Hello fellow shooters. I have the age old question:
How can I make money on my photography start up biz.

CLICK...Your Life In Pictures
That's my business name. I have been in love with photography for a very long time. Friends and family have been telling me I should start a business. So I am trying.

I have many young families around me and I have been doing photo shoots for practice. The parents go wild with appreciation. They love my work. I am pretty good with children and I always get great candid shots with natural lighting.

I have had a few family reunion shoots where I did get paid but only $100 for 3 hours work. Then many more hours on the post processing.

As of now I do not own any advanced cameras. I use my Nikon D5100.

Problem is only a few will pay me but yet they love the photos enough to print the and I see many of my photos being used.

How can I overcome this problem of not being viewed as a professional who would get paid?

I am in the same boat as you when it comes to affording things. I personally look at Sigma before Nikon to see if there is an equivalent.
It has been my experience that many Sigma lens perform just as well as the Nikon lens at a fraction of the cost.

The only thing I have ever had a concern with is how Sigma makes such a great lens at a fraction of the Nikon equivalent? Is Sigma an inferior lens as far as build quality goes because of inferior quality parts or is Nikon just jacking up the lens price because it is a NIKON and people will pay it.

My Sigma 50mm 1.4 EX DG HSM lens is much larger than the Nikon version, heavier at just over a pound and focuses faster. Now in this case the Sigma was $85 more than the Nikon but in my opinion is a much nicer and better made lens. :thumbup: