How to Start a Photography Business from Home in the UK

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Do you have a passion for capturing those special moments and want to turn that hobby into a career? Perhaps you’ve been working as a photographer for years, but haven’t taken the plunge and set out on your own?

It might seem scary, but it’s not necessarily as complicated (or expensive) as you might think.

In this guide we’re going to cover all of the most important things you need to know, and what you need to do to get started.

Choose a photography niche people actually pay for

As a photographer your skillset could be applied to many different projects, but in order to stand out from the crowd it’s best to identify a specific niche. You should also think about what people and businesses are going to pay the most for.

For example, specialising in private events such as weddings, birthday parties and Christmas events might provide a lot of work at certain times of the year, but could corporate photography (like headshots and branding photoshoots) provide a more consistent and lucrative revenue stream? 

Your previous experience will play a part in identifying the right route for you to take, but think about what will work best for you moving forward.

Build a simple business plan (without overcomplicating it)

A business plan doesn’t need to be a 30-page document to be useful, and for a photography business a simple, practical plan is enough to give you clarity and help you make better decisions as you grow. Keeping it straightforward makes the plan easier to follow, update and actually use.

Start with a short executive summary that explains what you do, who you serve and what makes you different. This could be as simple as the type of photography you specialise in, your ideal clients and the style or experience you’re known for.

Next, outline the opportunity. This is where you define your niche and demand, whether that’s weddings, portraits, commercial shoots or events. Follow this with execution, which covers how you actually deliver your service, and include what you sell in clear terms, such as your packages, pricing and what’s included, as well as your capacity. Remember to be realistic about how many shoots you can handle each month once shooting time, editing hours and admin are factored in.

Your business plan should also cover your marketing plan and where clients are actually going to come from. This might include referrals, social media, your website, local SEO or partnerships with venues and agencies, but remember that you don’t need to be everywhere—just consistent in the channels that matter most to your audience.

Finally, your business plan should include a simple financial plan that estimates costs, expected income and how many bookings you need to break even.

Costings

Not sure how much it costs to launch a photography business in the UK? Although there are some required expenses, there are also a number of optional initial costs you might face, while the quality of equipment and software will also impact it.

Required costs total:

• Low end: £3,580
• High end: £7,940

Required and optional total:

• Low end: £4,341
• High end: £9,225

Below we break down these one-off and ongoing costs you can expect to face in your first year.

(1) Gov.uk, (2) Anna Money, (3) Unshaken Photography, (4) 365i, (5) GoDaddy, (6) Refractiv, (7) DIY Photography, (8) Hiscox, (9) Axa, (10) Hiscox, (11) Hoxton Mix

* Required if you want to operate as a limited company
** Required if you employ someone

Remember, if you don’t have the money to spend on camera equipment straight away, renting is an option to help get you off the ground.

Decide on the company formation type you’ll be

As a small business owner you have a choice to make when you’re first starting out: do you want to operate as a self-employed sole trader or limited company.

There are pros and cons to both structures, but which is right for you?

If you start as a sole trader

Registering as a sole trader is the simplest business structure, and it’s also the easiest to get started with, because you do not have to register with HMRC for self-assessment purposes until 5th October following the completion of the first tax year in which you earned self-employed income. Let’s take a look at an example.

If you booked your first professional photography job in November 2025, you will have to register for self-assessment by 5th October 2026. However, if you booked your first gig on 6th April 2026, you would have to register for self-assessment by 5th October 2027.

Note that you must register for self-assessment if you earn over £1,000 from self-employment in a single tax year (5th April to 4th April).

The main drawback of being a sole trader is that there is no legal distinction between you and your business. This means that your personal assets are at risk if you incur debts or penalties as the result of your work.

If you form a limited company

The ‘limited’ in ‘limited company’ refers to the personal liability of the business owner in the event of debts and penalties, because the company is a separate legal entity. 

Unlike when you operate as a sole trader, your personal assets (for example, your family home) are protected from the liabilities of the company.

This is a big advantage to operating as a limited company, but there are some downsides to be aware of too.

First of all, you’ll need to register your new business with Companies House before you start trading, and there are some fees to do so.

As of 1st February 2026, incorporating your business digitally will cost £100, while doing so by paper costs £124. If you wish to register your business on the same day you can only do so via accounting software, and this will cost £156. 

Another potential downside is that you must provide a registered office address to incorporate your business, and this must be a genuine physical address. If you’re first starting out as a self-employed photographer you’re not going to have an office, and indeed you’ll probably never need one, but if you use your home address this will be publicly available information. This means customers and clients can find out where you live, impacting the privacy of you and your family.

Fortunately, there is a solution. A registered office address service is considered an ‘appropriate’ address because it’s a genuine physical address, but unlike using your home address, this service protects your privacy and also enhances the professional image of your new business.

