How To Start a Photography Business in 5 Steps

With a fluctuating economy coupled with demands for a better work-life balance, people continue to start their own business so they can have a flexible schedule, pursue their passions, and make money. Just this year, nearly 3 million new business applications have been filed in the United States, continuing the trend that many are seeking to become entrepreneurs in today’s world.

Across various industries like real estate, e-commerce, hospitality, and remote occupations, the demand for businesses in those fields continues to increase. Photography is also another industry that has experienced rapid growth and demand. It’s been reported that its market value will increase from about $30 billion to $63.2 billion by 2034.

There’s also been a rise in the number of photography businesses in the United States, which has increased by 3% from 2024 to 2025. In terms of those seeking to hire photographers, this demand has also been proven favorable, with employment figures increasing by 4% from 2023 to 2033.

You can be a part of this growth by starting your own successful photography business this year with minimal time and overhead. Check out how you can do so below in just five steps.

1. Discover Your Niche

Like with any industry, it’s necessary to figure out the route you want to take. In photography, there are a variety of avenues you can pursue. From fashion to nature, weddings and events, travel, food, and e-commerce photography, there are many niches you can explore and grow your business in.

To determine the best path, you can start by thinking about what you enjoy. Do you like browsing through fashion magazines, wishing your work could be featured in them, taking pictures of products you buy online, or getting the most aesthetic shots while on vacation? Questions like these can help you figure out the right niche for you and your business.

Part of figuring out your niche also means researching what’s most in demand. You can do a quick web search and look for statistics and studies that report on how well your desired niche is doing and what it’s predicted to do in the future. Right now, weddings/events, real estate, and fashion photography are in high demand among consumers and companies alike.

2. Take Care of the Legalities

Before operating your business, you have to make sure you’re allowed to do so legally. Meaning, you have to register it in the state where you plan to do business, obtain an EIN, and open a business bank account so that you can keep your personal finances and business income separate.

When it comes to business structures, most independent business owners, like photographers, form a (single-member) LLC since they’re the sole owner and operator. Having an LLC also gives you certain legal protections since it separates and protects your business from your personal assets, which comes in handy if your business were to encounter any legal matters down the line. An LLC also allows you to file your business taxes as “pass-through” income that’s filed along with your personal tax return.

You can register your business as an LLC by visiting your state government’s website and providing the necessary information, like your full legal name, your LLC’s name, business address, and so on. Before registering, it’s also important to check that the business name you want is still available since duplicates are not allowed. You can double-check this by navigating to your state website’s business directory search to see if it’s already taken.

After registering your LLC, you’ll get sent its Articles of Organization to your business’ address. This document includes information such as your LLC’s name, address, your business’ registered agent, and the name of the person who filed for your Articles of Organization. You’ll then need to obtain an EIN from the IRS. Known as an Employer Identification Number, this form of identification is strictly used for business tax purposes, lets you legally file taxes under your business, open a business bank account, and hire employees if you form a specific business entity that allows you to do so, like an S Corp or a C Corp.

Once you’ve gotten your EIN, you’ll then be able to open a business bank account. When applying for one, you’ll be asked to supply your EIN document from the IRS, in addition to other information like your LLC’s Articles of Organization, Operating Agreement, and a valid government-issued ID.

3. Purchase the Necessities

Before booking jobs, you’ll want to make sure you have the necessary equipment first. This includes a camera, a camera lens, lighting fixtures like a ring or umbrella light if you’re doing indoor shoots, as well as a tripod to give your camera extra support when needed. It’s also essential to have a flash drive handy so you can save all your work in one place. Depending on the kind of work you do, like being a wedding photographer, you may need to invest in props that your clients can use in their pictures, such as bouquets and flower arrangements.

The most popular go-to camera brands for photographers are Canon, Nikon, and Sony, which all offer a variety of models that are best for taking different types of images. These brands, as well as others like Panasonic and Sigma, sell camera lenses, which are key to enhancing aspects like your pictures’ lighting, depth, and overall quality.

Photo editing and retouching software is another investment that photographers make for their business. Some popular ones include Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, and Capture One. Adobe offers a free 7-day trial for its Lightroom and Photoshop programs so you can test them out before fully committing to a subscription. Lightroom currently costs $11.99 per month or about $119 per year for an annual plan. Photoshop is $22.99 a month or $263.88 per year when bought as a standalone app that doesn’t include any other Adobe Creative Cloud programs. Like Adobe, Capture One, which currently starts at $17 per month or $108 per year, also offers different subscription tiers based on the features it comes with, like desktop editing capabilities, digital collaboration tools, and file management support.

4. Showcase Your Skills

When searching for clients, it’s good to have a website or portfolio ready so you can showcase all your work in one place. Since you’re just getting started, you likely don’t have much or any professional work. Though, you can still create a website or portfolio by including test shots that highlight your talent and skill set.

You can build a website or portfolio by using Squarespace, Adobe Portfolio, or Canva, which all offer a range of templates and themes for photographers. Depending on the site, you can also purchase a web domain directly through it or use platforms like GoDaddy or Bluehost to set it up and point it to the portfolio site host you want to use. If you don’t have the time or don’t know how to build a website from scratch, you can hire a professional to do it for you on Fiverr or Upwork.

For your website, you’ll also want to include a page that lists your service prices. To determine the best offers that work for your business and what you anticipate clients are willing to spend, you can research what other photographers offer on sites like Bark or Thumbtack to compare. When setting prices, it’s important to factor in overall business costs, such as travel, equipment, and recurring photo editing subscriptions.

5. Market Your Business

To grow your network and build a strong clientele roster, you can advertise your services to those who are seeking photography services. You can do this by setting up pages on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to represent your business. You can also list your services on niche platforms like TheKnot’s wedding photography marketplace, so people can easily find you.

You can also promote your business via word of mouth, whether through friends or family, to see if they can connect you to anyone who may be looking to hire a photographer.

Another route that some photographers choose to take is to sign up for platforms like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock Photos as a way to promote their work while getting paid, since these platforms pay photographers royalties each time their images are downloaded. If you can consistently upload good-quality photography that’s also universally usable, this is also a great way to build a steady following and grow your income as well.