by Michelle Westley

Created on: December 04, 2007

As a professional photographer working for a corporately-owned studio, desiring to own my own studio, I sought ways to market myself independent of the studio I worked for and managed. Taking the experience and knowledge I had gained with me into my new endeavor, I put many hours into finding low to no-cost methods of advertising myself.

I admit I had a few things going for me. One, I am a former web designer and two, the studio I worked for didn't photograph weddings, and this would give me occasional leads. However, the studio itself only helped so much. What didn't help was the fact that the photography I did for the studio was their copyright, I was unable to use any of the photos I took there in my portfolio.

To help build my own business and get my name out in the open, I first designed a website and bought a domain. I added all of my best work to the gallery, added a bit of information about myself since I wanted the site to focus on my photos and not me, and decided not to add prices to the site since I wanted those interested to contact me, directly. This gave me an idea of how many people were actually interested in my work and not merely browsing. I also made sure my website was extremely professional looking, since I knew potential clients would base my worth and professional knowledge on the appearance, ease of navigation and information provided.

Second, I designed calling cards and wanted to make them into little traveling portfolios. The design included one large photo on the side, my contact information, and four small photos across the middle to show variety in my photography. Although the photos on the card were small and showed no detail, the photos were more of an overview and showed I had taken photographs and showed the person holding the card my use of color and composition.

Everything I do in regard to marketing myself always focuses on my photography. Whenever I design a new ad, card, flier, postcard, anything, my photos are the focus of the item.

Aside from print materials and a website displaying my work, I had to turn to lower-cost means of advertising. The studio I worked for didn't pay well and that always disappointed because I knew the money people were paying to have their photos taken at the studio. Being paid little and wanting to have my own business forced me to think creatively in advertising.

I figured since my style of photography was not traditional, I needed to utilize non-traditional means of advertising. However, I needed

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