Photography is getting more and more popular these days. People often don’t realize that even though technology has changed, photography has always been an art form that can be used to make money. Professional photographers can use their skills in several different ways.
Some people choose to open their own studio or freelance for other studios, while others may want to teach photography classes at local schools or universities. Still, others just want to earn money from selling their photos online as stock images.
Whatever route you choose, there’s plenty of opportunity for making money with your camera. Below are just a few.
Sell Photos Online
Selling your photos online is the easiest and most lucrative way to make money from photography. You can sell your photos to stock photo sites, brands, magazines, and bloggers. Also, consider selling your photos on social media channels like Pinterest and Instagram. If you have a website or blog, you can also sell images directly from there.
Stocking up on supplies is a must when selling online because if you’re not taking care of all aspects of the business — from props to packaging — it could cost you time and money and maybe even lose potential clients.
For example, If you want an image printed at 5×7 inches but don’t have any printer paper handy at home or work, that client may go somewhere else because he/she couldn’t get what they wanted fast enough.
There are lots of different ways to sell your photos online. Here are some of the most popular:
Shutterstock – This is one of the biggest sites for stock photography, with about 2 million contributors.
Depositphotos – Another big name in stock photography, DepositPhotos has over 10 million images available for sale.
iStockphoto – iStockphoto has been around since 2000 and is one of the oldest sites on this list. It has a wide variety of images from amateur photographers and professionals.
Offer Your Photography Services
A good place to start is with the type of photography you want to do. If you’re interested in working as an event photographer or wedding photographer, there are some common places where people hold events and weddings. You can also consider offering your services at schools and other educational institutions.
Wedding photography
This is a booming market, with more and more people getting married yearly. You can find work as an assistant photographer at a wedding venue or offer your services directly to the bride-to-be and groom-to-be. If you don’t have experience shooting weddings yet, look for someone who does and ask if they could use another set of hands for their next gig.
Product Photography
Many businesses need product photos for their websites, marketing materials, and other uses. If this sounds like something that interests you, contact companies that sell products similar to yours — you might even get hired by one of them.
Portrait/Headshot Photography
People who need headshots for personal or professional use will often turn to photographers like yourself if they want high-quality shots done quickly and inexpensively. Your client base will include actors/actresses looking for headshots and business professionals wanting updated portraits.
Wedding Videography
This is another popular service where demand far exceeds supply (i.e., only a few people know how). Wedding videography is a particular skill. It’s not just about capturing the day — it’s about capturing the emotions and beauty in every moment, from beginning to end. You can offer your clients a one-stop service by providing them with photography and videography services. This way, you’ll be able to capture all the moments that matter most to them.
Create and Sell Photo Prints
When it comes to selling your photos, you have many options. You can make prints and sell them on sites like Etsy or in an online gallery. You can also print your photos in-house using an inkjet printer or even a photo lab that has been around for generations.
If you decide to go the digital route, look up “printing services” online and see what options are available. Some companies offer high-quality prints for very low prices (or even for free), so if money is tight, this could be a good option. Printing with a professional lab like PhotoBox or Snapfish is a more expensive but higher-quality option. These labs will give you access to different kinds of paper, including canvas boards, metal sheets, glass, and wood.
Other popular mediums include acrylic paintings over frames made from real wood – both offer timeless elegance while still being affordable enough that most people won’t mind hanging one on their wall.
Create and Sell Photo Products
Creating and selling photo products is a great way to transform your images into something fun and beautiful. You can create all sorts of products, including:
Posters
Calendars
Stickers and decals
Books
Cards (greeting cards, thank you cards)
T-shirts
Mugs
It’s easy to get started, but there are some things to keep in mind while you’re creating them:
Don’t forget about copyright law. If you take photos of people or places and don’t have permission from the owner of those images, then it’s illegal for you to sell them as photo products. Before you start marketing these items for sale, make sure that you have permission from all the necessary parties.
Ensure your photos are high quality before printing them on merchandise like T-shirts or mugs. You want people’s first impression of your product to be positive so they’ll return for more.
Create a Photography-Related Blog
Photography or blogging is a great way to showcase your skills and sell your products. You can use it to promote yourself as an artist, make money from advertisements and sponsorships, and even sell tutorials on editing photos or creating collages.
With a blog, you’ll have more control over what you write about than if you were writing for someone else’s website. If you want to be able to put up images of your work without having them used without permission by the site itself (which happens all the time), then creating a blog is the way forward.
If you want to embed video and audio files in your posts, we recommend using WordPress.org or Squarespace, as they both offer this functionality for free. There are also many other paid options if you’re looking for something more customized than these platforms provide (for example, WordPress’s self-hosted option).
Create a Course or Workshop
Whether you have an established business or are just starting out, creating a course or workshop is a great way to expand your reach and make money with your photography.
There are multiple ways to approach this:
Create a course that teaches people how to take better photos. You can offer specific tips on how to use settings on their camera, what equipment to buy and why, or how to get the best results from post-processing software programs.
Create a course that teaches people how to market themselves as photographers. This could include tips for writing good bios, finding clients and getting referrals, building an email list of potential clients, and more!
Create a course that teaches people how to edit photos effectively using Photoshop or other editing software programs. This could also include lessons on using filters/effects in Instagram and other social media applications.
Create a course that teaches people how to use Adobe Lightroom effectively to organize photos and manage workflow between shooting sessions and post-processing time.
Takeaway
It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s worth it if you are passionate about photography. Remember, there is no limit to how much money you can make. Even if you don’t want to pursue this career as a full-time job, there are plenty of opportunities for part-time gigs or freelance photography jobs that will help pay for more expensive hobbies like travel.
At the end of the day, the more time you put into something that makes you happy and gives back in some way, the more likely it will be that you’ll see a return on investment in terms of money. Even if that doesn’t happen immediately, this guide has given you some ideas about getting started.
