their studios are not separate. One only works as well as the other. I receive e-
mails from photographers who go on about their “art” and tell me I spend too
much time in my books talking about the client and money; they just want to
know about lighting, posing, and f-stops. This is the type of person who needs
to read this the most. Without a sound business system that fosters a relation-
ship between you and your client, you will never have the opportunity to enjoy
practicing your art as a business—you’ll just have an expensive hobby.
Some young photographers look at established local photographers who are
successful and wonder why they are successful when many other photographers
in their local area take better portraits. This proves the importance of the busi-
ness system and the relationship between you and your clients. With the right
business system, you can sell a million dollars of mediocre photography (if you
don’t believe, this look at the national studio chains and school photography
businesses). Without it, you can’t make a living—even with the best photogra-
phy product to sell.No matter how great your images are,
without a sound business system, you’ll
just have an expensive hobby in photogra-
phy, not a business.