Ultimate Guide to start Online Rakhi Business in 2023
Rakhi business is a
Read MorePhotography: How to start? How to earn?
Before starting my commercial photography business 5 yrs ago, I had no sense of how a mere fascination of mine for pinhole cameras, lenses and lasers; anything involving the interplay of light and environment would impact me profoundly enough to eventually translate from a simple hobby to my profession.
Introduction
It's easy to start a hobby, but earning from it is a different story. You are onto the same course that many like us stood on once & so here are a few of my personal recommendations that will guide you from here to the next level and fundamentally help you carve your hobby into a profession.
With your existing understanding of photographic art and style, start to click. Through this, you'll eventually identify your interests and as you do so, ask what fascinates you to click. I found my answer in the enthralling power that photography lends to freeze time and moment. Try finding yours.
Present your work & through it your outlook towards art to the world. Let the world respond to your point of view. If your style syncs with the masses and speaks to them, then you have successfully found your personal zone of art in the vast field of photography.
Remember there is a learning curve to everything and hence if you fail you should know it's time to buckle up to adjust and improve your existing set of knowledge & skills to present your art to the world in a way it gets recognised and appreciated. Learn, pitch again and wait for the world to respond.
Set small & timed challenges to begin. A 30-minute session is good to start. Select any subject around you, living or nonliving. Take time to observe and deduce a way that you can make your subject look more appealing than the reality? As you do this you tap into the mindset of a photographer and fall into a world of imagination.
You have to take mental notes of details from your ideas that come from your imagination and capture your subject closest to that. You can sketch, write or even voice record your observations and the conclusions you draw from them
Planning is an essential part of photography to capture your thoughts the right way so it translates easily for the viewer. Carefully break down your capturing process and ask questions like - which camera settings will work?; which camera lens will be the best?; How can I place the lights? etc.
Now you have all that you need. Start creating your masterpiece.
After you capture, take notes on how you can improve and be more precise to your imagination? Draw a plan accordingly and begin again.
The more you practice, the more your efficiency and creativity in producing images will improve & your imagination and critical thinking with art will flourish. Just keep doing this drill. Once you are comfortable with 30min, increase your time and complexity of ideas and subject. Increase levels according to your comfort level. At each level remember to enjoy the process in order to fuel your creativity.
Earning money through photography will need some business skills. Pricing, negotiations, presentations, client revisions are some of the things that you will deal with regularly as a beginner.
Here are a few steps to land your first paying photography project :
A standard portfolio should be in pdf format. Your IG feed can also work. Just make sure your work shows images that can satisfy your customer in your calibre to cater for their needs. For example: if you are into product photography, shoot some products with theme-based looks or simply a white bg etc. to show some work of yours to potential clients (e-commerce business owners, etc.). Use Pinterest for inspiration and get clicking.
Pricing your art is a difficult job. Research your market, see your running cost and add some profit before deciding your MRP.
Gather all the contacts of businesses in your local area that you think might need to be looking for your images.
Write an email/message addressing the problem that your skills can solve for the business. Since it's a business pitch, give time to it.
Grow your circle with like-minded individuals with common goals like yours through Instagram, Facebook, etc. This will help you reach newer zones & expand in pace with the ever-growing market.
Join social groups(Facebook groups) that regularly pitch creative opportunities that you could cater to through your skills. This will expose you to the market as well as to your potential clients.
Conclusion
There is no substitute for artwork and hard work behind it. The key here is to keep working with a primary aim to express. This will help you build and update your portfolio regularly to circulate to your potential clients. Soon enough you'll land up with your first job. Just don't stop clicking and improving.
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