How to Start a Pet Photography Business

How to Start a Pet Photography BusinessHow to Start a Pet Photography BusinessPet photography is a fun and profitable niche business that allows you to combine a love of animals with technical skill in photography. According to the 20112012 survey by the American Pet Products Association, pets are an important part of 79.2 mio U.S. households (62% of all households). A growing number of owners are interested in displaying professional photos of their pets, and they are willing to pay a premium for high-qualityimages. Equipment Good photography equipment is expensive and there are many components you will need to purchase. You will need several digital cameras, as it is important to always have backup cameras during a session. Tripods, reflectors, and a variety of lenses and flashes should also be a part of your inventory. While some shots may be done outside with a natural background, you will also need a backdrop stand and backdrop material for indoor work. Props are often usefu l when composing shots. Dont forget to have treats and toys available to help get a pets attention. The crinkling sound of a candy wrapper often gets them to prick their ears and focus on the camera. You also might bring a tape recorder of interesting sounds to get the pets attention. Species-specific sounds are often the best bet for drawing attention. Experience and Technique If you do not already have a background working in photography, taking a series of classes to learn the basics is highly recommended. Local community groups or colleges often offer photography classes. Another option, if you can find a willing mentor, is to apprentice yourself to an experienced photographer. You will need to know how to use lighting, lenses, flash, shutter speed, angles, and poses to capture the most detailed images possible of your subject. The animals expression and coat texture are especially important considerations as you compose your shots. Animals are a lot like children in that th ey can be difficult to photograph. Be willing to go with the flow and take advantage of unexpected moments. You might not get them to sit totenstill for a particular shot, but you could come up with something even better in the process. Services Pet photographers can offer a number of services in a variety of locations. Photo shoots can take place at your studio, a clients home, or a local park. A photo package is offered to the client after the session and they choose the proofs they wish to purchase. Pet photographers can also take photos at dog shows, horse shows, and pet adoption events. Holiday photos with Santa are a perennial favorite. You may also find work taking advertising shots for groomers, trainers, breeders, or pet shops. Equine photography is a growing subset of the pet photography business and those specializing in this area take photos at horse shows, racetracks, breeding farms, and equestrian centers. Conformation shots and competition shots are popular purcha ses. You can also consider selling some photos for stock photography collections or multimedia advertising purposes. Pricing Some photographers charge a sitting or session fee, but the majority of their income tends to come from offering high-quality prints or digital images for sale. Options may vary, but generally, a photographer offers several packages at different price points with prints of various sizes. Rates can vary widely based on experience, location, and options included. For example, one well-known Seattle photographer offers a two-hour session for up to three pets, and you can choose two locations. The base fee is $350, and photo packages run about $500. Other photographers in different regions offer more affordable rates. Your best bet is to find out what pet photographers charge in your area for various services and packages. Price your packages reasonably based on your level of experience and the going rate in your area. Advertising There are a number of way s to advertise your new pet photography business. Leaving flyers and business cards at pet-related businesses, using phone directory listings or Craigslist, and taking out ads in pet or lifestyle magazines are common options. A photo session package can be a great item to donate to a fundraising event, as it will give your business great exposure while at the same time contributing to a deserving cause. You can also work out an arrangement with local vets, humane societies, or restaurants, offering to provide artwork to cover their walls. You may even be able to offer your work for sale while on display, perhaps giving the business owner a cut of the proceeds. This is a win-win proposition and certainly will bring attention to your pet photography business. Word of mouth and referrals will become an important source of new business. Be sure to provide some sort of incentive to current clients for repeat bookings and referrals.

