Ebook Sample Content Preview:

With so many young families today placing a renewed emphasis on family gatherings, the art of portrait-taking is as in vogue as ever. With virtually every household in your area a potential portrait customer, this portion of the photography business is too large to overlook.

Families keep portraits forever. Parents use them to watch their kids grow up and then remember those days years later. Not only is every household a prospect, but a well-done first portrait can bring you repeat business from the same family for years.

You don’t need a studio to do portraits. You can rearrange one of the rooms in your house and accomplish the same thing for no overhead! Earlier, we suggested a tripod and a floodlight or two. The only addition to those items to set up a portrait studio at home would be some kind of colored background material you can tape up on the walls. Presto! A home studio!

This is not only a home studio, it can serve as a traveling one, too! Bring your background material, your lights and your camera and tripod and you can do your portrait almost anywhere: a client’s house, an office, a school building. You have to be prepared to hide any "alien" elements like other lights, tables, pictures, whatever might distract from the centerpiece: the picture of the family members/individual.

In portraits, it’s important to have everyone doing the right things. With several people, be sure they are arranged properly so that no one is blocking anyone else. Ask the kids to smile, not to make faces. You can take a serious shot or two as well. You’re in charge, although you must do it in a manner that is pleasant and controlled, but firm. After taking a few portraits, you will know what works best, not only in photography, but in the discreet suggestions to clients to better ensure a portrait they'll be pleased with for years to come.

There are thousands of memories stored away in pictures and that’s a lot of responsibility for you to get it right. But you can do it! Work with a child to make him or her happy, even if you know (or it’s obvious) they would like to be somewhere else. Years later, these precocious young clients will be pleased with the effort you made to get the portrait right, as they pull down an old album.

If you’re in the position of trying to build up a portrait (or photography) business, you can try an idea many photographers use to get started. They advertise a free or low-cost $1.00 portrait special for a family member. You sign up as many as you can take and then, as they sit, snap a few different shots of the person. You present your free or low-cost portrait framed (their choice of photo) and then you offer the additional shots and sizes that good pictures are likely to encourage. Not many people can pass up wallet-sizes, for example, of a good portrait. Your add-on sales should make up for the giveaway, generate your own portfolio of portraits to show other potential clients, and get your name known about town as a competent portrait photographer.

Children also have their pictures taken at school. The school photos are often done by a portrait photographer like yourself! Get down to each of the schools, put a bid in to do the portraits and leave samples of your past portrait work. Large towns have several schools as prospects. In addition, drive out to schools that are off the beaten track, but within a comfortable driving distance for you. They may not have someone they use regularly and your professional approach may attract a few offers to do the school portraits.