11.4. BUSINESS DETAILS

To run a photography business, you have to do more than just take great images. You must be adept at managing sales, marketing, administration, accounting, and customer relations. When you're a small-business owner, you do virtually all the work, which can make it challenging to get enough time behind the viewfinder.

It's important to have as many people as possible providing you with services that take up your time. This is why I use an online photography fulfillment service (Printroom), so that I do not have to worry as much about creating prints, shipping them, and processing payments. Of course, I still spend a substantial amount of time with customers, and I do a lot of custom pricing and jobs, as well — so I still have to do it all, but the online fulfillment service takes care of a lot of the details. I also have outside services provide accounting.

Marketing and sales, as well as customer relations, however, tend to be very personal aspects of business management. While most photographers typically have no qualms with outsourcing their accounting, when it comes to advertising, updating their Web sites, or interacting with customers, it's hard to let someone else take the proverbial reins. Yet as a photography business grows, inevitably others must become involved, and even the most involved, micromanaging photographers cannot do everything themselves.

When setting up a photography business, I recommend you seriously consider addressing these issues beforehand:

• Develop, define, and articulate a standard workflow methodology for your studio.

• Research and open an account with an online fulfillment service/lab that has a strong track record and experience in working with photographers that shoot what you shoot. The service should provide you with personal attention, account management, and support.

• Find an accounting/bookkeeping service and standardize the system they suggest (for example, QuickBooks, and so on).

• Consider some dedicated photography management applications to manage the business aspects of workflow, from scheduling shoots to managing accounting and billing. Applications include SuccessWare (www.SuccessWare.net), Pro Invoice/Estimate (PI/E) (www.PieSoftware.com), FotoBiz (www.FotoQuote.com), Granite Bear's Photo One Software (www.PhotoOneSoftware.com), or StudioPlus (www.studioplussoftware.com).

• Decide what aspects of your business you can realistically delegate to others who work for you or with you, or to outsourcing services.

• Build a navigable, informative, articulate, and attractive Web site, and make sure to integrate it with your online fulfillment and gallery service. Don't settle for less, even if you need to pay someone to do it.

• Join the PPA, and make use of it. They also have business, legal, and marketing services available to you that you'll want to at least consider using.

• Research the market, and know what your competitors are doing, how they price their work, and how they represent themselves. Determine how you can differentiate yourself from them, yet work in the same market.

• Have a good way of showcasing your work, whether that is online, in person, or in a space in your studio (or all of these!).

• Create an inventory of your equipment, and have your equipment insured. The PPA offers a great program for this.

• Have backups of all your images kept in a secure, separate place from your studio (for example, in a bank safe-deposit box).

• You can't do it all, so determine your strongest area of photography and practice it diligently. Keep up to speed on the latest methods, trends, and technology.

• Articulate and make use of your brand identity.

11.4.1. HOW DO I ESTABLISH A BRAND IDENTITY?

A brand identity represents everything about you as a photographer, and how the world perceives your business and you. I spent a great deal of my career in brand development, and I co-wrote the book From Bricks to Clicks: 5 Steps to a Durable Online Brand (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2001), currently in use by numerous MBA programs. A brand is far more than just a logo or a name; it encompasses and touches virtually every part of your business.

Many photographers use their own names for their businesses; this can be a pitfall unless you have an extremely memorable or well-known name. More often, using a regionally relevant name (such as using a city or local geographical landmark) works better, and perhaps using one that's combined with what you specifically do (for example, Green Lake Aerial Photography).

Having a tagline, which is the permanent subreference to your name, is most important and useful when it helps identify a less descriptive company name. If your name is "Bob's Shots," then a tagline might be "Professional Portrait Photography," or something similar that helps people understand specifically what you do. Don't be redundant: If your business name says "photography," for example, it doesn't make sense to repeat it in the tagline. If your business name is descriptive, then you can be more abstract in your tagline. A slogan is different from your tagline — it is a short-term advertising or Web statement that gets people excited about something you're doing.

Having a logo is not a necessity. In my opinion, many photographers spend too much time and money having a logo developed, when building the name of their studio (whether that's their personal name or something else) is far more important. It's your name and reputation most often (not a logo) that people will and should remember. Your name, not the logo, should be placed on your highest-quality images, providing a permanent signature for your work.

