Few things are as rewarding as making money doing what you love. Becoming a professional not only means income, but also that people appreciate and appreciate your work as much as you hire. This is one of the greatest satisfactions a person can have: doing what they love and being recognized for it.
But the problem arises at first, when you’re thinking of making the leap to become a pro but you’re still not quite sure how to do it, or if you’re a photography buff, but an extra income from your job. as a photographer I wouldn’t be too much.
- In today’s article I leave you some ideas so that you can orient yourself and start making money with your work as a photographer What do you expect to stop being a talented amateur to become a professional?.
Before you start with the different ways for you to start generating money as a photographer, do I want to clarify what I’m going to call it?Professional? Throughout the article:
Being a professional is not “living from photography as the only income. “A professional is a trained person who masters his work and, above all, does so ethically and responsiblely. A photographer is no more professional than another because he makes more money or because he has better teams, but because of the responsibility with which he does so and the ethics with which he deals with the people who work with and for him. Professionalism is a way of life, an attitude towards it and no way to make money.
What I mean by that: you can be a professional, whether you live or not exclusively in photography, the important thing is that no matter what you do, you are responsible and respectful of all the people involved in your work, whether they are clients, colleagues or collaborators. .
There are many ways to generate revenue using your camera as much as you can think, in fact, I’m sure that in this article good ideas will be left aside to generate money through photography, but the ideas I leave below will be very useful to take your first steps as a professional.
The main thing is: passion. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing or planning to do, don’t do it. I understand that the need to pay bills forces you to do jobs that you wouldn’t normally do, but sooner or later, if your only motivation is money, it will eventually be noticed in your jobs.
Don’t let money be your only motivation. Love what you’re doing
When it comes to buying a product or renting a service, almost everyone goes through the same place: internet, think of the Internet as a great shopping center: if you want your work to sell, you will have to set up your window store.
Whether it’s renting your services for a wedding or buying one of your photos for a presentation, most consumers today use the Internet to compare possible alternatives, the Internet has become an almost mandatory step when buying or renting and can be your great ally or your worst enemy.
You can make a word of mouth name, as your customers refer you to others, or you can speed up the process a bit and get the most out of the Internet: show your work there so that any virtual passerby who needs your services. Doing so is not very complicated, in fact Mario explains step by step in a video tutorial made by him how to create his own online portfolio to show his photographic works.
Whatever type of photography you plan to take (advertising, sports, products, social media, etc. ), if you don’t have samples of your work online so that all your potential customers can enjoy your work, you’ll waste what it might mean. a great source of income.
Selling photos on the Internet: Websites that sell photos are becoming increasingly popular. Known on the web as “Micro Stock”, they are platforms that allow millions of photographers to upload their photos and put them up for sale. You can earn between $1 and $5 for each photo sold, although saying it sounds very easy, getting your first sales can be frustrating, it’s not as simple as it sounds.
The people who really make a difference when using these sites are those who spend a lot of time searching for the most requested types of photos and producing similar images.
As I mentioned before, even if it sounds very simple, it’s not that simple: it’s not enough to download your entire catalog of photos on the Internet and sit back and wait to become a millionaire, but it’s not so complicated that you get discouraged and lose. to try. Here are some tips to get you started selling your photos online on the right foot:
Before you start building your galleries online, I recommend that you read the following article carefully, so you can learn more about your rights and obligations as a photographer:?Detailed guide: How to protect your photos on the Internet?Rights, licenses and contracts?.
All that’s left, before you start building your online galleries, is to pay attention to the following aspects:
Not all companies, when preparing their brochures or websites, are willing to use photographs acquired on portals like the ones I mentioned above, as they may also have been acquired by other companies and even by their competitors. Today, almost all companies need photographic material for their activities, whether to prepare brochures, catalogs, notices or their websites, but also to take pictures of the staff, equipment, events they perform, etc. The best way to reach the consumer is with stunning images and it is very clear.
