Sometimes, as photographers, we’re afraid to admit that things aren’t working.

Sometimes we’re afraid to confess these things publicly, and sometimes, we’re afraid to admit them even to ourselves.

This article will cover a few of the most common confessions from pro photographers as well as a few tactics to combating them.

I Lied to Get My First Clients

When we are first getting started in our business, so many photographers feel like they have to “fake it until they make it.”

This couldn’t be more wrong. Let your work speak for yourself and if somebody is your first paying client and happens to inquire how long you’ve been doing this, let them know your experience but don’t be afraid to let them know they’re your first paying client. There’s a good chance they’ll be honored.

You don’t have to pretend, on your website or in person, to have a team, a studio, or anything else to get early clients. Let your work and your passion speak for itself. Until you get that first client, here’s a few other ideas on how to make money with your photography.

I Still Only Have a Few Clients

Along the same lines is lying to get your first clients, we feel like we have to lie, claiming that we ever only have a few slots of open or are nearly booked solid.

You’re afraid that potential clients won’t book you because you don’t have any current clients, somewhat like walking into an empty restaurant on a Friday night.

We’ve all been there, trust me.

This is not only unhealthy to you, but consider who you’re really doing it to impress. Is it your potential clients, or is it your peers? So often photographers work extra hard on their websites or their messaging because they want to impress other photographers.

Your ideal clients don’t care how booked up you are so don’t fake any kind of scarcity thinking it will impress them.

I’d Never Pay What I Charge

The first step with this confession is that it’s okay.

Trust me, it’s perfectly fine.

This is because you are not your ideal client.

Not everybody who works at the Bentley dealership drives one, either.

The danger lies in, should you continue believing this, you will sabotage yourself by shooting for free, giving in to unreasonable client demands, and *gasp* heavily discounting your services to a rate that seems more “reasonable” to you.

One of the biggest reasons you would never pay your rates is because you can do it for yourself! Your frame of reference is completely different.

The moment you decide to stop hurting your business by marketing to yourself, instead of your ideal client, your business will start to take off.

I Don’t Have Answers to Good Questions

Clients ask totally reasonable questions all the time. Questions like:

“What kind of camera is that?”

“What lens are you using?”

Sometimes they love photography. Sometimes they’re just curious people.

Instead of getting flustered or offering a cursory answer, direct the conversation back to your love of photography and your style, says a photographer.

Please note, unreasonable questions like “Can I see that?” after every shot, or “Can I get all of the files?” should also be handled with a similar grace, albeit a bit more firmly as these kinds of questions compromise your ability to get great shots.

I’m Bad with Clients

You may have gotten into photography because you like taking photos, not because you like working with people.

But let’s be honest: Most of us are quirky and awkward in one way or another.

Convincing yourself that you can’t be successful because you don’t have the people skills necessary to woo clients and build relationships is just flat out wrong.

Whether communicating via email or in-person, there are a lot of great resources for upping your social game so that it’s on par with the quality of your photography.

In the photography business, we have to wear a lot of hats, so don’t let your shortcomings in one area become part of your mental narrative going forward.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. I read each one of them!

Author’s Bio: Brendan is the founder of Photo MBA, where he teachers photographers how to charge more, land better clients, eliminate business headaches, and bridge the gap between their current reality and photography business goals.

Photography might be a creative endeavor but it still is a business. You need to promote your services as a business while you practice the art. Word of mouth and having a Facebook page are not good enough. You have to do bigger and better. You have to make an effort to take your business to the next level.

For this, you need to have a rich online presence. And getting yourself a personalized website helps you in catering to the needs and demands of your clients.

How will a website help you in the process? How will it be beneficial for your business? Here are 15 different ways in which your website can potentially take your business to the next level.

1. A Website Is More Than A Perfect Replacement Of That “Elevator Pitch”

   With no one having any time to spare, how do you convince a potential client that you are the best among the crowd? Simple. Handover your business card with your business tagline and your website link. You may not be in your business attire all the time. But your website will project that grandeur of your art and professionalism. And if the clients have a second thought, your website will take care of the rest.

