Anyone can take pictures. Anybody can hang up a shingle
and call himself or herself a photographer. However, building a
successful photography business, one that will enable you to
continue to reap the benefits of your hard work, is no easy task.
In the last ten years and then again in the last five years, the mar-
keting, selling, and servicing formulas in the field of commercial
photography have dramatically changed. The truth is, they will
always be changing and most likely at mind-boggling speed.
In order to build a business that meets your creative,
financial, and professional goals while staying relevant in an
ever-changing industry you will need to embrace a whole new
paradigm for developing your business.
You must approach the task of building and maintaining a
successful photography business from a holistic perspective, as
it is no longer just about the bottom-line figures.
Some of the steps you will need to take include the
following:- Crafting a visionfor your company.
- Continually defining and refining your visualproduct
- Building valuearound your product and increasing your
perceived value within the industry you choose to serve - Being aware of the many photographic toolsand trends and
deciding which ones are appropriate for you - Choosing sales and marketing toolsthat will help you to
build your vision and sell your product in order to build
your brand - Assembling your team, the people you select to work with you,
those that handle your styling, sales, marketing, consulting,
Introduction
I didn’t decide to be a
photographer; I just happened
to fall into it.—BERENICEABBOTTviiPrelims.qxd 7/11/07 12:45 PM Page vii