The legal basics photographers need to be aware of

If you’re starting out as a self-employed photographer you probably want to start booking jobs as soon as possible, but there are a few basic legal considerations you need to be aware of first.

We recommend speaking to a legal professional to ensure you fully understand your obligations, but consider the following as a starting point to help guide you.

Copyright (UK) — what you own and what clients can use

In the UK, photos are generally protected by copyright as artistic works, and this protection is automatic. There are no official formalities to acquire copyright protection, and there’s no public or Government register of copyright in the UK.

However, as a professional photographer you want to sell the images you take to your clients for them to use as they wish, and this requires a usage agreement between you and the client. For example, does the client’s usage rights exist in perpetuity or is it time limited? Are the photos intended for specific media or can they be published in any form?

You might think you don’t care, and that as soon as a customer has paid you that you’re happy for them to use the photos as and when they choose. However, you will be able to justify charging higher rates for looser usage rights, allowing you to potentially increase your revenue more easily.

Model release forms and GDPR basics

As we’ve mentioned above, there’s no legal requirement for you to secure model release agreements when taking photographs, but it can help to avoid awkward conversation or GDPR issues further down the line.

Under GDPR legislation, a photograph is considered as someone’s personal data, which means you have to ensure you only use photographs in the way they were intended or that you have permission for. As a professional photographer, ‘contract’ will often be the most appropriate lawful basis for processing and publishing photos, but if ‘consent’ is most appropriate (for example, guests at a wedding who you do not have a contract with), this consent must be freely given, with genuine choice and control. This means you should ensure people are aware they may feature in photos, and respect their wishes if they don’t want to be featured in any of them.

Note that the other lawful bases are:

• Legal obligation
• Vital interests
• Public task
• Legitimate interest

You can download a template model release form here to help you get started.

Get insured (and know what’s legally required)

Although not legally required, there are two types of insurance you should strongly consider taking out: professional indemnity and public liability insurance.

Professional indemnity insurance covers the legal costs and compensation in the event a client sues you for professional negligence or error that leads to financial loss, reputational damage or harm. For example, imagine you lose all of the files you’ve taken of your clients’ wedding, or shared sensitive company information by mistake.

Public liability insurance covers the cost of claims from any member of the public, including both clients and non-clients, for injury, illness or damage to their property.

Even if you think the chances of you damaging property, injuring someone or making a catastrophic mistake are low, these insurance policies will be relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of facing a lawsuit.

Employers’ liability insurance is the only cover that is legally required for your photography business, if:

• you employ someone on a part-time or full-time basis;
• you hire someone on a one-off basis; or
• if anyone volunteers for you, such as friends or family.

Employers’ liability insurance covers compensation costs and legal fees in the event that an employee gets injured or becomes ill because of their work. Note that if you work with anyone on a particular photography project, for example a graphic designer, but do not directly employ them, you will not be required to take out employers’ liability insurance.

Payments, bookkeeping and a smoother admin setup

We’ve already touched on some initial admin you’re going to have to do when getting started—deciding on your business structure and registering with HMRC and / or Companies House—but that’s not all you’ll need to do to ensure a smooth running business.

Figuring out how you’re going to accept payments and manage your bookkeeping is crucial. How will you process invoices and deposits, manage cancellations or track your expenses? You should also be aware of Making Tax Digital (MTD), which will be a requirement for sole traders and businesses earning over £50,000 of qualifying income for the 2024-25 tax year, and for those earning over £30,000 of qualifying income for the 2025-26 tax year. 

Fortunately, there are a number of accounting tools available that are designed for business owners, not accountants. Crunch is one example of free invoicing software that’s easy to use and provides everything you need in one place. There are also paid tiers available if you need more advanced functionality.

You should also think about how you’re going to manage your business mail, particularly when you’re working on location and travelling for work. Hoxton Mix’s registered office address service includes mail handling and scanning as standard, allowing you to access your business mail from anywhere in the world via our online customer portal and app. This ensures you’re able to stay on top of your important business correspondence while focusing on delivering the work that will actually make you money.

Portfolio and marketing strategy that gets you booked

Your portfolio is one of the most important tools in your photography business, because it shows potential clients what you’re capable of and helps them decide whether you’re the right fit. 

Focus on quality over quantity and showcase the work you want more of, not everything you’ve ever shot. Ideally, your portfolio should live on a dedicated website where clients can easily view your work, learn about your services and contact you, but if a website isn’t ready yet, platforms like Instagram can work as a temporary portfolio, as long as it’s curated and professional.

Of course, building a strong online presence goes beyond sharing photos. Choose a small number of social platforms your audience actually uses and post consistently on those. Your brand should feel cohesive across your website and social profiles, from your visual style to your tone of voice. This consistency helps build trust and makes your photography business easier to recognise and remember.

