March 18, 2025 • 35 mins
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The fundamentals of photography finance are essential knowledge for anyone turning their creative passion into a sustainable business. We explore the journey from hobby photographer to legitimate business owner with practical advice on setting up your business structure.
• Setting up your business legally through services like LegalZoom
• Creating a dedicated business bank account to separate personal and business finances
• Tracking income, expenses and mileage using accounting software like Wave Accounting
• Understanding real costs to set sustainable pricing
• Planning for seasonal income fluctuations with buffer funds
• Diversifying income through mini sessions, digital products, and stock photography
• Managing quarterly tax payments with a recommended 25-30% set aside from each payment
• Obtaining business insurance for liability protection
• Analyzing expenses to find cost-cutting opportunities
Join us next time as we continue exploring ways to build your photography business and make better photos.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, mama, whether or not you're trying out your
camera for the very first time,or you've been doing this a
while and just looking for somecreative inspiration, I've got
all that and more.
I'm here to help you see yourworld differently, challenge you
creatively and find yourpassion for photography.
Welcome back to the BetterPhotos podcast.
(00:20):
I'm so excited that you decidedto join me today, because we
are going to be talking aboutfinance for photographers and,
if you are creative, thissubject may not come natural to
you.
I have taken a lot of classesand I definitely encourage you
(00:41):
to do the same.
There are experts out therethat know a lot more than I do,
but I'm going to give the basics, so stay tuned, all right.
So this week I did my sessionover at the horse farm and it
was so beautiful and it was sobeautiful.
(01:04):
I ended up using my PocketDispo lens for like
three-fourths of it, and I'mkind of regretting using that
for that long, just because itdoes provide that grainy, blurry
type effect.
(01:24):
And basically, what they'vedone is they've taken this
digital camera.
I mean, uh, instant camera, isit an instant camera?
It is something.
Yeah and um, put the, the lensof that onto this little like
thing that fits onto your camera, so it gives that like
nostalgic feel, um, which isgreat, but probably not for like
(01:50):
detail shots, um, and likeclose-up stuff.
So, um, and maybe when it waslike the sun was setting and it
was a little too dark, becausethen it just gets like even more
um, that feel.
So, just a side note vary mylens next time, which I ended up
(02:11):
switching once we like kind ofwent to a different spot and I
love them.
I just don't know if it's goingto be like too much of that
style, but anyways, so we'realways learning, always growing,
always reevaluating what goeswell and what doesn't.
(02:31):
I also drove like an almost twohours away because I was doing
some location scouting and alsolike client searching and I
ended up finding this farmphotographer that, um, I loved
like that.
That is, her whole like niche,um, niche, whatever, um, and she
(02:56):
was offering like cowgirl minisessions and so I asked her if I
could just bring my camera andget some like photos with my
camera for like branding, andshe said sure, and so I drove up
there.
She had like this big clientcloset and I brought like one
outfit from my client closet andthen borrowed one of hers and
(03:17):
she had like the ranch hats,like all the things, so it was
basically like studio setup andI got a good amount of photos
for, um, like promoting mypodcast or just putting on
social media.
Like you don't realize, likepeople need to see your face and
so it's important to havephotos of yourself and ones that
(03:42):
you actually take time out toget ready for.
And yeah, because I always likeI'm like, oh, like, even now,
like I should be recording thispodcast and putting it on
YouTube, but I'm literally in mybathrobe, my glasses are still
on, no makeup and, like my houseis a mess, so which I mean
(04:06):
probably that would get like alot more views, I don't know,
just the natural of like what itis.
So, anyways, what else was Igonna say?
Um, yeah, so this week isstarting my super busy month or
two.
I have a newborn on Friday, twosessions on Saturday, plus my
(04:32):
son does flag football.
Last weekend we celebrated, oryesterday was his birthday, so
this whole past weekend we'vebeen kind of celebrating him
turning nine, and then Sunday Ihave a session, and actually I
think I have two in home thisweek, so that'll be exciting.
I love in home, because it'slike where you live, like where
(04:56):
the memories are created, likethe things that you're going to
want to remember, like if you'veever moved.
You're like really sad to likeleave behind memories and just
having great photos taken at aplace that is so special to you
and where you've brought babieshome, where you've, um, you know
, played with your kids, whereyou've decorated, where you've
(05:16):
learned and, um, you know allthe things.
So I'm excited to do that, umthings.
So I'm excited to do that.
My garden's going well, thethings are growing and I have
some seedlings inside that Iwill hopefully be transplanting.
I don't know those, these, youknow, it's kind of like a trial.
(05:37):
I'm like, okay, if the onesoutside fail, I've got the ones
inside, and if the ones insidefail, I've got the ones outside.
So I'm just trying to be likeextra cautious in case I fail.
It's all a ones outside, so I'mjust trying to be like extra
cautious in case I fail.
It's all a test, experimental,I don't know.
Okay, so today we are going tobe talking about finance, and so
(05:57):
when you are doing photography,this is going to be something
that you are going to have tothink about.
So, if you haven't already,grab your coffee, get your pen
and notepad and sit down andlet's chat.
(06:20):
Okay, so when you first startgetting paid for your
photography, you may not haveset yourself up as a business
and you will not be paying taxes.
So therefore, you will not befeeling the financial pressures
of making certain amount ofmoney and yes, I did that at the
(06:42):
beginning like just takingmoney and like you'll soon start
feeling very guilty, especiallyaround other photographers that
want to like complain about howthere's some people that you
know are legit and pay theirtaxes and there's like a million
other things than just taxes.
