Orange County Husband and Wife Film Wedding Photographers » Husband and wife orange county wedding photographers blog

This week in our GROW series I thought I would cover everyone’s favorite topic…taxes. First things first, once you have a legit photography business you need to get a business license and register your business with the BOE (California State Board of Equalization).  These are the fine folks that you will be paying your sales and use tax to every quarter.  If you are a photographer outside of California please check your state tax laws (use tax is applicable in 22 states).

Everyone should be familiar with sales tax, but not everyone knows about use tax.  Use tax is not new, in fact, the California use tax law became effective in 1935. Use tax hasn’t been a hot topic in California until recently, as our state is low on funding and they are really cracking down.  Let’s say  you buy a $1,000 camera online from B&H Photo. They are “not engaged in business” in California so they do not charge sales tax on the camera, making your grand total $1,000.  Many photographers buy things from these online companies thinking they are saving the extra money on paying sales tax, but they are actually required to pay use tax because they are using the product in California.  So, for example, the use tax in Orange County on the $1,000 camera would be $77.50 and you would pay this when you file with the BOE.

We have a local camera store that we buy most of our equipment from & that develops our film for us. We love having a store within driving distance & being able to support another local business. Now that we purchase from a local store, we don’t have to worry about filing use tax that often.  If we do see something offered cheaper at B&H, we just show our local camera store their competitors price and they usually have no problem matching it. This makes our life much easier :)  I hope this helps you understand use tax a little bit better. Let’s face it, use tax is not fun, but it’s something you have to pay if you want to run an honest business.

Welcome to my new blog series called GROW. Throughout the course of our business, we have seen so much change, and have been reminded countless times how important it is to keep a humble mindset and be willing to grow. To help inspire other photographers  to keep growing and trying new things, we’ve decided to do a blog post once a week talking about new products, software and business.  If you have any products you want me to review, or if you are a photographer & have any topics you’d like to hear about, leave a comment below or send me an e-mail.  To start the series off, I thought I’d start with a recent purchase of mine, the Think Tank Airport International V2.0 Rolling Camera Bag. // Troy

I will always remember the time when I was running through the airport trying to catch my connecting flight home. It was a dead sprint to the gate. That was the day my 70mm-200mm lens hit the ground as my camera bag broke and everything fell out.

I still made the flight, but without incurring some extra “expenses”. This is why now, I always invest in quality camera bags. I have realized that a camera bag might cost $300+, but it is protecting my gear, which is way more valuable.

I recently ordered this bag to carry all my gear, whether I am flying half way around the world or driving down the coast. Its compact size and heavy-duty construction makes it the perfect choice for professional and amateur photographers alike.

One thing that stood out to me when looking to buy a new camera bag was security. The Think Tank Airport International V2.0 Rolling Camera Bag has locking zippers to stop anyone from opening your bag during travels or while shooting a wedding. It also comes with a cable and lock that allow you to secure the camera bag to any object if you are leaving your hotel room or something.

Being on the taller side, I was excited to find the extendable handle was longer than most bags, allowing me to walk without bending over while going through the airport. Lastly, this bag is perfect for wedding photographers who carry multiple camera bodies and lenses. So perfect!

We are so excited to add the Think Tank Camera Bag to our collection of equipment that we use on a normal basis and know that it will be a part of plenty of adventures and destination weddings to come!