Photography is both a hobby and a profession. However, making money taking pictures is no longer an easy job with everybody holding a smartphone capable of clicking a picture. Does this mean the game is up for people looking to make some money by taking pictures or by running a photo studio? It should not like this. Not everybody holding a smartphone is endowed with the techniques and visions of a skilled photographer. This means a good photographer still has a chance to be counted in this time of smartphones which makes anyone a photographer.
Pick small businesses
These days every business wants to have an online presence. It can be through a website or social media networks. To be able to communicate through any of these mediums, businesses need photographs of their products, outlets, events, and so on. Mere written words without accompanying photographs do not add up to much. Here is a chance for you to make money by putting your talent for good photography to use. To start earning through this means, you will should talk to the businesses in your area, understand the nature of the business, and plan photographs that enhance their brands.
Sell your work
As a professional or hobbyist, you click pictures all the time. Some of them may be priceless. Don’t you want to show the world what your work looks like? Take some prints of those pieces of your work and show around to people. You can take the help of social media for this purpose. Some of your friends, acquaintances, well-wishers may like to buy photographs from you. You can also convert your photographs into greeting cards for different occasions. This will increase the salability of your photographs.
Auction your work
To make people in your city know what kind of great work you are up to, you can hold a photo exhibition. Put up your best works and let people have a glimpse of your creativity and your sense of photography. You can categorize your works under different price heads and put them up for auction. The endeavor may get you some money as well as new friends and admirers. You can also explore similar possibilities through online mediums and try to reach out to other geographies.
Use photography websites
There are several websites and apps that sell photographs. These sites contain millions of photographs uploaded by individual photographers who get their share of the money when their photographs are bought by customers. iStock of Getty Images, Shutterstock, EyeEm, Foap, and Snapwire are among the scores of such websites and apps where you can upload and sell your photographs. Over time, this can become an effective source of passive income.
Create a photography blog
Since you can do good quality photography, why not talk about it through your personalized blog. You can use this platform to sell your photographs, seek out new assignments, and promote products and services in your niches. All of these activities would earn you money. To make your blog popular, all you need to do is put up awesome pictures and write matching captions. Over time, you could build a reasonable business out of it.
Sell photos to portals, magazines, newspapers
As a photographer, you would never miss out on an opportunity to click a relevant picture. That’s the kind of work most newspapers, magazines, and web portals are looking for. If you want to make money by clicking pictures, you should develop contacts with relevant media outlets and send them samples photographs. Even if they don’t take your photographs initially, you should keep approaching them with relevant photographs from time to time. Sometimes, they are short of good content and at other times your photographs may be so compelling that they can’t say no.
Shoot events
You should keep an eye on events taking place in your area. If you get to know about them beforehand, you should contact the organizers and give them a proposal that you want to take the picture as their official photographer. In case, they have some arrangements for the photos to be taken, you can offer to take the pictures and show them. If they liked some of your photographs, you can sell those pictures to them.
Create websites
You can create your website and sell your photographs online. You can think of some great content and marketing plan with photography as the pivot. You can take some partners or fellow photographers to pool in resources. If you are into photography, you must be aware of the market and the latest trends. It’s possible for you to imagine the big picture in your industry. Do you have a plan to make it big in the world of photography, try making that a reality.
Teach photography
If snapping awe-inspiring photographs is your forte, teach the art and science of this to others so that your tribe keeps growing. There may be many people who are interested in learning the nuances of your business. You can announce the launch of your photography classes on social media and other platforms. Over time, you can create course material and make your classes more systematic. If you get more students than you had planned, you can ask your photographer friends to help you out in teaching the students.
Enter photo contests
If you are interested in photography, you should try and understand the industry. Look at what trade bodies are there and what they have to offer to people like you. You may find photography contests being held in different cities of the world and by different organizations. You can enter these contests and send your entries. You can aim to win some prizes. If you are able to make the cut, you would be propelled into a different sphere where money and recognition would no longer be difficult.
Final thoughts
Making money taking pictures is possible but it calls for hard work, especially on the marketing side. Since you are a photographer, photography is your strength. If you can find somebody who can work on the market aspects, together you can build a viable business. But if don’t find somebody to partner with, you can start off alone. As you meet success, people will join you.