8 business admin tips for stills and video shooters

Whatever stage you're at in your career, whether you're a seasoned pro or starting to shoot stills and video as a side project, being able to capture great images is only part of the job. When you're making a living as a photographer or videographer, there are vital business tasks that you must also tackle to be successful.

Whether it's budgeting, invoicing, insurance, kit maintenance or file organisation, understanding what you need to do to keep control of these tasks is essential for both your finances and your reputation. To steer you through potentially choppy waters, here's our eight-point business administration guide, whether you're shooting stills, video or a mixture of both.

1. Budgeting

Managing your finances should be at the very top of your business agenda. If you run out of money, your business will fail. Think about your plans for the year ahead and work out what the costs will be. You need to factor in bills for servicing and maintaining your equipment and think about whether any of your equipment needs replacing. If you're planning to travel, consider journey and accommodation costs, and factor all that in when setting your fees.

3. Image licensing

Selling work to clients doesn't just mean fixing a price and handing over the image or video. You also need to agree how someone can use your material, and for what time period – in other words, what kind of licence you're granting. If the client wants exclusive use of your pictures, you'll grant them exclusive rights. Otherwise the licence should specify non-exclusive rights, or first rights if they wish to use the images before anyone else and let you resell them only at a later date.

Depending on what the images will be used for, you'll grant either commercial rights or non-commercial rights. If the client wants to use them only once, you'd grant one-time use rights, while a royalty-free licence lets them use your image as many times as they want.

A little more complicated are rights managed licences, where particular restrictions are placed on the client's use of images, with different fees associated with each use. Finally, whatever licence you and your client agree on, you may also need to add specific requirements to the agreement, such as if you require your work to be credited.

4. Maintaining your kit

Maintaining your equipment can make a huge impact on your medium-term costs. It's vital to clean your camera, lenses and accessories regularly, in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. And regularly does mean regularly, so make sure you schedule cleaning time into your calendar. Also, make sure you clean your cases and bags thoroughly, to prevent any grime, dust or dirt getting inside and damaging your kit.

Cleanliness is only one aspect of maintenance, though. Your kit also needs regular servicing by a trained technician to ensure it's functioning at its best. It's a good idea to register with Canon Professional Services (CPS), which, along with many other benefits, gives you access to fast service and repairs at specialist Canon Service & Repair Centres.

5. Updating software

These days, maintenance isn't just physical – it's also vital to regularly check for firmware updates for your kit. Visit Business Product Support to find out if your gear is up to date.

Firmware isn't the only software to consider. Many manufacturers offer free apps to improve your workflow, so it's also worth keeping an eye on the Apps section of this site. For example, the Canon Camera Connect app enables you to control your camera from your phone for remote shooting and easy photo sharing, while Digital Photo Professional Express enables you to import, browse and edit image files wherever you are.

6. Organising files

Anyone who's searched for a single image among hundreds of thousands of shots knows that you need to have a foolproof system in place for organising your photos. Before you take a single shot as a freelancer, devise a robust naming convention for your images. This might include date, shoot type and client name – but it's about what works for you. Similarly, it's important to create an effective folder structure, which could be categorised by shoot, theme or subject, for example.

7. Backing up

One of the most crucial tasks you need to carry out as a photographer or videographer is to regularly back up your images or videos, either to an external hard drive or to a cloud-based service. You also need to consider your options for backing up during a shoot or while you're travelling. The new image.canon service automatically connects compatible cameras to the cloud, where photos and movies – including RAW images and 4K clips – can be safely stored and readily accessed for 30 days*.

8. Marketing

If you want to make a success of your business you need to promote your skills, and that usually means having a website that can act as an online portfolio for your work, plus at least one social media account. Building and maintaining an online presence takes time and effort, so you need to factor that in to your schedule, ideally dedicating a short amount of time each day to updating your website, uploading images and videos, and interacting with your followers.

Your approach to online marketing will depend on your style and genre of photography or videography. Think about your potential customers and the things they might be interested in, and target your posts accordingly. Ultimately, your content should be useful and interesting. And authenticity is key – a genuine passion for your work will shine through.