Kickstart your photography business with these 69 essential one-sentence tips, from creating a standout portfolio and store, to finding diverse selling opportunities, and staying resilient in a competitive market...
If you’re new to photography and have no experience with the commercial side of photography, how to sell your photos, or how to grow a photography business from scratch, start by having a read over these tips.
Many of the tips below can be applied when using a Picfair Store to sell your photography, and you can also apply these tips to pretty much any type of photography you can think of. So don’t feel that, if you only specialise in a specific kind of photography, you can’t sell your photos or start a photography business–you absolutely can!
The 69 tips below are divided into digestible areas based on their coverage. They are roughly divided into build (getting started), reach (contacting people), diversify (more ways to sell your photos and grow your business), and perseverance (learning and getting over setbacks).
We’ve put together these tips with your best interests at heart, and we sincerely hope you find them valuable and inspiring to start a photography business! These tips below also include links to longer reads where you can learn more about specific areas of selling your photography and business growth.
We have many resources to help you sell your photography on Focus, so you should find something suitable, no matter what you’re looking for!
So, without further ado, let’s go...
Build.
1 Create a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate online portfolio and photography store to showcase your best work and make it available for sale.
2 Keep your online portfolio of images constantly updated with fresh photos and new content.
3 Make sure your image sets are tightly edited and curated so you’re catching people’s eyes (and ever-shortening attention spans).
4 Provide detailed descriptions with your photos; telling their story will help them sell.
5 Leave areas of blank space for copy (text) in some of the photos you plan on selling; these images are catnip for editorial customers.
6 Create a detailed "About" page on your site so customers can learn about you immediately and build a personal connection with potential buyers.
7 Develop a unique selling point (USP) that sets your photography apart from the rest.
8 Set clear and distinct goals for what you want to get out of your photography business from the beginning–this is super important.
9 Be prepared to invest time and money in starting your photography business; the more work you put in at the beginning, the more you’ll earn in the long run.
10 Learn to be comfortable with the fact that building a successful photography business will take time.
Reach.
11 Ask your close friends and family to help spread the word about your photography by telling them what you’re trying to achieve and asking for their support.
12 Send a short message to your other acquaintances and colleagues with a link to your photography toom and kindly suggest that they forward it to people in their networks who may be interested.
13 Ensure your social profiles featuring your photography are public so everyone can see what you post.
14 Use the highly engaging Instagram Stories and Reels features to showcase your photos and expand your reach.
15 Engage your social media audience by replying to each comment, encouraging conversation, and promptly replying to messages.
16 Add hashtags to social posts featuring your photography so they appear in people’s feeds, and research suitable hashtags for the best results.
17 Use Pinterest to ‘pin’ your photos and link them to your online portfolio/store to drive traffic from this hugely popular social media platform.
18 Consider running a photo print giveaway on your social media platforms to encourage people to follow you and be interested in your work.
19 Don’t just showcase straight-up photos on your socials; build engagement by sharing stories, behind-the-scenes content, and anything else you want to present as your brand.
20 Make a comprehensive plan for posting your photos on social media; consider where you want to post, what you want to post, and how regularly.
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21 If you haven’t got a social media presence yet, seriously consider starting one!
22 Develop a shareable digital press kit with a bio, your portfolio of images and information on how to contact you by phone, email and social media.
23 Contact your local newspaper editor and tell them you’re a photographer in the area available to help with any image requirements.
24 Seek out online photography portals where you can get your images showcased and published in themed galleries; they’ll always feature your name and potentially also a link to your store and online portfolio.
25 Submit your images to photography print magazines; they may be featured along with a byline displaying your name and website.
26 Offer to photograph a charity event for free or expenses-only; you’ll be doing some good and also will be getting your name out there.
27 Enter your images into photography competitions; you may win some, and if not, it’s a great exercise in perseverance.
28 When starting out, say yes to as many opportunities as possible, even if you’re unsure; you never know what they can lead to (and if not, they provide a learning experience).
29 Join online photography communities where you can connect with fellow photographers; they can help you get work and sell more photos.
30 Rent a stall at a local art fair and sell your photos physically; just remember to direct customers to and advertise your online presence, too.
31 Contact local businesses, such as shops, meet-up halls, gyms, and wellbeing centres, and offer inspiring photos for their spaces.