(07:03):
You have to pay like an annualreport.
You have to pay like legal fees, you have to pay the Secretary
of State something like everyquarter.
There's just like so much stuffand like all of your money
could be just like going to thatand it doesn't seem like a lot,
but like when it's percentages,it doesn't matter how much you
(07:23):
make you still.
You still feel it so, um, soyou may go a little while
without you know paying taxes,but honestly, what happened to
me is I was like reading myBible and it stuck out so clear
to me that one of the verses waslike talking about like give
(07:44):
God what is God's and giveCaesar what is Caesar's.
Like talking about taxes, and Ifelt so convicted about not
paying taxes that I was like I'mlike literally going against
Jesus right now if I'm notgiving the government what
they've asked for when I startup a business.
So that was my whole convictionprocess of why I felt it really
(08:05):
important to set my business upas something legitimate.
So what I did was I wentthrough the process of legal
zoom and they basically doeverything for you.
You pay them a flat fee andthey register your name.
They do, they set you up.
(08:25):
I did an LLC and you can also do, I think, like a sole
proprietorship, and you may wantto do some research on which
one is beneficial for you.
For me, I know, and I don'tknow, like, the difference
between all of them, but I knowthat an LLC can protect you
against, like, your personalassets, and so if in the case
(08:48):
you were to get sued, they couldonly take my business stuff and
not my personal stuff.
So that's why I thought it wasreally important to distinguish
my business from my personal,just for worst case scenario of
my life.
So you'll just have to do someresearch on which one and I'm
(09:08):
pretty sure they ask you likequestions and you can also, like
you know, google it or ask,chat, gpt, like which one is
probably right for you.
So, going through LegalZoom,they basically came back and
gave me a businessidentification number, an IEN,
and that is what you plug intopretty much everything.
(09:30):
So once you start that process,we also have a tax consultant,
whatever that just files ourtaxes basically, and so we file
jointly and he does the stuffwith my business.
So I don't really know a lotabout, like, all the tax stuff,
(09:53):
so we pretty much just file ourtax.
I have to present stuff for mybusiness.
Okay, so what I had to presentfor my business to the tax guy
and this is where you would hirean accountant to do this for
your business as like a somebodythat you either have virtually
(10:14):
contracted or maybe somebodythat you know is a tax
consultant or assistant or CPA,or you can do this yourself so
what I have to present to him,to my tax guy, is and this is
funny because my husband's likewe need these by tomorrow, and
(10:37):
where he gives me a date and Iobviously wait till the very
last day, like I will wait tilltonight and do it like under
pressure because that's how Ilike to work.
Okay, so I have to give him myexpenses, my income and my
income like where things havebeen allocated, so for write
(11:01):
offs and just for seeing whereyou're spending and where you're
getting money from.
So it is very hard to trackyour income if you don't have
some sort of software.
If people pay cash, that is awhole nother system that you're
(11:21):
going to have to keep track ofso that, therefore, you can
count it as your income and paytaxes on it.
So that's when acuityscheduling comes into play,
where people can pay online.
I set up a business accountthrough Fifth Third Banking and
you can.
I don't know why I specificallywent there, but you could
(11:46):
figure out like which one hasthe best like benefits, and it's
just a straight debit card.
I learned to not do anything ona credit card.
That was one thing that myhusband, um, really helped me
with was um making sure that ifI didn't have the money to pay
for something, I'm not puttingit on credit.
So I have a business debit cardand an account that goes with
(12:15):
it and I deposit.
Everything goes into thataccount.
Venmo is connected to that, soI always transfer my Venmo
account to that business bankaccount.
When people pay online forthings, it goes to that business
bank account and so everythingis easily tracked with income.
Then when I'm spending, I havea business debit card to that
(12:36):
account and I use that card foreverything.
What happens and becomes trickyand so annoying and things that
I wish I didn't do wassometimes I use that business
card for other personal thingsbecause it's also like my fun
money or my like spending moneyaside from my family stuff, and
(12:58):
so then it becomes very muddy.
So then I have to figure outwhich expenses were for my
business and which ones were forfun.
So this is where you will wantaccounting software.
A lot of people use QuickBooks.
I did not want to useQuickBooks.
I don't know, it just soundstoo foreign to me, too
(13:22):
mathematical, I don't know, itjust sounded like too too much,
and so I researched a freewaycalled Wave Accounting and so I
basically you hook up your bankaccount and it imports all of
your income and all of yourexpenses linked to that card and
(13:46):
that bank account that I set up, and it will categorize all of
the income to where it came fromand like whether it was cash or
card or Venmo, and it will putor maybe even like a refund or
whatever, and then it will takeall the expenses and you can set
(14:07):
up certain categories based onwhether it's like you're paying
for, like client gifts, oryou're paying for subscriptions,
or you're paying for likecamera gear, or you're paying
for insurance, or like.
(14:30):
It has like all thesecategories and I can put the
categories that I use like inthe show notes, and so it
categorizes everything.
So then I go in and tally allthe things.
Actually, I think you can printa, I think I print the profit
and loss statements and itprints off like what I've spent
(14:53):
in each category and what incomehas come in, and then like
basically you can see what youmade for a time period, so you
can do it by quarter and that'show I know how much to pay for
my quarterly taxes, and then Ido a year-long one so I can give
that to our tax guy.
