This article was updated on December 2, 2022
Starting a successful photography business involves more than having a camera and a keen eye for beauty. As a business owner, you must also have a solid business plan.
Without one, your professional photography business may have no legs (or tripods) to stand on.
Creating a photography business plan is simple. This complete guide will cover all you need to know about writing a comprehensive business plan—from executive summaries to competitive analyses.
Perhaps you’ve been dreaming of running your own photography business since the day you picked up your first disposable camera, or maybe you just started outlining your vision in recent months. Whatever the case may be, you’ll need to match those dreams with quantifiable business goals and a clear course of action.
Defining your mission is one of the most important aspects of a strong business plan and almost always comprises the first section. In the executive summary, you will explain your business details such as your business name, and a summary of your business plan in a few sentences.
When defining your business as a professional photographer, it’s crucial to cover two key components: the executive summary and the business description.
Following the executive summary, the business description section is the place where you'll describe the ins and outs of your business.
Effective photography business descriptions usually contain the following information:
Let's break down these two essential components further.
As a professional photographer, your business's history is more than just a summary of facts. It's your unique story . Your passion for what you do should come through in every line.
Include life and color into your business plan by detailing the following:
Describing your history with photography not only gives potential stakeholders an inside look at your motivations but also gives you an outline for an "About" section on your future website.
REAL BUSINESS EXAMPLE: Johnson City, Tennessee's Hunter Kittrell Photography is a business that knows the power of storytelling. Their website's "About" section mentions how the business's founder, Hunter Kittrell, got his start in photography after college and how his love of adventure inspires his work. Look to this small business as a model for your own and add in all of your business's unique details to compel potential clients to work with you.
Few business descriptions are complete without an outline of the business structure. To define your business structure, consider the following:
While businesses, especially startups, can experience a number of operational changes during the first couple of years, outlining your initial business structure is a smart way to set up your photography business for continued success.
The best business plans clearly specify the business's products and photography services. As you draft your plan include the following details:
REAL BUSINESS EXAMPLE: Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, Image of Home Real Estate Photography is a small business with a big-time, three-tier pricing model. Their website states that they charge by the square foot and offer the additional benefit of same-day image delivery. This pricing model was, more than likely, hashed out in the business plan. Settle on the pricing specifics for your business and be sure to share them on your online platforms so that they are clearly visible to the public.
When it comes to financial planning, the more you can foresee, the better. This will keep you from overextending your budget in terms of expenses or overestimating your revenue in your first year.
To adequately plan for finances, detail the following in your business plan:
In addition, figuring out where you stand financially will enable you to find room in your budget for marketing strategies and competitive analysis metrics.
An often overlooked, yet highly important, section of most business plans is the competitive analysis section.
Researching your competition is beneficial for many reasons. Not only will you better understand your competition’s pricing models and services, but you’ll also learn how you can set yourself apart from competitors. Given the fact that there are more than 40,000 professional photographers in the U.S., knowing how to stand out in the industry will make sure your one-of-a-kind business doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
When writing your competitive analysis section, it’s helpful to answer the following questions:
Of course, there are many more questions you could ask when thinking about your competition, but these should help you get started.
Good business plans almost always focus on business growth. But to grow your business and attract new clientele, you need to market yourself.
Detailing your marketing strategy is, therefore, a crucial component of a strong business plan. If you’re wondering how to get photography clients, you’ll want to employ a number of different marketing tactics.
When writing the marketing section, it’s helpful to think of the following strategies:
This section gives you the opportunity to first think through the details of your business workflow then define how you will manage the logistics of your day to day operations. A major part of your photography business will likely be post processing and photo editing before final delivery. Spend time defining how long editing will take after a shoot. How many days after a shoot will you promise delivery to your customers? What methods of payment are you planning to accept? Other topics to address in this section may include:
Customer and market analysis is a critical part of your photography business plan; it helps define the size of the market needing your service as well as your ideal client. Here you will justify your target market and specify niche segments within that market. To do this answer the following:
This later section describes your timeline for the goals and objectives outlined earlier in the business plan. Describe how soon you plan to become profitable, within what timeframe do you plan to meet your revenue objectives, or even when you might plan to hire employees to help grow your business. While it may seem far off, planning how you may want to exit your business years down the road may open up questions and considerations that can have a big impact near term. For some, selling their business to a larger investor is the end goal, for others, keeping photography as a small side gig to pass to their children is the exit strategy - no matter your desired path, document it here.
Developing a strong photography business plan is often the first step in running a successful business. Now that you’re equipped with all the tools to execute it like a pro, you’ll be well-prepared for a promising future ahead.
But no plan is truly complete without Nextdoor — the neighborhood hub that connects you with your local community so that your photography business can flourish.
Claim a Nextdoor Business Page today to simplify the process of building your brand. That way, you can get back to what truly matters—working your magic behind the camera.