At first glance, it may seem strange to take micro-budgeting advice from a photographer like Bradford, a prominent studio photographer who brings in millions of dollars each year and oversees a huge, successful operation that few of us can relate to. He didn’t get where he is by accident, though. In fact, he recounts the many struggles he had to overcome–both financial and otherwise–to build the enormously successful agency he has today. His humble beginnings are something all beginning photographers experience, but he’s learned many valuable lessons from his long journey to where he is now.
Bradford says he continues to see too many errors of overspending by today’s photographers that end up being major setbacks. He lists the 14 ways he sees photographers overspend on a regular basis, which you can read on his Million Dollar Photographer Blog. Here are our five favorites of his advice.
Expensive Websites
Especially in an era where WordPress reigns supreme, investing huge sums of money to hire a web developer to create your website is often way over the top. There are a great deal of business- and photography-friendly site designs available for free or a one-time fee, most of which, if done through WordPress, can be installed and designed yourself, so long as you’re decently computer savvy.
For example, SoloFolio is a very popular option for many photographers to use as an online portfolio.
Photography Conferences
These seem like a natural networking opportunity for up-and-coming photographers, but in reality, there’s little to be gained practically from these conferences. The fellow photographers you’ll meet there won’t be potential clients. More importantly, Bradford notes, they provide a great deal of spending temptations to purchase the latest and greatest gadgets, which can often be more gimmicky than useful. Plus, much of the knowledge one can gain from these conferences can be learned much more cost effectively from business and photography books, he says.
“After my bankruptcy, I couldn’t afford to attend trade shows and conventions so I stayed away for year,” Bradford writes. “It was a wonderful lesson for me to realize I could actually earn more money by studying business books on sales and marketing than attending the annual conventions.”
Studio Management Systems
Especially true for fledgling photographers with only a modest amount of monthly transactions, costly studio management systems often will cost too much to provide any savings. However, Bradford recommends Apple’s File Maker Pro (a recommendation, he notes, that doesn’t stem from any kind of sponsorship from the program).
Sophisticated Calendaring Systems
Again, new professional photographers will rarely find a paid system that pays for itself thanks to its efficiency benefits. On top of that, Google Calendars already provide top-notch synchronization across all devices and partners for absolutely no charge. Whether you work on an independent basis or operate a large studio, there’s rarely a reason to throw money at a more costly system.
Refusing to Outsource
Paying independent contractors for things you know you can do yourself–retouching images, updating your website–is often a hard pill to swallow, especially if you’re concerned about conserving every penny you make. However, if you’re having to constantly stay up late doing work that doesn’t require much creative descrection, finding a person to offload a bit of the work on will allow you to focus on your photography and growing your client base.