Here’s a small list of companies or companies to start thinking about how you’ll offer your services in each of them:
1. Restaurants: Whether for their menus, advertisements or posters, restaurants need the services of a photographer to show the different dishes they offer to the public, taking such photographs is not complicated at all and also does not require next-generation equipment. Food passes through the eyes first, before entering through the mouth. Don’t worry if you’ve never done it, here’s an article that will come in handy: “11 tips and tricks for culinary photography. “
2. Companies: Whether it’s uploading to the company’s website or highlighting employees of the month, organizations constantly need portraits of their employees and executives. Working as a photographer for an organization can be very lucrative for you. I just need to make you a portrait expert, how?Putting into practice the following tips:?11 tips and tricks to get great portraits?And ‘A trick to REVOLUTIONIZE your portraits’.
3. Construction: either to document the progress of a work or to publicize a work already carried out, construction companies will need the services of a photographer who can represent their work and that allows them to promote it later. Taking photos outdoors will not be a problem and to master indoor photography, I recommend reading the following article:?Tutorial: How to take pictures correctly indoors ?.
4. Corporate events: Whether for a conference, fair or exhibition, companies and organizations often turn to the services of a photographer like you to take over the entire event. Hold meetings with your client to know their expectations about the final material. expect to receive for their brochures, websites or advertisements so you don’t miss any takes. There’s nothing worse than delivering the material and the photos they needed aren’t there. Don’t go crazy trying to take the accessory you may think, the key to these events is to work comfortably.
5. Designers: Whatever the talent of the designer, if the photos they work with are of poor quality, so will the final work. Partnering with a designer can be a great idea because the quality of your work will depend on a world-class photographer like Confidence in this case will be critical. Try to be attentive to the needs and requirements of each of your jobs.
6. Schools: as silly as it may seem, schools are a very lucrative activity for photographers if you manage to work in one of them, not only will you be able to cover each of the events you carry with your students, but also be able to take care of the annual photo that many of them offer parents an individual and group photo of their child with their peers at affordable prices. Do the math and you’ll be surprised!
To position themselves in the minds of consumers, companies and organizations invest a lot of money in advertising campaigns that ensure this privileged place at the head of each buyer. You may receive a share of this budget if you work with responsibility, respect, and dedication.
The need for photographic equipment in today’s 2. 0 world is growing, take this opportunity.
As you gain experience as a photographer and become famous, an infinite number of events will happen that will require your knowledge and skills to immortalize them.
These kinds of jobs are not at all casual and are extremely existing because of the number of opportunities you have to consider, but I assure you that they are very exciting and that the experience you gain with each of them will be amazing.
But, of course, today’s article is about how to make money as a photographer, and event coverage should be one of the best ways to do it, especially if you consider how many products and services you can. we offer in addition to providing photo coverage of the event.
Here is a list of the main events you can find when you take your first steps as a professional photographer:
Marriages: Weddings are often the gateway to the world of professionalism for many photographers to the point that for many it is their only source of income, wedding photography is one of the most lucrative events you can find. as a wedding photographer are: planning and your ability to solve unexpected situations. Planning is essential so that you know perfectly well, for example, when alliances are placed, and to be able to solve unexpected situations, because by having to work with many elements, each of them can get out of the original plan. Check out the following article: “6 Tips for Representing Your Best Friend’s Wedding. “
2. Communions and baptisms: they are a great opportunity to earn an extra euros at the end of the month. This is a very special time for parents, so they usually buy a lot of photos later. Baptisms and communions are events that can very well bear fruit. Try talking to your church pastor for other recommendations. I recommend you read the following article: “20 common errors in baby photography (?That your little one will never forgive)”
3. Birthday parties and anniversaries: these are very special events, especially those that represent something else: the first year, the 50th anniversary, silver weddings, etc. , many parents and couples are willing to spend a few euros to immortalize these special moments. . Be sure to take a picture of everything: the guests, the décor, the cake, and nothing in the world, don’t miss the most important moment of the night: turn off the candles. You can practice covering up your friends, birthdays to gain experience and make yourself known, at least among the guests.
4. Courses, games and sports: you can cover everything related to amateur sports activity, you can work as a photographer and cover the different sports activities at the same time in school, in clubs, churches or any other type of league. , you can offer copies of your photos to parents, coaches or institutions that have submitted their teams or competitors. Ideally, in this type of event, you need to have a good telephoto lens that allows you to make these close-ups remotely. typical of sports photography Do you have any doubts?Do not hesitate to read the following article for clarifications: “Sports Photography Guide with DSLR Camera”.
