Workflow. Media Usage Allowance. Schedule C, Form 1040. Licensing Agreement. Digital Copyright Protection. Marketing Strategy. Business Plan. They’re not the mental images most commonly associated with the art of photography. In fact, avoiding these matters is often part of a creative person’s motivation to study photography in the first place.

But any photographer who is self-employed, either freelancing or running a small business, will admit that the technical and administrative minutiae of the photography business constitutes a central and time-consuming part of the job. And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than half of all photographers are self-employed—a significantly higher percentage than in almost any other industry.

Bill Barrett, professor of electronic and photographic media at Webster University in St. Louis, observes that “most photographers do not get a full-time gig in a studio right out of college, and the truth is, few photographers are paying the rent with gallery shows and fine art prints.” So for all intents and purposes, most recent photography graduates become self-employed. 

Trial and Error—Lots of Error
Photographers without the business skills to sort through this pile of paperwork and legalese are not doomed to eternal failure. They’re simply stalled on the road to stability and success. 

For example, Sid Ceaser, a Nashua, New Hampshire-based fine art and portrait photographer, explains that he “hit the ground running” in 2004 with technical proficiency, gallery connections, plenty of inspiration and a brand-new B.F.A. in photography from the New Hampshire Institute of Art. But he quickly learned that talent and enthusiasm alone can’t sustain a career, and he was suddenly faced with unexpected challenges: “how to brand my name and identity, how to work with clients, how to bill them, how to balance the books. I had the technical knowledge of my craft, but I didn’t know how to turn my craft into a business or how to run it.”

Susan Carr, an architectural photographer based in Chicago and education coordinator for the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), describes her own experiences as a fledgling photographer. “Like many photographers,” she says, “I learned on the job, and it took me much longer than necessary to get my business house in order. I was a good photographer with no business training or knowledge of the basic practices of the industry I was working in.”

Says Barrett, “I freelanced in New York City in the 1970s, and no one ever said a word to me about the business end of photography.” “At first, I was overwhelmed, and ultimately I had to learn it through trial and error.” 

While on-the-job training has been a common mode of learning business skills for many successful photographers in the past, it’s becoming less feasible. The wide availability of advanced photographic technology means photographers are competing not only with other professionals but also with amateurs whose equipment is often state-of-the-art. Carr reminds students, therefore, that when negotiating contracts, setting prices and protecting copyright, “learning through mistakes is increasingly not an option.”

Employing the Business School
At the university level, many photography majors have the opportunity to supplement their photography studies with a minor in business, in order to gain the skills needed to navigate self-employment.

But with a business minor, future photographers run the risk that they’ll be required to take a number of irrelevant courses and possibly none at all that speak to the specific needs of professional photographers.

That’s why Barrett teamed up with the Dean of Webster University’s School of Business and Technology, Dr. Benjamin Ola. Okande, to create an entrepreneurship certificate program, which combines some of the conventional offerings of a business minor with courses geared specifically toward photography students. Barrett says, “The certificate covers things like small business management, the tax records and forms a freelancer will ordinarily file, accounting standards and what kinds of records to keep, writing a business plan and so on—basically all the issues that someone embarking on their own one-person business or working as a freelance assistant will have to deal with.”

Above all, the photographer entering the wilderness of entrepreneurship needs a safeguard against potential financial disaster. As Barrett explains, “In our program, by the time they graduate, students have already written a business plan, so they’ve had to think about different contingencies and how they might cope with them. They go into their careers with a concrete plan.” And although they can’t predict exactly what will happen, having considered the options for coping with workflow problems will increase the likelihood of overcoming them. 

Krista Rose Breece graduated from Webster in 2008 with a B.A. in photography and the entrepreneurship certificate. She explains, “I knew nothing about running a business before entering the entrepreneurship certificate program, and the training I received has allowed me to be where I am now, owning and operating my own photography business, Epoch Imaging, just out of college. I left the program with a full business plan from start to finish that I could take into a bank when applying for a small business loan.” 

Without her business training, Breece imagines she’d have found herself in a tight, competitive job market without fallback options. Because of the recent economic slowdown, she explains, “the studios are tightening their belts, so the only way I felt I could go was opening a business for myself, finding my own clients and depending on my own talent.” In other words, she says, “my business skills have saved my career.”




Off-Campus Options
Even a comprehensive business plan can leave a photographer with a few gaps in technical business knowledge. 

To fill those gaps, organizations like the ASMP offer extensive resources for both emerging and experienced photographers to hone their business skills. As Carr explains, “Photo business practices and skills should be incorporated into school curriculums, but students can also positively expand their education by looking outside their institutions.”

Students and established photographers alike can gain much-needed business advice from the ASMP without even leaving their homes.  The organization offers detailed, pragmatic guides on its Web site, covering the practical hurdles photographers face in order to get a business going and keep it running smoothly. Here photographers can learn how to write a license and determine licensing fees, how to compose invoices, which “fine print” to include with client transaction documents, which circumstances require release forms and more.

Also, the ASMP’s many local chapters offer business seminars on a rotating basis, to cover a number of useful topics, like negotiating, creating a profitable Web site and balancing expenses with prices. Moreover, says Carr, “by attending local events, students can make connections to their future professional community. These connections can not only inform but also lead to work opportunities in assisting or referrals.”

 Fashion and portrait photographer Christine Buijs already had a solid understanding of business practices when she attended the ASMP’s weekend conference, Strictly Business 2, in Chicago. She explains, “I wanted a refresher on estimates, invoicing, pricing and copyright, plus an opportunity to network with other photographers.” 

While at the conference, Buijs picked up a few new techniques to add to her marketing repertoire, but, moreover, she found the conference reinforced her idea that running a successful business does not necessarily mean sacrificing your artistry. “All the speakers emphasized the need to follow your own personal vision and find a niche rather than cater to what you think the market wants,” she says. “When trying to run a business, it’s easy to compromise your vision for the sake of paying the bills. But ultimately, I think the greatest satisfaction and reward actually comes from seeing your creative vision come to life.“

All in all, while the business skills required to become a successful self-employed photographer can seem endless if one knows where to look, the methods to acquire them are equally plentiful.

“No matter what education you’ve had,” Carr admits, “you can’t do everything perfectly right out of the starting gate. But with a basic understanding of licensing, copyright and pricing, at the very least, you can sure save yourself a lot of time and trouble.”