32 Approach local hotels, Airbnbs, and guesthouses with the offer of helping them decorate their businesses with photos from the area.
33 Contact tourism boards in the area where you live or where you’ve travelled extensively and offer them your photography from that location.
34 Research magazine editors, producers, and art buyers through LinkedIn, directories, and company websites. Don’t be afraid to contact them–there will be someone out there who needs your help.
35 Approach businesses involved with the type of photography you do (i.e. railway publications for railway photography) with a link to your photos and tell them why you think you are an excellent match for their needs.
36 If your photography involves a very specific niche, contact publications and companies that lie within that niche with a highly-targeted selection of you photos that match what they do.
37 Don’t be scared to contact anyone ‘high-up’ in the industry; remember that photography is also their passion.
38 If you’re attaching sample images to any outreach, ensure they are high quality; you want to make a standout first impression.
39 Display customer testimonials on your online portfolio and store to build up the value and trust in your photography.
40 Ensure you display a link to your photography site everywhere possible, including on your social media, email signatures, and professional profiles.
41 Approach artists and musicians and offer to help them with their photography requirements.
42 Get in touch with coffee shops in your local area with an offer to display prints of your pictures on their walls and offer them a commission on any image sold.
43 Join professional photography and publishing associations; they add additional seals of approval to your business and are great for networking opportunities.
44 Make the effort to network in person; go to photography events (including large ones) and publishing industry events to make new connections.
45 Contact popular photography websites and blogs and offer a guest post that includes some of your images and a link to your portfolio and store; just make sure you research beforehand and offer a post they would want.
46 Submit photos to local community groups that showcase local images to help get your name out there.
47 Partner with fellow photographers on collaborative projects or link up with influencers, TikTokers, or bloggers who can, in turn, feature your photos and link back to your portfolio and store.
48 Try paid advertising on social media; it’ll help you attract new eyes to your photography and increase sales.
Diversify.
49 Start a blog where you can talk in-depth about your photography work, build a following, and get yourself into search results.
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50 Develop a line of greeting cards featuring your photography.
51 Start a YouTube channel or podcast based on your photography adventures.
52 Take weather photos from your area and submit them to weather and news sites—these pictures get highly trafficked and viewers will see your name too.
53 Register on freelance platforms online, advertise yourself and your services as a photographer.
54 Develop a collection of photo-based wallpapers, screensavers, and phone backdrops that you can market (and sell) online.
55 If you’re skilled at image editing, offer your services as part of your photography business; people looking for help editing vintage photos are particularly lucrative.
56 Equally, if you’re a whizz at image editing, offer Presets as part of your photography business offering that other photographers can download.
57 Create a zine or photo book of your images to sell online or in bookshops.
Persevere.
58 Learn from criticism, but don’t take it too much to heart.
59 Make an effort to learn something new about photography every day.
60 Take time to self-critique each photo you intend to market; tell yourself what’s good about it, or what you could improve on.
61 Only showcase the photos you’re 100% happy with.
62 Use analytics tools to determine the most popular photos to help you drive more sales and concentrate your efforts.
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63 Monitor your prices in relation to sales and offer discounts on your photos at times to drive sales.
64 Don’t take a lack of response or the loss of a sale to heart; pick yourself up and tell yourself it wasn’t meant to be, learn from it and move on.
65 Don’t be jealous of the success of other photographers; learn from them.
66 Always be professional and respectful of people’s time, no matter how much you may not want to be on occasion.
67 Seek feedback from peer photographers, customers, and those close to you, to improve your practice and business acumen.
68 Listen to feedback from your customers, learn from it, and make sure you address their concerns.
69 When you feel ready to quit and throw in the towel, take a step back, reflect, even take a break, but don’t give up entirely.
What next?
We hope these tips inspire you to start your photography business and give you some know-how about finding the right people to contact, selling the photos you already have, and growing and diversifying your photography business with new images and products over time.
We also hope the tips above show you have huge potential to get results with enthusiasm and perseverance, no matter what type of photography you do.
Picfair Stores offers photographers an all-in-one solution to showcase their images online with beautiful templates and sell their photos as prints or digital downloads.
Learn more about Picfair and sign up here.