Remember that your brand identity is a valuable asset and you need to be ever-vigilant in staying on top of how it's represented and perceived. Something as simple as a misspelling in an ad can deteriorate people's perception of your brand quality. Frequency and familiarity are the biggest elements in brand recognition and recall — just because you're the best doesn't mean you'll be the first name that comes to mind with random consumers in your market. It takes time and effort to build a name and keep it fresh.

Branding is a big part of your business, and is worth spending time studying and understanding it in order to make it work for you. In a small business, often you are almost synonymous with your business and brand, so bear that in mind. Try to create an image for your business that is in-sync with your personality.

11.4.2. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?

Your photographs are the most important intellectual property you own as a photographer. You own what you capture with your camera, just as an artist owns what he or she paints, an author owns what he or she writes, and a musician owns what he or she composes.

Very simply, if your work is your own, then you own it as what is called an original work of authorship, whether it has been published or not. If someone else uses it with your permission, you still own it unless you specifically state in writing that you are assigning ownership to that person (typically for some form of compensation, which is also stated). Even if you assign someone exclusive use of an image, you still own the copyright unless otherwise articulated in writing (see figure 11-9).

If someone else uses your photo in a way that you did not approve, or without your knowledge or permission, they have violated U.S. (and perhaps international) copyright laws, and you have the right to pursue legal action against that person. Registering a copyright for a single photo costs $45, so obviously it can become quite expensive if you formally register a lot of images with the United States Copyright Office. To that end, the PPA provides online copyright information and resources, including a downloadable Copyright Kit available free for members.

Most professional labs are very respectful and cognizant of copyrights, and will question customers about image ownership if they believe that a photo being submitted for printing is owned by another photographer. This may be because they see a photographer's name or studio name in the filename, on a disk, or even in the metadata. They also may question it if the image appears to be a professional photograph.

A good practice in your workflow is to place a copyright symbol, your studio and/or personal name, and a date into each image's filename — especially if you are providing digital images to customers. Many wedding photographers, for example, commonly provide a disc of high-resolution images to customers after a wedding, and include it in the package price for the wedding. This does not mean they are releasing the copyright to the bride and groom, but rather assigning limited (and perhaps exclusive) rights to them to be able to make their own prints — either on their own printers or at a professional lab. Here is a typical file-naming protocol in a situation such as this, with SmithPhotos as the name of the photographer and Davis as the name of the customer:

Original File Name (as numbered by the camera): img_5773.jpg

Photographer's File Name (as archived): Davis Wedding-2008-5773.jpg

Customer's File Name (as provided on-disk): ©SmithPhotos-Davis-2008-5773.jpg

Consequently, when the Davis family takes this digital image to be printed at a lab or retailer such as Costco, it is obvious that the image is copyrighted (even if the lab is printing an image that was submitted online). They will then require that the customer provide proof that he or she has permission to have the image printed, and they will normally provide the customer with a form that you, the photographer, will need to sign in order for Costco to do the job.

Figure 11-9. Popular images are frequently copied illegally and used on personal Web sites, on cell phones, and in various publications for personal and business uses — often without the person using them even being aware that they've violated anything. Taken at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, this fencing image has become one of the world's most popular, and it is frequently knowingly and unknowingly stolen by businesses, organizations, and individuals; as a result, I typically have to send a letter to those I discover are using it demanding that they stop. Taken with a 1D Mark II and an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L lens at ISO 500, 1/500 second, f/2.8. ©Serge Timacheff

You can make things easier for your customers, if you like, by giving them a signed letter on your studio letterhead, assigning them permission to have the image(s) printed. That is normally sufficient for most labs to be able to proceed, and it makes things a lot easier for your customers. It also makes it very clear to your customer that providing a disc of high-resolution images does not constitute giving them any ownership of the image, but rather a license to use them. Here is a sample of text you could use in such a letter (printed on your company letterhead):

(Date)

To Whom It May Concern:

The images contained in this disc with file names containing (your studio name) are copyrighted and owned solely by the same. This letter constitutes a limited, noncommercial license for (customer name) to print these images for personal use only. Prints may be made by the customer at home, or by a professional lab.

