Top 5 Money Saving Tips for New Photographers

Rent lenses instead of buying them. You can rent various lenses from places such as lensprotogo.com and borrowlenses.com and they will even send you a pre-paid return label for shipping. By renting lenses you can see what your preferences are and what works for you before buying one. This is also one way to work with more advanced lenses without going into debt. Keep in mind that this is only a tip for photographers who are just starting out. It’s best to factor the cost of lenses into the prices of your client sessions as you become more experienced.
Consider second-hand. By purchasing a lens or any other equipment from a true professional, chances are they will have taken very good care of it. Many cameras will also be able to tell you how many times the shutter has been clicked, which always comes in handy before you buy. Visit a few local photography Facebook groups to find out about used cameras and lenses that might be for sale.
Get published. Before you start spending money on printed or online ads, try getting your photos published first. Submit your work to websites such as https://www.twobrightlights.com to gain some exposure and start building your brand. Make sure that whichever websites you submit to have a target audience in line with your own.

Rent or share studio space. Not only will a shared space save you money on rent each month, more than likely they will already have lighting equipment and backdrops that you can use too. By meeting clients in a proper studio you are already positioning yourself as an expert. There is no reason to tell potential clients that you’re renting or sharing the space either.
Use pre-made templates. As a professional photographer, you’re going to need some sort of branding. There are a lot of great templates available online that you can use for your logo, website or marketing in general. Websites such as http://intothedarkroom.com/ offer these types of templates.
Start with e-mail marketing.There are so many other ways that you can market your photography brand at little to no cost before you consider paying for advertising. E-mail marketing has a bigger return on investment than a lot of companies and brands would like to think. Unlike social media platforms that are forever evolving and changing, your email marketing list is yours to keep and use as you wish. It’s important to make sure that users have actually opted in to receiving emails from you in order to make this tactic most effective. Platforms such as http://mailchimp.com and https://madmimi.com are quite popular amongst photographers and both providers have free trials that you can take advantage of as you start out.

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