Become A Documentary Photographer - Business Ideas

Pat Walls

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Updated: September 15th, 2022

Become A Documentary Photographer

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Documentary photographers capture images that portray people, places, and events and offer their audience an accurate visual recording.

To start a documentary photography business, you need a camera, a DSLR, or a regular point-and-shoot device. Proper photo editing skills will help you present quality results to your customers.

Becoming a documentary photographer requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell documentary photography, or selling documentary photography online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size

$10.7B

starting costs

$5.89K

gross margin

65%

time to build

210 days

Startup Costs

	Min Startup Costs	Max Startup Costs
Office Space Expenses	$0	$7,000
Training & Education Expenses	$0	$1,000
Software Expenses	$0	$594
Advertising & Marketing Costs	$0	$2,750
Website Costs	$13	$215
Specific Industry Expenses	$0	$100
Total Startup Costs	$13	$11,659

See all startup costs ➜

Successful Businesses

Business	URL	Rank
Shutterbug	shutterbug.com	122,146
Freestyle Photographic Supplies	freestylephoto.biz	399,933
Hunt's Photo and Video	huntsphotoandvideo.com	488,680
Hire, find, locate a Drone pilot, pro, or business	hireuavpro.com	1,173,065
Vivian Maier Photographer	vivianmaier.com	1,362,714
Geoffrey Hiller :: Documentary Photographer in Portland, Oregon	hillerphoto.com	1,371,927
Louisville Photo Biennial – Louisville's Premier Photographic Festival	louisvillephotobiennial.com	1,397,434
Ana Palacios Documentary Photographer	ana-palacios.com	1,424,943
Best Documentary Family Photographer Kirsten Lewis	kirstenlewisphoto.com	1,660,275
Black Women Photographers	blackwomenphotographers.com	1,871,525
Wedding Documentary Photo + Cinema	weddingdocumentary.com	2,098,091

See all businesses ➜

Pros & Cons

Pros	Description
Flexibility	You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.
Ability to start your business from home	It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!
Little startup costs required	The cost to start a documentary photographer costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 12 to 11,659.
Rewarding work	Starting a documentary photographer can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.
Scalable	With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.
Traffic to your website	A documentary photographer gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you!

See all pros ➜

Cons	Description
Crowded Space	Competition is high when it comes to your documentary photographer, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.
Constant maintenance of publication	You may find yourself constantly needing to update your documentary photographer in order to stay relevant for your audience and for those searching on google.
Lack of benefits	With a documentary photographer, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.
Isolation	Often times, as a documentary photographer, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.
Taxes	As a documentary photographer, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.
No safety net	Typically, as a documentary photographer, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

See all cons ➜

Marketing Ideas

1

Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.
The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

Learn more about affiliate program ➜
2

Direct Sales

Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.
For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

Learn more about direct sales ➜
3

Word of mouth

Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

Learn more about word of mouth ➜

See all marketing ideas ➜

Key Stats

Startup Costs

Successful Businesses

122,146

399,933

488,680

1,173,065

1,362,714

1,371,927

1,397,434

1,424,943

1,660,275

1,871,525

2,098,091

Pros & Cons

Marketing Ideas

Affiliate Program

Direct Sales

Word of mouth