As a photographer, you want to look for ways to make money on the side so they can fuel your passion and help you continue with it. It's not easy, granted, as a lot of it will need to be talented, skilled, and very patient. However, if you work hard it and use your creativity and faith, you can make anything work.
As a photographer, being able to make money out of your passion is probably the best feeling you will ever get, says Anna Paulson, a photographer at a-writer.com. So don't sit on it; get out there and challenge yourself. To help you out, we're going to give you ideas for how you can make some money on the side as a young photographer.
1. Publish Photobooks
If you're looking for a great way to showcase your photography and sell it, then photobooks are a good place to start. You don't have to do large books of 300 pages with hardbacks; you can do a pamphlet of just 20 pages to start with.
A photobook will not only help you build your brand and get your name known but can also make you money. You could either let a publisher do it for you or you could make the book yourself.
I actually started my foray into photography by publishing photo books, says Johnson Gatling, a college paper writer turned photographer.
You can do this for practically any niche you want, from a simple creative project to a technical landscape. You can also consider making postcards, which are much easier to share and send.
2. Photograph Local Businesses
Another great way to put your blossoming skills to use is to help local businesses with them. These businesses need to promote themselves online and they will need professional images to do that.
You can start by walking around your neighborhood and knocking on a few doors. Introduce yourself and build up your contact list. You should also print a
portfolio of your work and carry it with you to showcase to potential clients. As you work with more local businesses, that portfolio will inevitably grow.
To really make yourself stand out from the crowd, have a unique idea for every business you work with. You can't market a bistro in the same way that you market a flower shop. Focus on building rapport with your clients and look to expand your business opportunities, selling other things like postcards and prints as part of the deal.
3. Take Part in Competitions
This is probably the most obvious way you can make some money on the side as a photographer, but it's also the most overlooked way to earn money by most photographers. Most photographers think they are not good enough to enter a
competition. Don't be one of those people. Believe in yourself and take part in as many competitions as you can. Not only is a great potential way to make money but it will also help you to grow your skills in a competitive environment.
4. Take Stock Photographs
Stock photography is another way you can make money on the side without doing too much work. You simply take photos and upload them to different stock photography websites. The more websites you upload your stock photography to, the higher the chances someone is actually going to download them. You can even add well-targeted keywords to help people find them easily. Figure out what people look for on such websites the most and target it as a niche.
The beauty of stock photography is that your photographs will be licensed, not bought, which means that you could sell the same photographs over and over again and make a great living out of it. Make sure you have a very large portfolio to increase your chances of making money.
5. Event Photography
This is one of the best opportunities you can have in the world of photography to make money on the side. You don't have to go too far. Start with all the local opportunities you have in your local area. You could do markets, fairgrounds, state fairs, and, of course, weddings.
You can also consider bar and club photography. All of these joints need to promote themselves, especially on specific special nights. It's not especially hard to take photographs of people having a good time, so it will be relatively little work and you could earn some good money doing it. You also get to meet artists, musicians, and DJs, all of whom need photo promotions. It's much more effective to meet them face to face than to reach out to them via email.
You can start out by giving out free photos and then asking them to visit your website and write reviews in return. In the long run, this will get your name out there and help bring you future work.
6. Become a Photographer for your local Paper
Believe it or not, but most local papers actually have a shortage of photographers. You can go and try asking for an internship as a photographer for your local paper. They may not pay you, but you will get to gain experience while enjoying free trips around your area and free food. It's a great place to start and it also looks good on your resume later.
Conclusion
Remember, the sky is the limit for you as a photographer. Take your time to think of the different ways you could earn money and also gain experience as a young photographer and try to be creative about it. As long as you're passionate about it, you will always find a way.
Alexandra Reay is an editor and professional writer for
EssayWritingLab. She is also a professional content writer who prefers to do research on the following topics - self-improvement, technology innovations, global education development ets. Meet her at
Twitter.
