SmugMug Development Lab

As a creative professional, it can sometimes be a challenge to treat your work as a business. Taking photographs is a form of self-expression and a personal passion, and that can muddy the primary goal of making a living. In this article, we’ve set out a financial management roadmap, to help set you and your photography business up for success.

First: How to price yourself properly.

Pricing yourself as a photographer is challenging, whether you’ve been in the business for one year or twenty. Taking the time to ensure you're pricing your work appropriately and budgeting carefully is absolutely essential to your success. 

But never fear! There are some simple considerations that can make your life a whole lot easier when it comes to pricing your services, or when to adjust your pricing. They are:

1. Costs of running your photography business
2. Costs of goods or services 
3. Costs of your time and labor
4. Your desired profit
5. Taxes

It may sound intimidating, but let's dive into each of these a little deeper.

1. ‍Costs associated with running your photography business: These are the nuts and bolts of your business.
   • Equipment costs - your owned gear, rented gear (remember to include wear and tear and repair/replacement into your estimate!).
   • Office/studio costs - if you work from home, estimate the square footage of your work space and include that, or your office/studio rent (as well as utilities).
   • Marketing costs - the cost of your SmugMug subscription, paid advertisement, business cards, etc.‍
2. ‍Costs of goods and/or services: These are the services you outsource. Think photo storage, printing, order delivery (all included in a SmugMug subscription, of course), as well as bookkeeping and other organizational tools. If you are in the business of selling your prints, creating photo bundles and packages is an important part of your pricing. 
3. Costs of your time and labor: Here’s where the rubber meets the road. When considering how you price your time and labor, do your homework!‍
   • ‍Place yourself in the competitive market. This takes some research but is a good starting place for making this important decision. Research working photographers in your area, ideally within your niche, and find out what they are charging. Try to aim somewhere in the middle – don’t price yourself at the low end of the market, but also don’t price yourself at the top. It can also be smart to choose a range of pricing to allow for some flexibility in terms of client budgets.‍
   • Estimate your personal value, based on experience. This is tough because it’s subjective, but try to be as objective as you can. Take into account how long you’ve been at it and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Take into account the quality of the gear you work with, and how quickly you turn around images. If you are in the commercial sector, take into account the caliber of clients, and brand equity of your clients. And never work for free.‍
   • Remember to never undervalue your own time. If you undervalue your time, clients and customers are likely to do the same. When estimating your time on a project, include the time not spent behind the camera: pre-production, traveling, client meetings, set up and take down, that’s all time you should be incorporating into your fees.
4. Your desired profit: This is where you decide on your own personal profit margin, which should come on top of your time and labor costs.
   • How much money would you like to make off a single project? Are you charging hourly, or a flat rate? It will vary project to project and shoot to shoot, so make sure to think it through on a case by case basis, and don’t hesitate to consult your network for insights.
   • How will your photos be used? Should you charge extra for that? To help you get started, use these helpful calculators created by The Association of Photographers and Getty. 
5. Taxes: everyone’s favorite financial topic!
   • We’re no tax experts, but you know who are? Accountants. If you’re serious about running a photography business, you owe it to yourself to hire an expert. And if you’re not at the stage where you’re ready to take that plunge, at least check out this handy guide from our friends at F-Stoppers. At the bare minimum, remember: set aside money from each paycheck to make sure you have enough money to pay your taxes!

Next: A little thing called P&L.

A good place to go next when managing your business finances is your profit and loss statement, also known as an income statement, or P&L. You’ve done all the hard work above, so a P&L is just a helpful document to make sure you’re on track. Put simply, your P&L is your business’s revenue (often referred to as the top line), followed by your costs, or operating expenses (studio rent, payroll, travel expenses, gear rentals, insurance, etc). The difference between your total revenue and your total expenses (also known as the bottom line) is your net income, or profit.

