I am most impressed – keep up the awesome work, and keep me posted on your successes and adventures! I think your business is really going to take off here in 2012 – you have all the ingredients to do great things. Don’t hold back!

Let me preface my suggestions with the fact that I am an extremely frugal bootstrapper of a businessman – I very much so lean toward starting very, very small, and earning your way to investments in better gear, props, etc.

I have no personal experience with the Old Timey photo studio business model, so I can’t give very good specifics about what you truly need to get started. What I would suggest is to look at other such businesses in your area, and figure out how you can imitate their success as inexpensively as possible. How few costumes and props can you get away with in the beginning? Can you get by in the beginning with just a few props and outfits? What if you just did 3/4 shots from the waist up, could you get by with western coats, ties and hats?

I’m tempted to actually suggest you start a basic portrait photography business up first (where the onus of wardrobe and props lies with the client), let that build some steam and get you paying clients in the door, and then use the profits from that business to launch your Old West division.

My thinking is always, “How can I start making money with this with the least investment/risk?” Nine times out of 10, creativity and flexibility are the necessary ingredients to a successful start, not an outpouring of money.

If you want to go all-Old West to start, I’d suggest starting with young kids – the sets / scenes are smaller, the wardrobe is less expensive, the props can be hand-made or purchased inexpensively at yard sales and antique stores.

The most successful Old West portrait studio I’ve come across locally is Tootins McGrootins Antique Portrait Studio: http://www.tootins.com. So far as I’ve seen, they actually just have a small trailer full of props and wardrobe that they haul to rodeos and other events, then set up on-site and do Old West portraits. She seems to do very well in her business – she may even be a good person to visit with and try to glean some tips from.

It’s obviously a successful business model, but to jump right in might be pretty expensive – again, I would start with a small location portrait business for a few months and then use the profits from that very inexpensive business model to fund the investments you’ll need to get your Old West photo business up and running.

Thank you for your comment and your readership! Please keep me posted on what path you guys decide on, I’d love to hear of your successes and adventures!

It’s called Second Shootr – check out its list of features over here on the AppShopper.com site: http://bit.ly/zGwUeV

I have yet to try the app myself, but it looks like a wonderful organizational tool for photographers. In the near future, I’ll give it a go and a proper review here on PTP.

As of this writing the software is $6.99, but it’s gone free twice in the past two years, so even if you don’t pick it up today, add it to your AppShopper list of “wants” and you’ll get an update when the price drops.

Thank you for the heads-up, Barb!

Yep. Insanity followed. But, here I am, on the other side. I think things will be okay.

Please keep me posted on your successes and adventures! I’d love to hear how your art and business grow in 2012. Thank you for your readership!

With the caveat that I Am Not a Lawyer or CPA, here’s what I know / do for taxes:

- I keep track of every dollar I earn. This goes in the Total Revenue column.

- I keep track of every dollar I spend. This goes in various categories for tax write-off purposes. My tax preparer tells me where she wants to stick what expense, and so at the end of each year I can just hand her a printout of those total expenses.

- Keep those receipts, but you only need them to establish totals at the end of each year, and have for audit purposes should one come about.

- Sales taxes are some of the easiest, because you know the exact amount to collect and remit. The Comptroller web site should tell you what tax zone you’re in, and what you should be collecting (usually 6.75% in rural areas, 8.25% in the city); when in doubt, collect the maximum on every dollar earned. It’s been explained to me that photography is lumped in with manufacturing, so we collect sales tax on all labor and products. It’s smart to keep this collected money separate for both audit and practical purposes – you don’t “charge” for sales tax then pay it back to the state, you collect it as a pass-through and then hand it over every quarter or year. They like to see that money separate and never spent, and then you don’t have to sweat come tax time when you have to turn over those funds, because you’ve kept them separate the whole time.

I do hope to put together some good pieces this year on the legalities of running a part time photography business – it seems to be an area that strikes fear into the hearts of many would-be pros, and understandably so with all the surrounding gravitas.

I hope this helps! Take the time to keep good records of your income and outgo, and keep those sales taxes collected in full and separated from other accounts, and you’ll never have the slightest problem to worry about.

Thank you again for your readership! Please do keep me posted on your successes and adventures!

Business name, web site domain name, web site design, business cards, logo…it’s all so easy to hit a brick wall at so many turns as you get started as a professional photographer. I always preach to “Ready, Fire, Aim!” for this very reason – as Patton said, a good plan violently executed today is far and away better than the perfect plan tomorrow.

I think it’s a self-defense mechanism – whether we admit it out loud or not, starting your own business that you’re going to invest your name, reputation and creative spirit into is a scary thing; every decision makes you feel more and more vulnerable. Progress, and it’s best friend Success, lie on the other side of those decisions, however – not in the middle of them. To make this dream happen, you have to put a stake in the ground, make the decisions (even if it’s the wrong damn thing, as my father would say), and get to work on your art and marketing.

Thank you so much for your readership! Please do keep me posted on your successes and adventures, I think you’re going to have some big ones in both categories this year.

I really enjoyed visiting your web site tonight! Lots of great work there, beautiful colors and tones. Your clients are blessed to have you to work with!

Thank you for your readership! Please do keep me posted on your successes and adventures in professional photography.

I, unfortunately, have been one of those pour-my-brains-out people over my business name, since it’s SOOOOO common. But, with a thought change, and much humor, thanks to this article, I can be a lot more at ease with this part of my process. I’ve shot and assisted a few weddings and portrait sessions, but I’d like to go part-time. My biggest hurdle is the post-production commitment. I’ve already got a great full-time job that I won’t be leaving soon, if ever, and a family. I’m okay behind the lens but really rely on my Photoshop and Camera Raw skills to round out my final prints, on which I can geek out and work myself into a tizzy because ‘the look’ is there. I just gotta find it! LOL! Lots to think about….

I’ll just tuck my cutesy potential name I’ve come up with into my back pocket for now. We’ll see if it ends up getting phased out like “gnarly!” or “choice!” from the late 80′s/early 90′s.