Minor interested in horse show photography, possibly a small business?

Before you answer, please realize that I'm not some silly 12 year old kid dreaming of being a pro with an iPhone or something. I think realistically and I know that a photography business would be a large thing to handle, especially at my age. I'm almost sixteen and I'm really into equine photography. I've been taking photos of horses for a few years and I've been shooting with a DSLR for about a year. I'm still learning about photography and I definitely want to get into professional photography one day when I'm older and more experienced. But for now, I'd like to try a bit of show photography and see if I could earn some spare cash. I've been told by many people that I have a good eye, and I post some of my photos online and have received very nice comments from a lot of different people. I spend a lot of time looking at professional photography, and a lot of techniques and composition-related things are easy or almost seem to come naturally for me. I know I'm talented, but I also know that I can't work purely off of my creativity. I spent the day shooting at a horse show recently and was approached by a few people about photos, one of them even mentioned that they were willing to pay for some… So now I'm thinking I may actually be able to do a bit of this successfully, perhaps even create a show photography business. But are there any legal issues with minors having a small business like that? I don't think taxes apply until I turn eighteen. But would I need a permit or anything? I've done research but it's hard to find anything on specifically minors. Any tips or information would help, especially from photographers in the horse world.

The short answer is that you need a business license and a tax ID, so you may need to wait until you are 18.

The other answer is that if you have people who are willing to pay for your images, then sell them. Build up a portfolio that you can show off and then book clients to shoot. You are going to have a tough time selling the images you take at an event because of legal reasons with the venue, but you may be able to book private clients to shoot in practice arenas or other places.

The tough part about all this is that you are dealing with huge, finicky beasts that can get scared. And I'm not talking about the owners. What happens if you are shooting a horse gets spooked and gets injured? Are you going to get sued? Since you are not 18, you can't sign a legally binding contract, so maybe your parents get sued…

This question should really be addressed to business lawyers, not photographers. As a photographer in New York State, there are two requirements. I must report my income to the IRS and NY State. And I must collect and report sales tax on my sales. There's no license or permit needed, except from the stables to allow you to photograph there. You can register yourself with the county and state as a business, but you don't have to. For any more information, as I said, you need to contact a business lawyer of your state.

For photography, immediacy is the key. I've had lots of people expressing an interest in photographs at the event. But they sort of drift off as time passes. I could count on the fingers of one hand those who contacted me later to request photos. Ideally, what you should do -- with the permission of the stables -- is get a printer that connects directly to your camera and print off photos right then and there. If you're any good as a photographer, you'd see more profit. I guarantee it.