18 Frequently Asked Questions About the Business of Photography

Tim Tadder is a wildly successful commercial photographer in a time when the term “wildly successful photographer” sounds like an oxymoron. So RGG EDU went to Tim’s house and asked him 18 questions about the photo industry, which Tim answered while playing some leisurely putt putt in his backyard.

The series is called Par for the Course (get it?…) and the whole thing has been published as a YouTube playlist here.

This is exactly the kind of information aspiring professional photographers need, and simultaneously the kind of stuff that’s rarely the subject of viral photography videos online. Too few people tackle the business problems of being a professional photographer, but Tim drops some really important information in these videos—from how to determine your pricing, to what social media sites you should use, to more basic questions like “where is the photo industry headed?”

Check out all 18 videos below.

How Should a Photographer Break Into a New Market or City?

How Should a Photographer Determine Their Pricing?

Should Photographers Make and Sell Stock Images?

When is it OK to Charge Your Clients a Rental Fee for Equipment You Own?

Where is the Photography Industry Going?

What is the Best Advice You Have for a New Photographer?

Should Photographers Specialize in One Field?

What Social Media Sites Should I Invest In?

Where Did You Learn the Business Side of Photography?

When Should You Get an Agent?

What are Your Best and Worst Marketing Dollars Spent

What Do You Do if Your Client Wants to Pay in Installments?

When Should I Charge Licensing and Usage on an Image?

What is the Best Way Not to Burn a Bridge?

What are the First Questions You Ask when Working with a New Client?

What Do You Think of Watermarks on Images?

How Much of Your Work Comes from Your Agent vs You?

What Trends Should Photographers Abandon and Adopt?

And that’s all she wrote, folks. 18 questions, 18 answers, 18 bits of advice and inspiration for the serious aspiring photographer. To see more great educational content like this, check out RGG EDU’s YouTube channel or head over to their website. And if you want to learn more about Tim’s work, you can find that here.