The First Clients

I practiced photography as a hobby from 2011-2013 and did not charge for my services until I had a portfolio I was proud of and I felt like I could deliver a high-quality product under any circumstance. During that time I asked my friends to model for me and then reached out to strangers to model for me.

Why?

During this time I needed a safe place to fail:

When I got stuck coming up with posing ideas…

When I didn’t know how to handle a naughty horse…

When I missed my exposures…

When I forgot to format my memory card…

When I was still experimenting with color correction and finding my aesthetic…

When I was stumped on how to make overcast conditions look as good as golden hour…

When I was fumbling with my camera settings…

I needed an audience that would extend me the grace to grow and learn and mess up. I needed a low-pressure environment where there was no expectation to deliver. I put myself in all sorts of locations, at different times of the day, with a large variety of subjects until I gained the confidence that I could deliver images worthy of my portfolio no matter what. This stage took me over a year!

I think that while you are practicing and building your portfolio you should not charge for your services. Ask friends to model, practice on safe subjects, and gain enough experience that you can deliver a consistent product no matter the circumstance (bad weather, ill-mannered horses, difficult clients, tough lighting, challenging location, etc).

In 2013, I started my business as an LLC and priced myself profitably (I have a course that explains exactly how I priced myself with excel documents to help you!). I received my EIN, applied for my Sales and Use Tax Permit, and had my contract.  I’ve spoken on this topic at greater length on this podcast.

By this point, I was ready to start marketing to my first clients, who had actually already started reaching out to me because of referrals and mutual contacts. The first paying clients that I booked were the barnmates + friends of the people I had already been photographing. I quickly learned that my greatest marketing asset were the girls who had already been in front of my lens. I needed to provide them with an experience worth raving about and images compelling enough to share.