Photography is a form of visual art that can be used to create content for advertising and marketing purposes, social media websites, and more. Professional photographers can make a living taking pictures and selling them to brands and businesses.
However, not everyone can be a professional photographer. If you’re looking to make extra income from photography, then you need to consider whether you have the talent or skill to become a professional. If not, then you should look into other routes to making money from photography.
The Different Ways to Make Money From Photography
There are various ways to make money from photography, including becoming a stock photographer, selling your photos to brands, creating portraits for high profile individuals, and more.
As a photographer, you’ll need to determine how much you want to charge for your services, as prices can vary from £50 to £600 per day, depending on location, the demand for your services, and how many people you have working with you.
Once you’ve set your daily rate, you can determine how much you need to charge to make a profit. When setting your prices, you should also consider the money you’ll need to invest in equipment and software to create your portfolio.
Stock Photography
If you’re just starting out, then one of the best ways to make some money from photography is to become a stock photographer. As the name suggests, stock photography is the practice of taking pictures of products and scenes for brands, businesses, and other organizations, so that they can use them in their marketing materials. The great thing about stock photography is that you don’t necessarily need to have any special talent or training to get started.
To start generating income from stock photography, you’ll need to create a portfolio of your work. You can get a free Photoshop practice account from Adobe, to help you create custom business cards, flyers, and other marketing material, as well as a free camera, the Canon EOS M50, to get started.
If you’re looking for an even cheaper option, then you can get the Canon PowerShot S110 from Amazon for £70, as it’s one of the cheapest cameras that produce high-quality photographs. You can also get the Yubao YS12″ 4K Monitor from Best Buy for £49.99, which is cheaper than many high-end monitors costing £129.99 – £169.99.
Portraiture Photography
If you’ve got a nice face, then you can make some serious money by taking pictures of people and selling them to businesses, organizations, and individuals. This is generally known as portraiture photography, and it requires a bit more training than just taking random pictures of products.
You’ll need to specialize in capturing unique moments, as well as learn to create unique poses and expressions that won’t be easily found elsewhere. To get started, you can check out the Portrait Academy, where you can learn everything from basic photography to lighting, posing, and editing.
Commercial Photography
If you’ve got a skill for taking pictures of things in commercial environments, like factories, restaurants, and hotels, then you can make money by taking pictures of people eating, drinking, and going about their daily lives, for businesses like Red Ventures, Hello Fresh, and Subway.
You can use your camera to take scenic, everyday shots of cities and towns, but you’ll need to apply your creative eye to find unique perspectives and angles to highlight your talent.
Architectural Photography
If you feel you’ve got a real flair for taking pictures of buildings and structures, and you can find a way to creatively shoot them, then you can make some money from architectural photography. Just make sure that the owners and the architects of the buildings you shoot are aware that you’re doing so, and they give you permission to be there.
How to Make Money From Photography
Once you’ve established yourself as a skilled photographer, you can look into ways to make money from your talent. The below options will give you a good starting point for your research:
Sale Of Photographs
Taking and selling pictures is something that’s been done since the very first cameras were invented. Back in the day, people only had the option of having their photos developed and then paid to send them in a photo album, but things have changed a bit since then. Nowadays, you can put your photos on the internet, and people can buy and sell your photos almost like a commodity.
If you’re looking to get money quickly, then you can sell your photos to stockists and retailers, who will buy your pictures from you. Your photos can be sold in bulk for a flat rate, so you’ll need to decide how much you want to charge, and what size album you’ll need to pack them in, to ensure you make a profit. Don’t expect to make a huge amount of money from your photos; you’re not going to compete with professional photographers, who can charge up to £600 per day for a product shot, but you can make some decent money if you’re willing to work hard.
Create Portraits For High Profile Individuals
A lot of photographers make a living creating portraits for high profile individuals. If you’ve got a talent for photography and portraiture, and can find a way to create unique and custom-made portraits, then you can make a good living from this. Just make sure you understand the process before you get started, as this will likely require a lot of preparation and research to be done in order to create stunning portraits.
Freelance Photography
If you’ve got a talent for photography and want to make a living from your skills, then you can become a freelance photographer, taking pictures for businesses and individuals, as needed. Just make sure you’re aware of the various licensing requirements and paperwork that comes with this job, as it can be a legal requirement to have work licensed in some countries. Also, make sure you research the various ways businesses and organizations can compensate you for your work, as this can differ from country to country and company to company. For example, in the UK you might get paid per image, while in the US you might get paid per hour of work.
Invest In Equipment And Software
If you’re serious about making money from photography, then you’ll need to invest in equipment and software to start taking your portfolio seriously. You can get a nice camera, such as the Canon EOS M50, for £70, which takes high-quality photographs, and has a 30MP sensor. You can also get the Yubao YS12″ 4k Monitor from Best Buy, which is a cheaper option and has a 12MP sensor. Finally, you can invest in a professional camera, such as the Canon EOS-1D X, which can cost up to £1799.
To edit your photos, you’ll need a good computer and a good internet connection. You can use a free trial of Canon’s Photo Productivity Program, which provides you with advanced features, enabling you to edit your photos in many different ways, as well as create and print professional-quality PDF brochures and flyers, and make a digital archival copy of your work for future use.
Start A Blog
Blogs are a great way to make money from photography, as you can use your photos to illustrate your blog posts and make money off their sale. The more professional-looking your photos are, the more likely people will be to buy them. If you can use your blog to build a following, then you can use that to sell your work. There are many different ways to make money from a blog, including selling your photos to stockists and retailers, getting paid per post, and more.
If you’ve got a sizable audience, then you can get paid to promote products and services relevant to your niche here, as long as you’ve got a good grasp of marketing and sales. You can use a tool like Influencer Marketing Platform to find relevant brands and businesses, and get paid to promote their products and services.
Get A Sponsor
If you can land a sponsor who’ll give you free products and services in exchange for marketing their brand or product, then this can be a great way to make money. You’ll need to do some research to find suitable brands and products, but once you’ve got a solid sponsor lined up, you can start making money from your photographs. Just be sure you understand what your responsibilities are as a sponsored photographer, as you might be required to promote specific products and places, rather than just use your creative eye to take unique and artistic photographs.