New Business

Hi! I'm not new to SL, but I am new to the business end of it. I'm seriously considering opening a photog business, taking and selling, not creating the equipment. Unfortunately, I have NO idea where to start putting that together. Would anyone be so kind as to point me in the right directions?

Thank you so much!

Don't know too much about SL photography, but basically a business is a business.

I'd suggest start by building a portfolio - I'd guess you knew that anyway.

Then get a premises, somewhere small, but busy. Spend the money on a small but genuinely high traffic area rather than a big low traffic plot

Then remember the basic rule of business - Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.

Good luck,

Also, don't forget to put a nice photo on your profile showcasing your work. I saw a SL photographer's profile once and it was not inspiring.


Welcome to the Forums.

Also, try joining a picture posting site like Flicker or Snapzilla. Pictures can be hosted for free and directly from SL by using the postcard tool. The postings will be 'snapshot' quality when compared to a hi-rez direct to harddrive shot, but it's an excellent way to show off and have fun at the same time. (^_^)y

there is a thread about this very subject that came up in the last couple of weeks. do a forum search for photography.

I'd work on getting a studio where you can not only set up one of those photographer stands but where you can put in tons of furniture and change the wallpapers or put in windows with views outside the window. You'd have to own all of this stuff already. I'd expect you to own a lot of poses and poseballs. You should be able to control facial expressions and where the eyes are pointed. I expect you to also be a master of lighting and using the new windlight day settings and using prim point lights. I also expect you to be able to do a lot of post processing by being able to blur backgrounds or make everything sepia toned for example.

While you're setting all that up you can take pictures and build up a portfolio that will wow people into wanting to look like your models.

And as far as selling things you can offer them not only the photos but maybe some products as well like a calendar or a scripted picture frame that changes images.

It's easy to find shop space.
It's easy to buy the studio equipment (lights, backgrounds, poses and stands)
It's some work to have regular business hours (a lot of people were complaining in here recently that it was darned hard to actually FIND a photographer in world.)

The essential thing that isn't so easy...be very skilled at retouching images in Photoshop, or your similar paint program of choice. SL photography is essentially screen grabs from your computer monitor. Posing, lighting, and framing have a role. But skillful image manipulation in Photoshop is what will truly set you apart from the "point and shoot" snapshot crowd.