Building a photography business takes more than just entrepreneurial know-how. Creativity, fun, and continuing education are just as essential to long-term success.

For headshot and portrait artist, educator, and jazz musician Pete Coco, there are three keys to having your photography career “live long and prosper”: business skills, photography technique, and a growth mindset. Whether the Long Island-based photographer is working with notable clients in the fine arts and business worlds or sharing knowledge with his YouTube audience and mentorship group, Pete is known for his creative eye and innovative approach to running a business.

In his PhotoVision content, Pete demonstrates how meaningful mentorship, dedicated practice, the ability to have fun, and unwavering self-belief can open the door to endless creative possibilities and business growth.

Here are five ways to keep growing your career while enjoying the journey.

1. Keep the Fun in Your Work

It’s perfectly normal to feel creatively drained sometimes, especially when you are constantly creating photos for your business.

No matter how much creative freedom you have in your client work, it’s not uncommon to feel distanced from your original passion for the craft. 

When this feeling starts to set in, plan a session [AG1.1]just for yourself. Try a new lighting setup, experiment with a new bold color, or photograph a location that inspires you—just for the love of the craft, no client expectations attached. That creative freedom could be the recharge that brings new energy to your client work, but more importantly, it will remind you of why you entered the profession in the first place.

Pete emphasizes that clicking the shutter and capturing magic is the joyful fun of photography. It’s essential to maintain that fun, no matter how busy your business is.

2. Find People Who Make You Better

Another part of the magic is mentorship. 

Finding trusted mentors and colleagues you can collaborate with and be inspired by can make the challenges you’re facing seem less intimidating. These relationships can also help you grow your skills and your business faster when you practice together and workshop strategies.

If you’re starting your search for a mentor, Pete recommends finding a photographer who: 

• Creates work that aligns with what you want to make
• Has achieved milestones similar to your goals 
• Shares knowledge that inspires you
• Has mastered the skills you want to add to your workflow

You might find a single photo that inspires you and reach out to the creator. Or, you might follow a photographer who is acclaimed for the technique you want to learn. 

Whether you invest in paid mentorship programs, grow your network with pros already in your orbit, or take a chance reaching out to someone new, the industry is full of artists eager to share their stories and discuss new ideas.

3. Keep Improving Your Work

Growing as a photographer requires balance: celebrate your wins, but recognize that there is always room to improve.

Talent is the foundation of creating great photography, but practice is what helps you build on it. By studying work you admire, practicing deliberately, and giving yourself space to experiment, you develop skills and creative instincts that let your signature style shine through. 

According to Pete, growing your photography skills is a lot like learning an instrument.

Just like learning an instrument, becoming a better photographer takes practice, repetition and curiosity. Every new skill gives you more ways to express your creative vision.

The creative output that results from pursuing growth is foundational to your legacy as a visual artist and your contributions to your creative community. 

4. Learn the Business, Too

According to Pete, one of the best kinds of mentor you can find is someone with business knowledge.

Strategic guidance is just as valuable as creative mentorship. Find mentors who have been in your shoes so that when a challenge arises, you have real-world advice from a trusted source to solve it.

This kind of business mentorship can take shape in many ways. You might find yourself consulting with peers on pricing strategies, sharing tips on marketing best practices, or shadowing busy session days to create more efficient workflows.

While the industry may seem competitive by nature, photography is an inherently collaborative profession at its core. 

A single conversation with another photographer could give you an idea that changes how you run your business.

5. Believe in Your Ability to Grow 

Pete doesn’t “believe in a no-win scenario.” To build a successful photography business, believing in yourself is critical. 

You can only go so far if you don’t think you’re ready, and doubting your abilities could turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you’re already excited to start putting in the work, then don’t talk yourself out of it with “what ifs.”

Train your mind to understand that you can do this. 

Recognize the thoughts holding you back and start replacing the negative views with a more positive spin—instead of being down on yourself for not creating at the level you want to yet, reframe that mindset to recognize the potential you can work to fulfill. 

This is when obstacles become defeatable challenges, and milestones become achievable wins.

Keep Learning, Keep Creating 

No matter how strong your skills, strategy, and mindset are, it's exciting that you can always take it to the next level.

PhotoVision, PPA’s educational streaming platform, gives PPA members and subscribers access to comprehensive learning that can help you sharpen your craft, strengthen your business, and find new inspiration. 

With more than 3,000 videos available on a wide variety of topics—from marketing, branding, and sales to posing, lighting, editing, and every genre you can imagine—PhotoVision is an excellent resource for practical skills and creative inspiration.

Set a Goal, and Make it So

Whether you’re looking to take the next step in your photography journey or reignite your creative inspiration, consider Pete’s three keys. 

Pete’s principles demonstrate how business and creative goals are more aligned than you think, and working to improve one aspect of your photography will likely impact another. 

Surround yourself with photographers who inspire you, make time for personal projects, keep building your business skills, and believe in your ability to improve. Small steps like these can lead to lasting growth and a more rewarding photography career.

Explore Pete’s content on growing your photography career and enjoying the process on PhotoVision.