Documentary photographer: textbooks, dictionaries, textbooks, school magazines, etc. require a lot of photographs to illustrate each of their texts, for this you must go and create a wide portfolio of photographs of birds, insects, plants and flowers to be able to offer it to different agencies or publishers, get hold of one of these manuals and pay attention to the frames , compositions and types of images most requested. While waiting for your chance, check out the following articles: How to get pictures of attractive flowers (like these?), 7 tips and tricks for bird photography and “Presentation of the wonderful world of insect photography”.
2. Animal photographer: Pets are no longer mere pets to become members of the families that adopt them, so pet photography can be a great opportunity to earn extra income at the end of the month, if you want to become an expert in retracting them, pay attention to the following article:?Animal photography :?How to impress an animal with its own portrait?
3. Fashion photographer: As I commented in the article: “Tips to dely into fashion photography”, fashion photography is not only a model that poses a dazzling dress, but a set of garments related to clothing, accessories, jewelry and makeup. As you will see, fashion photography is a spectacular area to develop your photographic business thanks to the large number of variations and possibilities it offers.
Product photographer: Product photography work is a great way to make a living or generate the extra revenue you’ve been waiting for since brands use these photos for advertising, brochures and offer their products on the web, so they’ll be willing to invest in you. The main team you need to get started as a product photographer is: yourself. You don’t need the most expensive camera, not even the best studio, because with almost all the objects you can create your own, but look at the following article: “DIY photography: how to assemble photo accessories for the home?”. Once you’ve dared to encourage yourself to photograph products, take 10 minutes to read the ‘Start Guide: Equipment and Accessories to Get In Product Photography’.
4. Photographic journalism: If you are an action enthusiast and like to be in the eye of the storm, photographic journalism may be the alternative for you. Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones equipped with digital cameras, photos arrive first on the Internet and then in newspapers. That’s why news agencies pay very well to get quality photos that illustrate the news in their newspapers. You can take advantage of sites like Demotix. com, which are responsible for posting your photos and selling them to the information networks interested in If you like action and photography, you have no more excuses not to tell you an extra euros or why not, a full rent.
5. Photo Restoration: If you are a photo editing enthusiast on your computer, one way to generate more than interesting revenue is to restore old photos, people are willing to spend a few euros to recover those memories whose time has deteriorated. It seems very complicated but it really isn’t: with a scanner and the software with which you edit or edit your photos you can do it easily, most of the time the photos lose color, so if you saturate them a little, add contrasts and erase the stains, the improvements will easily justify your expenses and the work will not take more than 10 minutes per photo or less.
Not only can you make money through your work as a photographer, but you can also create a real business if, in addition to covering events, you offer the following additional services:
The ideal in these cases is that you have a work team, so that you can cover all the needs that may arise when carrying out a certain job, if you can delegate certain activities to your colleagues you can focus on what you do best: drink images.
It’s true that setting up a team can mean higher expenses that you can’t face at first, but keep in mind that these will be offset by the multiplicity of services you can offer your customers, not only will the benefits increase, but your creativity. will also be improved.
As you gain experience and fame, the jobs they offer will become increasingly important, so it will be critical to have a team. Try to produce the whole event, planning, taking photos and delivering the final product. your income really multiplies just like your reputation.
Once you start accepting jobs, you’ll have another problem: preparing a budget, it’s very likely that when you do the first one you have no idea where to start, but don’t worry, it’s very common and even the most experienced photographers have difficulty doing it.
Fortunately, on the photographer’s blog, we prepared a guide thinking that one day this moment would come, so if you’re already determined to start as a professional, I recommend you read it.
To access it, simply become a Vip player, it is free, you only have to register at the following link: VIP READER.
Don’t be afraid to be wrong, the one who’s not wrong is because he doesn’t, that is, he works. You learn from your mistakes, so try to make a lot of mistakes if you really want to be a teacher.
Remember that money isn’t everything, and while it’s true that it’s helpful, it’s very frustrating to work just for it. The day you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, stop doing it.
Thanks for coming with the reading. If you find this article interesting, feel free to share it with your acquaintances on Facebook, Twitter or Google.