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!

- I would back away from anything to processing-heavy in Photoshop – the sepias, the orange glows, the heavy vignetting. Early on it’s easy to want to try to spice up photos with extra processing, but often it just comes off as trying to obscure an otherwise sub-par photo. For example, photos like 23, 53, 22, 27 – these need no obfuscation, they’re absolutely lovely. Compare to 17, 26, 60, 8.1, where an image that might otherwise have not made the cut is given a heavy dose of post-processing to try to be made stylish. Especially for what you put in your portfolio and share with potential clients, you want to only show your best – if you shoot 500, show a client 50, and put only 1-5 in your public portfolio.

- Somewhat related to the above, it looks like you tried a lot of different processing techniques on these images. Pick any two or three for a given shoot, and pick only the best photos that have a purpose for being given such processing, and get very good at processing those images those two or three ways. On almost all of my paid shoots for clients, I show 90% color images (with simple, accurate processing) and 10% black and white copies of my favorite shots.

- That said, of course when you’re doing fashiony-type work, you have latitude to play around and experiment; certainly experiment as much as you can, certainly get feedback and adjust as you see fit. But so far as what you show a client, and even more selectively, what you show in your portfolio, ensure that every image has a purpose, to both be shown in the first place and to be processed in the fashion you have.

- I would reduce the breadth of scenes in this given shoot, and spend more time working each scene for great expressions, different poses, etc. It looks like you shot at several different locations, different outfits, but I’m seeing a lot of the same posing and expressions. Your subject is lovely, I’m sure she could provide all manner of looks – smoldering, sassy, fun, funny, quirky, smirky, etc. One trick I use to loosen up my subjects, especially high school senior girls, is a series of “nine silly face shots.” I tell them the purpose is to help them relax and have fun with the shoot, and tell them I’m going to count from one to nine, taking a photo with each number – and they have to come up with nine completely different, totally off-the-wall silly faces for each one. This is the fun stuff, what gets laughed about and shared on Facebook later on, at least with the right kinds of clients. Give your subjects the motivation and inspiration they need to relax, have fun, and really show off the full spectrum of their personalities in front of the camera.

That’s all I see! Lots of great images, great ideas, and technically well-executed shots in this set, Miss Dana – you’ve got everything you need to do great in this industry. I hope I provided a few ideas to help focus your talents. If you have any questions or if there’s anything more I can do, please don’t hesitate to let me know! And please do keep me posted on your adventures!

Being a working photographer can most definitely be done. It is indeed work, which scares away a lot of would-be photogs who didn’t really have the passion or desire to be professionals – and that’s okay, it helps thin the uninspired from the market. So it is with any pursuit.

The New York Institute of Photography has a perfect, simple model release for download and use: http://www.nyip.com/ezine/techtips/model-release.html – simply adjust wording to taste. I have every person I shoot sign a model release, because I never know when or where I’ll use their images. It’s good to both cover my butt and to help them know ahead of time their photos may be used in venues they didn’t expect. And if they have an objection, they’re the paying client, I don’t argue.

I hope this helps! Thank you again, and please do keep me posted on your adventures as a professional photographer!