Nowadays, there are a multitude of ways photographers can turn their skills into cash. You can sell your work online or in public, you can try to get your work into free open art gallerias, you can work for an agency, you can work as a freelance photographer and shoot weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or even company events, you can work for a more acclaimed or professional photographer, or you can teach fundamental photography skills at a high school, college, or public course level. Yet, the best medium today, by far, is social media. Anybody with an eye for photography can create a blog or social media page (specifically Instagram or Pinterest) to display their work and receive views from the public. If your work is captivating enough or “pleases the masses” so to speak, then you can gain a massive follower base and the necessary notoriety to create more images, network and make connections in the industry, and inevitably sell your work – making a business out of it. Now, this does not work for everyone picking up a camera. It takes dedication and long-term commitment to be recognized for your work. Some professional photographers go half of their life before receiving the proper recognition for their work. After deeply pondering on this “How do photographers make money?” I had to do some research. What I found are some extremely helpful and proven ways to make money as a photographer.
- Photograph small business and create visual advertisements for them.
- Teach photography – small or large scale.
- Sell digital or printed copies of your work to the public.
- Sell your photographs on stock websites. If you have a sizable portfolio, then these platforms can help sell your pictures or videos to businesses, marketing agencies, and the media. In return, photographers receive a commission every time their work is downloaded.
- Write a photography blog, like this one!
- Have you, your family, or your friends invest in your art.
- Shoot portraits
- Sell your photos to magazines. There are magazine companies that are dying for interesting, unique, or complicated shots that they do not have the necessary resources to capture themselves. P.S. National Geographic is always accepting wildlife photographs, they just must be good enough or amazing (no pressure).
- Become a freelance photographer and shoot events – a true entrepreneurial experience as a photographer.
- Enter photography contests. You can win a cash prize or better, get the proper recognition for your work.