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Hey photographers, it’s Rob here.
If you’re thinking about starting a portrait photography business, here’s what I would do if I were starting up tomorrow. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or just starting out, these tips will help you build a strong foundation for your business.
✅ Choose a niche: Choosing a single niche will allow you to focus all your energy into it.
✅ Find a supplier: If you want to offer wall art and albums, you’ll need a reliable supplier.
✅ Start with friends and family: Offer free photoshoots to build your portfolio and gather social proof.
✅ Create user-generated content (UGC): Ask clients to record short thank you videos for your marketing.
✅ Set up social media profiles: Focus on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to showcase your work and behind-the-scenes content.
✅ Run Facebook ads: Use paid ads to generate leads quickly, especially in the early stages.
✅ Collaborate with local influencers: Partner with content creators to boost your visibility.
✅ Offer wall art or albums: Provide tangible products to clients for added value and profit.
✅ Keep it local: Build trust and credibility by focusing on your local community.
It doesn’t make sense to start if I don’t know what I’m going to offer. I’ve done my research, and I want to offer wall art and albums because I think they add so much value to the experience. With that in mind, I’ll need to do some research about suppliers. If I do this after my first clients come through the door, it’s going to slow the entire process, so it’s best to do this before starting.
I’ll start simple with my products, offering prints, a single frame with limited style options, a wall art collection piece and a luxury album. Keeping it simple won’t overcomplicate things for my clients, and I’ll have more confidence in the sales room.
Assuming I already have the equipment and studio space, the first step I would take in launching a new portrait photography business is to choose a niche and build my portfolio. Choosing a niche will allow me to focus all my energy towards one thing, which I can work on perfecting. Spreading myself too thin could get messy.
As I’d be starting from scratch, my friends and family are my best resource. I’d reach out to them and offer a free photoshoot. This will be a cost-effective way to practice some of my processes and create a body of work that showcases my skills.
When selecting my subjects, I’ll think about my ideal client. If I specialise in family photography, I’ll ask families with kids of different ages. If I choose to focus on pet photography, I will find friends with pets (probably dogs, because I’m biased). The goal is to create images that reflect the type of work that I want to attract.
Next, I want to create as much social proof as possible in the early stages of my business. After the photoshoot, I’d be asking friends, family and clients to record a short thank you video on their phones. I don’t need a lot from them, just a simple 30-seconds filmed in portrait mode will be perfect. This content can be used on my social media channels to demonstrate my professionalism, style and the positive experiences of my clients.
I want a minimum of three friends or family shoots so that I have a variety of videos. I love wall art and albums; I think they add so much value to the experience, and because of this, I’m going to ask my clients to include this in the content. This adds authenticity and shows potential clients what they can expect from my experiences.
Social media is a powerful tool for photographers, because of this, I’m going to set up a Facebook, Instagram and TikTok account. These are visual platforms and will allow me to showcase my work effectively.
The key to effective social media is to post regularly, so I’m going to set aside some time every week to schedule posts and make organic content. This will be a mix of my best images, behind-the-scenes content, and client testimonials – including the UGC I made earlier. TikTok is particularly useful for showing processes, so I’ll be sharing short clips of my shoots.
Organic growth online takes time, and I want leads quickly; that’s why I’m going to run Facebook ads.
I’ll start with a small budget, about £20 per day for just a few days a week, and test different offers. For example, I might run a competition or promote a discounted package. Tracking my results to see what works best is going to be vital for running successful campaigns.
Note: Setting up tracking isn’t the easiest task. You may want to consider finding someone to help you.
In these early stages of the business, I want as much exposure as possible. I’m going to jump over to Facebook’s Creator Marketplace and find a local influencer or content creator who can make some quality content for me. They’ll know the right hooks to use, and they’ll have a decent following to put my business in front of. It’s key for this person to be someone with a following of a few thousand who aligns with my brand, and preferably local.
When approaching an influencer, be clear about your goals. For example, you might ask them to promote a specific package or share their experience of working with you. Their content can be used in both your organic and paid marketing efforts.
Tangible products like wall art and albums are a great way to add value to your services. Whilst digital files provide the biggest margins, albums and wall art can turn a simple photoshoot into an experience. If my budget allows, I’d consider including a small piece of wall art as a thank you gift to the friends and family who helped me out at the beginning.
Later on, I’ll use a combination of sales tactics, print products and digital files to produce an effective upselling strategy.
Building a local client base is essential for a portrait photography business. I want to be THE studio to go to in my local area. It’s vital to get this right because a negative reputation will work against me. I’ll start by researching local businesses that complement mine.
Being local adds credibility and makes it easier for clients to trust you. You can also leverage local events or partnerships to increase your visibility. For example, I could collaborate with a local café to display my work or team up with a local dog groomer to share each other’s content or produce a package that combines our services. I’ll also look out for community events to attend and hire a table at.
Starting a portrait photography business is an exciting journey. By following these steps, you can build a strong foundation and attract your ideal clients. Remember, the key to success is consistency and a focus on delivering value to your clients.
Be careful not to create a negative image of your business within your local community, as this will make it much harder to grow.
Whether you’re working from a studio or a home setup, I hope that these strategies will help you grow your business and establish yourself as a trusted photographer in your community.
Good luck, and happy shooting!
Starting a new business is hard, and sometimes it’s just easier to be told what to do. That’s why we created our Studio Blueprint. We’ve combined our knowledge in business and marketing to make an extensive service that takes you from completely new to established.
