Is it worth starting a photo editing business and how to find first clients?

Hi all,

I would like to know what could be my expected yearly income in photo business.

I made few search and most people was saying there are free software for this purpose and also most people will not need paying service anymore.

Thanks in advance

 

Many of the free software on the market has only limited capabilities. Unless people have the time to tinker with Photoshop, you probably can make quite a bit of money. You might want to try to design photo art for a couple of people locally (living near you) and then posting the as samples on your site. When people see what you can do and you speak to them with confidence, it increases your ability to make money.

 

Definitively, I was thinking of sharing flyers in my local area on this purpose during next week.

 

Linkedin may work equally for this purpose.

 

There are A LOT of fulltime graphics artists who are out of work due to products like Photoshop. While there is a need for the service from businesses that are technology challenged, it is a very competitive field because there are so many graphics people out there looking for work. You can make a business out of this industry, but it will not be a slam dunk...you will have to work very hard at it.

 

I do not undersatnd : Are the 'fulltime graphics artists' expert in Phooshop because the service I would like to provide is based on this software + logo design, flyers & (video editing).

 

Yes, they use Photoshop and many other such tools. Graphics artists were using graphics software before the Internet, of course. The tools were much more complex and created output files that were suited to commercial printing equipment because print was the bulk of their work back then. Nowadays, however marketers can use Photoshop themselves for the simple tasks, thereby eliminating the need for graphics professionals for all but the most complex work. And, instead of having to create complicated .tif layered files in Quark, they can just create a .pdf and printers can run with it.

 

I may have a serious problem with my business plan then : do you have an idea of an average income for a starter?

 

If you want to become a photo editor you need a unique style or technique with a "wow" factor that cannot be easily duplicated. Maybe you could devise some great labor-intensive filters and leverage the automation in Photoshop or another photo editing program to apply your unique filter at a cost-effective rate.

 

So it remains highly risky.... but what do you mean exactly by 'you could devise some great labor-intensive filters'? Should I firstly try in my local area or online on site such as Linkedin?

 

I guess I'm going to be the one to tell you it's a complete waste of time. It's like opening up a fruit stand next to 10 other fruit stands in front of a grocery store which is also behind another grocery store on a road that isn't traveled as much as it use to be. Expected income: $0-$xxx,xxx.

 

Unless you are exceptional, and you also have some other skills, it`s a bit of a waste of time. If you are, then freelancing on Odesk and similar sites would help you build a portfolio, then start from there.

 

As Webcosmo stated, you are going to have to build yourself up, and your brand. I would advise starting solo and then working to a team. You won't start out making a lot at all, in fact, to start you'll most likely be losing money. You are going to have to be able to compete with a huge industry with many talented individuals. However, their is a good chance that you can easily do good in the industry.

Just keep pushing yourself and I'm sure you will do fine. It won't boom at the start, it's going to be something you'll have to work on, but don't be upset when everything doesn't go your way.

 

It seems that in all cases I cannot only rely on this industry. The problem is that nowadays most industries are very competitive (programming, web design, IT, etc.). I will also to chose few in which I could excel in.

 

I guess what I'm saying is, you need to develop a unique photography product that can't be easily replicated. If this is your passion and you have a good amount of talent and experience -- go for it. If this is something you know nothing about and are just trying to use the niche of photography to make a quick buck -- don't bother.