Starting a photography business is so much different than a traditional business or home based company. During those first few weeks of operation, simple mistakes could have a significant impact on the future of your business.
While the mistakes are definitely learning experiences, knowing how to avoid them can help you to improve without going through all that trial and error. 
Here are my fifteen favorite things that you should know if you decided to start earning a living from your photography.

1. Taking a Photography Course

Regardless how great of a photographer you are, you can always improve on your skills. Do some research online for the best reviewed photography workshops and choose one to hone your skills. These courses will be the best investment in yourself that you could make when you are first getting your business of the ground. 

2. Working With a Mentor

Consider working with a mentor who already has had a successful photography career. When you surround yourself with someone who is completely passionate about this craft, it only helps to raise your level of experience with them. Even a few hours a month can have a tremendous positive effect on your business. 

3. Putting in the Time
To become a true professional in this industry, you need to put in thousands of hours honing your skills. If you only plan on investing a few hours each day, you might not get to that point for years. Roll up your sleeves and put your full passion and attention to investing as many hours each day as it takes to get you to where you have to be. 

4. Find Some Time to Intern
In addition to practicing each day, spend some time interning with a professional photography company. Regardless if they are high or low end, you can pick up some great skills that will only carry over into your own photography business. 

5. Failure is Going to Happen
While focusing on failure is a sure way to have problems, believing you won’t make mistakes can result in the same situation. Even the best in the business make mistakes, learn to accept them as part of the learning experience and move on. Never be afraid to make mistakes because you might be a few clicks away from a long string of huge successes. Never give up on your passion.  

6. Photography is All About You

The reason that your photography business is going to succeed is because your images are unique from every other photographer. The unique qualities that you bring to your craft enable you to attract people who admire and are impressed by your work. 

Don’t try to mimic a local photography studio just because they are having success in your town. Tale the road less traveled and stake your own claim in the photography world. Your unique style of taking photographs will set you apart from the crowd if you do. 

7. Don’t Expect Success Overnight

When you expect to hit it big this month, and don’t see the results you expected, it is too easy to pack in it and quit. Success in the photography industry takes time. The recent jump in popularity of social media websites is a great new resource for photographers to get the word out much faster than ever imagined. 

8. Having Another Source of Income

While earning a living might be a challenge early on, don’t let the cash flow ever put you in a position to have to give up on your dream. Have a part time or full time job you can fall back on until the money coming in from photography is consistent enough to support you and grow the business. 

9. Learn from Your Mistakes

Rather than get discouraged or upset when you make a mistake, use this opportunity to learn how to improve your skills. If you can gain some constructive criticism about your work, it will help you to avoid going down that road again. 

While these comments might sting at first, you will come to appreciate the honest reviews as more of encouragement for you to push to be the best you can be. 

10. Dress Like a Professional

One of the biggest mistakes many photographers make is they forget to present themselves in the best possible light.“If you want anyone to take you seriously, you have to dress like you are a complete professional in this industry”, said my dear friend and aprofessional product photographer. 

Dressing the part will help you to be accepted as someone in this industry who is passionate about their work. 

11. Backing Up Your Work
A hard drive could fail at the most inopportune time. Make sure that you always have one hard drive on the job shoot, and one hard drive at your business in case of emergency. Protect the files once the shoot is over by backing them up twice. 

12. Shooting RAW Image Files
The RAW format contains all the date from the original picture. JPEG files compress that data and do not produce the high quality that a RAW file will. 

13. Storing Your Memory Cards
During and after a photography shoot, never place a memory card in your pockets. This is a recipe for disaster and not very professional. Cards get lost, broken, or damaged in a pocket. Store them in your equipment bag where they will be safe. 

14. Shooting on Multiple Cards
Memory card can become defective and all those images you just shot could be unable to be retrieved. Always bring extra cards, and use them throughout the shot so not all the pictures are stored on a single card. 

15. Find Some Photographers to Be Friends With
Use your social media presence to friend some photographers and interact with them. Not only can you gain valuable insights, you can share your passions with people who are already experiencing success in your niche. Making friends from around the world could really broaden your knowledge in this diverse industry.
If you liked my tips, or interested in more, just let me know in comment section.