How to start a photography business in Kenya

Are you looking to start a photography business in Kenya? Well, I will share some insights as a professional photographer who has been in business for over 5years now.

Create a business plan

Suppose you are looking to invest in a photography business. In that case, I suggest having a business plan containing the description of your services, assessing your competition, financial planning, market analysis, and your ideal market. This is the foundation of starting a business.

Buy the right photography equipment

Photography equipment is the most significant investment when starting a photography business. Make sure you do proper research on what camera, lenses, computer, and camera accessories to buy as these vary on what type of photography one will do.

Learn the basics of photography

If you want to stand out in the photography business, you should have some outstanding skills to provide value or quality work. The basics of photography mainly involve learning how the camera works, operating it, and editing photos. You can learn about posing, lighting, and how to deal with clients or people you will shoot to take charge but remain friendly and professional. As a photographer, you are in control; always remember to stay calm, confident, and direct the subject. Do more practice to sharpen your skills.

Identify your potential client

To start a photography business, identifying your ideal client or target market will save you a lot of puzzles. Once you place them, focus on their goals and their pain points. Convert this knowledge into high-quality content that nurtures them, builds trust, and solves more problems. Make sure to have consistent access to them so that they get to know you so that when you go to sell your services, it is so much easier to convert them as your clients.

Identify a photography niche and specialize

In starting a photography business, I highly recommend to beginners to get a niche that they like and specialize in it. It helps one focus on a specific photography genre, eases marketing of your business services, and attracts the right customers willing to spend a high budget for such services. Specializing will also help you sell your name quickly, unlike a person shooting every photography genre. Examples of Photography genres are corporate, wedding, documentary, product, editorial among others.

Create a portfolio

You will need a solid portfolio of your work In the process of starting your photography business to market your services. When starting, it may be hard to get clients, so you can offer free shoots to family, friends, or people you know to create a good portfolio.

Find a mentor in photography business in Kenya

I suggest getting a mentor who is local to you that is willing to have you shadow them often and whom you can work with and ask questions and share galleries for insights and critiques. Such will help you grow your business and understand how the industry is.

Register your business

Clients are there, but the big question is, can you be trusted? It would help if you made it known that ideal clients can trust you before approaching them. You can register your business as a sole or LLC. Get a website to present your work, throw it on the website then create a social media business account.

Photography business in Kenya ; key recommended things

• Always have a contract.
• Create a social media page. ie instagram, facebook, and a website with email domain.
• Always keep time and have a gear checklist for your shoot.

Conclusion

Running a successful photography business requires sharp business acumen. You will probably need to spend between 40% & 75% of your time on business matters, i.e., website, sales techniques, SEO, marketing, networking, and client experience. Come up with several strategies to help you market your services to your target market. Focus on the backend of setting up your business correctly before moving into the graphic design part. Always be consistent, focus on your goals and be patient.