# Starting off



## Nickgoble (Oct 6, 2022)

Hello all, is there any way in particular that I should market myself? In today’s digital age are ads the way to go (social media ads in particular)? Or are business cards effective enough to get your name out there and circulating. Should I make a website first? Do I need to just let word of mouth land me my first few clients? I’m not sure the best route here and I’m sure it’s very situation specific but would be interested to see what others think. I have tried everything I can think of without spending more money to land shoots. I’ve offered free shoots to everyone I know multiple times to atleast get more practice and have more photos to say I took and to market myself with I honestly don’t mind not making money off of photography but I think it would be really nice if I could make it work being it is my only real passion. Another road block I think I’ve hit is that being my age (19) my friends who are all of similar age are really not scheduling any photo shoots they are broke. Idk any advice on what I should be doing to progress myself professionally.


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## webestang64 (Oct 7, 2022)

One of the things I did at first was build a portfolio using friends and family, yes, I made no money but had a really nice set of photos to show. Of course this was back in the day so no internet. I used word of mouth. 
I'm sure there are peeps here who can help with the internet.


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## Rickbb (Oct 7, 2022)

Get a job as an assistant to an established pro to learn the business from. To make it you need to be better at business than taking photos.

And as web stated you need a balanced portfolio, 90% of a pros work is weddings and school/sports portraits. Potential customers want to see a good body of your work in what they will be hiring you for.


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## cgw (Oct 7, 2022)

No mention anywhere above what you like/want to shoot.


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## Nickgoble (Oct 7, 2022)

cgw said:


> No mention anywhere above what you like/want to shoot.


I like to take pictures of almost everything. Portraits are probably my favorite to shoot tho. I like night photography I like product photography I like landscapes. Idk I just like finding ways to take good pictures of things. Oh and if you’re curious I currently have a canon t7 but I am looking to invest in a canon rp or cannon r very soon probably. i just don’t want to make such a big investment into something that I’m not quite sure how to go about i would also consider doing real estate photography because I think it seems interesting.


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## Nickgoble (Oct 7, 2022)

webestang64 said:


> One of the things I did at first was build a portfolio using friends and family, yes, I made no money but had a really nice set of photos to show. Of course this was back in the day so no internet. I used word of mouth.
> I'm sure there are peeps here who can help with the internet.


I have been using family to build a portfolio of work. It’s not the most expansive but it is slowly expanding I do a few shoots of family every week usually my sister.


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## Nickgoble (Oct 7, 2022)

Rickbb said:


> Get a job as an assistant to an established pro to learn the business from. To make it you need to be better at business than taking photos.
> 
> And as web stated you need a balanced portfolio, 90% of a pros work is weddings and school/sports portraits. Potential customers want to see a good body of your work in what they will be hiring you for.


I hadn’t thought about approaching a photographer and asking to be their assistant. There is one photographer in my area that has started their own business  and is successful I will definitely try to see if that could pan out for me I’m not sure if she has ever had an assistant before but we shall see sometime soon preferably.


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