How to Build a Photography Business That Works for You

By Kelly Brown FSWPP Master Photographer

Running a photography business can sometimes feel like an endless juggling act.

You have to create great photographs, manage clients, market your business, keep on top of finances and somehow find time for your life outside work.

It’s easy to reach a point where you’re simply surviving from one week to the next rather than thinking about where you actually want your business to go.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

Running your own business is one of the hardest yet most rewarding things you can do. But there’s something important to remember: your photography business has to work for you.

You don’t have to build the same business as another photographer. You don’t have to follow somebody else’s definition of success.

Your business is your creativity, your livelihood and a significant part of your life. The clearer you are about what you want from it, the easier it becomes to make decisions that support those goals.

Start by deciding what you want

Before you start changing your photography business, take a step back and think about where you actually want to go.

Imagine it’s six months from now.

What does your business look like?

What type of clients are you working with? What sort of photography are you producing? How busy are you? What does a typical working week look like? Most importantly, how do you feel about your business and your life?

Once you have a clearer picture, work backwards.

Break your longer-term goal into smaller milestones:

• What do you want to achieve in six months?
• What needs to happen in the next three months?
• What can you achieve this month?
• What needs to happen this week?
• What is the one thing you can do today?

Breaking a large goal into smaller actions makes it much easier to see whether you’re moving in the right direction.

It also gives you opportunities to change course.

If you’re halfway through the month and you can see that your bookings or income aren’t where you expected them to be, you still have time to do something about it.

You might introduce a new promotion, contact previous clients, send an email campaign or promote a particular service through social media.

The important thing is to notice early enough that a change is needed.

Set goals and give yourself deadlines

A goal without a deadline can very easily become something you intend to do “one day”.

When you decide what you want to achieve, give yourself a realistic deadline and then break the work into smaller tasks.

That doesn’t mean everything will go according to plan.

Life happens.

Children get sick. Equipment fails. Clients cancel. Unexpected jobs appear. Your energy levels change. Sometimes circumstances simply get in the way.

Don’t confuse those setbacks with failure.

Instead, be honest about what is realistic and adjust your plan when necessary.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that challenges are part of the process. They aren’t a sign that you should give up, and they don’t mean you’re letting anyone down.

Growth often happens in the uncomfortable spaces between the successes.

Keep yourself accountable, but don’t expect perfection.

Aim for progress.

Progress builds confidence, and confidence makes it easier to keep moving forward.

Mind your own business

I mean that literally.

Focus on your business rather than constantly comparing it with everybody else’s.

It’s incredibly easy for photographers to look at Instagram and assume that everyone else is booking more clients, producing better work, charging more money or enjoying a more successful career.

But your business doesn’t need to look like theirs.

You don’t have to photograph the same subjects, offer the same products or work the same hours as another photographer.

You don’t even have to define success in the same way.

Your business should reflect who you are, what you enjoy doing and how you want to serve your clients.

Your photography business is an extension of your creativity.

It should make you feel proud and give you a sense of purpose.

If something in your business is consistently draining you, ask yourself why.

Does it still serve you?

Does it support the life you want?

Could you change it?

You’re allowed to adjust your business as your circumstances and priorities change.

In fact, being willing to change may be one of the things that helps you stay in business for the long term.

Keep developing creatively

Running a business can sometimes leave very little time for creativity.

Client work, administration and marketing all need attention, and personal photographic projects can easily be pushed further down the list.

That’s why it’s important to deliberately challenge yourself creatively.

Earlier this year, I set myself a creative challenge that genuinely scared me. I almost talked myself out of doing it.

I’d already scheduled the time, though, and I knew I needed to follow through.

Like most creative challenges, the biggest benefit wasn’t necessarily the finished result.

It was everything that happened along the way.

There was the initial uncertainty, the troubleshooting, the mistakes and the process of working out how to overcome them.

Most importantly, there was the realisation that I could trust myself to try something difficult.

That’s one of the things creativity can teach us.

You don’t always need confidence before you start. Sometimes confidence comes because you started.

Don’t wait for inspiration to arrive before you begin.

Sometimes you need to take the first step and allow the clarity to develop afterwards.

Take the next step, not every step

When you don’t know what your next move should be, it’s tempting to try to solve everything at once.

You might decide that you need a new website, a new logo, a new pricing structure, more social media content, better photographs and a completely new marketing strategy.

Suddenly, the list feels impossible.

Instead, pause.

Take a breath and ask yourself:

What is one small thing I can do today that will move my business forward?

Do that.

Then ask the same question tomorrow.

Small actions might not feel particularly significant when you’re taking them individually, but they build momentum over time.

A business doesn’t change because of one perfect day.

It changes because you consistently make decisions and take actions that move you towards where you want to be.

Build a business around the life you want

It’s easy to forget why you started your photography business in the first place.

Perhaps you wanted more creative freedom. Perhaps you wanted to work for yourself. Maybe you wanted greater flexibility for your family or simply wanted to make a living doing something you love.

Whatever your reason, don’t allow the business to become something that works against those original goals.

Your definition of success can change over time.

Maybe you want to shoot more. Maybe you want to shoot less. You might want to increase your prices and work with fewer clients, or build a larger business with a team around you.

There isn’t one correct way to run a photography business.

The right business is the one that supports the photographer and the life behind it.

You are not just building a business.

You’re building a life.

And you’re allowed to build it your way.

About Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an award-winning newborn photographer, educator and mentor to photographers around the world.

A Canon Master, SWPP Fellow and Master Photographer, Kelly shares her experience through her training platforms, helping photographers develop both their creative skills and their businesses.

Her approach is rooted in the belief that building a successful photography business isn’t simply about taking better photographs. It’s about creating a business that supports your ambitions, values and life.