Business Trends

As digital technology grows it's critical for photographers to enlighten themselves about the most essential business and technical practices. The legalities associated with digital capture are quite different from film and need to be addressed in the everyday business of digital photo shoots. The work of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Universal...

Success, self-fulfillment, and philanthropy are common goals among professional photographers. Ingrained within us all is the desire to help others, but that lofty aspiration is sometimes beyond reach as we focus on maintaining a comfortable existence. How can you harness your talent and use it to help others while paying the rent at the same time? Is it possible to spread...

Portrait photography clients live in two distinct worlds: consumer clients and commercial clients. The time, energy, and attention required to market to each is so consuming that many photographers gravitate toward one or the other. Consumer portraits include family, children, and high school seniors. Commercial portraits range from editorial, celebrity, and advertising clients. Though they are...

As I did my research on model releases it became clear that this is not a black-and-white issue. The law and the practice of the law seem divided. The aim here, then, is to present you with a point of view that is both practical and supported by industry custom. First, let’s try to separate this discussion from copyright. Copyright law is the federal protection of your right as the owner of...

Some ways to help offset the cost of your favorite pastime

There are lots of way to make money in photography, including selling and trading photo gear, processing film and making prints for other photographers, scanning images (slides, negatives and prints) and putting them on CDs for others, retouching photos, copying and restoring old photos, collecting collectible photographs...

These days every photographer and would-be writer has the ability to publish their own book. When you take it beyond the vanity press level, and look at it as a business venture, there are numerous pitfalls and considerations to be taken into account before you take the leap. To gauge the activity in this market, we talked to a number who have gone down the publishing road.

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