Bizstartup.ie - ENTREPRENEURS

David Frain

Frain Photo

David Frain has turned a hobby into a business by opening his photography business in South Dublin after deciding to leave a full-time sales job.

Set up last year, Frainphoto offers photographic services in wedding, portraiture, advertising and model portfolios.

“I started photography in earnest in 2004 while working on a cruise ship for six months for an internet company, taking pictures around the Caribbean,” he says.

“I had been working at Eircom for quite a while and decided I couldn’t really do it any longer but wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do. While employed I bought the cameras and other equipment I would need to go into photography.”

After six months of being out of work, Frain approached the Southside Partnership DLR, which runs courses and training programmes aimed at helping unemployed people make the transition into self-employment.

“I was planning on getting another job and that didn’t happen – it’s very hard to get a job in photography — so I did a 10-week Start your own Business course, which gave me all the skills I needed to set up. It covered bookkeeping, basic sales and marketing and how to draw up a 30-page business plan,” he says.

A competitive business

Photography is very competitive, particularly wedding photography, but Frain has built up his business through a combination of traditional and internet-based methods.

“I was one of the founder members of a photography group, the Dublin Strobist Group, which now has 240 members and meets once a month. It is essentially a learning group, which has brought my knowledge on a lot and has been really good for networking.

“Facebook and Twitter have also been getting me a fair bit of business and word of mouth has been a big aspect, as I’ve done friends’ and relatives weddings. I differentiate myself as being more contemporary and glamorous than competitors, producing photographs that would be bridal magazine standard.”