   

2. Your Website Helps You In Gaining Visibility On The Internet

   Having an online presence is imperative. The whole world is on the internet and having a website not only helps you reach your potential client base, but also helps you in building an image of credibility.

   Websites are a blessing in this respect. You can showcase your work, share your contact info, interact with clients through online booking/appointment form and present the client testimonials, all at one place — for your audience to see, appreciate and strike a conversation with you.

3. It Gives You An Opportunity To Present Your Portfolio

   There are tons of photographers out there, shooting the genres you are photographing. In such a stiff competitive market, how can you present yourself as a unique brand?

   The answer is an exquisite portfolio site. Along with showcasing your work on various social media platforms, go a mile extra by presenting your portfolio on your website — one portfolio per genre.

   

   You can go creative with showcasing the portfolio. You can actually share “behind the scenes” story for each of the shots included in the portfolio. Your zeal to share your photographing techniques helps in building your image as a established photographer.

   That’s not all. If you are interested in sharing your photographic experiences and knowledge, a valuable photography blog is what you can next head to.

4. Start A Photo Blog & Become An Authoritative Photographer

   Start a blog along with the website. Create the content that is genuinely yours and defines your style of photography. This helps you in becoming an authority in your field.

   The regularly updated website attracts clients as much as they attract the search engines. Start with sharing your photographic experiences, techniques and tips to eventually turn your photography blog  into a rich source of information in the form of tutorials, webinars, workshops and the likes.

   Over the time as you establish yourself as an authority, you can  also earn from this endeavor by offering premium content on your website. Offering ebooks is also a great idea.

5. It Helps You In Creating Your Forte & In Offering Specialized Services

   The way a business fares online is quite different than the way it works in the offline world. In the online world, it is all about making it to the top in search results — for your niche market and specialization.

   Just having a website doesn’t fare well; by all means, hire an intelligent developer who can not only build user-friendly websites but also optimizes your website for the right audience and the right keywords; so that your website hijacks the SERPs (search engine results page) for your specific niche. (Shameless plug: Let me know if I can help you with your photography site design.)

   

6. Your Website, Your Content, Your Images, Your Guidelines

   The work of photography is relatively more prone to being objected depending on the platform your are using and the regional culture. Ever saw a warning from Facebook or YouTube asking you to take down certain content from your profile (channel) because it doesn’t abide by their guidelines? I have personally come across this issue many a times.

   Having your own website, offers you all sorts of freedom. It is your website, you are free to publish the images and content that you want to share with your audience and you can set your own guidelines!

   You can take extra caution to make the content and the images safe and secure so that the users cannot use your content or images without your permission.

7. It Is Your Show All The Way

   When you showcase your work on social networking websites, your hands are tied. Even though you can finish your photographs to your satisfaction, you really do not have the control and flexibility to change the way they are showcased on these sites.

   Your own website in this respect gives you unlimited power over how you manage content and showcase your images. Want a gorgeous slider? Interactive animations? Grab that chance to impress your potential clients.

8. Not Only Woo The Customers But Sell Your Products Too

   Selling the artwork is the next great thing you can do with your website. Gaining visibility and establishing authority are the primary benefits of a website which can later be effectively utilized in bringing some passive income home. Sell your prints, exhibit the images for downloads or offer the exquisite Photoshop actions, Lightroom presets, etc to the amateurs; your website acts as a wonderful medium for this.

9. Count On The power Of E-commerce

   Sell your merchandise round the clock. Since your products are just one click away from the comfort of your site user’s home, your chances of gaining online visitors and customers multiplies manifolds.

   Photography website with online shopping feature helps you in more than one way. Without sleepless nights or long hours of work, you earn money (online sales) and save money (on distribution and production).

   In all you earn money for your business while saving the time for investing in honing your skills as a photographer.

