Looking to take that leap and charge for my photos! Need advice!

Hello all,

I have been a hobbyist photographer for about a year and a half now. I consider myself a beginner, but I feel I may be close to the point where I would feel comfortable charging for my services/ie I'm confident with my equipment (40d, 50mm, Tamron 17-50) and I believe I know how to compose a decent enough shot. I enter graduate school in the fall, won't have time for any type of consistent employment, but I figure it may be nice to make a few bucks here and there doing event photography/maybe something along the lines of couples shoots.

I shoot a lot of candids now, mostly when out and about with friends and family; I think/hope my experience with this type of photography would somewhat translate well into paid work. I'm somewhat competent with post processing as well. I feel I may have enough knowhow at this point to cash in on my skills, but the my biggest roadblock is probably my own nerves working against me in getting my feet wet. Again, I really consider myself a beginner overall. I have a lot of respect and awe for the professionals in the field, and I know that I am not yet taking pictures at that pro level.

Where do I begin? Were any of you ever in this situation ? Am I loony for considering this at this point? I don't leave for graduate school until the fall, so I have some time to study up/get more specific experience if I decide to really pursue this. For starters I was considering advertising myself (flyers and such) around my old college campus and offering budget prices to summer students (20 bucks or so for a few hours, enough to cover my gas $). I may just bother my friends more and do some mock shoots with them. I'm just really unsure how to make that leap from hobby for my own pleasure to charging someone else. Any and all feedback would be much appreciated!

Start by getting a decent website with services/prices listed in there and showing examples of your work.

Maybe create a small photobook with your latest work to show in person?

Create business cards and hand them out perhaps. But flyers etc work too but most people just look at it once and throw it out.

Perhaps stick the flyers on notice boards at your school. Have a clear website/contact details on there. I wouldnt list the prices on it. What you want is people going to your website to find out more about you. Word of mouth is powerful. Adverstise on facebook perhaps, do a few shoots of your friends and they will spread the word.


Goodluck


Edit: have you thought about purchasing some off camera lighting gear?
Edit2: Since you will be charging and conducting a business have you thought about backup gear, insurance, etc.. If you want to make this into a business I suggest you research more into this aspect.

Since you already have some experience with that, I don't see any problems in doing it. And you won't need much equipment if you plan ahead. Here's an excellent example of what you can do with a cam, lens, & the right natural light with manual exposure. One shot has flash fill. Notice the detail in the black coat & white boa.
Angeline outdoors
VERY simple "outdoor studio"
There's a step-by-step WB & exposure workflow in post #15.

Call that a shooting fee. Prints would be extra, & that's where you can make some money. Then there's Hardcover Books

Save them for experimenting with more cutting edge stuff for your portfolio when you're ready.
If/when you decide to get into portrait lighting, you can get away without the high-end lights for a long time.
Simple 2 Light Portrait Set-up

Thanks guys so much for the input. I'm definitely looking into investing into off camera light, but that natural light tutorial is a life saver! I know a website is a must, I need to go through my Lightroom catalog and put some galleries together. Any particular website you would recommend? Business cards are a great idea, I won't need too many so I'll see where I can get a nice introductory rate on a few.

What is the best option(s) for offering clients prints? Is getting my own printer a must or will ordering prints through Adorama or any other site suffice?

And this is probably a question for the equipment section, but I'm hung up on whether to go with budget dedicated strobes or splurge on a 580ex i; I only have a 270ex now. And whether or not to pick up an 85 1.8. Ahhh decisions. Speaking realistically this venture is only going to be bringing in maybe a hundred bucks or so a month, which will be helpful since I'll be living off student loans, but I'm not going to be seeing huge returns into any investments that wouldn't get used in my hobby photography.

I use these guys. Costco & Sam's Club Digital Prints

It's a nice lens. Not bad for indoor sports, too.