HOW TO MAKE MONEY WITH PHOTOGRAPHY - Things I wish I knew

We're getting a little carried away with this. This is completely modified with a hard spring here and it's getting out of hand. Yes, I don't need this. I have enough energy. What's wrong with everyone? Peter MacKinnon. Here and welcome back to another tutorial. This is part three about the mistakes you want to avoid as a photographer or film

make

r. The first part we are talking about photographing real applications with the camera. The second part we talk about the editing mistakes you

make

when editing. when you are a beginner and in the third section of today's video, we cover the business side of the mistakes you should avoid as a young entrepreneurial photographer or filmmaker setting out into the world to try to make this a career or try to make some

money

with this maybe. is it just some extra

money

on the weekend or a full paycheck, these are a couple of

things

that I've collected that I

wish

I had when I started or I

wish

I had done better and let's get started on those number one contracts.

They're so important that they're not fun to make, they're not fun to read, and they're not fun to sign, but they're there to protect you no matter who you shoot, listen to me, no matter who you shoot. because it's a friend if it's family it doesn't matter you get a contract you establish everything you hope to do for that person you both sign the date whatever if there is compensation both

things

are agreed upon both signed it is done that way if something comes up if work accumulates extra if you didn't do enough work both parties have a signed document that clearly describes what the expectations are because I think that is the biggest gap and the biggest mistake is that expectations are always different from one person to another and those expectations are made clear from the beginning and followed through to the end because you have a contract, business is better, so if you don't have a contract, download a sample template, check it out and read. maybe fill out your own stuff instead of the sample do what you have to do take it to a lawyer ask a friend to look at it have your parents look at it your older siblings look at it whatever start with something good signed agreements That's it Point number one, number two, not charging enough now.

I'm a fan of working for free at first to get your foot in the door. Many people say no, you should never underestimate yourself. Your time is worth, yes, your time. It's valuable and your time is worth money, but putting in the effort and working pro bono will get you into more doors, open more doors for you, take you to more places, meet new people, helped me build my career, helped me build careers as my friend D Rock, who just published a great post online about how he worked for free until he became Gary V's personal videographer.

That's awesome, but not getting paid enough is something he could have done better as a growing entrepreneur and photographer trying to make it in the field I was always so excited about getting a job that I completely forgot what I should charge, what my time is worth, not only are you supplying the equipment for this job, you are taking the equipment you bought to a photo shoot, you're driving your vehicle using your gas, taking time out of your day, then you come back and you're editing all those photos, that's also skill with the software you're paying for, so the list goes on and on. and so on, those things are valuable, so once you start charging for your work, make sure you charge enough.

I mean, think about it like some of these cameras cost thousands and thousands of dollars if you're going to do some portraits. and you're only going to charge a hundred dollars or $200 for a quick portrait session. What does that say about you as a photographer and the quality of the work you do and how that will make you money or pay? recover your equipment or really help you advance in this game, so make sure you charge enough. Sometimes you can throw out numbers that might even seem a little crazy to you and that client comes back and says yeah, okay, no problem and you think.

Oh, it can be very exciting, but it's something you have to take seriously, so sit down and take into account all those things I listed to know how much your time in charge is worth. Accordingly, point number three coming up, guy number three, is checklists. I can't stress this enough, so if you're doing a photo shoot, let's say you're photographing a wedding, you have the contract in place, you've been paid what you wanted, now comes the day of the actual shoot. I always recommend it. get a checklist from the client of everything they want done that way, you can reference that all day during the session and you'll know you have everything if that client doesn't provide you with something on that checklist, no it's their fault, example, let's just say you're photographing a wedding, you have that checklist and you get the dress, you get the morning drinks, you get the gifts, the first look, blah blah, you're eliminating all that stuff, but maybe two weeks later, that client comes back and says Aunt Margaret never had her portrait taken with us and they were very upset about this and she flew here from Australia and we're never going to see her again and you didn't even take pictures and then you can withdraw. that checklist you asked that client to do for you and approve, you can say, look, you didn't tell me to take any pictures of this chick from Australia, she's nowhere on this list, so how do you Do you suppose I would know?

If she is there to protect. You are also, at the same time, there to help make sure you get everything the customer wants, that's a good thing. The checklists move on to point number four. Number four is my favorite. The meeting will be held in person, so much of today's correspondence is done by email. even by text or phone, but there's nothing like sitting in front of a potential customer and being able to sell yourself - you're just as important about the product as the actual images and video you're shooting, so sell yourself and show them why.

I want to hire you, show them that charming personality, show them that excitement and enthusiasm for what you do, which will get you more bookings. Hiding behind an in-person email meeting can go a long way toward building your brand and your relationship. I do not do it. I don't know why people don't do it enough, go to a coffee shop, set up camp, meet some customers there, show them your work, build a relationship, pay for their coffee, just have a good time, make that friendship. work so they feel comfortable trusting you. their big day or with their big project or giving you money if you're younger than them, that's a big plus instead of just sending a text or just leaving a voicemail, meet them in person, tip number five to close this video and close I put out this three-part series and don't worry about everyone who complains about this microphone.

I don't like it because I can see the microphone. Alright. He changed things all the time. That's the kind of person I am. is there and then he says tip number five is to put yourself out there. I remember when I started

photography

and I wanted to make this a business and I wanted to make a living. I kind of expected the work to come to me. I thought it was fine. I'll build a website I'll get some business cards I'll send some text messages I'll put my stuff on Facebook I'll start writing a blog and they'll come, people will just knock on my door, they'll just ring my phone, I say, hey, this is Peter McKinnon, the photographer who just created that new website and has new business cards.

I would love to hire you, it doesn't happen that way, it won't happen that way, maybe once in a while. moon, but for the most part it's probably good, it's a family thing, you'll never get random cold calls knocking on your door offering you money, you have to go get that job yourself, you have to put in the effort, always have your team with you. Let's always say it's a simple family barbecue and you have your camera with you, you are taking family photos of the events of people smiling and laughing and then you send them to the family, maybe a family friend was there or my cousin says, "Hey, these are really great photos and when your friend says he needs a photographer, my cousin did a great job, like here are some photos you took at our family.

Oh yeah, we'd love for you to photograph our family barbecue. Job secured or maybe." You're in a restaurant, you're taking some pictures of the food and the owner comes up to you and says, "hey, maybe I need some pictures to back up what your work looks like" or, better yet, find that manager and say "hello, I am." I'm a photographer. I'd love to do food

photography

and I'd be interested in possibly working for you, maybe re-photographing your menu or doing some social work for you for your Instagram account, presenting yourself to generate those leads, generate that work. it doesn't hurt anyone in the worst case, the worst that can happen someone is going to say no, I don't need it, I don't want it, you can try to convince them or you can move on to the next person, but sitting at home.

Just because you have a good Instagram profile or a good website doesn't mean that someone is going to knock on your door to hire you, you have to go knocking to get those jobs, when those jobs start coming, word of mouth starts to grow like a snowball and becomes more and more. There are more and more prospects and then the phone starts ringing, but you have to work hard to get there. Those are my five tips. Commercial errors. Things to avoid and things that will help you build a career as a photographer or cinematographer. Thank you so much guys.

I hope you like this series, it was three really fun videos, I had a great time and it all comes from personal experience, so if you liked this let me know what you liked below, tell me which video you liked the most. I'd love to hear from you, start the conversation and hit the like button if you liked this video, smash it, if that's something you're into in 2018 style, subscribe if you're not already and I'll see you next time. video I'm going to go look for Maddy