   

10. Cost-Effective Advertising

    A website is a very cost effective advertising tool. You can create specific landing pages on the go; each landing page optimized for specifically targeted user query. And when the visitor lands on your optimized  landing page, he gets a quick overview of your offerings and becomes a potential customer for your business.
    

11. Generate Leads With Your Website

    Not just the customers, your website also helps you in building a subscriber (fans) base. With each new subscriber for your website, you are building an audience that likes what you offer.

    This opens up ways for marketing a new product with ease. You already have a market base. All you need is to deliver the information about the new product and services. Even if out of 10,000 subscribers, 1% convert, it takes far less time and effort than attracting 10 new clients.

    

12. Better Clientele → Informed Customers = Happy Customers

    Most of the time when a deal falls through is because the customer and the service provider is a mismatch.

    Customers don’t know what they want.

    — Steve Jobs

    Your website enables you to educate your visitors so that they make sound choices and you attract the kind of customers you want to work with.

13. Your Website Can Help You In Improving Your Business

    Take feedback from your customers through the feedback form on your website. Let them not only rate your products and services, give them an opportunity to share their experiences with you and your services. Blog about the client photo-shoots and include client’s testimonials as a conclusion.

    This creates goodwill in the longer run, which you can always capitalize on.

14. Your Website In Itself Is A Revenue Stream

    This is one of the most neglected advantage of the website. Websites not only generate revenue only when you offer products and services. It acts as a means of earning even when you don’t have your own tangible products. Advertisements, affiliate programs, etc are some of the common ways.

Still having second thoughts about having a website? Check out the killer ideas to make money with your website here.

Photography websites tend to be artistically creative. Beautiful photographs, elegant presentation and creative implementation together act as a driving force to make the difference. These attributes do contribute in making your website distinct, but how much do these really add to the effectiveness of your website?

If your site takes too much of time to load or involves a lot of guesswork for first time visitor to get in touch with you, then you need to re-think…

Re-think about the utility of your website. Is your website helping you to grow your business as expected?

If the answer to the above question is no, you definitely need to work on your website — just a little time and effort can help you in reaping higher benefits on your investment. Here are the immediate things you can do to promote your website and grow your business online:

1. Say “NO” To Flash And Boost Your Potential Online Audience By 25%

   Most the photographers still prefer adding flash intros. If you are amongst them, its time to say no to flash. Flash offers all the goodness to make your website interesting and interactive, but it seriously fails in making your website “inviting” for your potential customers and search engines too. Some of the serious downsides with using the flash for the websites are: slower loading webpage, browser incompatibility (plugin upgrade, etc), negative SEO impact and incompatibility with iPad, iPhone (though there are workarounds, but not 100% successful). All these account for a loss of around 25% of your potential online audience. Are you still willing to use flash content on your website?

2. Keep The Navigation Simple And Elegant

   One of the latest trend with the photography websites is creative navigation ideas. Hidden menus, “Enter Site” button (or links) and unconventional menu styles involve a lot of guesswork on the part of the first time visitor. And instead of contacting you and having a look at your work, your potential client finally ends up closing the site and moving to your competitor’s website.

   

   “Enter” Website Link

3. Stick To The Purpose Of Your Website

   To make the most of your photography website, you have to be thorough with the purpose of your website. Its like setting up a goal and then following it day in and day out.

   If the purpose of your website is to sell your services and grow the client base, you will have to make it easier for the customer to view your work (portfolio) and contact you as soon as he lands on your website. So having your contact info in the header itself or an attractive “Contact Me” (or a “Hire Me” button at the top) and awesome portfolio on the home page will do the trick.

   If the purpose of your site is to sell photography ebook, photo-prints or other photo-products, you need to emphasize on creating the respective galleries and simplify the process of adding the products to the cart. Depending on the purpose of your site, you will need to outline the features and highlight your expertise on the landing page.

