Get Free Tips

Starting a Photography Business

Starting a Photography Business Without Quitting Your Day Job (And the Camera Question You're Overthinking)
Video Tutorials

Starting a Photography Business Without Quitting Your Day Job (And the Camera Question You're Overthinking)

I get some version of this question at least twice a week in my studio inbox: “Nicole, I have a full-time job and I want to start shooting professionally — where do I even begin?” Most people asking that question are also tangled up in gear anxiety, wondering if their camera is holding them back, and second-guessing whether they can build any kind of audience or income without going all-in immediately.

The Not Yet Rule: How to Leave Your Day Job for Photography Without Torching Your Finances
Video Tutorials

The Not Yet Rule: How to Leave Your Day Job for Photography Without Torching Your Finances

I have a client who shot weddings on weekends for three years while working a full-time marketing job. She kept telling me she was “almost ready” to go full-time. Then one slow January, she got frustrated, rage-quit her job, and spent the next eight months burning through savings while she scrambled to fill her calendar. She made it work eventually, but the stress nearly pushed her out of photography entirely. What she needed wasn’t more courage.

Think Photography Skills Are Enough to Run a Business? Here's Your Wake-Up Call
Video Tutorials

Think Photography Skills Are Enough to Run a Business? Here's Your Wake-Up Call

I watched my parents nearly run their photography business into the ground. Not because they weren’t talented, not because clients didn’t love their work, but because they priced out of fear, avoided sales conversations, and assumed word of mouth would carry them forever. Talent kept the lights on for a while. The absence of business skills eventually caught up with them. That pattern is exactly what Hugo Korhonen addresses in his tutorial, which should be required viewing for anyone thinking about going full-time in 2026.

No More Someday: How to Actually Launch Your Photography Business Right Now
Video Tutorials

No More Someday: How to Actually Launch Your Photography Business Right Now

I grew up watching my parents run a photography studio on fumes and optimism. They were talented. They were busy. They were barely breaking even, mostly because they kept waiting for the “right moment” to raise their prices, hire help, or change their workflow. The right moment never showed up on its own. That pattern stuck with me, and it’s exactly why I pay close attention whenever a working photographer talks honestly about the business side of this industry.