Over the last several days I've begun to convince myself (and Jill) that turning my little photography hobby into a actual side business may not be a bad idea. For starters, it could be a nice source of extra income since Jill is now a stay-at-home mom. She has already begun to promote me over at Marietta Moms, which could be a great starting point to build my clientele (babies, toddlers, kids, teenagers, seniors, weddings). I enjoy being around kids anyways, and honestly they can be some of the easiest to work with when it comes to photographing a client. I know I could offer parents some unique photos of their children, make a little money for the college fund (and/or future wedding) for Abby, and have a little fun all at the same time. :-)
So, I've spent a lot of time the last two nights researching what tools (websites, camera equipment, etc.) other fellow photographers are using for their businesses. For me, I already have some great camera gear with a semi-pro Canon DSLR XTi camera body and two lenses that include my Sigma 17-70mm (for wide angle shots) and the spectacular mini-wonder that is my Canon 50mm (portrait lens). And if I want to experiement with new lenses, there are numerous lens rental sites online that would offer me a more affordable option than purchasing those $400-$600 specialty lenses. I would like to set up a photo blog that I could direct potential clients to, which I've already started building. I would then use a new Flickr account dedicated to my photography business that would allow clients to link to and share. Honestly, there's not a lot of capital that needs to be invested into starting up the business.
Another incredibly cool gadget that I came across today on a fellow photographer's website is the Animoto videos. They cater their video services to photographers because it gives them another product to offer to clients. You can add your own music to the video, and the look is really eye-catching. I gave it a trial tonight with a few of Abby's photos and a song from my iTunes library. Check it out...
and a litte more edgy version using my old Tennessee State Prison photos...