The more you are able to update your P&L statement, the easier it will be. At the very least, we recommend doing this quarterly, especially if you are filing your taxes as a sole proprietor (because you’ll be filing every quarter). Without tracking your revenue and expenses, you won’t know if you’re making a profit, so it’s a crucial step in running a successful photography business.

Lastly, and ongoing: Stay organized!

In order to sustainably and accurately manage your finances, it is important to stay organized. There are endless ways to do this, but for simplicity’s sake, we picked our top three.

1. Separate your money. In order to properly keep track of your business P&L, you need to separate your business finances from your personal finances. Open a business checking account, where you will deposit all revenue from your photography business, as well as pay any employees from (and manage business expenses, if you choose not to use a credit card). If you want to build credit, a Business Credit Card can be where you track all business expenses – not to mention a great way to accrue points! Pull at least 20% of your earnings into a Business Savings account to make sure you have enough money to pay your taxes when the time comes.
2. Define your payment policies (and methods), have them clearly stated on both your website and invoice template, and most importantly, stick to them. Decide which payment methods you accept, what your terms of payment are, set a security deposit percentage, and if you handle refunds or not. Don’t leave any room for confusion or misinterpretation.
3. Invest in management software. Using accounting software (like Quickbooks) and customer relationship management (CRM) software (like Paypal) to auto-populate your books and invoices will free up your precious and limited time for more important things, like getting more clients!

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Managing the finances of your photography business is no easy task, and like the market itself, your finances are not fixed, they are in constant flux and so your pricing is something that will need to be adjusted and reevaluated periodically to reflect that. We are confident, though, that taking the above steps will get you started on your way to growing a successful photography business!

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What’s new.

• We've turbocharged the shopping experience for your customers, making it lightning-fast to add items to their carts. Since making these changes, we’ve seen the time it takes your visitors to add their first item to the cart drop by 34 seconds. We’ve also seen conversion rates for adding items to cart increase. Quicker shopping = more sales for you.
• We’ve added a fantastic new SmugMug Perk: 20% off a lifetime membership to the International Freelance Photographers Organization (IFPO). IFPO has provided credentials, support, access, and community to photographers since 1984.

What’s changed.

• We've made significant improvements to your uploading experience, paving the way for better content sharing and management. Check out this announcement for all the details.

Bug fixes.

• To simplify your customers’ buying process, coupons will no longer apply to packages, which already offer your visitors discounted pricing.
• We've fixed the issue causing video-playback interruptions before processing completes, which resulted in "Processing Failed" messages.
• Out with incorrect crops. We've resolved the issue that affected some print-product cropping to deliver perfect results every time.
• Pro branding updates now stick when changed, allowing Pro-plan subscribers to showcase their updated brand with thank-you notes in each print order and custom stickers on the outside of shipping packages. Not yet using this feature? Learn more!
• Downloaded orders are now correctly labeled as "Shipped," providing clarity for Pros and customers alike.
• We've tackled a cookie issue that blocked visitors from passworded galleries and downloads after they entered the correct password, ensuring uninterrupted access for your visitors.
• Sales history is now off-limits to assistants, and downloading images is a breeze from both the organizer and lightbox.
• We've squashed iOS bugs left and right—from manual-sort glitches to app crashes—to make your mobile SmugMug experience even better and ensure you have uninterrupted access to your photos and videos no matter where you are.
• Our latest Android app release comes with performance enhancements for smoother browsing and quicker transitions.
• Prints and cards now play nice together in the same cart, ensuring they're both visible and ready for purchase.

These updates are designed to supercharge your selling experience and keep your business running smoothly. Happy selling!

Photographers, are you ready to elevate your branding strategy? Let's dive into watermarks and discover how to leverage them effectively on SmugMug.

‍Understanding watermarks.

First things first, what exactly are watermarks? Watermarks are customized graphics or text that you can overlay onto your photos. They serve as a visual stamp, asserting your ownership and brand identity. You can apply them to all your photos on SmugMug, but we never place them on your original files. This means your watermark will never appear on downloads, prints, or keepsake items clients purchase from your galleries. But they travel with your photos online as part of our secure photo sharing. 