The other thing I give him ismy mileage as like a separate
(15:15):
document, because you can get Ithink it's like 20 cents a mile
I don't remember how much it is.
But you also want to betracking, like your odometer on
your car If you forget.
I kind of just like count themileage of like each session and
put it on there, but you wouldpreferably keep like a little
(15:38):
tracker either on your phone orin the side of your car, if
you're like pen and paper person, so that you could have that
better.
And every year I say I'm goingto get better at like actually
the number tracking, but Iliterally forget until I've
gotten to a session and then,like I forgot after that too.
So I make things like way morehard on myself and I think
(16:01):
that's where, like you coulddelegate this task to somebody
else, like a virtual assistantor virtual CPA or whatever that
can help you do all of that.
If this sounds so overwhelming,because it is.
But then again I'm like a pennypincher, so I'm like I'm gonna
figure this out, I am gonna dothis, um, there's nothing I
can't do, um, until there isjust too many things that I'm
(16:23):
trying and I'm spread thin andstressed and have no time.
So all right, so you doLegalZoom, register your
business, become legit, come upwith a tax program, whether
you're doing QuickBooks or atracking service.
Quickbooks Wave Accounting isnot free anymore.
(16:44):
I think I pay like 16 bucks amonth or something.
Again, this is where I wouldlove to introduce HoneyBook and
I think I am going to do likethe free trial and then, um,
maybe sign up for that because Ithink it it incorporates your
tax stuff to it and so that Icould get rid of that payment
and just roll it into theHoneyBook payment per month.
(17:08):
But again, it's kind of fun in away, like when you're tracking
things, because what is fun as abusiness owner is to see how
can you make more that you cankeep Okay.
So in your first few years ofstarting a business you may be
spending more than you'reearning and that's okay, that's
(17:31):
a normal business.
But if every year you'respending more than you're
getting, then your business isfailing.
So you want to have some yearsthat you are winning and
spending less.
Plus that's more profit for youto like pocket if you spend
less.
So say that I tally all, all theamount that I spend on my
(17:55):
client boxes or the USBs or thepackaging material, like all of
that stuff, and it amounts likeI make a spreadsheet of like
what everything costs and say Iwant to get the cost down of the
client boxes because if I sendthem, you know, so often it's
costing me this.
Well, maybe I found boxes thatI can buy in bulk and the cost
(18:19):
comes down per box.
Or maybe I buy something elsein bulk and then it comes down.
Or maybe there's like lightermaterial that I could put in the
box instead of something heavythat is making it heavier to
ship and costing me more money.
So that's kind of fun in thebusiness aspect is like where
can I tweak what I'm spendinglike?
(18:40):
For a while I was spending alot on like prop stuff which
benefits, because it's alsothings that I like and could put
in my house, you know.
So it's like a win there.
But at the same time I don't Idon't need another blanket, I
have plenty.
So I need to maybe cut costs onlike how many blankets I'm
buying for a session, and maybeI need one and maybe I don't, or
(19:02):
maybe I'm like getting thesethings and like really like they
don't add that much, you know,to my session, and so if I can
cut things, sometimes I will cutthings and just make it more
simple.
Okay, so you can do this on aspreadsheet.
I basically take my stuff andtracking, like what I spend on
(19:23):
my business and sometimes I'mreally good good at this and
sometimes I'm okay, like, let mejust be honest, most of the
time I'm not good at this, but Iwould like to be better and
putting all my expenses in thatspreadsheet so that you can
calculate what exactly you arespending per session.
How much does it cost you permonth to do Lightroom?
(19:45):
How much does it cost you permonth for Photoshop?
How much does it cost you permonth for Canva?
How much does it cost you permonth for, like, printer
supplies if you're printinglabels and any product material?
How much does it cost you forshipping?
How much does it cost you forUSBs?
(20:05):
How much does it cost you forany like prints or things that
you that you give?
How much does it cost you forliterally anything in your
business, your gear, yourcomputer, your anything that you
are using for marketing, maybeas your client closet, maybe it
(20:27):
is stuff for your newbornsessions, like swaddles and
headbands and heaters andwhatever.
So all of those things can goon a spreadsheet and you can see
how much is it costing you todo the shoot, okay, and then
you're like, how much time is itcosting me to shoot it and edit
(20:48):
it and how much do I want toget paid per hour?
And you're starting to come upwith these numbers and you're
realizing that your $50 sessionis not going to cut it when you
are a legitimate business.
So what I wish people knew isthat when you are hiring that
really cheap photographer, isthat they're probably not
(21:08):
legitimate and they're probablynot that experienced and they
probably don't have the the likehigher level products, like
editing stuff and things, togive you a reliable outcome.
They may, you know, maybe thelighting aligns perfectly and
(21:31):
maybe they had a great day ofshooting, but ultimately, if
you're charging $50, even $100,like something is lacking and it
could be taxes, it could be theclient experience and it could
just be that they are not likethey're not making anything,
they're not profiting, and youknow, as you're starting up,
(21:54):
then maybe that's okay, likewith you, because you're
spending money on gear, but atsome point you need to raise
your prices to cover the thingsthat you'll be spending on your
business that you actually needlike insurance.
I use simply business insuranceand basically it's like and
(22:15):
basically it's like liability,like coverage, like so that if
anything were to happen, thatI'm covered up to a certain
amount, and so that is like $200like a year or something.
But I find that reallyimportant, you know, because I
want to show up to clients andin clients' homes and with
(22:40):
newborns you're working withlike little babies and like
anything you know could happen,and just to be safe, it's like I
want to have myself covered ifyou're shooting on other
people's property or um, youknow, I just want to like be
safe.