Think you can freelance Questions to ask before taking the leap

Think you can freelance Questions to ask before taking the leapThink you can freelance Questions to ask before taking the leapBecoming a freelancer is a big step. It means creating your own business, being your own boss, becoming an entrepreneur. It is exciting and daunting at the same time. So, before you jump right in, take a breath and ask yourself three questions.Do I really have a Special Sauce that can make money?No one wants a mediocre expert. If your skills arent strong enough to claim mastery, then think no further about it. That said, different fields need different levels of experience. It is unlikely that a recent college graduate could develop a change management sttarifgy for a multinational corporation. However, he/she could be perfect for developing social media campaigns for small companies. So when assessing your skills, be sure to consider the types of assignments you hope to get.Assuming your skills are marketable, the question then becomes, Can I make enough mone y with my special sauce? The annual earnings you need is a personal question, contingent on your savings, income from other sources and your spending patterns. You need to budget carefully and make some critical assumptions about the income levels you could earn, the time it will take to get up to speed and the downtime between assignments. Digital talent platforms can provide a cushion for rookies as you launch your consulting practice, you can also drive for Uber or do weekly TaskRabbit gigs to generate income during the slow periods. This ability to be able to depend on side gigs through digital platforms may be contributing to the growth of the professional independent work trend.One way to deal with the income uncertainty is to set a goal for a 3- or 6-month time period If you get traction in the pilot period, you continue, if not, perhaps you rethink the choice. Similarly, another good idea is to ask trusted colleagues what they might pay for the types of services you could of fer. Digital talent sites like Spare Hire or Zintro can offer some ideas about the going rate for projects, but the bid and offer structure means there is a fairly broad range. if you get excited looking at the digital talent sites, because many of the gigs look right up your alley, keep in mind that many of these sites have more shoppers than buyers. In fact, some sites even rate the buyers to indicate which have actually hired people when they posted projectsHow do you feel about being alone?John Donne said No man is an island, but he did not know about the freelance lifestyle. As an independent, you are an island because you are totally on your own. You must be able to look to yourself for direction, motivation, reinforcement, and consolation. Professional associations and colleagues can provide some support, but for the most part, it is up to you to create a fulfilling work environment. In many cases you will be working off-site, and not in the client environment, which can add to the isolation. For some, working at the client site can be just as bad, since you may be seen as an outsider.Some freelancers partner with other independents to get more of a sense of community. Others rent arbeitszimmers at co-working facilities since these offer community as well as office space, administrative support, and technological assistance. However, these services come at a cost so be sure to factor that into your thinking,Can you make the tough calls?Many people dont like confrontation. Freelancing provides a great deal of flexibility and freedom from office politics to a certain extent. But along the way, there can be some confrontations, because you are running your own business, so you are the only one who can make the tough calls,You may need to tell a client that something they ask you to do is not within the scope of a project. As employees, we are all used to doing whatever the boss says if you are working on X and are asked to do Y you pivot and do it. As a fr eelancer, it is not that simple. Your contract for deliverables. If the client asks for something above and beyond those deliverables, you are facing scope creep, and the contract must be renegotiated. That is a difficult conversation to have with a client, but it is an essential one.Depending on your field, you need to be able to tell a client that he or she is wrong. They may not like that answer, but you need to give it. The consultant who tells a client what he/she wants to hear, rather than bad news will hurt his/her practice in the long run. Remember, you are being paid for your expertise, not your political skills.Finally, there are the logistical problems, like late payments, expense overcharges or contract problems. Calling a delinquent client is never fun but neither is not getting paid.If you answer these questions and are totenstill intrigued, go for it. Studies say 28 million people are considering a freelance career. Trust me you wont be the only one jumping in.Marion McGovern, author of Thriving in the Gig Economy, is the co-founder and former CEO of M Squared Consulting, one of the first Gig Economy talent intermediaries to thrive before the term was even coined and the founder of Collabrus, a company focused on independent contractor compliance. She is also the author of A New Brand of Expertise Independent Consultants, Free Agents, and Interim Managers Are Transforming the World of Work.

Survey The 10 most expensive American cities to get married in

Survey The 10 most expensive American cities to get married inSurvey The 10 most expensive American cities to get married inAnd the most expensive American city to get married in is you guessed it New York, according to the 2018 Newlywed Report by WeddingWire.While the average age of engaged couples is 32 years old, and 56% say buying a home in the following two years is in the cards for them. Online resources areused for 83% planning (on desktop computers, tablets and cell phones), and Pinterest is the most popular social media platform utilized during this process at 69%. Facebook came in second place at 60%, while Instagram came in third at 44%.The data comes from a survey of17,862 people who got married in 2017, drawing data from WeddingWires Newlywed Survey, compiled yearly.Millennials were defined as those born between 1982 and 1996.The top 10 most expensive American cities to get married inHeres how much weddings cost, on average, in the 25 biggest untergrundbahn area markets .New York surrounding metro area, NY $45K in 2017 ($48K in 2016)Boston, MA $37K in 2017 ($36K in 2016)San Francisco Oakland, CA $36K in 2017 ($40K in 2016)Washington, DC $34K in 2017 ($35K in 2016)Chicago, IL $34K in 2017 ($35K in 2016)Hartford New Haven, CT $34K in 2017 ($27K in 2016)Los Angeles, CA $33K in 2017 ($33K in 2016)Baltimore, MD $33K in 2017 ($31K in 2016)Philadelphia, PA $32K in 2017 ($34K in 2016)Miami Ft. Lauderdale, FL $31K in 2017 ($31K in 2016)The most popular time of the year to get engaged and marriedWhile WeddingWire deemed November to February engagement season, the most popular month was December at 16%. The average cost of a ring is $5,000, 1 in 4 couples throw a party for their engagement, and the average engagement length is 13 months.These were the five most popular engagement days in 2017Christmas DayValentines DayChristmas EveNew Years DayNew Years EveWhile fall is the most popular wedding season at 38%, summer is up next at 30%, then spring at 23% a nd winter at 9%.Lauren Goodson, Director of Insights at WeddingWire, commented on the research in a statement.We are excited to see that while many wedding fundamentals have stayed consistent, there are a number of noteworthy progressions and evolutions, including more prominent celebrations for LGBTQ couples (with an increase in guest size and parents financial contributions) since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage nationwide, and the increased reliance on technology to pull off a unique and personalized wedding celebration.These parties pay for the weddingThe average price tag for a wedding is $36,000 (including the engagement ring, ceremony and reception and honeymoon). Couples tend to pay for 45% of the wedding, while parents chip in 46% and others contribute to 9% of the cost.Among LGBTQ couples, 61% paid for all or most of their wedding costs in 2017, versus 79% in 2013.The research found that 42% of couples are too conservative when coming up with a weddin g budget, and tend to underestimate how much the event will cost.But, heres where parents who help out with the cost get the money from- like their retirement fundsTook out money from savings account 56%Took out money from a specific account created for their child and/or their wedding 22%Credit cards 20%Dipped into retirement 9%Cashed in stocks and/or liquidated assets 7%Took out a loan 7%Refinanced/home equity 3%But some Millennials have less to think about when it comes to the wedding cost- the research found that 20% in this generation have the total price tag covered by their parents or others.