‍Who can use watermarks?

Watermarks are available only to Portfolio and Pro account holders on SmugMug. Power users can use external programs like Lightroom for watermarking, but this means your original file will contain the watermark so it will also appear on anything purchased from your site.

Elevating your brand identity.

Why bother with watermarks? Beyond adding a professional touch, watermarks reinforce your brand presence. Whether you're selling your photos or showcasing your portfolio, they ensure your name remains prominently associated with your images. And once you set up watermarks in your gallery settings, SmugMug automatically applies them to new photos as you upload.

Creating your custom watermark on SmugMug.

Ready to craft your signature stamp? You can create text-based watermarks directly in SmugMug. 

1. Navigate to your Selling Tools tab.
2. Select Watermarks > Manage. 
3. Tweak fonts, placement, and other settings, and watch as a live preview updates with your selections.

If you want to step it up a notch—say, using your logo as a watermark—fire up your preferred image-editing software (such as Photoshop) and unleash your creativity. We recommend starting with a transparent PNG file of around 1000 x 2000 pixels for optimal versatility. Apply it the same way you would a text-based watermark, but select Image as the watermark type instead. You’ll be prompted to upload your new watermark and then can adjust its opacity and location until you’re happy.

Stuck? We have a comprehensive step-by-step tutorial about how to make a sample watermark file on our help pages. 

Locating your watermarks.

Navigate to your Selling Tools tab to access all your branding tools, including watermarks. This centralized hub allows for easy management, editing, and removal of your watermark collection.

To apply your watermarks to your photos, look in your gallery settings under the Photo Protection tab. Or drop in to the Organizer to watermark several galleries at once! 

Refining your brand aesthetic.

Need to refresh your branding or make adjustments? No sweat. Simply upload your updated watermark, configure its settings, and apply the changes within your gallery settings.

Adapting to every image orientation.

Addressing the perennial dilemma of landscape versus portrait orientation, consider experimenting with square or corner watermarks for a cohesive aesthetic across all image types.

Distinguishing watermarks from printmarks.

Think of them as siblings—watermarks for your digital portfolio, printmarks for your physical prints. Both serve as customizable branding elements, tailored to enhance your visual identity, but only printmarks show up on the images your clients order. And printmarks, unlike watermarks, are limited in size and where they can appear on the photo. 

Great ideas for printmarks include event dates, your handwritten signature, team names, and graduation years.

Striking the perfect balance.

Strike a balance between visibility and subtlety to ensure your watermarks complement rather than distract from your captivating images. 

Ready to get started?

Dive in to SmugMug’s built-in watermarking tool and embark on your branding journey with confidence! And remember, our dedicated Support Heroes are on standby to assist you every step of the way: click here to reach out.

Now go forth and leave your mark on the world of photography!

If you’re a portrait or event photographer, you’ve undoubtedly had clients ask you any or all of the following questions:

• Are digital files included with my booking?
• Could I get a digital copy?
• Will I get a USB with all my images on it?
• Can I post these photos on Instagram?

The fact is we're living in a digital world. Fewer and fewer people are interested in physical prints and are increasingly using websites and social media to store and share their precious memories.

At SmugMug, we still believe in the power of a printed photograph, but we think it's equally important to adapt your business to the digital needs of today’s customers.

You've already got your portfolio and proofing solution sorted out with SmugMug, and you know what a lifesaver our print labs are in fulfilling your print and merchandise orders. Don't leave money on the table by keeping digital downloads a secret!

Photos + video downloads = instant gratification.

Portfolio and Pro account owners can price and sell single digital images and video files to clients and they're retrievable immediately after checkout. In other words, they're perfect for customers who are itching to share with friends and family right away. Digital downloads also buy you time, especially if they'll be waiting for you to proof your prints; and they provide a little extra cash in your pocket.

