It is key to understand the ability to sell stems from within. In order to be effective in promoting your photography services, you must first put yourself in the appropriate state of mind, which does the selling for you. This state of mind manifests itself both before a potential client comes into contact and after. Once you are in this state of mind, all selling strategies and techniques subsequently falls into place.

The single most reliable sign that you should start charging is when the market asks for your rates after seeing your work. Whether or not your photos are good enough is not the central issue - there is no objective way to assess this. Focus on putting yourself in a state of mind that enables you to convert every enquiry into a booking.

Usually, photographers accept both cash and bank transfers, taking a 50% retainer due before the shoot. Exact due date for retainer and the balance is mostly up to the photographer. Up-front payments are taken to close a time slot from further advertisement and cover gear rental costs.

Firstly, cull shots to remove technically-flawed images, then export them as jpg format. Upload the jpgs onto Pixiset by creating a client gallery, and share the gallery with the client. The client selects their favourite shots and notifies me about it. I edit their selected shots, export them as jpg and transfer through Google Drive. I then delete the photos after 30 days after they have been made available.

A polite response consists of three main elements. Start by acknowledging your client’s concerns and expressing empathy. Then, explain how getting the raw files will not solve their concerns. You then go on to restate your boundaries, as it is important for the client to see that it is your business practices and this will gain you their respect. Lastly, you can counter-propose any alternative solutions to their concerns, if any.

For those wanting to kickstart your first portrait session, it would be great to know where to find models, makeup artists and hair stylists, whether or not you pay them, how to split costs incurred, if you need a contract, how to deliver photos, and usage of the photos.

Here is a quick summary of the shot list. In relation to people, shots to get include opening & closing speech, keynote speakers, panel speakers, Q&A participants, poised environmental portraits, networking group shots, organiser group shots and candid shots. In relation to venue, get shots of the entire audience, entire stage with speakers, and the empty venue. In relation to details, photograph food, name cards, notebooks, banners and decoration if any.

Briefly, here is a step-by-step breakdown of how to start your collabs:

1. Decide on your scope of work

2. Build a crew (Instagram DM, Modelling Agencies)

3. Location Scout

4. Pre-shoot communication with crew

Briefly, here is a step-by-step breakdown of how to start your collabs:

1. Prospect potential collaborators (Google, Instagram Explore, Industry-specific Organisations etc.)

2. Send tailored cold messages on Instagram

3. Streamline ideal collaborator avatar

4. Build an Inspiration Library