Customer Reviews

Starting Your Career as a Freelance Photographer

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When I first encountered this book and glanced through its index, after noting that it had been published by the American Society of Media Photographers and Allworth Press, I expected it to be a version of "ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography"...light. The latter book was designed to help professional photographers with the business aspects of their careers (but I found it omitted reference to many important business questions). I was wrong.

This book purports to be aimed at people who are interested in becoming professional freelance photographers and it starts out simply in the first part with a broad overview, including comparisons of the advantages of attending a photography school and apprenticing to a professional photographer and selecting equipment. It was simple stuff to be sure but I'm told many people entering the career need this type of information.

But when Part II came, there was more meat. It was a first for me to encounter a photography business book that actually talked about where the new professional was going to get his startup cash: family, friends, a working wife, or even (highly unlikely) a bank loan. The short chapter on location and leases even referred to things like zoning and subletting. There was even a section that talked about the collection of sales taxes and resale certificates for tax exemption. The chapter on insurance covered a topic you never hear even experienced photographers talk about although you know they all need it.

Part IV on negotiating contracts and prices even had a pricing model that looked at the costs of creating photographs and suggested that if the photographer could not set his prices high enough to cover his costs (including his own draw) he should not enter the business.

Part V called "Photography and the Law" discussed copyright, privacy and hiring an attorney. It even had a section on income taxes with suggestions on how to keep the books, which combined with an earlier reference to the software Quicken, talked about an issue that the new photographer usually doesn't even think about facing.

You may have noted that I haven't discussed Part III on marketing, which I found the weakest part of the book. It was disjointed and not comprehensive, although most photographers would probably benefit from reading the short but well written chapter called "The Web Site as Marketing Tool." If you want to understand what's involved in marketing I would suggest Scott Bourne's little book "88 Secrets to Selling & Publishing Your Photography."

This is not to suggest that this is the only business text a freelance photographer will ever need. Far from it. With the exception of the chapters on copyright and privacy and releases (which I think covered the fields very well) every one of the issues raised by the book will require more extensive study. But the book will highlight areas of the business of photography of which the beginning freelancer would never think until a major problem exploded in his face. Presumably, that's a good enough reason for him or her to read the book.

This books gets to the point on a long list of aspects involved with being a professional photographer. Good idea to get this book before starting a business, read it, and while you read, make a checklist of what applies to your situation. With your list in hand, you can start analyzing and re-shaping your business concept.

For panoramic, stereoscopic and infrared photography I recommend this book:
Panoramic & Stereoscopic Photography In Color And Infrared: A Step By Step Guide

Talented with a camera? Check out Starting Your Career As A Freelance Photographer, a basic guide to beginning a freelance photography career, which covers everything from skills needed to equipment, locating clients, and building portfolios of successful projects. The meat of Starting Your Career As A Freelance Photographer lies in its photography-specific business savvy, from negotiating contacts and pricing to studio management.

This book is good because it has basic contracts and general information on getting started. I will keep this book around to review some of the chapters on legal stuff but you can actually download high quality contracts from ASMP if that is all you need. This is a good book to use in combination with others but will not answer all your questions.

This is definitely a "starter" book. It has lots of good overall advice and was full of things to keep in mind when starting a business. I really wanted a book that was a little more detailed and had more information (and examples) about sample business plans or marketing strategies. Although I found the information on copyrights and calculated overhead very useful, I didn't find the rest of the book as informative as I hoped.

I am not a freeelance photographer, but wanted to learn what it takes to be one. I will definately keep my day job!

This book contains a lot of infomation on how to get started on photography from a business perspective- However a lot of the chapters are taken from other books. Also it is very dry reading- kinda like reading a text book, its stuff you should know but you probably take a few naps before you actually finish the book.

This is a MUST HAVE for getting you off the ground in your photography career!