Don't think you can emotionally "let go" of your digital files? Not to worry: You can lock them down and offer only smaller display sizes or choose to offer files that only include your printmark. Additionally, you can set one price for personal use and charge more for commercial licensing. Or sell the whole gallery at a single package price.

Steps to start selling.

1. Protect against theft.

When you decide to start selling downloads, it's of utmost importance to be sure you've got image protection set up the right way. Take a look at the resources we've written to help you set up watermarking, right-click protection, and more.

2. Strategize your pricing.

We've got a great article that helps you answer the eternal question, "How much should I charge?" but this is a very personal decision and there is no right answer. We can, however, offer some practical tips:

• Don't dismiss printmarks. While text or logos cover up part of your image, there's a greater benefit: they're advertising for you. Create a printmark that's tasteful and unobtrusive, and your clients will be happy to share your name with the world.
• Set your larger downloads at a higher price point than your prints. Assuming you're selling downloads so customers can get prints made locally instead of through SmugMug's print labs, you'll have to make up for that loss. Also remember that a digital file doesn't self-destruct once it's been printed, so make sure you build multiple uses of those files into your prices.
• Consider paring down your offerings. While it's true we make several download options available for you to sell, it doesn't mean you should actually do it. Decision paralysis throttles sales every day, and we want you and your clients to both be happy.
• Include digital files in your sitting fee/packing price, then give your client a print credit coupon after the shoot to purchase digital downloads. This method streamlines the amount of thinking they need to do, and it keeps everything close to your website at SmugMug. 
• Alternatively, use our client downloads feature to deliver a select number of full-res photos in the gallery to the client via zip file.

3. Set your prices.

Just like traditional prints and gifts, you price your photo, video, and gallery downloads in your pricelists manager to make them available to your clients. The only difference is that all digital downloads are delivered instantly via email from SmugMug, and they aren't tied to a specific print lab like physical products.

We hope we've inspired you to try an all-new way to make more money from your photography, as well as given you new ways to make your clients happier. If you're brand new to digital downloads or just want to read more about how you can make money at SmugMug, read our help pages for all the details.

As always, don't hesitate to reach out to our Support Heroes if you're confused, need help, or just have a question about what you need to do next. Happy sales to you!

What’s new.

• Digital image add-on for print purchasers. If your customers add a print to their cart and you have a digital download version available as well, a new upsell appears in the cart encouraging your customer to add on the digital download. This gives the possibility for the customer ordering prints to purchase the digital version giving them more products to enjoy and Pro & Portfolio subscribers selling can increase their sales.

• New controls for photo downloads. You can now choose the size of the download for each of your galleries and you can provide a customer or client a gallery without a limit on the downloads so they can “select all” if they so choose!

What’s changed.

• More details added to help pages! Additional info on how to use a subdomain with your account, setting up Google Search Console on your account, updates to the Assistants help page to include steps on how to set up this feature on your Pro account, and how to share to Wordpress when using a custom domain.
• Latest iOS app version 4.8.1 which provides the new download size feature to be available within the app.
• Lightroom Classic Plugin version 3.5.4 released that corrects some entanglements issues in regards to virtual copies.
• Android app version 4.6.4 released that includes the download size feature and better information for you when you’re trying to create a folder nested too deeply in your folder hierarchy.

Bug fixes.

• Jumped on a few bugs impacting the speed of uploads and digital downloads. We hope you didn’t notice any issues!
• Addressed issues with the Adobe Lightroom Classic plugin for RAW file upload errors, missing watermark settings, and other small annoyances.
• Resolved an issue where manual sorting was not honoring their gallery position so photos should be in the order that you want them to be!

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Remember to keep an eye out for updates in the ‘What’s New’ section in your SmugMug account. And tell us what you think or what features you’d like to see: start a conversation on our Facebook, Instagram, and/or X (formerly known as Twitter).