4. Showcase Only The Best Work

   Touching upon the portfolio, follow this advice as a sacred text: “Showcase only your best work“. The online platform offers you only 10 seconds to make the first impression. So don’t let your mediocre work harm your business. Showcase the best and mark the impression with your work.

5. Present Yourself As The Most Desirable Photographer To Work With

   After looking at your portfolio, the very next thing a potential customer will be interested in, is to learn more about you — about your career as a photographer, your recognitions, your awards, your clients and your formal training as a photographer. Grab this opportunity by presenting yourself as the most desirable photographer. What better than a “About Me” page that speaks volumes about your recognitions and achievements.

6. Promote Your Identity & Work On Social Media Platforms

   Your website is an excellent medium for promoting yourself and showcasing your work. But don’t overlook the power of social media platforms; be it Facebook, Google+ or Twitter. Most of the photographers are a testament to this fact that most of the clients land on their website & get in touch with them through Twitter and Facebook. If you are not already active on social media sites, its time to pull up your socks and get going with the social flow. Social media integration is the movement in the right direction.

   

   Social Media Is Changing the Business Landscape

7. Get Personal With Your Audience — Share The Client Stories, Your Favorite Gear, Etc.

   Having a photography blog is the next step in the series to make your photography website effective. Share your photographing experience and expertise. As much as it helps you in establishing your authority as a professional photographer, it also makes your website favorable from SEO point of view.

   You can blog about the latest assignments, share your favorite pics, talk about the photography tours, reveal your workflow, offer tips for adding final touches in Lightroom and Photoshop and at times you can also share stories about your valuable possessions — photo-gear, your favorite camera, favorite lens, photoshop actions which you use most of the times. All these things will work in building your image as an authoritative professional and fresh content will attract search engine bots to your website.

8. Regularly Update Your Website With Your Latest Works

   Even if you don’t have time for maintaining a blog, pay keen attention on regularly updating the website content — your portfolio, information about yourself, client testimonials, photo-stories, etc. But having a blog is always a plus point.

9. Minimize The Website Loading Time

   I have deliberately saved this one for the last. This is one of the most important thing you need to do. Google considers webpage loading time as one of the factors for ranking your website in the search results.

   

   Measure Loading Speed

   Assess your webpage loading time (using PageSpeed or SpeedTracer) and take the following steps to minimize the website loading time:

   1. Divorce the slow, unreliable host: Being vigilant in this regards pays you in long term. Slow and unreliable webhost can do a lot of damage to your business and goodwill. If you are facing such issues with your web host, do your research and switch to a better one.
   2. Optimize the Images: At any given point of time, photography sites are overburdened by the images. Uploading only the best images and optimizing the images for the web are the steps in the right direction. Fire up photoshop and save your images for web before uploading them to the website. Optimized JPEGs are the best option for reducing the load of the website.
   3. Avoid flash content: Repeating again, flash content tends to slow down the site. It is advisable to avoid the flash content as much as you can.
   4. Ask your web developer for web performance optimization: Your web developer can take steps like leveraging the browser caching, minifing CSS and looking into other technical issues to minimize the webpage loading time. Here are some helpful links for you: Speeding Up Page Load Times, 15 Tips to Speed Up Your Website.

Pay a little attention to these details and you will be glad to see the difference — an effective photography website that attracts more clients and generates more revenue.

If your website is lagging behind your competitors’ online portfolio, it’s time to be serious about website re-design. Need help? Contact me.

The conventional school of thought promotes that having a photography website is a must for gaining online visibility. In fact investing in a website has become a necessity for a professional photographer to flourish his business online. Be it about showcasing the portfolio or getting in touch with your potential clients, a professional photography website strikes the rhythm well with the online audience.

However, just investing in a professional photography website is not a means to all ends. You have to take it a step further to make it a successful online venture for you — an investment that reaps rewards for you in a relatively shorter span of time.

