I would advise that you think very carefully about the right time to make a move to full time. I would recommend looking for work as a second shooter to gain experience working with other photographers and build up your portfolio. You want to consider what type of services you want to offer-weddings, pets, maternity, etc. and then look at a pricing structure that supports your income needs. For example, let’s say you need to earn $5,000 per month (take home pay) in order to go full time. What does that look like in bookings? Is that going to be 2 weddings per month or 5 weddings per month? What kind of an average booking rate, and how many weddings will you need to make that goal? You also have to factor in costs for equipment, marketing, insurance, brochures, sample albums, wall prints, products, etc. All those costs need to be added in as well.

With weddings, payments are typically made over the course of 6-12 months, so even though you might book 5-10 weddings in your first year, you’ll only see a portion of those payments if the weddings take place the following year. It’s a lot to think about!

a few things you’d want to consider:

-the cash flow-how you collect payments will determine your cash flow, and its really important to consider this in your photography business. for example-our payment policy:

1/3 at time of booking
1/3 at 120 days out
1/3 30 days prior

So when you begin booking for the next season-you will only get that initial payment this year. You really need to take this into consideration with both how you structure your photography payments and how your personal finances will be affected. There’s no consistent paychecks in wedding photography. It’s a feast or famine mentality. Fall & winter tend to be minimal payments coming in, while spring and summer is when you collect those final payments from brides.

So before you quit your day job, you want to ensure you have enough money set aside to cover your business expenses as well as living expenses.

I’d consider that you plan out when you go into full time photography very carefully. Once you start to feel like it might be getting closer, I would plan to work your 9-5 up until the start of the wedding season, as the fall and winter are typically the slow season for most photographers, so probably easier to handle more things on your plate. Good luck with your photography business!

Susan