Hello experts,

Let me tell something about me,
As of now I'm working in a semiconductor for seven long years as an industrial technician, but it seems that it will take a long way to have my own House and Lot, because of a small salary, having a tax deduction of more than 60k in a year. I have 2 kids and a wife of course, trying hard to give them good future.

Me and my friend who is also married would Like to have a kind of business like digital photo and video coverage, as of now we are in the stage of developing our skills, saving and doing feasibility study..
We are seeking advise from anybody on how should we start, what basic equipment should we invest, what strategy would be best in starting this business, we are both on a tight budget, do you think this will be a good source of income, would you mind sharing your experiencce..

thanks a lot
joel

joel, i'm a serious hobbyist and have spoken to some folks in the industry. going pro in this field is anything but easy. why?
- too many players and growing fast
- difficult to get your name known out there unless your gifted in marketing and PR.
- there is so much more supply (phtographers) than demand (work) so rates and prices are dropping fast.

but dont let me dissuade you. if you think you have a target market you can address (specific areas, birthdays, corp events, etc.) then GO for it. maybe it will also help if you work as an assistant to a pro to gain some experience as a photog and learn the busines side of it =)

what youre doing here is good.. keep asking around..

Joel,

you should read the thread of Louie Aguinaldo titled "Towards a rate guide" in the Business section of our forum called Show Me the Money. John Edward has pointed it out properly. Entering photography to earn money is not easy since there are plenty of photographers trying to do it. Most think the easiest way is to drop prices and get in the game. Problem is, you can't live at those low prices forever.

I suggest you study the industry wisely and try to fill a niche. You will find one if you look hard enough.

Hi Joel,

Nike has this logo of "Just do it". It is true that photography is not an easy business but we should not procastinate ourselves and just study the industry. We should be resourcesful even if we don't have enough funds. Creativity is another aspect one has to develop. You don't need a lot of money to get an extra source of income for your family, all you need is determination to succeed. Perseverance and dedication is also an essential part of success.

There is a big demand for the photo & video service industry and even if you count all of the service-providers, it is still not enough because there are some areas that don't have good photographers. You should offer something that is not being offered by other photographers and videographers in your local area. You should also identify your target market and know where to tap them. Strategic Marketing is important for surviving competition. A priest told me over the weekend that we should not be afraid to a standard rate that is higher than competition because clients are willing to pay for high quality of work for our products and services. Competition is not about price war but more on delighting our customers and turning them into clients for life that will give you numerous referrals and free advertising by good word of mouth feedback. With regard to acquiring the right equipment, I will just give you a private message since there is also brand loyalty and preference among the forum members.
The most important part of any business is investing in people. You should have the right production team that will do your pre and post production work. In my case, aside from the professional fee of my crew, I also give them transportation allowance and food. When they reach a certain number of months, I also provide them health benefits and insurance.

Always think of what is best for your family and don't be discouraged by what other people are saying. God only helps those who help themselves. Having a stable job nowadays is not enough, everyone has to be an enterpreneur to survive the current economic and market conditions of the country. Until then. Best Regards and God Bless.

Hi Joel,

Nike has this logo of "Just do it". It is true that photography is not an easy business but we should not procastinate ourselves and just study the industry. We should be resourcesful even if we don't have enough funds. Creativity is another aspect one has to develop. You don't need a lot of money to get an extra source of income for your family, all you need is determination to succeed. Perseverance and dedication is also an essential part of success.

There is a big demand for the photo & video service industry and even if you count all of the service-providers, it is still not enough because there are some areas that don't have good photographers. You should offer something that is not being offered by other photographers and videographers in your local area. You should also identify your target market and know where to tap them. Strategic Marketing is important for surviving competition. A priest told me over the weekend that we should not be afraid to a standard rate that is higher than competition because clients are willing to pay for high quality of work for our products and services. Competition is not about price war but more on delighting our customers and turning them into clients for life that will give you numerous referrals and free advertising by good word of mouth feedback. With regard to acquiring the right equipment, I will just give you a private message since there is also brand loyalty and preference among the forum members.
The most important part of any business is investing in people. You should have the right production team that will do your pre and post production work. In my case, aside from the professional fee of my crew, I also give them transportation allowance and food. When they reach a certain number of months, I also provide them health benefits and insurance.

Always think of what is best for your family and don't be discouraged by what other people are saying. God only helps those who help themselves. Having a stable job nowadays is not enough, everyone has to be an enterpreneur to survive the current economic and market conditions of the country. Until then. Best Regards and God Bless.

Good word of advice there Eric:) "The most important part of any business is investing in people. You should have the right production team that will do your pre and post production work"...we won't be here (still standing) without our people:)

I can very much relate with you, Joel. I too, barely making ends meet and seeking for that chance to grasp on another source of incom to "uplift" those perks in life. Have a family as well...

Putting up a Photo/video coverage is not a bad idea but be ready to compete and study your market well! Your company will sky rocket if you do it right. I know some that didn't do well but I also have a friend in mind that is doing very well! I guess it's having the "know-how" and being at the right place and time very often. Having good people is also essential.

Good luck:)

I agree with Eric, Just Do it!

But, photography and video equipments are really expensive and you may have a hard time recovering your purchases if you get into all at once. So, my advice is do it one step at a time.