Local visibility is especially important if you work with clients in a specific area, and a simple local SEO checklist can make a big difference. 

First of all, set up a Google Business Profile to improve your chances of appearing in local search results, and make sure your contact details are accurate and consistent everywhere they appear. Next, create clear service pages that mention the locations you cover, such as ‘wedding photographer in Manchester’ or ‘commercial photographer in Bristol’.

When your portfolio, brand and local presence work together, you make it easier for the right clients to find you and feel confident when booking your photography services.

Your 30 / 60 / 90-day launch plan

Let’s take a look at an example timeline for getting started with your new photography business.

First 30 days

• Pick your photography niche, for example private events or corporate photography.
• Build your business plan—but don’t overcomplicate it. This should include a short executive summary, outline the business opportunity you want to take advantage of, how you’re going to deliver your services and your marketing plan.
• Decide on your business structure. If you want to operate as a limited company, you will need to incorporate your business before you start offering services.
• If you’re incorporating a limited company, this is when you should also invest in a registered office address service to ensure your home address is kept private.
• Put together your portfolio and start getting your name out there on social media channels.

31-60 days

• Start booking clients. Your first 30 days will be focused on getting the basics in place, but after month one you need to start booking jobs to start paying back some of those startup costs (although if you can book work before the end of month one, great!)
• If you’re going to operate as a sole trader, register with HMRC for self-assessment. You don’t have to do this until 5th October, following the completion of the first tax year in which you have earnings (4th April). This means you don’t need to do it straight away, but it’s always worth getting it done well ahead of the 5th October deadline.

61-90 days

• Plan for growth. By month three, you’ll have hopefully started booking clients, but now is when you should look to the future and put in place genuine growth plans. How much revenue do you want to target for year one? Do you want to employ anyone? Don’t rest on your laurels if you’ve had a good start.

FAQ

Do I need qualifications to start a photography business in the UK?

You do not need any formal qualifications to start a photography business (or, indeed, any business) in the UK, but your prospective clients will almost certainly want to see a portfolio of previous work. With that in mind, your experience and expertise will play a much bigger part in whether or not you’re successful than qualifications.

How much does it cost to start a photography business?

There are a few factors that go into the overall cost of starting a photography business, such as whether or not you want to incorporate a limited company, the standard of equipment and software you want to invest in. The average cost of setting up a photography business can range anywhere from ~£3,600 to ~£9,000.

Do I need to register as self-employed if I’m just starting out?  

When you need to register as self-employed depends on whether you’re going to be a sole trader or you plan to register a limited company. If you want to operate as a sole trader, you must register for self-assessment by 5th October following the completion of the first tax year in which you started working (5th April-4th April). However, if you want to start a limited company, you must register with Companies House before you do any work as a self-employed person.

Should I be a sole trader or a limited company as a photographer?

Which structure is right for you will depend on your specific circumstances, because there are advantages and disadvantages to both. The simplest from an admin perspective is to operate as a sole trader, but you might be missing out on the opportunity to benefit from a more favourable tax arrangement—also this will be determined by your yearly earnings.

Can I use my home address as a registered office address?

Your home address can be used to register your business with Companies House, but it’s far from ideal because it will be made publicly available. This means that customers, investors, suppliers and other key stakeholders will be able to find out where you live, while it can also hurt the professional image of your business. For these reasons, a virtual office address is the solution of choice for small businesses that don’t have a need for dedicated rented office space.

Can I use a PO Box as a registered office address?

No, a PO Box cannot be used to register your business with Companies House. This means that a registered office address service is the only option for small business owners that want to set up a limited company while protecting their privacy and professional credibility.

What insurance do photographers need?

Professional photographers should take out Public Liability insurance (covering injury to members of the public and damage to property) and Professional Indemnity insurance (covering professional mistakes or negligence). Note that it’s not a legal requirement to have either of these insurance policies. However, Employers’ Liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ anyone, even if that’s on a temporary or one-off basis.

Is employers’ liability insurance legally required for photographers?

If you intend to employ anyone you will need to take out employers’ liability insurance, whether you hire them on a one-off, temporary or permanent basis. In the UK, employers’ liability insurance will cost between £60 to £300 per employee per year, depending on the risk associated with the role.

Who owns copyright in photos I take for clients?

As the photographer and creator of the image, you will own the copyright for the photos you take for clients. However, you will need to grant usage rights through a specific license or copyright agreement to allow your clients to use them as they wish. This contract should clearly define things such as media, perpetuity (how long the client can use the images for) and credit, and will help to prevent disputes arising after the work has been completed.

Do I need a model release form?

There is no legal requirement for securing model release forms from the people captured in your photographs, however you might still want to put one in place to mitigate the risk of legal action—although the risk of legal action being brought and damages actually being awarded against you will vary greatly, depending on the situation.