Whats your "get rich" or "create freedom" plan ?

[Banbert]

Maybe your sat there saying money isnt important to you and to an extent I can understand that, family, friends, your health, ethics, lifestyle the environment and a whole host of other things are important BUT money does give you oportunities that you otherwise wouldnt have without it and more freedom of choice to do what you want with you life. Even if your the most charitable giving person in the world who is happy to live out of a cardboard box and wear rags for clothes think of how much more good you could do if you were the person to have the money given that charitable attitude of yours ?

So having more money is generally going to be good a thing, whether you want it for yourself or to give to other deserving people or organisations.

So as a wedding photographer how are you going to make money ?

I am very much a newbie to wedding photography and have looked at a lot of very succesful wedding photographers since starting out last year and although people like Gary Fong and David Jay get more diverse revenue streams as each week passes (DJ's latest is a nice little earner at $15 each per month for a couple of hundred people) I think you can group them into 3 main categories.

1. Clients - So whether its for wedding coverage, album sales, canvases, photos for other people who attended the wedding etc.

2. Sales to other Photographers - Lecturing, training, photography products, services or software etc.

Fong keeps on coming up with products and services that he is able to sell to other photographers, David Jay is well on his way with his own batch of products and services, K Kubuto has done very well with his action sets and other products, the list goes on.

3. Knock Ons - If you make a lot of money like Fong you can then invest in property, or maybe you can sell your wedding photos to stock agencies or create a service that services the wedding market in your area.

Theres probably lots of ways to think and organise thoughts like this but thats what I have come up with so far.

I dont really have a get rich plan as of yet as were still learning the ropes and becoming good at what you do would seem to be a good place to start but we have tried to add new revenue streams where possible with things like our boundlessinfo site and although they are very small at the moment theres lots of potential for growth and we will keep looking for new opportunities.

So how are you going to increase your revenues whilst at the same time giving yourself more freedom ?

[Toogy]

Win the Lottery!! lol

[gheesom]

Spend less than I earn ;)
Or go with Jeff's lottery numbers!!!
I think it all comes down to Marketing - How to market yourself.

[LBaldwin]

Win the Lottery!! lol

lottery., shnottery!!

I win that at least once a week ...... or so my email says.

I am also the planets only bazillionair having had most every bank in Nigeria send me spendy stuff...

For some unknown reason still can;t afford a 600 f4..

TFPIC:) :p

Les

[InspiredGraphix]

I don't play the lottery :(

I went full time self employed at the start of the year. While about 2% of my annual income would probably come from weddings, it is still playing a role.

I am just paddling until I can't paddle no more, and hopefully there will be a bit of a wave behind me to stop me drowning.

Long days, no sleep, no spare time, but hey, i am finally doing what i love full time, and actually using all the gear i bought for what i said i would ;)

Rob

[tim]

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=308444

[tlc]

i'm using this as a way to pay off some bills and buy a bigger house wiht an office so i can have clients come to me. then i will quit my day job.

[liza]

I'm trying to carve out a niche in an overpopulated market so I can put away money for early retirement in 12 years. Then I'll give up the other two jobs and just have the studio. :)

[MrsOpie]

I'm still in art school studying photography so once I get done with college I'll being doing wedding photograpy full time. I've also talked to my husband about having some kids so I'll be part mom and part photographer. He makes a good living and is able to support both of us so the extra income from photography is just for financial freedom.

[mizuno]

I'm going to ramp up the portrait side of my business in the next few months.

There's far more room for wealth creation there than in my present wedding market.

[Grace]

I'm going to ramp up the portrait side of my business in the next few months.

There's far more room for wealth creation there than in my present wedding market.

ditto!

[sblais]

For now, I just hope I can be in the black with my photography business. THEN, I'll think about becoming rich! ;)

[liza]

I'm going to ramp up the portrait side of my business in the next few months.

There's far more room for wealth creation there than in my present wedding market.

I'm already doing this. In my market, there's no way I can make enough with weddings to stay afloat.

[InspiredGraphix]

I'm already doing this. In my market, there's no way I can make enough with weddings to stay afloat.

This sounds pretty common.

All the togs around here do portraits and stuff as well as their weddings. Very few are wedding shooters exclusively.

Rob

[DAVIDJAY]

I hope to marry a rich woman! :)

[DAVIDJAY]

In all seriousness though these are great questions to be asking. Early on I found myself asking much different questions all wrapped up in providing immediate income and seeking security and comfort from my job. Once I got past that need for security I was able to seek out freedom.

BTW - Congrats on your news article (http://boundlessphotos.blogspot.com/2007/05/boundless-photos-in-news.html) and great shots on your blog!

[tlc]

I hope to marry a rich woman! :)


hand over that iphone and i'll hook ya up! :p

[DAVIDJAY]

LOL - Deal! :)

Hey, I'll be in London in from the 13th - 16th of July and I'd love to meet up with some of you guys if you are around!

Rock on!
DJ

[tlc]

LOL - Deal! :)

Hey, I'll be in London in from the 13th - 16th of July and I'd love to meet up with some of you guys if you are around!

Rock on!
DJ

your supposed to send me details - remember????? OSP - the 'shootsac' thread .......

[Gidi Morris]

I believe there is a big difference between "get rich" and "Get freedom".

