Running a photography business often means you are the artist, the marketer, and the accountant, all before lunch. But if photography business finances feel like the piece nobody ever taught you, you are far from alone. In this episode, host Ali Payne sits down with financial expert Shanna Skidmore to answer the questions TMA members had been asking for months: how to legally start a business, how much to save for taxes, and how to build a simple system that actually works.
Shanna spent nearly two decades as a financial advisor before founding her own company in 2013, focused on helping female entrepreneurs get confident with their numbers. Her perspective, part financial training and part psychology background, makes even the most intimidating topics feel manageable.
Start Simple, Then Build
Shanna’s advice for anyone just starting out is refreshingly low pressure. In the United States, you can legally accept payment for your work from day one as a sole proprietor, no paperwork or licensing required. If you are treating photography as a hobby, that might be as far as you need to go. But if you plan to grow, she recommends opening a separate business bank account before anything else, simply so personal and business funds never get mixed together.
Once photography becomes more than a side project, an LLC is usually the next step. It is relatively inexpensive to file, and it gives your personal assets some legal protection while keeping your finances simple. Most photographers will operate as a single member LLC, and Shanna noted that filing as an S Corp typically only makes sense once a business is profiting between $30,000 and $50,000 a year, a conversation best had with a CPA rather than decided alone.
For taxes, Shanna keeps it simple too. Set aside 10 percent of every dollar that comes in, and move it into a separate tax savings account. She also walked through her “buckets of money” approach, splitting income into a general operating account, a tax account, a personal pay account, and if needed, a cost of goods account for anyone who sells physical products like albums.
A Real Business Built on Real Numbers
Kim Box shared her own experience working with Shanna over the past year and a half. After running Kim Box Photography, Indie Print Co, and TMA for two decades as a self-described visionary and creative, Kim admitted that money had always felt like the part of the business she avoided looking at too closely. Shanna spent two days in Montgomery working directly with Kim and her team, sitting down with staff and mapping out exactly where the business’s money was going.
The result was not just advice but a plan, including clear percentages for how much of the business’s income should go toward payroll and other expenses. Kim described the shift in how it felt to finally have a target in place. Once you have that money plan, then every month you can look at that spreadsheet. It’s a game. What used to feel like frustration and confusion about where the money was going became something closer to a challenge worth solving.
Why Confidence in Your Finances Changes Everything
Shanna’s biggest message throughout the episode is that clarity around your numbers is not just about staying out of trouble with the IRS. It changes how you price your services, how you hire, and how confident you feel running your business day to day. Profit is what matters, and so feeling empowered, even in just your pricing, will book more clients. When you understand why you charge what you charge, pricing stops being a guessing game based on what everyone else is doing.
That kind of clarity does not usually come from figuring it out alone. It comes from being around other photographers and mentors who have already worked through the same questions, and from having a place to ask the ones that still feel intimidating. That is exactly the space TMA aims to create, one where the business side of photography gets as much thoughtful attention as the craft itself.
Listen and Learn More
If photography business finances have felt like a mystery you have been putting off solving, this episode is worth a listen. Shanna breaks down business finances, taxes, and simple money systems in a way that feels approachable, not overwhelming.
Find Shanna at shannaskidmore.com or on Instagram at @shannaskidmore.
She also offers a free training, “From Pinching Pennies to Regular Friday Paydays: 3 Profit Boosting Money Moves to Implement in Your Business Today,” available here.
Ready to build a business that reflects your own creative voice? The Motherhood Anthology membership gives you access to expert mentors, live coaching, monthly marketing suites, and a private community of photographers who are invested in your success. Learn more and join at themotherhoodanthology.com.
The Motherhood Anthology is a community and educational resource for photographers who want a profitable and sustainable business they love. With 15+ expert mentors and 7+ years of proven content, TMA helps portrait photographers build confident, thriving businesses through monthly education, mentorship, and a supportive community of 700+ members.
