Q: You need to own much more than a fancy camera if you want to start a professional photography business. Moreover, you should also have a backup supply of all of your essential equipment.  The basic equipment and tools you need include:  A professional camera Various lenses, flashes, batteries Photo editing software Access to a professional lab Packaging supplies Pricing list Accounting software Client information forms CDs and CD cases External hard drive   At the absolute minimum, you need a backup camera, lenses, flashes, batteries, and memory cards. Make sure that all of these pieces of backup equipment are brought with you on location, just in case one piece of equipment dies during the middle of a shoot. For a small photography business, you will probably take all the pictures, do most of the editing, and do most of the marketing. For legal and financial matters, however, you might want to hire professionals in these areas to help you keep things straight. Make room in your budget for consultations with lawyers and legal experts, as well as accountants of other financial experts. Consultations with your legal adviser will likely end once you get your business set up, but you should meet with your accountant once or twice a year for the sake of keeping your business's taxes straight. It is not uncommon for beginning photographers to charge a lower price than they intend to charge after they gain a little more experience. Doing so can keep you in the competition, but you also need to make sure that you do not charge prices that are so low that you no longer seem professional.  The precise amount of money you charge will depend on your skill level, as well as what your direct competition charges. When factoring cost, you need to keep in mind the time you spend setting up a session, driving to and from the session, shooting the session, editing the photos, setting up an online viewing gallery, scheduling pick up or delivery, packaging orders, and burning back-up discs. Aside from time considerations, also keep in mind the amount of money you spend driving to locations, burning discs, and packaging photos. As with any business, there are a few legal aspects you need to worry about. At minimum, you need to set up a tax identification number and business trade name. You also need to obtain insurance, a business license, and a seller's permit.  After setting up your Federal and State Employer Tax ID number, you can expect to pay self-employment tax, income tax, sales tax, and use tax. Fortunately, there are not many inspections or career-specific licenses you need to start up a photography business, but you still need a basic business license or home occupation permit as well as a seller's permit. You need insurance for liability, errors and omissions, and equipment. As a self-employed individual, you will also need to pay for your own health insurance. Choose a business structure, as well. When you set up your photography business, you need to decide if you should register as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or LLC. For a small photography business, you will usually register as either a sole proprietorship (meaning that you are the only person in charge) or a partnership (meaning that you are one of two people in charge). This is only optional, but if you plan to expand your photography business as far as you can, setting up a business account through a bank can help you keep track of your earnings and expenses more easily than you might be able to do if you used your personal account.
A: Invest in the right tools and equipment. Work your strengths and hire your weaknesses. Determine how much to charge. Get the legal stuff taken care of. Start a separate bank account.

Q: This utility lists all of your connected hardware, and will display devices that are not working correctly. There are a couple of different ways to open the Device Manager.   Any version of Windows - Press ⊞ Win+R and type devmgmt.msc. This will launch the Device Manager.  Any version of Windows - Open the Control Panel and switch the view to either Large or Small icons using the drop-down menu in the upper-right. Select "Device Manager".  Windows 8.1 - Right-click on the Start button and select "Device Manager". You can do this for any of your "Unknown devices" or other devices with errors to help you track down the correct drivers.  Devices with errors will have a small "!" icon. You can expand categories by clicking the "+". Details tab. This will display a Property drop-down menu and a Value frame. This will display several entries in the Value frame. These are the device's Hardware IDs. You can use these IDs to help identify the device and find the correct drivers for it. See the next section for details.
A: Open the Device Manager. Right-click on any device you want to check and select "Properties". Click the . Select "Hardware Ids" from the drop-down menu.

Q: Make sure your staff is trained to ask clients for reviews, preferably in person. You can get eight times more reviews by asking in person than by email. Wait until the end of the business transaction to ask for a review. For example, if you perform landscaping, ask after you finish the job and present the customer with the bill.  Say something simple, such as, “I hope you had a great experience and will tell others.” Of course, you should first gauge the customer's overall satisfaction before you ask for the review. Avoid asking customers who are unhappy or overly picky. Most people don't leave reviews unless they are furious with a business. If you want positive reviews, you'll need to make the process as painless as possible, otherwise people will forget. Consider the following tips:  Create business profiles on websites such as Yahoo Local, Google Plus, and Yelp.  In an email, include a link to the website so that all your customer needs to do is click on a link. You can also print your profile URLs on a business card or on a receipt so that customers can find them easily. Some review sites (such as Yelp) prohibit you from asking customers for reviews or for providing any incentives. However, Yelp isn't the only review site, and you can encourage your customers to leave reviews at other websites by offering a discount coupon or small gift. Remember to ask for a review, not a “positive” review. You can't buy positive reviews from customers. Remember to mention something specific about the review in your thank-you. For example, you can write, “Thanks for the glowing review, Christina! We're happy you liked the lobster salad.” You can also include a call to action. For example, encourage the customer to return and bring a friend the next time. Remember that you aren't responding only to your critic. Everyone else on the Internet can also see the review, so you need to be professional in your response. Use the following tips:  Don't lash out. Nothing makes you look worse than getting snarky with someone. Wait 24 hours until you've cooled down before responding.  Admit if you made a mistake, but don't admit to something that isn't true. Provide missing context. Some customers will offer only a one-sided critique, so you should supply missing details. For example, if someone complains that your prices were too high, you can mention that you post your prices on the website and outside your door. Offer to correct a problem for free. You might be able to win back a customer if you can address their problem. Ask the person to call you so that you can resolve the issue offline.
A:
Ask for a review. Make leaving a review easy. Offer incentives for leaving a review. Thank customers for their positive reviews. Respond carefully to negative reviews.