Um, so that is another thingthat you can look up to help
your business.
I think that okay.
(23:06):
So for taxes, you a general ruleis to set aside 25 to 30% of
every payment for your taxes.
Do I do this?
No, I keep.
This is my husband's suggestionthat was like so good for me is
that I keep $1,000 as my zeroin my account.
(23:30):
So if I get down to $1,000 withspending, then in my mind I'm
at zero and I don't like that.
So I just try to keep theincome coming and not spending
when I, until I see like a goodamount in there and then I'm
like, okay, like I, no matterwhat, I will always have money
(23:51):
for those things that sneak upon me like, oh my gosh, I forgot
to pay this quarter's taxes.
Well, I've got enough in there.
If my minimum is a thousand,then I've got.
Sometimes it will be like myquarterly taxes are like $700
and I go down to 300, but I have300 and I'm not negative $600
(24:13):
or $700 because I had to paythat tax.
So financially it's great togive yourself a buffer or hide
some cash, you know, like in anemergency or something, but you
can also just keep a record ofyour that 30% from every income.
(24:48):
So tracking definitely takestime and you can do it.
Quarterly is like what I haveto do because I have to pay the
quarterly taxes to the state,but you can do it more often and
then you definitely have to doit, like that year for your end
of year taxes.
The unpredictability ofphotography is really hard if
(25:09):
you know.
You know, like if you have areally busy season and you're
getting all this money in falland then all of a sudden January
hits, maybe February, andthere's like no money coming in,
that can be a scary spot.
So you want to make sure thatyou are kind of building this
nest egg for the slower time sothat you can still cover your
(25:32):
costs.
Because every month I knowthings are being withdrawn out
of my account and like it'sthings that I need and so if I
can like if it's a yearly thing,then sometimes I just go ahead
and pay for the year so that Idon't have that monthly payment
coming out, so I don't have tobe like like really going in
(25:52):
debt with the subscriptionservices that are coming out and
some you know I can cancel andlike be okay for a month or if
I'm not that busy.
So you just kind of have to beaware of like the unexpected
expenses that may be hittingyour account and to prepare for
them in the busy season so thatyou'll be okay in the slower
(26:12):
season and that you've plannedahead.
Other things that you can do forlike the slow months, for like
passive income, is the like minisessions.
Maybe you're offering like somesort of summer one, or maybe
you're offering like a spring,like early spring one or like
(26:34):
Valentine's Day, whatever.
Sometimes that can offset someof your slower season with mini
sessions.
I it's like hard like when it'slike a busy season and you're
offering like mini sessions andyou just have like so much on
your plate.
So it's good to, if you're nota mini session person, to maybe
offer something like that inyour slower season to get some
(26:58):
other income coming in.
Other things that you can do isyou can end up selling like
presets.
You can have print sales, youcan sell like digital products.
You can promote something forlater and have people put a
deposit down.
Um that is always good is likein July I promote my um like
(27:25):
Christmas or like fall sessions,and so then I have money coming
in for people that arepre-booking fall um.
So just be aware of like thatphotography is the ebbs and
flows of income and so you can'tpredict that you're going to
have this amount every month.
And so just to plan ahead oftime and have that emergency
(27:49):
fund available in case yourcomputer dies or in case
something comes up that youforgot, that you paid last year
and now all of a sudden there's$300 coming out, like next week.
So there's always likeunexpected costs that come up.
As a business owner, that isthe not so fun part of being one
(28:12):
All right.
So the thing that I'm kind of innow when it comes to like
finance stuff is really justdiversifying my income and like
that is partly with affiliatemarketing, like if I'm doing my
Amazon storefront stuff likethat also, stock images can be a
(28:35):
great thing to try.
I keep thinking I'm going to beslow and I'm going to dive into
stock photography, but I'vebeen pretty busy and I started
like 10 things you know.
So it's like, oh, I could dostock, or I could work in my
garden or my Etsy shop or adigital download or record a
podcast or actually like edit myphotos.
(28:55):
That is like my main thing youknow to do, um or promote my
business or whatever.
Um, so you could offer um likeprints and albums.
But again, sometimes this isjust taking more time.
I'm trying to think of thingsthat like are like passive
income.
So, uh, creating like digitalguides and, um, maybe even at
(29:17):
some point like mini courses.
That's what I am going to offerafter this podcast.
Um, and looking into like othercollaborations that can help
bring in more money.
Um, really, there's just likethere's things that you can do
(29:38):
like um, not even just stockphotography, but okay.
So, like with my etsy store,people buy a lot of like
mock-ups, so like plain shirts,like, if you know photography
and you like studio style, um,it doesn't even have to be
studio style, but you're tryingto like get these blank pictures
so that people can put theirproduct on it, so that could be
(30:10):
a really good thing to market orto sell.
Then, obviously, like upsellingpackages, just be creative,
like there's so many things.
We'll have another episodethat's totally like all about
like passive income and what youcan do as a photographer to go
down different avenues.
So if you're interested in that, just let me know.
Okay, so I think you have agood gist of photography finance
(30:32):
basics.
So again, just to recap, if youhaven already um defined your
business as legit, go on tolegal zoom or um another
platform, or I know you can doit just by going to like your
state government sites.
I believe I don't know.
Um legal zoom, okayzoom.
(30:56):
Sign up for creating yourbusiness.
