Course Technology 2007, softcover, 330 pages.

A truly successful photographic career means not only financial success, but also personal satisfaction and fulfillment. The goal of Best Business Practices for Photographers is to help you achieve success in each of these areas. This book is not a guide to taking better pictures or selling your photography. Instead, it explains how photographers can meet important business objectives. It covers the focal points of best practices - best practices in interacting with clients, best practices in negotiating contracts and licenses, and best practices in business operations. It provides a roadmap for successfully navigating these - and many other - issues facing photographers today.

Features

*** Comprehensive real-world examples illustrate the author's points, with clear explanations on sometimes seemingly complex matters
*** A comprehensive guide for working photographers who want to apply best practices to their existing business in order to maximize revenue and client satisfaction
*** Focuses on the need to treat photography as a viable and profitable business--not as a sideline hobby--in order to be successful

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I Nuts and Bolts of Your Business

*** Chapter 1 You Are a Business'Now Let's Get to Work!
*** Chapter 2 Professional Equipment for Professional Photographers
*** Chapter 3 Planning and Logistics: Why a Thirty-Minute Shoot Can Take Three Days to Plan

Part II Financial and Personnel Considerations

*** Chapter 4 Working with Assistants, Employees, and Contractors: The Pitfalls and Benefits
*** Chapter 5 Pricing Your Work to Stay in Business
*** Chapter 6 Overhead: Why What You Charge a Client Must Be More Than You Paid for It
*** Chapter 7 Who's Paying Your Salary and 401K?
*** Chapter 8 Insurance: Why It's Not Just Health-Related, and How You Should Protect Yourself
*** Chapter 9 Accounting: How We Do It Ourselves and What We Turn Over to an Accountant

Part III Legal Issues

*** Chapter 10 Contracts for Editorial Clients
*** Chapter 11 Contracts for Corporate and Commercial Clients
*** Chapter 12 Contracts for Weddings and Rites of Passage
*** Chapter 13 Negotiations: Signing Up or Saying No
*** Chapter 14 Protecting Your Work: How and Why
*** Chapter 15 The Realities of an Infringement: Copyrights and Federal Court
*** Chapter 16 Handling a Breach of Contract: Small Claims and Civil Court
*** Chapter 17 Resolving Slow- and Non-Paying Clients
*** Chapter 18 Letters, Letters, Letters: Writing Like a Professional Can Solve Many Problems
*** Chapter 19 Attorneys: When You Need Them, They're Your Best Friend (or at Least Your Advocate)

Part IV Storage and Archiving

*** Chapter 20 Office and On-Location Systems: Redundancy and Security Beget Peace of Mind
*** Chapter 21 Digital and Analog Asset Management: Leveraging Your Images to Their Maximum Potential
*** Chapter 22 Stock Solutions: Charting Your Own Course without the Need for a 'Big Fish' Agency

Part V The Human Aspect

*** Chapter 23 Care and Feeding of Clients (Hint: It's Not about Starbucks and a Fast-Food Burger)
*** Chapter 24 Education, an Ongoing and Critical Practice: Don't Rest on Your Laurels
*** Chapter 25 Striking a Balance between Photography and Family: How What You Love to Do Can Coexist with Your Spouse, Children, Parents, and Siblings if You Just Think a Little about It
*** Chapter 26 Charity, Community, and Your Colleagues: Giving Back is Good Karma

Index