\/center><center><sup>[Image Source (https:\/\/www.alphagamma.eu\/entrepreneurship\/11-strategies-succesful-business\/)<\/sup><\/center>\n\n# <center>THIS IS NOT NEW!!<\/center>\n\nIn fact,<br> this is a movement to get back to the more personal way of handling a photography business that was in place before digital imagery ever came along. \nYes,<br> it\u2019s more work for you. More one on one time with your customer,<br> more planning,<br> more education.\n\nBut it is more than worth it to make sure that your art is as intended,<br> family history is preserved,<br> and these heirlooms are here long after we are gone.\n\n<center>https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/s8Kqglch.jpg<\/center>\n\n---\n---\n\nhttp:\/\/i.imgur.com\/oN0ueiy.png",<br>"json_metadata":" \"tags\":[\"photography\",<br>\"life\",<br>\"business\",<br>\"new\",<br>\"art\" ,<br>\"image\":[\"http:\/\/ipeedalittle.com\/listenup\/images\/logo.png\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmXBwdZtsmLV2Sq7aaRhEUGVborHS6h2aF8G3HFxewLyQ1\/image.png\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmTKUJzrm76PpXy2MmkPPQ2jRUDq3fifwCzNgxBrWPDHMY\/image.png\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmcj9WRSSYdyL3b2KcDCa39nwwJBdyxtdu5ZrDXfF8co2r\/image.png\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmajdo38qM67PrfT98rYWwwguGzyPAjY5uHU4QiT6gNk2a\/image.png\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmQpyL5fcDrSnE4rgZLRffK7VLpqaSpN4UudCoaFTu8U8m\/image.png\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmbvarEG83v82SGqdRcJgpM3zBRNkuopycTRHWhvo82TvS\/image.png\",<br>\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/s8Kqglch.jpg\",<br>\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/oN0ueiy.png\" ,<br>\"links\":[\"https:\/\/www.ophtek.com\/burn-disc-image-infrarecorder\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/322676\/why-can-i-only-burn-80-minutes-of-music-to-a-cd-if-my-mp3s-take-up-less-than-700mb-of-space\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/tinytoesportraits.com\/where-should-i-print-my-pictures\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.trinityp3.com\/2017\/02\/overworked-agency-staff\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/introduceyourself\/@jazzyfish\/aaaaaaaaand-we-re-back-a-re-introduction-of-sorts\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.alphagamma.eu\/entrepreneurship\/11-strategies-succesful-business\/\" ,<br>\"app\":\"steemit\/0.1\",<br>\"format\":\"markdown\" " |
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