The images may not be sold, distributed, shared, or e-mailed. They may be used in a personal Web site or presentation, and they may be copied only for personal archival purposes.

If you have any questions about ownership or permission, please e-mail or call me.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

Be sure to include your phone number, address, Web address, and e-mail address in the letter. Professional labs typically will not honor letters that lack these points of credibility.

There are other aspects of your work that constitute intellectual property, as well, and I believe that your workflow is arguably the most important (after your images). If you have a well-defined workflow that takes your photography from concept to shoot to print/presentation, it is a marketable and legal asset that you should use to not only run, but to promote and to protect, your business. Workflow is often one of the most distinctive factors in differentiating a professional business from amateurs who reinvent their process and workflow for each shoot. When presenting your photography services to new clients, I suggest including information about how you integrate a defined and consistent professional workflow that ensures the best possible quality for every shoot, from the customer experience in the studio all the way to the quality of the prints they ultimately receive. This kind of professional business behavior especially rings true with commercial photography customers given it communicates excellence in business practices.

11.4.3. WHEN DO I NEED TO SEEK MODEL AND PROPERTY RELEASES?

Model and property releases give you permission to take someone's photograph and use it for commercial purposes. If you're taking photos for a newspaper or magazine, meaning they are for editorial use, then a release is not required. Advertising use, however, where a commercial product or service is being promoted,does constitute commercial use and requires a release — even though it may be appearing in a newspaper or other publication that contains editorial content. Individuals are legally entitled to privacy, which means, also, that you can't take someone's photo and use it commercially.

This doesn't mean that the images you're taking are only of models posing for you; if you're going to use a photo for anything other than editorial purposes — essentially meaning you're promoting something with it (such as your business) — then getting a model release is a good idea. If the person is not recognizable in the photo, then a release is not required (just because they can recognizethemselves doesn't count).

The same applies to photos of property that belongs to others, again if the photo is for non-editorial use. Property isn't just a building; it can be someone's car, home, or even their dog or horse. Public properties don't need releases, unless there's a security issue. (I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to take snapshots of the Pentagon without permission, for example, unless you're on a public tour and cameras are allowed.)

If you are an official photographer for an event, then, typically, even by merely purchasing a ticket or attending, individuals are consenting to have their images used for publicity purposes, so a model release is not required; likewise, athletes have agreed that their images may be used in specific ways by official photographers. However, if you do not have an official designation — say, for example, if you attend a baseball game and take some photos — then this release does not apply. Technically, even though the event is open to the public, it's still a private event and you've agreed to their terms by purchasing a ticket (this is usually stated in one way or another in the fine print on the ticket). While you can take a photo, you can't sell or distribute it.

Incidentally, editorial use is subject to some discussion, as well. Most newspapers, for example, will gladly sell the photos that they have taken, and in some cases published, to individuals or businesses. They frequently offer the images for sale in online galleries, or from a photo library. So, editorial use doesn't necessarily mean solely that the images taken are only being sold as an integrated part of media content.

Furthermore, while the Web is a form of media and publishing, if you are putting images onto a Web site that exists only for commercial purposes — such as a specific site for a business — then use of a photo is not valid editorial use. A business that publishes qualified news stories or photos about events, however, is different — even if the business also has other commercial interests.

Normally you need to use a different model release for a minor than for an adult; at the very least, if you photograph a child, then you need to have their parent or guardian sign an adult release, and you need to handwrite and initial a note about the child. Conversely, if your image contains any adult material (for example, nudity), then you need to have a release that's even more specific and that includes documentation proving that the subject is 18 years old or older.

Pocket model releases are shortened versions of full (often multipaged) model releases that you can quickly use in the field. While they don't necessarily cover every possible legal contingency, they at least give you proof that you were allowed to take and use the photo.

You can find many samples of model releases online. If you're a member of the PPA, you can download them for free (including one for minors) from their Web site. The Popular Photography Web site (www.popphoto.com) also provides a nice selection of free releases, including pocket, adult, simplified adult, and minor versions.

Generally speaking, if you think you might need a model or property release, it's always better to get one.