You could start out as a "weekend warrior" and shoot events and even weddings during weekends and your day offs. You can even take a leave from work if the project is very well compensated. If you notice that you already consume all your leaves for the year within the first three months, then probably you can start to go on full time. :)

Thanks for all the reply it help me to push thru on this career...

joel

The posts here are spot on with their advice. Let me ad mine without taking from them or diminishing what has been said already.

If you need to do photo and video, you may have to pick one in the beginning. As someone who does both, I can tell you that it's not easy in many fronts.

IF you do both, your equipment acquisition will be higher. Much, much, higher. So, stick with photo or video at first. Or you and your friend can divide the cost. You might do photography, while your friend, does the video. So, he will buy video stuff, and you will buy the stills stuff, and you can package yourselves together.

Also, video and stills are both different worlds. Yes, they seem similar and in many respects, composition, lighting and other stuff are the same for both disciplines. But in truth, the common ground between video is maybe only 30%. 70% is different. I won't go into details, but that is something for you to think about if you do pick one over the other. If you are still learning photography, best stick with it, and learn it for a couple of years before you touch video. And that's vice versa. It's not that the 2 don't mix, but the habits of one is not useful to the other. That's the 70% of the habit/technique that is different.

Just to give you a simple example. I can reasonably handhold a 50mm lens at 1/15-1/20 sec and get more than 50% sharp. But quite amazingly, at 1/60sec, holding a videocam steady for 5-10 sec, even with optical stabilizers on, may be difficult. So, you see the skills sets are a bit different. Also, with video, you deal with movement, sound, etc. These things you don't worry too much with stills.

From the business side, it's correct that you identify your market. What price level will you be competing? The link to Louie Aguinaldo is useful. But Don't shun the low end. I have lots of friends who do the low ends. YOu'd be amazed at how much you can make at the low end! And there can really be low ends.

I have a friend who can gross P250,000/year easy from doing P3,000 stills wedding only. Or a P5,000-7,000 photo-video package. That's why he was able to buy a 16-35 f2.8L and a 30d. And one time he was charging for video coverage for only P2,500! He can do 10 of that in a month, and I believe his margin is around P800 on that. That's an easy P8,000 for that segment alone. He has other packages which he earns a lot from, but you can see, he can net P12,000 easy a month.


Of course the downside is he will do more in a month and the quality may not be the one you want such as the work of Dinolara or Pilar, or Louie. But as a business, you should respect this side too. I do. It's a valid busines model as long as you deliver the goods to the clients. It's not my cup of tea, but I reaspect these guys. Tough to do what they do! And mind you, I do shoot for these guys when they are in a bind with too many jobs and they are stretched.

Which leads to the other concept. Collaboration.

Partner with others. I for one, love this collaboration thing. Why? Because even if I have all the gear, I can't do it alone. So, having others to help you out and you helping them out is good overall business practice. Some guys here may have their own company with employees, but I can't afford that for one. So with some friends. They can only afford 1 employee or 2. And of course, at minimum wage, you can't expect too much from them. So, collaborating with others is another good solution.

The other part of of this collaboration is you retain your business and financial freedom. I can shoot for my low end friends and not compromise my market becasue it's their contract. The only condition I impose is I get to use the pictures myself if they are good. With video, I retain copyright. So, if I am free, I shoot for peanuts, but only for friends! We never argue about price if we work for each other. And so far no arguments or bad blood. The other condition I just impose is that if their contract is a bit higher, that they give me a bit more of the slice. I don't check on them, so it's really an honesty thing.

I for one am open to collaborating with you, if your work is up to par.:)

-Mel

Joel, if you have a tight budget now for buying equipment, why not rent muna? I was able to shoot weddings/events by borrowing a lens from a friend, a camera body from my brother, flash unit, from another friend, At least I own 1 of the CF cards ;) But my point is renting would be cheaper for short term. Tapos if you earn enough already - then you plan for what to get for the long term.

And whatever you guys do, don't sit and wait for a client to call you guys after getting all the gorgeous equipment. Go out there and market yourselves.

Be practical too. If you can shoot with a 350D vs. a 20D and get the same client for the same fee, pareho namang 8 megapix eh, instead of buying 530ex get the 430. Just do some research and your decisions will be based on the clients you will get.

Hi joel,

You have a lot of wonderfull tips here that will help you with your future plans. May I add that should you decide to "just do it"... don't forget to "just do it ...slowly". Take it one step at a time. Don't take all your hard earned money and invest in all the gear. Just as the pp mentioned, feel free to rent out some gear as well.. You may also subcon the video.. complete with a camera man. Oh and when you do hire a team, don't just pick the cheapest one. After all, you want to start off without headaches or problems.

Good luck with your plans.:)

Hi Joel,
Let me just say that photography can be a good source of income. We started in 1973 with P1,000 (even then a small amount), a second hand Nikkormat with a zoom lens, and a Lucky black&white enlarger. Photography has been good to us. It has certainly put food on the table, sent our children to good schools, allowed us to travel etc. Of course, it has not been easy - it still isn't. We work long hours, we are only as good as our last job etc. But it's been fun, and we have no regrets, only gratitude for a profession that has sustained us for more than 33 years. Good luck- however you decide about photography.

Thank you sir for the advise, I really admire people like you who start small....
your an inpiration not only to fellow photo enthusias...you also inpire Pilipino entrepreneurs..
thanks
joel