Most of the photography websites that you see around the web, have a number of things in common — Portfolio (for showcasing the creative works), Blog (for sharing the photography experience, expertise and knowledge), Contact / Hire Me / Book the schedule (for allowing potential online audience to get in touch with you) and About (for connecting with the online audience) and of course social media integration (for promoting yourself and your services all over the web).

Along with the regular photographer’s websites, there is a other side to the story of this online venture called “website” as well. And some of the photographers have already set the examples of how to make the most of it — how to make money with the photography website. Let’s have a look at the killer ideas employed by the fellow photographers to turn their photography website into a profitable venture.

1. Compile & Sell Photo eBooks

   Photography ebooks have become a popular choice among the photography beginners, enthusiasts and hobbyists. Compilation of the photo stories and hand-picked collection of your best photographs with one or two liners becomes the source of inspiration for the beginners and hobbyists alike. Make the most of this opportunity like Mitchell Kanashkevich. All you need is a webpage to showcase all your books and an account with E-junkie for selling your books online.

   

   Mitchell Kanashkevich’s Ebooks

2. Market Your Digital Darkroom Goodies (Photoshop Actions & Lightroom Presets)

   There are a lot of photography professionals who love to experiment and share the Photoshop actions and Lightroom presets. Some offer them for free, others charge for their creative skills. If your Photoshop actions (or Lightroom presets) are extraordinarily superb, you can easily make some money out of them like Color Matte Actions & Design Kit at Florabella Collections or Enlighten Lightroom Presets at MCP actions.

3. Offer Premium Content

   Photography as a hobby or an art is a never ending process. Photography enthusiasts are always ready to learn the finer nuances of the professional photographers. Sharing your photography experiences through your photography blog helps you in establishing your authority as a photographer. And to spice things up you can additionally offer some valuable photography tips and tricks as premium content too. Or you can have a dedicated course with a compilation of lessons and videos and offer it for an affordable price like Michael Zelbel’s initiative called The Productive Photographer.

   

   Michael Zelbel’s Online Course

4. Sell Stock Photographs

   If you are already selling your stock photographs through stock photography websites, it is the time to switch to your own website and offer the quality stock photos directly without any mediator. This gives you creative freedom of offering your best images, at your quoted price and under your own terms and conditions. And the best part of the story is that you keep all that you earn in your own pocket.

5. Allow Digital Downloads

   Stock photographs is just one part of the story. You can allow digital downloads for all the images in your gallery. Or better yet compile your signature collections and allow users to download them for a minimal cost to use them in the desirable way. For a start, you can offer beautiful bokeh, blurred backgrounds, textures and patterns which are highly in demand amongst the web designers community.

   

   Blurred Background for use in Webdesign

6. Offer Your Images As Prints

   This is one of the most common options for photographers — to offer the best of the collection as limited stock prints. For instance, Bruce Percy offers one of his extraordinary works per month as monthly print offer and also offers some special discounts for his subscribers. Don’t worry about the entire process of selling the prints. You can directly integrate Fotomoto on your website and effortlessly sell the prints.

7. Sign Up For Affiliate Programs

   It is not always the case that your online audience will be interested in your photographs. A major part of your online audience also constitutes the photography enthusiasts and hobbyists who are obsessed with photo-gear and equipment. This opens up yet another option for you to gain monetary benefits by recommending your favorite cameras, lenses, kit bags, filters and accessories. Sign up for the affiliate programs at your trusted online store — Amazon, Adorama, B&HPhotoVideo and use the affilate links while recommending the photo-gear. Jeremy Cowart has set up an awesome deals webpage for effectively utilizes the power of affiliate marketing here.

How are you making money with your photography website? Share your ideas in the comments below.

Do photographers need a website? There cannot be a better answer to it then a YES! A website is a must for any business. It is a primary requirement in today’s digital world to own and maintain a website for your business; photography business is no exception to it.

It is but a small window that opens up the world of opportunities — the opportunities to establish online identity, to promote your services, to get more clients and most important — to make money.

Do you still have second thoughts about having a website? Check out this list before making a final decision.

