There are some a number of positive reasons for having a portrait photography business, but for now, here’s 5:
Repeat Customers- If you can attract good customers, they will come back again and again. Christmas, family reunions, births, birthdays, senior pictures, and on and on.
Flexible Schedule- Unlike a commercial photography business, where deadlines are the norm, a portrait photography business has some flexibility. Customers schedule an appointment with you. If you cannot schedule an appointment for a particular day or week, the photo shoot can be re-scheduled. Customers are not always able to fit into your schedule because of various reasons, but for the most part, they will be able to work with you. It will be in your best interest to work with the customer as much as possible in those times when they can’t conform to your schedule.
Word-of-mouth advertising- Moms talk with other moms. It’s just a fact of life. If you provide a great experience, along with a great product, these moms will tell other moms about it. With the advent of social media, word can now spread quite quickly if someone has a positive (or negative!) experience with a business.
Working with people- If you love to work with people, a portrait photography business will be a lot of fun for you. You will get to interact will all ages (from newborn to the elderly). You will deal with easy portrait subjects, or very difficult or unruly ones. You will make new friends and lifetime customers.
Exhibit creativity- Whether you like it or not, you must learn to be creative as a portrait photographer. If you are already a creative person, then you will be in heaven! This is especially true if you are a location portrait photographer. You will have to deal with lighting difficulties, crying children, poor weather, posing large groups, posing different body shapes to best portray the portrait subjects, equipment malfunctions, venue changes, and much more. That’s just at the photo shoot. When you get back home, you may need to edit out braces or acne, or slim down someone’s hips without making it obvious. This kind of stuff is a creative person’s dream. Have fun with it.
Portrait photography is not always easy, but can be very rewarding in many ways. In another post, I’ll highlight some of the negative aspects of a portrait photography business.