The Photographer’s Guide to Making Money: 150 Ideas for Cutting Costs and Boosting Profits

As the title implies, this book has 150 ways to basically make your photo business more profitable. For someone just getting started, these tips can illustrate pitfalls to avoid and areas to focus on, saving a lot of time and money getting going I would hope! For an established business, this book would certainly help streamline your operations and work more efficiently.

There are both business/marketing tips and technical tips. While some of the ideas may seem obvious to a pro shoooter I can’t imagine that anyone, established pro or up & comer, could read this book and not walk away with a number of valuable ideas that one could enact right away.
Rating: 5 / 5

It’s funny that in today’s world the best way for photographers to make money is by writing books and teaching classes to millions of aspiring photographers, so I tend to laugh when I see books like this. However, as I read through this book I became pleased to see that its subtitle (150 ideas for Cutting Costs and Boosting Profits) was probably a more appropriate title. In fact, this book has no chapters and simply lists 150 tips of the trade – very good tips in many cases!

It’s actually quite hard to write a review for this book because I can’t do my typical chapter-by-chapter walkthrough. What I can tell you though is that you can think of this book as a collaboration of tips collected by the author, Karen Dorame, by a legion of seasoned professionals to come up with some great tips for any aspiring photographer – whether you intend to make money with your hobby or not. From basic tips like #1 – Specialize in a genre, to the practical like #14 – Practice is the cheapest training, there’s a lot of sound advice that may come off as “duh” to some, and a light bulb moment to others. For example, I’ve heard tips #33 – Raise prices instead of lowering them and #121 – Effective print displays sell larger wall art from multiple well-seasoned sources, but reading it in this book made me think – you know, I’ve heard this enough now that I think I’m going to do something about it!

There’s good tips in here from the beginner (#97 – Learn to say no), to the intermediate (#81 – Show only your best work), to even the hard core pro (i.e., #88 – Get on the blog bandwagon) so I can easily recommend this book for anyone. Just like going to the psychologist, you may feel that the book states the obvious, but if you look at your life you are certain to see that you aren’t really applying some of these tips (which really are more like rules) to help minimize your costs and maximize your profits. It’s sound advice and a super easy read. In fact, this is one that I’ll pick up from time to time to remind myself of what I should be doing, instead of being stuck in the habits of what I am doing.

Conclusion

If you take pictures of more than just your family, or if you spent more than just the cost of a kit lens DSLR setup, then it’s worth your time to read this book. Buy and read it, and then from time to time read it again and make sure your not falling into your old bad habits again.

Skill Level: All

Value: Good. At first it may seem like a waste, but when you think about the thought provoking actions you will take from reading it then it’s priceless.

Recommendation: Buy it, read it, apply it, and then read it again. Good stuff that is sure to help you as a photographer more than a new lens or camera body.

Rating: 4 / 5

This book has lots of timely info on how to make it as a professional photographer. The format is easy to follow and offers more of a “salad bar” approach. You can pick and choose the tips that are for you. I like that it is not from a single photographer’s point of view. This book is a no-brainer for anyone who wants to get into the business or who is already in the business but wants to go to the next level.
Rating: 5 / 5

I have read this book cover to cover and provides amazing ideas to get you started with photography…on a budget. This book will teach you how to get started using creative ways of making props, backgrounds, etc. Learn where to shop to get great deals and unique ideas.

The resources in the back of the book are invaluable. Hundreds of amazing vendors and ideas to get every part of your business on it’s way. If you are new to photography or an expert there are new ideas for everyone.

This is a must read! Kerri
Rating: 5 / 5

Karen’s insight into the many things you can do to start your photography business off on the right foot or to pump new energy into your business if it’s grown stale is right on target. For the photographers who decide they don’t need every new gadget and can improvise with what they already have, Karen’s ideas will give them new ideas to stay on a budget and still get great pictures.

Having 35 years in the portait and commercial business myself, I wish I’d had a book like this when I started. Heed her advice on getting a mentor and learning from someone your respect. Most masters are eager to share because they know that they learn and grow from sharing! And, the section on mastering natural light is right on target. Once you learn to see the greatest light source of all, you’ll have more fun and create better photos.

If you have a friend that’s struggling in the photo business, gift them with this book, and they’ll thank you for years to come.
Rating: 5 / 5