Turning My Hobby in to a Business advice

jasonsony735

jasonsony735

jasonsony735

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Some where in England
Would like some feed back on the best way about making my hobby a full time job, I have been building up a profile over the past 2 years so I've got the basics in place , I have a linked FB page - Twitter & a main web site but its still currently only a hobby.


I only currently advertise on the likes of FB and people come to me and ask me to do photos for them witch I do as I want to build a profile up in a wide range of areas ,

Currently I enjoy landscape photography most and photographed 4 weddings last year witch I really enjoyed and feel this would bring in the best income plus its a weekend job most of the time so free's up week days to do other projects , From looking online Family studio and children photography is very popular at the moment after doing some research this is what most mums with children go for and I feel I could offer a lot better photography than the likes of most people currently doing it in my area. If I went in this direction I would need to invest in a studio kit and some flash lights and backdrops ect .

from a photography point of view what is best to do ? offer one type of photography or cover all areas ?

If I make this my full time job then one I want everyone one of my clients to love my photography so my clients will always come first and secondly make a decent yearly turn over.


Here is my Hobby website I have been building up over the past 2 years so any comments on how I can improve it would be greatly appreciated.

www.jasonsturgess.co.uk
 
Well that's debatable , For someone like me I'd say doing weddings and family studio photography but aiming it at people in the London area as its more money would probably be a good idea, as most couple down south don't really want to pay anymore than 1k for it. I guess it all depends on what clients you get and what they do for a living.

I do like weddings and a day shoot is say an easy 1k depending on the client but then again I think it comes down to how much you value your style and skills , I've only been doing it a year so I'm still learning but I've learn hell of a lot, I went in the deep end with no experience but its got me 4 this year so I must be doing something right and this is only from FB advertising.
 
Of course the idea of starting a business is to make money. However to put it into perspective, I suspect the OP want to take his hobby into a business is because he enjoys his hobby, and by that, a specific area of photography. Which I would hazard a guess that is his strongest form of photography.

So, by doing so, it wouldn't feel like work, and that it would be fun going into work and also make some money. That's the dream right? I know he shoots weddings, but if he doesn't enjoy that, and prefers Landscapes then what's the point. It would just become a chore.

Or is it the intention to maximise profit because he thinks it's an easy way to make a buck? If it's the latter then plenty of people have tried that and they fail because there is no passion in their work and it shows. It's hard to charge top tier prices when your work isn't there. If you have passion for that field then the passion comes across in the work and when you start creating unique pieces of art, that's what make you stand out and it's that what people willing to pay for. That field could be fine art portraits, breath taking landscapes or editorial. The people at the top of their field are passionate about the kind of photography that they do.

The point is, if you are going to make a hobby into work then do it for something you love, otherwise it's just another job, and there is no difference than seeking another higher paying job. The problem here is that if you start looking into an area of photography purely for the money, it will just become a chore. Last thing you want surely is become another one of those photographers who shoots high key photos in front of a white sheet doing the hard sale like Venture. It will turn into another job, no different than any other.

(Yes, I realise you need to go into it with a business mind, but the passion for the art should be the key and it's what fuels it.)
 
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a1ex2001 said:
Sadly I have to disagree if you want to switch your hobby to a business you have to asses how to make enough money to make it your primary income, it would e nice if we could all do the thing we love most but practical considerations have to come into it!
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This x100.

A bussiness isn't a hobby, a bussiness has to pay the bills. Making £1000 a year selling landscape photos doesn't put food on the table, £1000 a weekend weddings do.
 
D.P. said:
This x100.

A bussiness isn't a hobby, a bussiness has to pay the bills. Making £1000 a year selling landscape photos doesn't put food on the table, £1000 a weekend weddings do.
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Fashion Editorial can pay £25,000 for a week's shoot too but if your skill is at macro, what good would that do?

If his passion is landscape then sets his sight to be that guy who can sell a landscape print for £5,000, and sell 25 of them a month.

The whole business first screams like mediocre work for the sake of cash.

Might as well find a better salary job and keep the hobby on the side?

I thought the whole intention of turning a hobby into a business is to quit the 9-5 grind so he could do something he loves. Not swap a 9-5 grind for another 24 hours grind, because that's what it is, when it's your business, there is no set hours. There is always something to do, there is always emails to write, blog to post, photos to edit, new sample albums to design, website to update, social media to keep up with, new techniques to experiment.

The chance to turn something you love and make it a job. That's the dream.

I also can't remember the last guy who thought started doing wedding with the mindset "wedding is a good way to make money"' has a body of work that is actually that great. I mean he may be good in his area but I would set my sights high, much higher, something like this.

And when you are this good, the money will follow. Or shall I say, when the Art is there, the business will be too because people who love your work will come find you and would happy to pay top dollar for it.

http://junebugweddings.com/photo-contests/best-of-wedding/2015#11

or

http://www.fearlessphotographers.com/best-wedding-photography-galleries.cfm?galleryID=27

That's what I meant by "do what you love the most", let the passion be the fuel for the art, then you will produce great work and get paid for it.
 
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AHarvey said:
Just be aware, that turning a hobby into a job can ruin that hobby and the enjoyment you get from it. It's not always the case, but it can happen!
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Agreed, especially if you end up struggling to get business and make money, because then you will only associate negativity to what was initially a dream.

I have a good day job and do some evening and weekend work, it gives me a bit of extra to put towards new gear and allows me to enjoy it without the worry.

Photography is often so competitive that getting yourself noticed, or breaking out of the budget zones, is very challenging, and from people I have spoken to I think you need to really focus on hitting the big time you need to have some capital behind you already so that you can concentrate on doing your absolute best for the first year instead of worrying about juggling bills and having to accept jobs you don't really want to do.
 
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