¾«¶«´«Ã½app

Business acumen is as essential to a successful career in photography as a photographer’s technical and creative skills. As a final semester third-year undertaking, this course focuses on the best-practice skills needed to launch a freelance or contract photography enterprise. It prepares you to build a professional online portfolio aligned with your brand and chosen genres to target and attract prospective clients. You will hone their client communication skills and develop an insight into the importance of fostering the photographer-client relationship to build and grow your business. You will further develop skills in costing and producing shoots, creating pricing models, and navigating the ethical and legal considerations of a commercial photography enterprise.

Through a series of weekly practical learning activities, examinations of case studies and course work, you will gain essential skills and valuable insights for setting up and operating a successful photography enterprise. You will analyse and organise your own body of work, collated throughout your Professional Photography major, into an effective online portfolio which reflects your professional brand and targets a specific client base. You will learn how to refine your client-communication skills to successfully present yourself and pitch your photo shoot concepts to clients; how to accurately cost a photo shoot and price your work; and how to promote your services via social media and traditional marketing streams. You will examine your legal and professional responsibility to operate your business ethically, by complying with defamation and commercial shooting permit requirements; and will expand your knowledge in safeguarding your interests via professional contracts, business insurance and copyright provisions.

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. organise and create a professional online photography portfolio that positions your professional brand, and presents your skills and services to a defined target market;
2. design and present a photoshoot-brief that meets a client’s requirements and ensures the success and effectiveness of the shoot, campaign, or project;
3. accurately cost and produce a photoshoot and design a pricing structure or model for your business;
4. create a plan to operate and manage business efficiently, ethically and legally utilising client contracts, invoices, model releases, copyright protection provisions, business insurance and in alignment with by legal requirements;
5. design social media and traditional marketing promotions to reflect your brand and grow your business.