I’ve been reading John Harrington’s blog for a while now. He gives well-written, solid, classic business advice. His book just came in the UPS, and it’s a must-read for anybody who wants to make a living in photography. Though it’s intended for an already-somewhat-established photographer, I think its contents are applicable at any point in a career, especially at the beginning. Art schools and journalism schools for the most part fail to give their students one very important tool to succeed in their chosen profession: the ability to run a business. It doesn’t require an MBA, but you do need to familiarize yourself with a few concepts like the cost of doing business, markup, and basic accounting.

You also need to learn to say “no” to projects that either don’t make business sense or don’t fit with your mission. One of the hardest things for me to learn and to practice (even to this day) is that “good causes” shouldn’t necessarily get things for free or even at a discount. Since most of our clients are non-profits, giving away work to every good cause who asks is a quick way to wind up back at the Pizza Hut. (Before I went off to college, I was a waitress/cook at Pizza Hut. It was a valuable experience and I could do it again if I needed to, but I do like having a job where I don’t go home smelling like pizza sauce and vegetable oil.)

Though it goes against my people-pleasing instincts, I must often politely turn down requests requests for free image use. Because of the nature of Joel’s work we get many such inquiries. (And by the way — if you have any kind of a photo budget at all, we’re usually willing to work with what you have.) Every time one of these requests comes along, I brace myself for the person requesting to be upset, but more often than not they’re quite understanding. Harrington’s book repeatedly stresses the notion that photographers should be paid for their work, just as the printer is paid for his or her work, and just as the hosting company is paid for the web space.

The book resonates with me because Harrington and I apparently share a background in economics. Though it fancies itself the queen of the social sciences, economics is usually treated more like the bastard child of the business school. It has little to do with the day to day reality of operating a business, but is immensely useful in decision-making, both long-term and short-term.

In summary — if you’ve ever fancied a career as a photographer, this book is worth every penny of your money and every minute of the time it takes to read it cover to cover. And yes, I am gushing over it, but I’ve been running a photo business for nine years now (gasp) and wish I could’ve read it on day one.

Best Business Practices for Photographers on Amazon.