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Register as a sole trader or build a presence first?
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I am a relatively experienced photographer of events with the right amount of technical skill and professional equipment. In the past I have worked as a cameraman and have shot everything from wedding videos to live tv. I want to go into business as a wedding and events photographer, but want to avoid falling into the dreaded semi-pro category, making the jump from advanced amateur to professional once I build experience.
So, I have done many events in a semi-pro capacity in the past, but have stopped that recently. I just didn’t have the business skill. I would like opinions from other professional photographers as to that all important first step. I am thinking about developing a website and business cards, facebook page etc and getting my marketing ready to launch. I am unsure if I should do this before registering as a sole trader. Does anyone out there know if you can register as a sole trader and have an inactive or dormant company, and if so, would I be liable to pay any tax if my company was not currently trading? The idea is to gain at the experience of at least 10-15 weddings as an assistant before I take on smaller jobs in a professional capacity, maybe engagement shoots or something along those lines. I have already assisted at two weddings and got professional results, but what I lack at the moment is the people/crowd management skills.
The other issue is that I have no experience laying out an album, absolutely no idea where to start. The only time I see my images in print is when I shoot film and get back 6×4’s. It is one of the curses of digital for the amateur, you tend to not print out any of your images, just enjoy them on the screen. How much of a learning curve is there to album and book layouts for weddings? It seems like one of those things you can only learn by doing, no matter how many handy templates and tutorials you have.
I am currently employed, so I am assuming there is absolutely no financial assistance available to me if I were looking to set up a small business employing a total of one, either from the social welfare or any of the various enterprise boards, but if I’m wrong I would love to be corrected by someone.
So basically, apart from the questions above, I am generally looking for any advice from experienced professionals about doing things the correct and legal way, to build a business for the long run. I understand that I will not be able to charge the low prices of the weekend photographer if I hope to commit to this full time, so any advice on pricing structure and how to survive in the current climate is especially appreciated. My market is Cork City and County.
Thank you in advance, guys and girls.
As someone said to me recently regarding a situation I was in, “I feel your pain”. Well, you are not in pain but you are at a crossroads and unsure of which way to turn it would seem. I am in a somewhat similar situation myself and find that the deeper one goes into the, as you put it, “dreaded semi-pro” market, the more grey the lines of definition become. I’ve been using a camera since I was about eleven years old and that was over forty years ago and up until the middle of last year I was content enough to just be a dedicated amateur/hobbyist who occasionally did a few photo jobs like Communion or Confirmation gigs for families in my area. I have had a decent profile with a few years due to my use of social media, especially Facebook, and I also get a small monthly income for small journalistic content to local newspapers. This little income goes towards bills or if I’m clever with the figures, maybe a new lens or change of camera now and then. However…here’s what annoys me big time.
I am a pretty decent hand at shooting sports and have been trying with a few years to get work published, to get paid for it or to maybe pick up a retainer from a bigger media outlet, all to pretty much no avail. Thing is, what I see in the big titles sometimes looks worse than what I am capable of. Sure, the local papers where I am are all too willing to take my work but I’m afraid they don’t pay for it as their argument there is that they, the newspapers, already get so much free from amateurs that paying someone to do the same thing is a no-brainer to them. So I just keep giving them the freebies and maybe sell a print now and then to those who see their little Johnny or Jenny in an action shot from some game I’ve covered. It’s hard to know where to turn and I fully understand your hesitation and apprehension when it comes to deciding to go the whole hog and take up the life of photography full time. But I am making progress slowly…
This week I was granted a Media Pass from the FAI which will enable me to shoot at all Airtricity League games this coming season and I’m genuinely very excited about that. Might get me a few more steps up the ladder. Also, one of the local newspapers that I supply free content to has got me a Photographer Pass for Munster’s game against Edinburgh on Saturday so better make good use of that and then get them to apply to Munster for every home game for me; the Sports Editor at the mentioned paper is a good friend so no problem there. I also did a day in Croke Park last September at the Ladies GAA Finals for the same paper and increased my media profile big time as a result.
Now, what are you to do? My advice, for what it’s worth, is to definitely start to create a presence for yourself on as many Social Media platforms as you can, to offer your services to a wider audience but don’t charge cheap as the man says. and to hold on to your job for as long as you can juggle everything safely. As for the tax implications of you beginning your journey to Full Time via my route; I leave that to your conscience. In my case, the fact that I hardly ever get paid for my sports work makes it that bit easier for me to increase my profile without yet having to worry about changing my tax scenario.
Set yourself a 12 month goal, write it down, and then do your best to carry out the plan over the period. That’s what I decided to do around Summer time last year and so far I’ve almost reached all goals. Except for the making of loads of money of course! But that will come eventually, I keep telling myself that anyway!
Hope my thoughts were of help and whatever you do, make the right decision for YOURSELF. Not for others.
Regards…Gerry
If you earn any income from your photography then you are liable for income tax, regardless of having registered as a sole trader or not. You should look into some sort of start up business course as you said you are proficient at photography but have no business knowledge.
Peter
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