Building a better mousetrap

Regular visitors here will know by now that I have a somewhat, erm, bullish attitude to earning a living from photography. I mentioned it in passing to one of my students on a recent photo course, wondering aloud if anyone was interested in my occasionally ill-tempered rants on the state of the photo industry.

'Oh no, don't stop', he said. 'They're funnny!'

Well, at least I know I'm entertaining someone...

Comedy value aside, the third most common question I'm asked (after technique and gear recommendations) is 'how can I earn money with my camera?' The march of broadband access, Flickr and affordable dSLRs continues to create an early 21st century gold rush, with potentially similar returns for the less well-prepared. As I've alluded to before, the democratisation of photography has created a buyers' market in spite of the apparent proliferation of new outlets for imagery. Supply is comfortably outstripping demand - and that's not a comfortable position to be in if you're on the supply side (that's you and me, in case you were wondering. Pay attention, Bueller...)

I forget the actual figures, but in the UK something like three quarters of all start-up catering businesses (yes, I know I've switched industries... but bear with me) fail within the first three years. Why is that relevant to photography? Because catering start-ups tend to share many attributes with wannabe pro photographers: run by enthusiasts, often set up on the back of endorsement and support by friends and relatives with no experience in the industry, run with minimal startup capital, often with inadequate planning and/or inappropriate publicity... you get the idea.

Look at it this way: I can cook a mean risotto. But that doesn't mean I could run a restaurant.

So how's an aspiring pro to find her (/his) way? Well, you could do worse than follow a few simple rules:

1. It's all about the money
Very few people get rich from taking photographs, it's true. But in a highly competitive market where free is the new cheap, the only way to survive is to think like a red-blooded capitalist. Remember, you're selling both a product (your images) and a service (the way in which you provide those images, and to whom). And 'selling' is the operative word.

2. Start as you mean to go on
There are plenty of people who will tell you that the best way to get started is to offer to work for free, or for greatly reduced rates. Oddly enough, I've never heard this advice from an established pro. I wonder why? Many businesses sell at reduced rates from time to time in order to gain market share or increase revenue, but to do so from the outset risks undervaluing both your product and the service you provide with no identifiable gain and no means of subsequently raising rates without losing the clients you already have. Price realistically, and do it from the start: your work is worth it.

3. Know your market
Let's say you've got a killer portfolio of 50 landscape images that you reckon might give the likes of Charlie Waite sleepless nights. Congratulations! Now, how are you going to sell these images (and keep producing more of the same) in a market that's already crowded with technically flawless and aesthetically stunning images? Until you can answer that question (and no, I don't know the answer!) you're going nowhere, financially. You need to find an under-represented niche (and fill it), out-price the competition (not realistic - see 'free is the new cheap'), or find some other means of getting a toe in the door.

4. Define your USP
Why should someone buy your images, rather than someone else's? (anyone who answered, 'because mine are cheaper', go to the back of the class). Here's a hint: remember that you're selling both a product and a service. Are your images significantly better (technically or aesthetically) than the existing competition? Are you able to deliver them in a way that's more convenient for your clients? Do you have experience, skills or contacts that your competition doesn't? These - and other ideas - are all valid ways of differentiating yourself from your competitors.

5. Be professional
... in everything that you do, right from the start. Set up a separate bank account. Buy a backup body. Take out third party liability insurance. Make sure your equipment insurance covers professional use. Backup all your images, twice. Pay your bills on time. Replace your Flickr gallery (/home-built site) with a professionally-designed website. Register with the tax authorities (if you don't, they will catch up with you)...

6. Do the math
... because most photographers don't. Work out your expenses for a year (remembering to include depreciation on your dSLRs and computers). Decide how much you want, or need, to earn as a salary (remembering that you'll also need to cover tax and pension payments). Add on a buffer to account for sticky cashflow and capital outlay (which needs to be covered from taxable income). Sling all those figures together... that's how much you need to earn. Now divide by the number of days in the year that you intend to be working, and that's how much revenue you need to generate per day. Figure look too high? You can either strip out costs, earn less money, or find a way to earn more from your images...

7. Understand intellectual property, copyright law and licensing
Good photographers - by which I mean financially successful ones - don't sell pictures, they sell the rights to use pictures. Understanding how intellectual property works is fundamental to surviving in the photography world. It ain't rocket science, but you need to read up on it... or risk losing out to small print written up by your clients' lawyers (who most certainly will understand copyright law).

Still here? You might have noticed that I've barely mentioned gear or technique. That's not because neither of these matter - it's just that, if you want to earn a living from your images, the gear and technique needs to be second nature. The question isn't, 'how do I take a good picture?'. It's 'how do I sell this good picture?'. And the answer has nothing to do with the whether or not there's a red (/gold) ring around the front of your lenses, or whether a white balance of 5000K or 'sunlight' is best for average shooting conditions. In fact, the answer is unique to you - and only you can find out what it is. OK, I know that sounds like a throwaway platitude that belongs in a self-help book... but it's also true.

As a Fleet Street pro (I think it was Vic Blackman, but I could be wrong) wrote back in the '80s, 'if you have to ask how to make it as a pro, you're probably not going to make it'. Harsh, but there's more than a grain of truth in that statement.