Get your businessidentification number, set up a
bank account that isspecifically under that
identification number and thateverything can be tracked in
that bank account.
Get a software program that canhelp you track your income and
(31:16):
expenses to make it easier fortax time and then making sure
that you are making enough tocover slow seasons and
unexpected business cost andhopefully you will be on track
to building your business andmaking better photos.
(31:39):
Join me next time.
I'll see you guys later, bye.
Hey, mama, whether or not you're trying out your
camera for the very first time,or you've been doing this a
while and just looking for somecreative inspiration, I've got
all that and more.
I'm here to help you see yourworld differently, challenge you
creatively and find yourpassion for photography.
Welcome back to the BetterPhotos podcast.
(00:20):
I'm so excited that you decidedto join me today, because we
are going to be talking aboutfinance for photographers and,
if you are creative, thissubject may not come natural to
you.
I have taken a lot of classesand I definitely encourage you
(00:41):
to do the same.
There are experts out therethat know a lot more than I do,
but I'm going to give the basics, so stay tuned, all right.
So this week I did my sessionover at the horse farm and it
was so beautiful and it was sobeautiful.
(01:04):
I ended up using my PocketDispo lens for like
three-fourths of it, and I'mkind of regretting using that
for that long, just because itdoes provide that grainy, blurry
type effect.
(01:24):
And basically, what they'vedone is they've taken this
digital camera.
I mean, uh, instant camera, isit an instant camera?
It is something.
Yeah and um, put the, the lensof that onto this little like
thing that fits onto your camera, so it gives that like
nostalgic feel, um, which isgreat, but probably not for like
(01:50):
detail shots, um, and likeclose-up stuff.
So, um, and maybe when it waslike the sun was setting and it
was a little too dark, becausethen it just gets like even more
um, that feel.
So, just a side note vary mylens next time, which I ended up
(02:11):
switching once we like kind ofwent to a different spot and I
love them.
I just don't know if it's goingto be like too much of that
style, but anyways, so we'realways learning, always growing,
always reevaluating what goeswell and what doesn't.
(02:31):
I also drove like an almost twohours away because I was doing
some location scouting and alsolike client searching and I
ended up finding this farmphotographer that, um, I loved
like that.
That is, her whole like niche,um, niche, whatever, um, and she
(02:56):
was offering like cowgirl minisessions and so I asked her if I
could just bring my camera andget some like photos with my
camera for like branding, andshe said sure, and so I drove up
there.
She had like this big clientcloset and I brought like one
outfit from my client closet andthen borrowed one of hers and
(03:17):
she had like the ranch hats,like all the things, so it was
basically like studio setup andI got a good amount of photos
for, um, like promoting mypodcast or just putting on
social media.
Like you don't realize, likepeople need to see your face and
so it's important to havephotos of yourself and ones that
(03:42):
you actually take time out toget ready for.
And yeah, because I always likeI'm like, oh, like, even now,
like I should be recording thispodcast and putting it on
YouTube, but I'm literally in mybathrobe, my glasses are still
on, no makeup and, like my houseis a mess, so which I mean
(04:06):
probably that would get like alot more views, I don't know,
just the natural of like what itis.
So, anyways, what else was Igonna say?
Um, yeah, so this week isstarting my super busy month or
two.
I have a newborn on Friday, twosessions on Saturday, plus my
(04:32):
son does flag football.
Last weekend we celebrated, oryesterday was his birthday, so
this whole past weekend we'vebeen kind of celebrating him
turning nine, and then Sunday Ihave a session, and actually I
think I have two in home thisweek, so that'll be exciting.
I love in home, because it'slike where you live, like where
(04:56):
the memories are created, likethe things that you're going to
want to remember, like if you'veever moved.
You're like really sad to likeleave behind memories and just
having great photos taken at aplace that is so special to you
and where you've brought babieshome, where you've, um, you know
, played with your kids, whereyou've decorated, where you've
(05:16):
learned and, um, you know allthe things.
So I'm excited to do that, umthings.
So I'm excited to do that.
My garden's going well, thethings are growing and I have
some seedlings inside that Iwill hopefully be transplanting.
I don't know those, these, youknow, it's kind of like a trial.
(05:37):
I'm like, okay, if the onesoutside fail, I've got the ones
inside, and if the ones insidefail, I've got the ones outside.
So I'm just trying to be likeextra cautious in case I fail.
It's all a ones outside, so I'mjust trying to be like extra
cautious in case I fail.
It's all a test, experimental,I don't know.
Okay, so today we are going tobe talking about finance, and so
(05:57):
when you are doing photography,this is going to be something
that you are going to have tothink about.
So, if you haven't already,grab your coffee, get your pen
and notepad and sit down andlet's chat.
(06:20):
Okay, so when you first startgetting paid for your
photography, you may not haveset yourself up as a business
and you will not be paying taxes.
So therefore, you will not befeeling the financial pressures
of making certain amount ofmoney and yes, I did that at the
(06:42):
beginning like just takingmoney and like you'll soon start
feeling very guilty, especiallyaround other photographers that
want to like complain about howthere's some people that you
know are legit and pay theirtaxes and there's like a million
other things than just taxes.
(07:03):
You have to pay like an annualreport.
You have to pay like legal fees, you have to pay the Secretary
of State something like everyquarter.
There's just like so much stuffand like all of your money
could be just like going to thatand it doesn't seem like a lot,
but like when it's percentages,it doesn't matter how much you
(07:23):
make you still.
