Wednesday night I asked people on Twitter for some blog post ideas. @cophotog suggested offering ideas on saving money for your business. Not a bad idea at all.

If I were going to give advice to a photographer just getting started in the business, I’d recommend being as professional as possible and keeping overhead low.

Here are a few other ideas:

If you wish to purchase a camera, I believe both Nikon and Canon have excellent options. I would recommend purchasing a new but previous-generation camera. This will save you money. My June 2009 recommendation is for the Canon 40D, which is listed new at B&H for about $890. The current Canon 50D is selling for $1,200.

Purchase the best lenses, new or used, that you can afford. Test any lens you consider purchasing. Don’t forget some of the off-brands. I’ve had amazing results. I will not recommend any specific brands. In my experience, it all depends on the lens. This includes the name brands, too.

Another option is to rent your equipment. Many professionals rent from places like Calumet for their entire careers. The advantages: the photographer always has the latest equipment and the costs are figured into the  photography estimates. This is something many photographers fail to do when they purchase their equipment.

Lighting: I believe the best value on the market is Paul Buff’s lighting products, particularly the Alien Bee.

Consider developing relationships with local studios. Many studios are available for rent when they are not being used by the principal photographers — which might be the case more often with the current economy.

Computers: I’m a Mac guy. I’m sure you could find cheaper PC-based systems, but I would defer that conversation to PC enthusiasts. My recommendation for the best-bang-for-your-buck Mac is an iMac, which starts at  $1,200. This, of course, does not include all the best software, such as  Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. Both are standards in the industry.

An even better solution for the thrifty photographer would be to negotiate computer use for your studio shoots, if it is not already included in the rental rate.

If you need image handling software, Graphic Converter is a good option. It’s not Photoshop, but it is a powerful tool. You can always go online and process your images using Photoshop express, among others. This is not, in my opinion, the best editing solution for events or large numbers of images.

For image delivery, client editing, and display you can create a PhotoShelter account for about $30 a month. This is definitely worth checking out.

A personal Web site is mandatory. I would recommend GoDaddy.com. For $11 a domain and $60 a year hosting, you will have  a full-service Web site, assuming you set it up yourself. There are a number of Web-hosting sites and many great deals available. If you are looking for free options  WordPress.com or Blogger.com will host a sub domain blog at no charge. You also can set up your blog to work as a static Web site if you desire.

A number of Web-hosting services offer a free option, but there are often limitations or catches. Since the offers are changing all the time, you might get lucky.

For phone service you could use an Internet service such as Skype. Skype-to-Skype service is free, but for $2.95 a month you can call anywhere in the United States. Additional services such as a personal phone number and international plans are also very reasonable.

There are a number of free fax and voice mail answering services available online. I use K7.net for the New Media Photographer podcast call-in line.

Google offers a powerful suite of tools too numerous to list here, but, if you are not taking advantage of at least some of the tools Google has to offer you are doing your business a disservice.

Below is a list of mostly free services worth consideration:

http://www.mint.com Very cool free money management system

http://www.siwapp.org Free invoicing system

http://www.big4books.com Free accounting software

http://www.couponshouse.com Online coupons

http://www.pandora.com Your personal radio station

http://drop.io Online presentation tool

http://www.modelmayhem.com Good place to find models and related support

http://www.ted.com Best makes-you-think videos on the Web 

http://www.goalkeeper.rs Advanced project management and collaboration

http://www.evernote.com Capture and save important information

http://www.evite.com Send free invitations via the Internet

http://www.scribd.com free books and eBooks on all topics

http://www.craigslist.com cheap everything

http://www.basecamphq.com -  Valuable collaboration tools

http://www.phplist.com Mailing list management

https://www.backblaze.com Computer backup

http://www.ebay.com Don’t forget about eBay.

There is a Web full of solutions for business.  What would you recommend?

Rosh