The Photographer's MBA

Book excerpt: If you have finally taken the leap with your photography and gone into business–or if you are considering it– The Photographer’s MBA will prove a helpful guide in navigating the often confusing and occasionally frustrating territories of business, marketing, pricing, and contracts. Photographer Sal Cincotta, who runs a highly successful portrait, senior, and wedding photography business, deftly leads you through “the other 90%” of the job of a photographer. In this book, you will: Consider what kind of business entity is best suited for you, such as a sole proprietorship, S-Corp, or LLC Learn about the critical importance of both business plans and marketing plans, and how they will help you reach your short-term and long-term goals Understand branding’s elements and how to define your own brand so that you stand out from the crowd Assess your social media strategy to optimize your presence online, and learn about search engine optimization (SEO) to increase your findability Tackle costs, pricing, and contracts (including copyright and model releases) At the end of each chapter, Sal offers a Next Steps section, containing exercises that challenge you to actively implement the overall lessons in the book. By helping you create a solid plan, a strategy you can implement, and a vision for your business, The Photographer’s MBA gets you well on your way to creating and sustaining a photography business that will grow and succeed for years to come.