Asmp Professional Business Practices in Photography

This is an excellent starter if you are serious about the photography business. It will not replace real life experience, put will definitely put you in the right track.

The ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography, 7th addition is extremely thorough in its communication of what professional photographers should be doing. It is essential to know the inside and outside information on running a photography business in an ethical and practical way. This book contains information on best practices and how those practices benefit both the professional and the client. In the end it comes down to a positive relationship between the photographer and the client through their services. This book gives great practical advice on how to achieve such a relationship without compromising the profession with low-ball techniques. Sound business practices from qualified professionals in the field making a living and working hard to ethically provide services to clients in a positive and mutually effective way.

In 56 chapters and about 450 pages this book covers the gamut (no pun intended) of issues of what an aspiring or practicing professional photographer might face on the business side of their practice. Personally I would call it a "must read" along with the two other books mentioned below. While this book does not provide great depth in many areas, it does provide great breadth and quite useful depth. I would recommend "Best Business Practices for Photographers by John Harrington" and "The Professional Photographer's Legal Handbook by Nancy Wolff" as companions for this book to give you greater depth on many of the key areas covered in this book. While long in length, it is generally very quick reading. Highly recommended!

In today's marketplace, it is critical that the fledgling professional photographer know how to survive. This book takes a pragmatic approach to a wide variety of topics that any professional photographer needs to understand. Frequently misunderstood concepts like copyrighting your work (and preserving copyright for future generations), writing contracts, setting client expectations, logistics for photo shoots, and stock photography market saturation are among a host of issues addressed. If you are entertaining even a glimmer of the notion of entering the world of professional photography, this book is necessary. It can save you A LOT of time, hassle, and tears shed. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Photographers can be overwelmed by the sheer number of business books that don't quite fit the bill. They seem to be revisions from other industries. ASMP has done an incredibly valuable service to the industry with the publication of this book. It is informative without boring the reader, it has valid statistics that really help photographers, and it gives working photographers what they didn't get in school: a business education. Buy this book!