After 20 years of earning money doing photography--I can offer you some valuable tips on becoming a successful photographer.  You gotta love it or you will not be successful.  

So you own a digital camera (not a point & shoot, but one that looks like a 35 mm), have some hard copies photos in a photo album bought at WalMart or some other similar type of store, have business cards printed off your computer & not you think you are a photographer ready to make money doing wedding photography & portraits.  Your thinking "why not, I have always been the family photographer & I  do as  good as a professional.  After all, my family & friends think so".  Well, maybe.  Bottom line, if you have not taken photography courses & do not have a mind for business, then you have to do that first.  Even if you have all the latest gadgets, cameras, software, expensive & professionally done website & the best in business cards--without the proper training & education--all those things a photographer makes you not. 

However, if you do have the proper training & education then you can reproduce photos that look like the ones in this gallery by following the tips below:

1.  You will need fantastic communication skills & will need to love people.  You can never have a bad day & you must always smile.  Because if you are working for yourself, you are responsible for everything & your clients will not tolerate excuses or mistakes.  Know what you are doing & leave your attitude & ego at the door. 

2.  Take a photography class at the local community college to hone your photo taking skills.  You make think you know what you are doing, but you will be surprised what you did not know.

3.  Get up a website!  90% of my business came sight unseen through this web site.

4.  Don't fall for every advertising gimmick that comes along.  Putting your ad on restaurant place mats, on the back of grocery receipts & carts, being the excusive photography for a big company via one of those saving discount cards,  the Cambridge Who's Who--they don't work nor make you money.  The only people making money is the sales people selling you the advertising.  The only advertising that ever worked for me was the good old AT & T yellow pages.

5.  Buying leads are good, but chose a wedding based web site that has actually brides looking for services.  Some web sites you can buy leads as low as $2 a lead.  Some places will soak you $5 a lead i.e. Respond.com as I discovered where anyone can click on your name. Nothing more frustrating than some high school kid clicking on your business advertisement to call you to ask you questions for their class project. 

6.  If you can exchange a link with a wedding based web site do it.  The more your name gets out there--the better.

7.  Have nice business cards.  Don't get the freebee's with the printers web address on the back.  That's not professional.  Spent the $10.00 for 500 ready to go cards.  Remember your selling you--not the printer.  And hand them out everywhere.  Do not be shy.  Give it to everyone--everyone is a potential customer.

8.  Do not waste your money on buying a table at a bridal show--they don't work!  After doing about 6 of them, & doing everything right--I never got one job from a bridal show.  Neither has anyone else I know or have assisted at their booth, i.e. limo company owner, large scale caterer, & cake store owner, etc.  Prospective brides are there looking for freebies & the chance to win the free bridal gowns.  85% of those brides attending a bridal fair have already chosen the hall, the DJ, the photographer, & the cake. You have just as good a chance to get business by paying admission, milling through the crowd & handing people an ink pen with your company name, website & phone number on it along with a smile.   

9.  Buy studio lights as you start making money & think about expanding into a store front with help.  Working out of your home is good to start, but after awhile it will limit you especially if you decide to move into commercial photography.  Every successful photography I have known who was making 6 figures a year had a store front, or an office & had assistants.

10.  Use a bounce flash instead of direct flash.  This is done with a external flash, such as a Sunpack or Vivitar brand.  The upper part of the flash should be moved up so the light bounces off the ceiling.

11.  Use a Stroboframe camera attachment.  This is a C shape item that screws into the bottom of the camera & has a moveable arm.  The flash unit goes on top of the bar & a flash sync cord is needed to attach to the hot shoe adaptor that slides into the on camera hotshoe.

12.  Use the Gary Fong Whale Tail on flash diffuser.  This will give your photos the studio lighting look.   www.garyfong.com  You can also buy album

13.  Buy an external battery pack such as the Lumidyne battery.  It costs around $300.00 & will pay for itself over time.  They come with chargers & the camera cords.   These batteries cycle every 2 seconds compared to AA batteries which cycle every 5 seconds when they are fresh & get longer in recycle time as the batteries wear down.  Not a good thing when you have to fire off photos every 5 seconds during a wedding processional or during the cake cutting. 

14.  Know how to use a computer.  It can be expensive to have someone else do the editing, unless of course, you are so busy making money that you can afford it.  Also, invest in a good editing program such as the Paint Shop Pro series.  It has a smart photo edit option that allows you to custom edit each photo.  It is more economically priced & is easier to use than the Photoshop Creative Suite programs.

15.  Use good photo albums to exhibit your hardcopy photos.  Art Leather & Top Flight are two examples.  Buy from a professional photo album dealer.  Wal-Mart, Target & Michaels do not sell what you will need.  

16.  Do not under any circumstances cut your prices.  If you have a package that is $2500, & a potential customer says "I found someone who will do the same thing you are doing for $1200.  I will hire you if you cut your price down to that".  DO NOT CUT YOUR PRICE!  Chances are the potential customer is bluffing.  Ask who the photographer is & if the customer will not divulge their name--say your sorry but my price is my price.  Thank you for considering me.  Besides, from my experience, those type of customers usually are very demanding & will find something wrong with your work so they can get a discount or not pay.