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Angie's Angle - Azeem Jiwaji - part 3 of 1 2 3 4

by Angela Adams Published 01/08/2016

If you could start your business again from day one, what would you do differently (if anything)?

Not purchase a business and listen to professional business advisors - there are too many photography teachers out there, and too be honest, some know very little and are misinformed. I now know it's the ones who are still busy working in the industry, still shooting and who have the experience of running a successful business - they're the ones to listen to. I'd also have hired an accountant to act as Chief Financial Officer to keep an ongoing eye on profit and loss.

It was a lucky day when I joined the Click Group, there are some great people associated with the group, most of whom run successful businesses. I've made great contacts within Click and visited many successful studios. I listened to how they functioned and why, asked questions and applied what I learned. This was so valuable and I would recommend it to anyone starting out ...find people already in the business who are prepared to assist you.

What's the best single piece of business advice you'd like to share?

Don't devalue yourself or your business by pricing too low. Ensure your prices are realistically reflective.

Learning to become a competent photographer is a serious challenge, one that keeps us learning and exploring - what would you say is the most important challenge you've faced as a photographer?

Trying to translate the knowledge I've learnt into real-world photography sessions. I refer to my current clients as, one-hour miracles. Which means I have a single hour to work miracles within the studio, to make them look amazing and create great pictures. Much of the training we receive as photographers can translate to two- to three-hour sessions. It's been challenging developing the bag-of-tricks needed to facilitate a profitable outcome at each and every session ... you need to be ready, and have tried and tested skills to achieve this hour after hour.

Looking at a photographer's portfolio can be revealing - what does your portfolio reveal about you?

That I don't spend time creating a portfolio - I'm too busy working to pay my bills! I would love to have the time to create imagery for myself and more personal projects, but at the moment, with my current workload, it just is not possible.

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1st Published 01/08/2016
last update 09/12/2022 14:51:23

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