Business books for photographers - Setting yourself up for success
Although photography for me is part-time endeavour (a considered decision on my part), I manage and operate it as a commercial business and adopt professional practices. How I approach my work is the same as any full-time photographer, a key element for me being I can seek out clients whose values align with my mine and I can choose who I would like to partner with.
What’s important for me as a photographer is to understand the business and to understand it well. Learning all the facets of the commercial aspects of photography (e.g. brand and marketing, advertising, human resources, finance, etc.) and up-skilling myself on these as well as my creative and technical skills.
The following is a list of business-related books and resources that have helped me to learn as a photographer and to grow my outdoor and adventure sports photography business. I’ve chosen one from each aspect - setting up a business, engaging with clients, marketing yourself offline (see this series for digital marketing for photographers), photo editing and backup plus knowing your camera.
Lisa Pritchard - Setting Up a Successful Photography Business - A great resource for new photographers, Lisa's book covers everything from business plans to marketing and promotion to producing a photoshoot. It includes a set of business templates, which helped me form the basis of the ones I use today.
Richard Weisgrau - The Real Business of Photography - A book with no images may not hold much interest for creative folk but Richard's 200+ page book is packed full of essential advice for photographers looking to understand and optimise their business practices and engage professionally with clients. (See also Richard's follow up book, The Photographer's Guide to Negotiating).
Elyse Weissberg: Successful Self-Promotion for Photographers: Expose Yourself Properly - Elyse's book was written before the maturity of digital marketing (sadly, she passed away before her book was finished). Her focus is on solid photography marketing techniques - print mailers, portfolio drop-offs, etc.
Michael Clark - A Professional Photographer's Workflow: Using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop - It’s hard to mention instruction books for adventure sports photography without mentioning Michael Clark. (See also his Adventure Sports Photography and Location Lighting books). The first of Michael's books I owned was this comprehensive manual for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. Michael's knowledge of this photo organising and editing software is excellent and I picked up lots of hints and tips for how best to organise, process and archive my images, many of which I still take advantage of today.
Product / equipment manuals - I'm possibly in a minority of people who enjoys reading photography equipment manuals from cover to cover. Which I rationalise for myself on the basis that if I know how things work and what they're capable of, it helps me to focus on being more creative.