Part Two of a three-part series about finding the right creative space for your photography business

There is a very specific kind of excitement that comes with getting the keys to your first photography studio.

I remember it.

You have a door.

Your name can go on it.

You can leave your lights set up.

You can put things where you want them.

Nobody is asking why there is a giant black flag leaning against the dining room wall.

It feels like you've arrived.

And sometimes you have.

I had a commercial studio for years and loved it. It gave me room to work, room to create and a place that was completely separate from my home.

If circumstances had allowed me to stay in that particular space, I probably would have.

But here's the part photographers don't always think about when they're standing in an empty commercial space imagining what it could become:

You aren't just renting a room. You're taking on another business expense.

And that expense doesn't care whether you're busy this month.

The rent is not the whole bill

If you're considering commercial space, don't look only at the advertised monthly rent.

Look at the entire cost of having the space.

Rent.

Utilities.

Internet.

Insurance.

Cleaning.

Maintenance.

Security.

Furniture.

Build-out.

Signage.

Storage.

Deposits.

Equipment that now has to live there.

And anything else the landlord has managed to tuck into the lease that you didn't notice until after you've signed it.

Then look at the lease itself.

Is the rent fixed?

Are there annual increases?

What happens when you want to leave?

Can you sublet?

Can you have other photographers work there?

Can you change the walls?

Can you install anything?

Who is responsible when the air conditioning quits in July?

How much notice do you have to give?

What happens if the building is sold?

Ask me how I know that last one matters.

Actually, don't. 😂

The studio has to earn its keep

This is the part I would really encourage photographers to calculate before signing anything.

Don't just ask:

“Can I afford $1,000 a month?”

Ask:

“What does this space need to produce for my business every month?”

And don't forget that the $1,000 may not really be $1,000 once everything else is added.

If your studio-related expenses total $1,500 a month, that's $18,000 a year.

At $2,000 a month, you're looking at $24,000 a year.

That's before you pay yourself.

So how much work do you need to book just to keep the doors open?

And more importantly, how much of that work actually requires the studio?

That's where the numbers can get interesting.

If you photograph twenty clients a month and fifteen of them require the studio, the math looks very different than if you photograph six clients and only two need it.

There isn't a magic percentage that tells you whether a studio is worth having.

You have to look at your own business.

Don't forget what the studio gives you

Now, having said all of that, I don't want this to turn into “commercial studios are a terrible idea.”

They're not.

A commercial studio can solve problems that a home studio simply can't.

You may need more room. Both of the commercial spaces I leased were only one room. Most of the time that is what you will encounter for available commercial spaces.

You may need privacy that your private studio in your private home doesn't provide. 

You may need parking. My commercial Studio provided one parking space. That was great for me but my clients didn't like it very much 

You may need a client bathroom or changing area. The one in my commercial space was a multi-stall public bathroom. 

You may need to leave sets standing.

You may need to keep a large amount of equipment assembled.

You may have clients who aren't comfortable coming into your home.

Or maybe you just work better when you leave the house and go to work.

That last one counts.

A business doesn't have to be justified entirely by spreadsheets.

If having a separate workspace helps you focus, keeps your personal life separate from your work and makes you happier to walk through the door every morning, that has value.

You just need to know what you're paying for.

And then there is the location

The beautiful downtown studio that costs twice as much may not actually bring you twice as much business. 

The inexpensive space in the industrial park may have plenty of parking but be miserable for clients to find.

The gorgeous old building may have amazing windows and a ceiling so low that your lighting options are basically “hope for the best.”

Check everything.

Traffic patterns

Parking.

Accessibility.

Safety.

Bathrooms.

Ceiling height.

Natural light.

Power.

HVAC.

Internet.

Noise.

Neighboring businesses. (My last commercial space shared a wall with a speech therapist whose clients needed absolute silence. Music was not possible)

Hours of access. (In my last two commercial spaces the parking lot was packed during my business hours)

Client waiting space.(Both of my commercial spaces had waiting areas common to all the businesses)

And how easy it is to get in and out with your equipment.

Don't fall in love with a space before you've figured out whether the space can actually do the job.

There's another thing I learned

After losing my first commercial studio because the building was sold, I moved into another commercial space.

I thought I was doing the obvious thing.

I needed a studio, so I found another studio.

Except I never really settled into it.

I didn't find myself wanting to be there.

That was a surprise because the first commercial space had been such a good fit for me.

Eventually I started looking at the room I had available at home.

And I realized that the problem wasn't that I needed a commercial address.

I needed the right environment for the way I work.

Those are not necessarily the same thing.

That realization probably would have saved me a lot of thinking if I'd figured it out earlier.

The photography business isn't one-size-fits-all anymore

The current numbers are interesting here.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says about 67% of photographers were self-employed in 2025, and its current outlook projects photographer employment to decline by about 1% between 2025 and 2035. At the same time, BLS specifically says demand for portrait photographers is expected to remain and that self-employed photography is projected to grow.

In other words, this isn't a story about photography disappearing.

It's a story about photographers having to build businesses that make sense.

And sometimes a permanent commercial studio makes perfect sense.

Sometimes it doesn't.

If you are finding yourself spending more time worrying about the rent than thinking about your photography, it's probably time to look at the arrangement again.

That doesn't necessarily mean moving home.

There are other options.

And some of them are pretty interesting.

Part Three: What If You Don't Need the Whole Studio the whole time?