Owning an e-commerce photography studio is a plus for you if you are starting an e-commerce business. However, starting an e-commerce studio requires a huge effort from different angles. You cannot just go and build your own e-commerce studio right away. You need to follow certain steps and have to research on how to plan, execute, and get it done finally. In this article, I will discuss the core ideas that will help you to start an e-commerce photography studio of your own. So, let’s get down the business.
Have a Proper Plan
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” ― Dwight D
Having a proper plan can be the deciding factor in any business. In most cases, the business which fails to get a good start failed initially to make a proper plan. The planning section may have certain segments that will make up the overall plan.
Research
E-commerce business is one of the fastest-growing industries all over the world. For this reason, the number of the e-commerce photo studio is also on the rise. However, that does not mean you will also be successful in this sector. So, before starting research on the market demand, make sure you can reach out to the maximum clients.
Cost & Budget
Figure out the estimated cost of an E-Commerce photography studio. Accumulate all the money you have to invest in this business. Find out the market price of each equipment and have a final transaction of the cost and your budget.
One important advice here, try not to exceed your budget. You should always try to reduce unnecessary costs. Remember one thing, the more you will save for being wasted the more chances are you will succeed.
“Budgeting has only one rule: Do not go over budget.” ― Leslie Tayne
SWOT Analysis
In this world of business full of competition, no one should start a business without doing an efficient SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis will help you kick start. So, what a SWOT analysis is. Well, it simply means strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats.
Strengths
The first step of SWOT analysis is to find out the strength you have. Be it experience in this field, photography skills, product photo editing skills, or anything else related to it. Jot down all of your strengths and utilize them for the betterment of your business.
Weakness
Now it’s time to search for the loopholes in your business. Well, it can be your skills, business location, budget, equipment, etc. Find out those and try to overcome the weakness or have a better alternative.
Opportunity
The biggest opportunity for e-commerce product photography studio is the market demand. The market is still growing. So, it is possible to grab a big portion of this market with high-quality services.
Threat
When there is an opportunity there is competition. As a result, there comes the threat of better performing competitors. Moreover, continuous change of business trends, pricing can also be a possible threat.
Execution
“Innovation has 3 essential elements. Creativity – “Daring to Dream”, Strategy – “Decoding the Dream” and Execution – “Delivering the Dream”
Once the SWOT analysis is done, then comes some other crucial steps that will determine your success in building your photography studio. This part can be segmented as the plan execution section.
Determining Services
As a product photography studio, you may provide both production and post-production services. However, you need to determine that beforehand. Because based on this you have to arrange your equipment, employees, and fund.
Raising Funds
As you are done with planning now it’s time to execute it. If you have enough money to invest then there are no fund issues. However, if you run out of money then you have to manage funds for your business. The source of your investment can be a bank loan, loans from your family members or friends.
Finding Location
The success of any business largely depends on the location. This is why finding a perfect location for your business is crucial. The area you select for setting your photo studio should meet some basic criteria. Otherwise, your dream of setting your own photography studio will be nipped in the bud.
Do research online to find a near-perfect location. The place should not be in the dodgy part of the town. Commuting to the location should be convenient. As you are planning to set up a long-time business, focus on future expansion facilities. Visit the place beforehand so that there is no confusion.
Buy Photography Studio Equipment
One of the most important parts of setting the photography studio is buying enough equipment. You should own all the necessary equipment for your studio. Along with a high configuration camera, you need other accessories as well to accomplish a good photography session. Some of the most important tools that you need are listed below:
- A Good Camera
- Camera Bag
- Tripods
- Lighting equipment
- Enough lenses
- Photography Backdrops
- Props
- Genuine Editing Software
Hiring a Professional Photographer
Gone are those days when clicking a photo was enough. Now you must do some editing stuff. In e-commerce, it becomes more significant. Because most e-commerce businesses create an impression through attractive product photos.
You have to remove the image background, retouch color, enhance the photos. To do all the editing or post-production activities, you have to arrange equipment related to this.
A high-configuration computer, genuine versions of image editing software like Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom. Most importantly, you have to hire professional graphic designers or photo editors to get your job done.
Determining Price
Whether you will get work or not depends on two things mostly. First and foremost, you have to provide premium quality service. Secondly, you should charge a reasonable price. However, never compromise on the quality while reducing the price. Remember one thing, your client is ready to pay you as much as you want, but you have to maintain the premium quality.
Promotion
Once you are done with everything mentioned before, now it’s time to promote your offer. Let people know what you have brought for them. However, just letting people know what you offer is useless if it cannot generate revenue.
We all know this is the era of online promotion. Try to reach out to people using different online platforms. Social media presence is paramount in today’s marketing policy.
For successful promotion, you can take several steps as mentioned below.
- Creating a professional website
- Promoting through the catalog of High-Quality product images
- Opening Social media pages
- Focusing on the competitor’s promotional strategy.
- Keyword-based promotion
Final Thoughts on Starting E-commerce Photography Studio
Because of the workload of the e-commerce industry, many business houses outsource photography for e-commerce to the professionals. That gives a chance for the newcomers to get success in building their own photo studios. Nevertheless, if you do not focus on the proper steps, your success will be far-fetched
So, before you jump in the business, make an executable plan, then work on it. Deliver your clients with the best possible quality service. Hope your new e-commerce photography will flourish soon.