1. To Stand Stiff In The Competition

   For every business, the need of the hour is to stay ahead of its competitors. And in this era of digital promotions and increasing competition for online presence, having a strong functional website is a must to knock down your competitors.

   

   Stay ahead of your competitors

2. For A Professional Web Presence

   Most of you might be thinking that our online identity is flourishing through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr and we are earning well from the stock photos hosted at Shutter Stock and iStockPhoto. Do we still need a website? The answer is absolutely a Yes! Even though you already have a strong social presence, it is not building a professional image and branding for your business. All these sources of online presence are casual. To make your brand stand out of the crowd with a professional identity, you definitely need to invest in getting yourself a true gift of online promotion — in  the form of a website for your photography studio — your online address.

3. It’s All About Business Growth and Making Money

   Your website is a perfect online marketing tool. I know you have already heard herds speak of it to sell the web design services. But it is a established fact. Your website is actually a perfect online marketing tool for your business. You can sell exclusive prints, offer high quality Photoshop actions, publish and market your photo-books, host & promote workshops alongside getting more clients through this online venture. However, you will have to work hard on your website’s marketing strategy so that your website can work harder to get you more business. After all, it’s all about making money :)

   

   Plan a successful business strategy to make your website work harder for you

4. To Diversify Your Source Of Income — Get Some Passive Income Home

   Getting more clients is but one way to grow your business. It requires your active participation in the entire process — interacting with clients, arranging the photo-shoot, professionally finishing the photographs and delivering quality work to your clients. But other than that you can invest a little time and effort in some sure shot ways of earning through your website — like offering premium content on the photo-blog, promoting the Photoshop actions and Lightroom presets bundles, selling stock photos and more. All these avenues allow you to reap the benefits for the long time to come. Get the ball rolling so that your website start making some decent money for you.

5. For Selling Stock Photographs And Getting Paid For It In Full

   When you don’t have your own website, you look out to stock photography websites for selling the images. In the process, stock photography websites take away a huge part of the income made by your images and you’re paid just about 30-40% of the earning as a commission. Why face such a loss? Step ahead and invest in a website to direct all your hard earned money to your own pocket. Any good website platform, be it Photoshelter, Pixpa, Wix.com or WordPress.org can help you get started at the earliest. Though I personally think WordPress has its own benefits, the choice is all yours.

   

   Sell your stock photographs

6. For Strengthening Your Social Image

   Your website is an online brochure for you. A simple website with just the mention of your services, an about us page and contact info can also get you to the fore-fronts of the online world. You can actively integrate your Facebook fan page, Twitter tweet board, LinkedIn profile and the Flickr photostream to your website. You can directly broadcast the information and share the images on social media sites directly from your website. Your website armors you with the power of managing your online presence on multiple platforms from one source itself — your website.

   

   Strengthen social image with your website

7. To Promote More, Sell More

   When all the above fall in to the place, you are all set to hit the jackpot! Promote your services, content, photo-products, images, ebooks, albums on social media sites alongside the website. This way you actively promote your business on multiple platforms and generate income without putting in much effort.

8. For A Better Client Interaction

   Your website offers custom solutions to your clients. Facility to connect with you & book the schedule online, ability to view, finalize and proof the photographs of the special events sitting at home, option for ordering prints, etc boasts the client’s confidence in your services.

9. To Gain Visibility Round The World

   The benefits of having a website does not end here. It has more for your business — having a website improves your business and brand’s online visibility. The users can Google you from any corner of the world and learn about you and your services. And thus get you more business from any nook and corner of the world.

   

   Connect with the audience round the world

10. To Give Back To The Community — Share Your Knowledge, Ideas and Talent

    The creative artists learn a lot from the fellow artists. And your website can serve as an appropriate platform to give back to the community, probably by running articles and write-ups on valuable tips, trick and techniques. This step helps in building your authority as the photographer too!

What do you think? Does your photography business need a website?