You still feel it so, um, soyou may go a little while
without you know paying taxes,but honestly, what happened to
me is I was like reading myBible and it stuck out so clear
to me that one of the verses waslike talking about like give
(07:44):
God what is God's and giveCaesar what is Caesar's.
Like talking about taxes, and Ifelt so convicted about not
paying taxes that I was like I'mlike literally going against
Jesus right now if I'm notgiving the government what
they've asked for when I startup a business.
So that was my whole convictionprocess of why I felt it really
(08:05):
important to set my business upas something legitimate.
So what I did was I wentthrough the process of legal
zoom and they basically doeverything for you.
You pay them a flat fee andthey register your name.
They do, they set you up.
(08:25):
I did an LLC and you can also do, I think, like a sole
proprietorship, and you may wantto do some research on which
one is beneficial for you.
For me, I know, and I don'tknow, like, the difference
between all of them, but I knowthat an LLC can protect you
against, like, your personalassets, and so if in the case
(08:48):
you were to get sued, they couldonly take my business stuff and
not my personal stuff.
So that's why I thought it wasreally important to distinguish
my business from my personal,just for worst case scenario of
my life.
So you'll just have to do someresearch on which one and I'm
(09:08):
pretty sure they ask you likequestions and you can also, like
you know, google it or ask,chat, gpt, like which one is
probably right for you.
So, going through LegalZoom,they basically came back and
gave me a businessidentification number, an IEN,
and that is what you plug intopretty much everything.
(09:30):
So once you start that process,we also have a tax consultant,
whatever that just files ourtaxes basically, and so we file
jointly and he does the stuffwith my business.
So I don't really know a lotabout, like, all the tax stuff,
(09:53):
so we pretty much just file ourtax.
I have to present stuff for mybusiness.
Okay, so what I had to presentfor my business to the tax guy
and this is where you would hirean accountant to do this for
your business as like a somebodythat you either have virtually
(10:14):
contracted or maybe somebodythat you know is a tax
consultant or assistant or CPA,or you can do this yourself so
what I have to present to him,to my tax guy, is and this is
funny because my husband's likewe need these by tomorrow, and
(10:37):
where he gives me a date and Iobviously wait till the very
last day, like I will wait tilltonight and do it like under
pressure because that's how Ilike to work.
Okay, so I have to give him myexpenses, my income and my
income like where things havebeen allocated, so for write
(11:01):
offs and just for seeing whereyou're spending and where you're
getting money from.
So it is very hard to trackyour income if you don't have
some sort of software.
If people pay cash, that is awhole nother system that you're
(11:21):
going to have to keep track ofso that, therefore, you can
count it as your income and paytaxes on it.
So that's when acuityscheduling comes into play,
where people can pay online.
I set up a business accountthrough Fifth Third Banking and
you can.
I don't know why I specificallywent there, but you could
(11:46):
figure out like which one hasthe best like benefits, and it's
just a straight debit card.
I learned to not do anything ona credit card.
That was one thing that myhusband, um, really helped me
with was um making sure that ifI didn't have the money to pay
for something, I'm not puttingit on credit.
So I have a business debit cardand an account that goes with
(12:15):
it and I deposit.
Everything goes into thataccount.
Venmo is connected to that, soI always transfer my Venmo
account to that business bankaccount.
When people pay online forthings, it goes to that business
bank account and so everythingis easily tracked with income.
Then when I'm spending, I havea business debit card to that
(12:36):
account and I use that card foreverything.
What happens and becomes trickyand so annoying and things that
I wish I didn't do wassometimes I use that business
card for other personal thingsbecause it's also like my fun
money or my like spending moneyaside from my family stuff, and
(12:58):
so then it becomes very muddy.
So then I have to figure outwhich expenses were for my
business and which ones were forfun.
So this is where you will wantaccounting software.
A lot of people use QuickBooks.
I did not want to useQuickBooks.
I don't know, it just soundstoo foreign to me, too
(13:22):
mathematical, I don't know, itjust sounded like too too much,
and so I researched a freewaycalled Wave Accounting and so I
basically you hook up your bankaccount and it imports all of
your income and all of yourexpenses linked to that card and
(13:46):
that bank account that I set up, and it will categorize all of
the income to where it came fromand like whether it was cash or
card or Venmo, and it will putor maybe even like a refund or
whatever, and then it will takeall the expenses and you can set
(14:07):
up certain categories based onwhether it's like you're paying
for, like client gifts, oryou're paying for subscriptions,
or you're paying for likecamera gear, or you're paying
for insurance, or like.
(14:30):
It has like all thesecategories and I can put the
categories that I use like inthe show notes, and so it
categorizes everything.
So then I go in and tally allthe things.
Actually, I think you can printa, I think I print the profit
and loss statements and itprints off like what I've spent
(14:53):
in each category and what incomehas come in, and then like
basically you can see what youmade for a time period, so you
can do it by quarter and that'show I know how much to pay for
my quarterly taxes, and then Ido a year-long one so I can give
that to our tax guy.
The other thing I give him ismy mileage as like a separate
(15:15):
document, because you can get Ithink it's like 20 cents a mile
I don't remember how much it is.
But you also want to betracking, like your odometer on
your car If you forget.
I kind of just like count themileage of like each session and
put it on there, but you wouldpreferably keep like a little
(15:38):
tracker either on your phone orin the side of your car, if
you're like pen and paper person, so that you could have that
better.
