Picture This: Growing a Photography Business

Morgan Keel | February 20

Do you enjoy living your life behind the lens of a camera? Could you picture yourself owning a photography business? Welcome to photography business 101. 

Building a photography business can be a challenging task. There is a lot to consider when first starting to build your business like who is your audience, what is your specialty, and why should customers want to use your business. It may seem extremely overwhelming at first but trust me I’ve been there and I’m here to help. Hi, my name is Morgan and I am a photographer for the University of Alabama’s Million Dollar Band and owner of Morgan Keel Photography. Within the last six months, I have created a photography business that provides extra income and allows me to enjoy my favorite hobby. If you would have told me a year ago, that I would have a functioning photography business I do not think I would have believed you. 

Where Do I Begin?

The best way to start a photography business is first to start taking photos. After you get some great photos, start a photography business page on the social platforms that you believe will best benefit your business. I recommend analyzing which social media platforms you spend the most time on. If you are an avid Facebook user, then start your business there. If you are a content creator on TikTok, then you should start on TikTok. I recommend starting on a platform you feel comfortable on but don’t forget to utilize other social platforms. Start where your audience is and then branch out to a wider audience. 

Jump on the Trends

One of the fastest ways to reach a new audience is to join in on the fun and use the trending audio sound everyone else is using. While you don’t have to do the newest dance, use the audio and alter it to your business. Since the audio is popular on social media, it will help put your videos in front of a new audience. TikTok is a great platform to use trending audio.

Say Hello to your new Best Friends 

When developing your business, it is essential to know who your target audience will be. Your target audience will be highly dependent on your business niche. For example, if you are looking to photograph high school senior girls your target audience age range would be from sixteen to eighteen. Most students are seventeen to eighteen once they graduate high school so by creating a target audience of 16 to 18, you are increasing your chance of securing more clients. Often senior girls will start looking for a photographer at the end of their junior year before their senior year begins. This means that you should start marketing to juniors at the end of the current school year to begin booking seniors for the next school year.

On the other hand, if you are looking to photograph families, pick a specific time of the year families commonly want family photos. Since families vary in age range, picking a specific time will help you target the families you are wanting to photograph. Think of major holidays like Easter and Christmas but also consider seasonal photos like summer beach photos and fall photos. 

Be Social

One of the biggest tips photographers can offer when growing a photography business is to capitalize on opportunities and show your work as a photographer. It can be intimidating to share your photos, but sharing your photos online helps build a brand for your company. Your online presence will be essential to building your reputation with new clients.  

#Find Your Niche

There are a lot of photographers in the market; therefore, it is extremely important to focus on your niche market. Your niche can also be used to develop your hashtags and branding. For example, if you want to photograph seniors at the University of Alabama, try using the following hashtags: #CollegeGradPhotographer #CollegeGradPhotos #UASenior #UniversityOfAlabamaGrad #UAGradSession #TuscaloosaPhotographer and #BamaGrad. The hashtags allow a new user to understand what type of photograph you specialize in.

Hashtags also assist new users in finding your business page. I remember being a graduate myself and typing in UA graduate photographers and that’s exactly how I found my senior photographer. Social media makes it even easier to reach your target market. The trick is putting yourself in your target market’s shoes and asking yourself how you might find a photographer. 

www.Develop Your Website

A website will allow clients to see your best work, view pricing, and message you when they are ready to book. Once you create a website, select a custom domain to help your website stand out from others. Your domain could be simple like morgankeelphotography.com or add some fun to it like morgankeelphotographs.com Both domains will quickly tell your audience what services you offer and who the photographer is. Once users land on your landing page, this is where you need to tell your story. Tell users what type of photography services you offer whether it's seniors, portraits, studio, location, black and white, couples or families. Next, provide engaging content like “book now” links or “message the photographer” links to give your potential clients the chance to ask questions or message you. After developing a strong website, utilize social media as a launching platform for your website. 

Once you create your social media pages and develop a website, the hardest part is gaining followers and driving the target audience to your pages. This is where search engine optimization is key. Don’t know how to use SEO? Here’s a crash course. 

Say, you are a senior, couple and family photographer based in the Tuscaloosa area. Your keywords might include “Tuscaloosa photographer,” “Tuscaloosa Senior Photographer,” Tuscaloosa Family Photographer,” etc. When you are developing keywords, focus on what customers might type into the Google search bar to find your business. 

For the best results, act like a potential customer for your business. Head over to the Google search bar and type in the phrase you believe will work best for the business. (Pro tip log into Google as a guest to give yourself a clean search history.) Be sure to check out the competition that you find in your search. Keep crafting different keywords until you believe you have found the best keyword for your business. 

In the end, your photography business can be successful if you utilize digital tools like a website, SEO and social media. While you’re building your photography business, remember this is a learning process. The best way to learn is by learning from previous mistakes. Best of luck as you begin to build your photography business!