Whether it's portrait photography or commercial camera work, the demand for high quality images has never been greater. And with minimal requirements of space and equipment, setting up a home-based photography business has never been easier, or more affordable.
Some photographers prefer to have something more permanent and will turn a spare room or a garage into a dedicated photography studio. Others find it easy to set up a temporary studio in the middle of their living space.
Sam Mellish runs a photography business from his home, a converted warehouse in East London. While a great deal of his time is spent shooting on location, often overseas, he does take advantage of his open plan living space to set up a studio for product shots for some of his clients.
He says: "If you are a roaming photographer, working mainly out on site or at events, you really only need storage space for your gear; two or three lenses and a camera body, tripod, flash and a decent bag. If I decide to do shooting at home, I set up the studio in the main living room, and then do the picture editing from a laptop in my bedroom."
In terms of initial outlay for equipment, the sky's the limit on how much you want to spend. However, the advice from Cornwall-based commercial and landscape photographer Anthony Greenwood is to start with what you can afford.
He says: "You can start out with a camera and lens and then purchase extra equipment as funds permit. In the interim, you can simply hire what you need. You should always assess the requirements of the job and then plan what equipment you'll need. In terms of quality, I look at the long-term savings of buying professional equipment; reliability and durability is key. There is nothing worse for your stress levels than when equipment fails at a critical moment."
In terms of marketing a home-based photography business, social networks such as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram provide ideal platforms for showcasing imagery and promoting photographer's skills and services, very cost effectively.
Photographers also need to protect their images, ensuring they are properly stored and readily accessible.
Joshua Braun, storage expert at Netgear says: "For storing and protecting data, the solution of choice is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) system. Choose the correct total storage capacity, determined by the size of the hard disks being used and the number of 'bays'."
Professional photographers must ensure that their storage system has the latest data protection technology and have an easy-to-manage way of automatically storing photos offsite to protect them from catastrophic events such as fire, flood or burglary. This can be done via public cloud services, or a secondary NAS-system located elsewhere, for example in a family member's home.
Another photography essential is accessing and backing up data remotely, allowing photographers to back up photos while travelling and also giving them a preview of photos on the move, adds Braun.
While many photographers will provide a wide range of services; weddings, portraits, commercial and outdoor photography, some choose to specialise.
Moya Slade's speciality is photographing babies and young children mainly at her home studio in Oxted, Surrey. An experienced photographer, she launched her business in May 2013 after a break away from the profession to have her family.
She said: "In January last year I decided to enrol on a course for professional photography to brush away the rust, thinking I would just have a play again as a hobby. It was my husband who persuaded me to get back into it properly, so I updated my camera, bought some new lenses, a new laptop, software and a monitor, for editing my pictures at home, and started 'borrowing' friends' children for my first subjects."
The business quickly took off, and last November Slade took the next step of branding her business and setting up her home studio, for babies from birth to one year, in her summer house in the garden.
She says: "I work in quite a small space with a backdrop and couple of lights. Babies don't tend to move very much, so this type of photography can be done almost anywhere if you have the right kit and props. My studio also allows me to work with natural light as it is literally situated in the middle of my garden.
"On a sunny day this really works to my advantage and I quite often work with just one soft box and the light coming in from the garden. This is perfect for babies as it gives a lovely softness to the images."
Being a children's photographer, Slade is Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checked, fully insured for public liability, and ensures that her equipment is fully covered.
This raises a key issue for all home-based photography business owners, that of having the right type and level of insurance cover. In general, they have two options, says Stuart Saggers, underwriting manager at Direct Line for Business.
"If a photographer wants to insure their business equipment; cameras, printer, computer, they would be best placed to purchase a business from home policy, which will also cover their public liability risk. This can be extended to cover any employees they might have. If public liability is their main concern, they could purchase a public liability only policy, which could extend to cover their equipment. However, given the value of cameras these days it is unlikely to provide sufficient cover for these items."
On the point of data storage, an insurance policy will provide some cover in respect of lost data but won't cover the issues that are probably at the forefront of a business of this type such as erasure of data or corruption, unless by an insured peril.
He added: "For example, if the house burns down and the computer is destroyed then there is cover, but for erroneous deletion of files there is not."
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