I decided to first take care of my "Security" and only then worry about true freedom.
I joind the army, went through officer's course & am now come out of the army with many years of experience at software engineering - which basicaly means I have a sure income for the rest of my life (people with my experince are grabbed left and right).

Now, that I have financial security, I am chasing freedom. I've started learning photography (I'm a photography student now :) ).
And I'm hoping to succeed in this buisiness - which has always been a loved hobby and a dream - and thats my freedom.


LOL - Deal! :)

Hey, I'll be in London in from the 13th - 16th of July and I'd love to meet up with some of you guys if you are around!

Rock on!
DJ


I'm not in London :) but David, if your ever in Israel, drop me a line - I'd absolutly love to meet you and learn a bit from you :D

[daclozer]

If the stock market stays strong like it is now, I will be able to retire in about 4 yrs (at 45), buuuuuuttt that is a huge IF !!! I work a high stress job and make a pretty fair amount oif money, but I really don't like what I do. So I agree that there is a difference between being financialy set and being free... Maybe I can have eonugh money to not worry about it and be able to travel, shoot full time and enjoy my career for the second half of my life... That is freedom to me...

[S.Horton]

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=308444

Yep, that or provide the services + PP outsourced.

There's nothing around, people just hack away at it.

Potential for basic business consulting as well -- So many people can shoot but never want to set up a biz.

[JJacula]

I'm lucky that husband makes enough to support us. My personal bills (I like a little financial independence) are currently paid largely by my website design business. If I get strapped for cash I do some freelance writing to fill in the gaps. I could probably write full-time if I wanted to with very little effort, but I'm loving this photography thing too much.

I always say my next husband is going to be a millionaire. Current husband isn't fond of that saying. LOL!

[jarias]

Buy real estate that has made plenty of people millions

[kiwinvan]

For now, I just hope I can be in the black with my photography business. THEN, I'll think about becoming rich! ;)

Me too! Think black, think black!

[snooc]

I just have a quick, naive question: can you not make a decent living as a wedding photographer? What are people charging and how many weddings do you do per year where you're not able to earn a living doing what you love?

[RobKirkwood]

I just have a quick, naive question: can you not make a decent living as a wedding photographer? What are people charging and how many weddings do you do per year where you're not able to earn a living doing what you love?Too open a question to answer, because there are all sorts of budget levels for wedding photography and people have different standards about what is an acceptable amount of kit and all the other paraphernalia you need to do the job. You can work the sums backwards yourself, starting from what you consider a decent living, then add on the costs of everything you need to deliver the service, divide that total by how much you think you should be charging and that gives you the number of weddings you need to shoot ...all you need then is people booking you.

This is our second year doing weddings, we might just break even, and we were a pre-existing business with all the infrastructure, experience and processes in place for paying tax, sorting accounts, accepting payment already in place. I hope that next year we'll be in the black - but there are no guarantees ...however, Ann and I are in our 50's and really enjoying what we do - and how do you put a price on that?

[must go - I have a VAT return beckoning me!]

Rob

[*Mike*]

I just have a quick, naive question: can you not make a decent living as a wedding photographer? What are people charging and how many weddings do you do per year where you're not able to earn a living doing what you love?

You can look up national income stats and the photog profession doesn't look very promising.

Our latest company expasion involved buying a bridal shop. We are starting to streamline things together - photography, consulting, gowns, tuxes, while avoiding the bridal mill feel. I can't do everything... with the bridal shop, Im not sure if I can do anything! But my wife is rather versitile and seems to know a lot about the industry in general. She'll be great to have in the shop and rocks at selling. That puts me and the shooters off shooting and teaching workshops. It seemed like a good move. Utilize the skills you've got.

[crobs808]

do everything Dave Ramsey says. as in: pay cash for everything except your house, pay your debts down smallest to largest (this not only goes faster, but gives you a sense of accomplishment), do NOT buy new cars...they might be shiny, but think of it this way...would you buy a house if you KNEW the value of it would go down 50% over 5 years? NO, then why buy a car? If you buy a car, pay cash for a used one, or lease.

his philosophy is, "if it is not making you money, then it is negative equity"...i.e. financed cars, boats, etc...(all things that are guaranteed to go down in value) unlike positive equity (houses, land, etc...)

people get into debt because they are living someone else's life, and not their own! all you have to do is eat beans and rice for 3-4 years (max) to get rid of all your debt, THEN you can live like nobody else.

::: connor

p.s. - oh yeah...the main question - well we make money by provigind a one stop shop for brides...music, video and photo. can easily make $5,000-$8,000 in a weekend. you guys should look into it. although video is MUCH harder than photography, it pays well because there are so much fewer photographers and the market is VERY undersaturated. and music...well find a good DJ and the rest is just manual labor. if you can handle that, you can make fistfulls of cash.

[MarkAnthonyPhotography]

As with eveyone else, I too plan on expanding my service to Portraits and even Special Events. I have a buddy in videography that makes a nice chunk of change freelancing for radio stations, tv stations, etc. Along with doing weddings and other stuff he is able to stay busy enough to do it full time. It won't be asy, and I remember reading something on a bathroom wall saying,"if it was easy everyone would be a professional!!"

[S.Horton]

I think I'll change my mind.