And every year I say I'm goingto get better at like actually
the number tracking, but Iliterally forget until I've
gotten to a session and then,like I forgot after that too.
So I make things like way morehard on myself and I think
(16:01):
that's where, like you coulddelegate this task to somebody
else, like a virtual assistantor virtual CPA or whatever that
can help you do all of that.
If this sounds so overwhelming,because it is.
But then again I'm like a pennypincher, so I'm like I'm gonna
figure this out, I am gonna dothis, um, there's nothing I
can't do, um, until there isjust too many things that I'm
(16:23):
trying and I'm spread thin andstressed and have no time.
So all right, so you doLegalZoom, register your
business, become legit, come upwith a tax program, whether
you're doing QuickBooks or atracking service.
Quickbooks Wave Accounting isnot free anymore.
(16:44):
I think I pay like 16 bucks amonth or something.
Again, this is where I wouldlove to introduce HoneyBook and
I think I am going to do likethe free trial and then, um,
maybe sign up for that because Ithink it it incorporates your
tax stuff to it and so that Icould get rid of that payment
and just roll it into theHoneyBook payment per month.
(17:08):
But again, it's kind of fun in away, like when you're tracking
things, because what is fun as abusiness owner is to see how
can you make more that you cankeep Okay.
So in your first few years ofstarting a business you may be
spending more than you'reearning and that's okay, that's
(17:31):
a normal business.
But if every year you'respending more than you're
getting, then your business isfailing.
So you want to have some yearsthat you are winning and
spending less.
Plus that's more profit for youto like pocket if you spend
less.
So say that I tally all, all theamount that I spend on my
(17:55):
client boxes or the USBs or thepackaging material, like all of
that stuff, and it amounts likeI make a spreadsheet of like
what everything costs and say Iwant to get the cost down of the
client boxes because if I sendthem, you know, so often it's
costing me this.
Well, maybe I found boxes thatI can buy in bulk and the cost
(18:19):
comes down per box.
Or maybe I buy something elsein bulk and then it comes down.
Or maybe there's like lightermaterial that I could put in the
box instead of something heavythat is making it heavier to
ship and costing me more money.
So that's kind of fun in thebusiness aspect is like where
can I tweak what I'm spendinglike?
(18:40):
For a while I was spending alot on like prop stuff which
benefits, because it's alsothings that I like and could put
in my house, you know.
So it's like a win there.
But at the same time I don't Idon't need another blanket, I
have plenty.
So I need to maybe cut costs onlike how many blankets I'm
buying for a session, and maybeI need one and maybe I don't, or
(19:02):
maybe I'm like getting thesethings and like really like they
don't add that much, you know,to my session, and so if I can
cut things, sometimes I will cutthings and just make it more
simple.
Okay, so you can do this on aspreadsheet.
I basically take my stuff andtracking, like what I spend on
(19:23):
my business and sometimes I'mreally good good at this and
sometimes I'm okay, like, let mejust be honest, most of the
time I'm not good at this, but Iwould like to be better and
putting all my expenses in thatspreadsheet so that you can
calculate what exactly you arespending per session.
How much does it cost you permonth to do Lightroom?
(19:45):
How much does it cost you permonth for Photoshop?
How much does it cost you permonth for Canva?
How much does it cost you permonth for, like, printer
supplies if you're printinglabels and any product material?
How much does it cost you forshipping?
How much does it cost you forUSBs?
(20:05):
How much does it cost you forany like prints or things that
you that you give?
How much does it cost you forliterally anything in your
business, your gear, yourcomputer, your anything that you
are using for marketing, maybeas your client closet, maybe it
(20:27):
is stuff for your newbornsessions, like swaddles and
headbands and heaters andwhatever.
So all of those things can goon a spreadsheet and you can see
how much is it costing you todo the shoot, okay, and then
you're like, how much time is itcosting me to shoot it and edit
(20:48):
it and how much do I want toget paid per hour?
And you're starting to come upwith these numbers and you're
realizing that your $50 sessionis not going to cut it when you
are a legitimate business.
So what I wish people knew isthat when you are hiring that
really cheap photographer, isthat they're probably not
(21:08):
legitimate and they're probablynot that experienced and they
probably don't have the the likehigher level products, like
editing stuff and things, togive you a reliable outcome.
They may, you know, maybe thelighting aligns perfectly and
(21:31):
maybe they had a great day ofshooting, but ultimately, if
you're charging $50, even $100,like something is lacking and it
could be taxes, it could be theclient experience and it could
just be that they are not likethey're not making anything,
they're not profiting, and youknow, as you're starting up,
(21:54):
then maybe that's okay, likewith you, because you're
spending money on gear, but atsome point you need to raise
your prices to cover the thingsthat you'll be spending on your
business that you actually needlike insurance.
I use simply business insuranceand basically it's like and
(22:15):
basically it's like liability,like coverage, like so that if
anything were to happen, thatI'm covered up to a certain
amount, and so that is like $200like a year or something.
But I find that reallyimportant, you know, because I
want to show up to clients andin clients' homes and with
(22:40):
newborns you're working withlike little babies and like
anything you know could happen,and just to be safe, it's like I
want to have myself covered ifyou're shooting on other
people's property or um, youknow, I just want to like be
safe.
Um, so that is another thingthat you can look up to help
your business.
I think that okay.
(23:06):
So for taxes, you a general ruleis to set aside 25 to 30% of
every payment for your taxes.
Do I do this?
No, I keep.
This is my husband's suggestionthat was like so good for me is
that I keep $1,000 as my zeroin my account.
