Volume photography is becoming an increasingly popular way for photographers to boost their revenue. By leveraging economies of scale, it can provide a lucrative and reliable stream of income. This involves taking photos of a large number of subjects in a relatively short time, allowing photographers to earn more from lower time inputs.

Successful volume photography involves building out an easy-to-replicate workflow that generates referrals and repeat business. In this article, we’ll share tips on how to get started.

Types of Volume Photography

Consider which volume photography niche you could incorporate into your existing work. Here are several common types:

• School photography
• Sports photography
• Event photography
• Corporate photography

School photography typically involves “picture day” portraits. Sports photography can include portraits of players as well as action photos. Meanwhile, event photography can involve a mix of portraits and action photos at sports games, concerts, and festivals. If you’re an event photographer, you might capture images of attendees enjoying themselves, along with highlights like speakers, awards, or performers. Corporate photography can include individual portraits, group sessions, and candid photos of people in their workplace.

Now, let’s explore how to get started with volume photography, from getting contracts to building your team.

Winning Volume Photography Contracts

Winning contracts is the biggest barrier you have to surmount, says Jason Marino, this year’s Imaging USA speaker, on the Professional Photographer podcast. Essentially, you need to figure out how to replace the person who already has the contract. Ask about the prospective client’s pain points, then articulate how you’d resolve them. This emphasis on problem-solving will get you in the door. 

If you’re focused on school photos, build great relationships with yearbook companies, he adds. They’ll refer you to schools who are dissatisfied with their photographer.

In volume photography, it’s fairly easy to calculate the returns you’ll gain from scaling, he notes. His company has been growing about 30% year over year, and they can easily calculate highly accurate returns based on the number of students they expect to be working with.

Even after you’re established, continue marketing your photography business. Alison Carlino, a master of volume sports photography, uses tactics like putting banners up in gyms to secure new teams. You can target high schools, junior highs, and recreational leagues in this way, she notes.

Building Your Team

Volume photography lends itself well to scaling up. “You can only scale your portrait wedding business so much before it’s no longer your brand and it’s no longer about you,” says Marino. In that business, people want to work with the individual photographer. But in volume photography, you can still be the face of the brand while hiring other people to do the labor—and you need to, he asserts.

At the same time, work on growing slowly; otherwise, you’ll fail fast, says Carlino. Focus on building relationships and honing your practices, which will lead to long-term success.

Always have someone else there to help with organization and streamlining the session, Carlino emphasizes. Delegate roles like graphics and marketing, she urges. Divide your tasks into pre-, on-site, and post-production, and hire people to help with them. For example, at a media day session for a sports team, you’ll need help with moving lights around, setting up photos, and other tasks.

Designing Clear Processes

Establish clear processes so you can easily integrate new people into their roles, says Marino. Have a streamlined method for approaching each session. Create processes for ensuring consistent lighting across all subjects, choosing easily adjustable lighting options, for instance.

During a session, pre-check little things, like whether shorts are at the same level on the thighs and the number is visible, says Carlino. As a portrait photographer, this may come naturally based on your attention to detail. You can also create a quick-reference list of details to check for each portrait.

Carlino’s team often does composited images, for which players aren’t all present on the same day. For these projects, they create a storyboard, mapping out where each person goes and how they should be positioned. 

Growing Your Portfolio

Find creative ways to build a robust portfolio. Carlino and her team have donated their time to take portraits at a community service project involving kids from sports teams across their district, for example. Afterward, they put together a social media graphic, which led them to book at least 11 new teams.

If you’re brand-new, find someone with a child who plays sports and take photos of them, she advises. Create a pose guide where they stop in different positions as you take their photo, and build your marketing kit with these samples.

If you do sports photography, offer media day services, which highlight star players by using special effects or other creative options. Carlino launched this offering as a no-charge service, doing colored smoke effects with two or three kids on a team. In this way, she enhanced her portfolio while giving the team something extra.

Utilizing the Right Tools

Cut down on time spent in post-production by using tech solutions. The right tools will improve your workflow, enhance organization, support client management, and even automate parts of the process, saving time and energy.

For example, AI software can assist volume photographers with image culling, selection, editing, and creation of galleries. Explore the resources that help speed up your workflow provided by companies like 17 Hats, Imagen, GotPhoto, Tether Tools, and Candid Color Systems, which exhibit at Imaging USA. Facial recognition tools can help you avoid mixing up kids, notes Marino. Meanwhile, Carlino uses the ClickUp system to track portrait status and add notes about client needs.

Branding a Volume Business

If you’re already building a brand in portrait photography, that can help you establish yourself as a volume photographer, Carlino asserts. For instance, leverage your school photography business to gain new clients for senior photos.

Ultimately, she created a separate brand name for her volume photography business because it follows a different model and pricing than her portrait photography brand. However, leveraging her portrait photography brand helped her get started in volume photography.

Becoming a certified professional photographer will also contribute to a strong brand. Above all, make sure that you and your staff are smiling and friendly, she adds. Remember that you’re there interviewing for your next job!