Photographers Market Guide to Building Your Business

Rating:
Summary: This Book is a Hit!
Review: I am returning to the market after several years in the motion picture industry and was looking for a refresher on the business end of photography.

Vik Orenstein has provided a wonderful primer for both beginner and professional alike, and I unreservedly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about pursuing a career in photography.

She thoroughly covers necesary subjects such as choosing CPAs and lawyers, networking, and the various photographic markets available for pursuit. She does all of this in a winsome way, relating both her successes and failures as she developed and grew her own studios.

If you are considering entering the field of photography as a professional, seriously consider purchasing this book. You will be making a very wise investment!

Rating:
Summary: Bad Business
Review: I gave this book two stars because some reader might want to open a studio for children's photography. Anyone else looking to get into the photography business or improve photography business skills should probably look elsewhere.

The author's approach is to offer a topic related to the business of photography and to raise issues, but she seldom provides answers, and when she does, they are seldom of use to most photographers. For example, the author has a chapter on lawyers. In it she indicates the legal problems that a photographer might face, from copyright to leases. Instead of telling the reader anything about these subjects, she says to hire a good lawyer. As my kids say, duhh...! Similarly she says there are several different forms of ownership that a photographer can use. Therefore... consult a lawyer.

And when she does give advice, it is often wrong and dangerous. For example, she says that in determining whether a person is a contractor or an employee, one should look at whether a person does the same job for several different people. Actually, the government regulations provide 14 separate points that have to be considered with no one-point controlling. Several judicial nominees have learned how important this issue can be.

But where the author really misses the boat is on the issue of marketing. For any businessperson, including a photographer, marketing is perhaps the most important function. If you don't have income, you don't stay in business. But the tips the author gives only apply to studio photographers. Marketing is different for a stock photographer and an editorial photographer, and for all the specialties in between, but Orenstein seems to ignore this.

I don't understand why this book needed photographs, unless it was to meet the requirement for 320 pages. But if one is going to include pictures in a book aimed at photographers, they'd better be good. The pictures in this book are muddy black and white pictures on paper with a low reproduction quality.

Perhaps it's impossible to write a book about the photography business that applies to all the specialties in the game. I know that it is possible to write a useful book aimed at a specialist, because I have the example of John Shaw's "Business of Nature Photography". Even though a little dated, it is probably more helpful generally to someone getting into the photography business than Orenstein's book is.

Rating:
Summary: Exactly what I needed!
Review: This book left me with almost all of my questions answered. I refer to it frequently! I love Vik's writing style. Her personality comes out in the book.

Rating:
Summary: Excelent book for anyone opening the photo studio
Review: This is an excelent book if you are thinking about OPENING A PHOTO STUDIO. Person that wrote the review before mine obviously missed the point of this book and expected something more for less than $20.
So, this book gives a lot more than these kind of books usually do, particularly in the essence of the studio photography business. In addition, it is written very nicely with real life ups and downs of the business.
List of just a few out of many things I have found useful:
1. Interviews with other professional photographers in different fields and from different backgrounds. Many examples on how to get into the business.
2. A whole chapter on business plan - covers the core of figuring out what your business is going to be about (target, competition, pricing, cost, your name, etc.) It also includes copyright issues.
3. Venue ideas - home, studio, sharing space, partnering, franchise...
4. Startup marketing techniques and ideas through author's own experience: message, goals, target market, direct mail, websites,auctions, mall kiosks, client gifts, etc...
5. In terms of different business entites, she explained the basics on partnership and corporation. Since she is a photographer and not a business advisor, she suggested to consult a professional advisor/attorney/accountant.
There are many more things that I could write about this book. Since I don't have time, my suggestion: Buy the book. And don't expect miracules. The author obviously dedicated this book to studio photographers, so DON'T EXPECT to see marketing for stock or editorial photographers. Although, if you are smart enough you will be able to relate to the problems and ideas author is talking about. Cheers!