(23:30):
So if I get down to $1,000 withspending, then in my mind I'm
at zero and I don't like that.
So I just try to keep theincome coming and not spending
when I, until I see like a goodamount in there and then I'm
like, okay, like I, no matterwhat, I will always have money
(23:51):
for those things that sneak upon me like, oh my gosh, I forgot
to pay this quarter's taxes.
Well, I've got enough in there.
If my minimum is a thousand,then I've got.
Sometimes it will be like myquarterly taxes are like $700
and I go down to 300, but I have300 and I'm not negative $600
(24:13):
or $700 because I had to paythat tax.
So financially it's great togive yourself a buffer or hide
some cash, you know, like in anemergency or something, but you
can also just keep a record ofyour that 30% from every income.
(24:48):
So tracking definitely takestime and you can do it.
Quarterly is like what I haveto do because I have to pay the
quarterly taxes to the state,but you can do it more often and
then you definitely have to doit, like that year for your end
of year taxes.
The unpredictability ofphotography is really hard if
(25:09):
you know.
You know, like if you have areally busy season and you're
getting all this money in falland then all of a sudden January
hits, maybe February, andthere's like no money coming in,
that can be a scary spot.
So you want to make sure thatyou are kind of building this
nest egg for the slower time sothat you can still cover your
(25:32):
costs.
Because every month I knowthings are being withdrawn out
of my account and like it'sthings that I need and so if I
can like if it's a yearly thing,then sometimes I just go ahead
and pay for the year so that Idon't have that monthly payment
coming out, so I don't have tobe like like really going in
(25:52):
debt with the subscriptionservices that are coming out and
some you know I can cancel andlike be okay for a month or if
I'm not that busy.
So you just kind of have to beaware of like the unexpected
expenses that may be hittingyour account and to prepare for
them in the busy season so thatyou'll be okay in the slower
(26:12):
season and that you've plannedahead.
Other things that you can do forlike the slow months, for like
passive income, is the like minisessions.
Maybe you're offering like somesort of summer one, or maybe
you're offering like a spring,like early spring one or like
(26:34):
Valentine's Day, whatever.
Sometimes that can offset someof your slower season with mini
sessions.
I it's like hard like when it'slike a busy season and you're
offering like mini sessions andyou just have like so much on
your plate.
So it's good to, if you're nota mini session person, to maybe
offer something like that inyour slower season to get some
(26:58):
other income coming in.
Other things that you can do isyou can end up selling like
presets.
You can have print sales, youcan sell like digital products.
You can promote something forlater and have people put a
deposit down.
Um that is always good is likein July I promote my um like
(27:25):
Christmas or like fall sessions,and so then I have money coming
in for people that arepre-booking fall um.
So just be aware of like thatphotography is the ebbs and
flows of income and so you can'tpredict that you're going to
have this amount every month.
And so just to plan ahead oftime and have that emergency
(27:49):
fund available in case yourcomputer dies or in case
something comes up that youforgot, that you paid last year
and now all of a sudden there's$300 coming out, like next week.
So there's always likeunexpected costs that come up.
As a business owner, that isthe not so fun part of being one
(28:12):
All right.
So the thing that I'm kind of innow when it comes to like
finance stuff is really justdiversifying my income and like
that is partly with affiliatemarketing, like if I'm doing my
Amazon storefront stuff likethat also, stock images can be a
(28:35):
great thing to try.
I keep thinking I'm going to beslow and I'm going to dive into
stock photography, but I'vebeen pretty busy and I started
like 10 things you know.
So it's like, oh, I could dostock, or I could work in my
garden or my Etsy shop or adigital download or record a
podcast or actually like edit myphotos.
(28:55):
That is like my main thing youknow to do, um or promote my
business or whatever.
Um, so you could offer um likeprints and albums.
But again, sometimes this isjust taking more time.
I'm trying to think of thingsthat like are like passive
income.
So, uh, creating like digitalguides and, um, maybe even at
(29:17):
some point like mini courses.
That's what I am going to offerafter this podcast.
Um, and looking into like othercollaborations that can help
bring in more money.
Um, really, there's just likethere's things that you can do
(29:38):
like um, not even just stockphotography, but okay.
So, like with my etsy store,people buy a lot of like
mock-ups, so like plain shirts,like, if you know photography
and you like studio style, um,it doesn't even have to be
studio style, but you're tryingto like get these blank pictures
so that people can put theirproduct on it, so that could be
(30:10):
a really good thing to market orto sell.
Then, obviously, like upsellingpackages, just be creative,
like there's so many things.
We'll have another episodethat's totally like all about
like passive income and what youcan do as a photographer to go
down different avenues.
So if you're interested in that, just let me know.
Okay, so I think you have agood gist of photography finance
(30:32):
basics.
So again, just to recap, if youhaven already um defined your
business as legit, go on tolegal zoom or um another
platform, or I know you can doit just by going to like your
state government sites.
I believe I don't know.
Um legal zoom, okayzoom.
(30:56):
Sign up for creating yourbusiness.
Get your businessidentification number, set up a
bank account that isspecifically under that
identification number and thateverything can be tracked in
that bank account.
Get a software program that canhelp you track your income and
(31:16):
expenses to make it easier fortax time and then making sure
that you are making enough tocover slow seasons and
unexpected business cost andhopefully you will be on track
to building your business andmaking better photos.
(31:39):
Join me next time.
I'll see you guys later, bye.
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