3 Tips to Book Your FIRST Photography Client…Even If You Do Not Have A Portfolio

So you have a camera and you love taking pictures, but how do you get your first real client, especially if you don’t have much of a portfolio to show?

This is such a common predicament many newer, aspiring photographers face. They have the passion and the drive, but don't yet have a photography portfolio. Without a portfolio, it's hard to attract clients. And without clients, it's hard to create a portfolio. So what's a photographer to do?

Well, listen in because in this blog post, I'm going to share with you 3 tips to get your first photography client, even if you do not have a portfolio.

1: The first step in filling your calendar with photography clients to define the kinds of clients and the niche you want to photograph.

Do you want to photograph newborns, families, high school seniors, brides and grooms on their wedding day, brand photos for small businesses and entrepreneurs or something else entirely?

Knowing what kind of clients you want to photograph will go a long way in knowing how and where to connect with those kinds of people.

Once you determine a niche you'd like to focus your photography on, take some time to research that kind of person.

How old are they? What do they do on a day to day basis? Are they a student or a professional? What's their family life like? What do they do for fun? Where do they hang out both in person and on the internet? What would motivate them to hire a photographer like you? What would be some reservations or questions they have prior to investing in professional photography?

When you take the time to understand your ideal client, you will gain a better understanding of where to go, what to do and what to say to authentically connect with them.

Let's move onto tip number two to get your first client even if you lack a portfolio:

2 : Take a an hour or two and open up an excel file on your computer. List out all the people you know. This list can include people you went to high school or college with, co-workers, your spouses co-workers, neighbors, friends, people from church, etc. List their name, phone number, and email if you have it, and perhaps their social media. This will now be your database of potential clients.

You can then reach out to each one individually and share how excited you are about starting a photography business. Ask them if they have any need or desire to be photographed. Many will say yes! And some will not, but could potentially refer you to someone else they know that you don't who is looking for a photographer.

What we need to realize is that bookings come from conversations so the more conversations you have, the more you increase your chances of getting booked.

In addition to reaching out to the people you added to your database, you can start attending local networking groups, volunteer, shop at local businesses or partner with local charities.

Be intentional about starting conversations with the new friends you meet. Ask them what they do for a living. That will naturally lead them to ask you what you do, thereby giving you an open door to share about the photography business you are starting!

Ask if they are interested in being photographed. The worst someone can say is that they are not interested at the moment and that's no big deal. You just move on to the next person.

3: And finally tip number three to book your first client even if you don't have a portfolio is to promote your photography by using a Model Call.

But let me caution you on this: I've seen many newbie photographers offer a Model Call as a completely free session and then give away all the digital images they took which means they don't make any money! I do not recommend that at all! There is a better way to market with Model Calls and earn an income, while you build your portfolio.

The gist of a model all is that the photographer offers some sort of a limited incentive to encourage a client to book a session. The incentive can be a waived session or a single 8x10 print. The point here is to NOT include all the digitals. Instead, you offer your client the opportunity to purchase additional prints, products and digitals.

When you do that, you'll have the opportunity to make a sale. Many of my Model Call sessions has led to $2500 portrait sales so this is definitely not a bad way to market your photography as you build your portfolio and still make an income.

Truthfully, there is a lot more that goes into the Model Call process. Obviously, you need to know how to get the word out about your model call and the best ways to communicate and prepare your client so that you make a sale. This is one of the marketing strategies we teach extensively inside The Mentorship so if that's something you want to learn more about, apply to join us inside so that we can show you how to fill your calendar and create consistent $1000+ portrait sales per client.

Anyways, there are three tips to get your first one, two or ten clients even if at the moment you lack a portfolio!

Before you pop off, tell me in the comments below which of these tips you'll start using today or what you did to get your first client!