Starting any business is difficult and it takes a certain kind of personality to make it work. Jumping into the highly competitive world of Commercial Photography as a Startup is no exception.

Assumptions

Let’s assume basic things, ignoring the obvious pitfall of doing so.

• You love photography, when given the choice you wouldn’t do anything else.
• You’ve taken classes and maybe have a degree in communications/art/photography.
• You already own some basic equipment, and know or are willing to learn how to use the more advanced stuff.
• You aren’t completely unlikable, this is a service job after all.

Startup VS Apprenticeship

I want to make a distinction here between a Startup photographer and the traditional method of Apprenticeship. My experience running a Startup can be summed up as; a complete commitment to making the business work, no matter what. I don’t know much about the Apprenticeship method, because I’m impatient and an experiential learner. The following definitions of each pretty clearly explain the differences to me. I’ll leave it at that and get back to the point of this post.

Startup: “The action or process of setting something in motion.”

Apprenticeship: “A person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed time at low wages.”

Equipment

The first hurdle of starting up a photography business is that the equipment is expensive. Starting up you’ll need a couple things to even pretend you’re the real thing. Here is a short list:

dSLR camera
Lenses
Computer
Lightroom or Photoshop or Aperture (likely two out of three)
Strobes*

*Optional only temporarily, plan for these ASAP.

Good Advice:

As a startup Photographer you will likely need to work another job while you accumulate the new toys. If you’re pragmatic you’ll gradually work into your new vocation.

What I did:

I’m particularly not pragmatic, I’m an artist and a visionary and prefer action over planning. I bought my basic setup with my savings and got straight to the business of “setting [this] in motion.” I am however very lucky, tenacious and stubborn.

Equipment Philosophy:

Fortunately my philosophy about photography has facilitated my start into business of photography. I’m not a big gear guy. I don’t believe the equipment makes the photographer and I don’t think you need a thousand gadgets to make a great image. A lot of commercial photography is about solving problems, and having the biggest strobe in the world will not magically make that happen. That said, I also appreciate having access to right tools when solving those problems. And I have a list the size of my arm of tools I’d like in my bag.

Equipment Strategies:

• In a startup resources are limited and the build up of equipment is slow, giving you a chance to learn and understand each new item completely.
• Don’t wait until you have everything you need to get started, you will never have have everything.
• Use what you have, even if right now that is only the sun.
• Practice constantly, know the limitations of your equipment and learn to see the world photographically.

These strategies all say the same thing: Don’t wish away your development time, if you’re lucky you’ll never stop learning.

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