How To Make Money With Photography

By: Dannie Phan | October 2nd, 2020

Looking to sell photos online for money? You have the opportunity to do so if you know where to find your market.

How Can I Make Money Online With Photography?

Images and art make up more of a consumer’s day-to-day experience than most people think. Many folks have become so desensitized to the presence images on social media and physical as in their life that the sudden lack of it can be jarring.

That’s where you come in. If you want to make money for taking pictures or start a photography business, you’ll want to find those parties who need media for their businesses, personal events or websites and provide them with those goods.

Put another way, some of the most lucrative jobs involving photography can include:

  • Photographer for small businesses
  • Selling digital or printed copies of your work
  • Selling your photos as stock photos
  • Writing a photography-based blog
  • Teaching photography and editing software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
  • Selling Photoshop brushes and Lightroom Presets
  • Investing your art
  • Setting up photography tours
  • Running photography workshops or online courses
  • Completing portraits for families, graduating students and other interested parties
  • Selling your photos to a magazine
  • Shooting weddings and other equivalent events
  • Entering photo contests
  • Working as an assistant photographer
  • Editing and retouching the work done by others
  • Creating websites for clients

When in doubt, you can also reach out to the peers you have in your area and see if they can’t help you build your portfolio. More often than not, the best place to start building a business is in your own backyard, especially when you want to share your photography with the broader world.

How Do I Start Selling Photos?

If you want to earn passive income and sell high-quality pictures online, you need to find the market in which to do so. Some of the best online marketplaces on which you can establish your platform include: 

  • Envira Gallery
  • Adobe Stock
  • Shutterstock
  • Alamy
  • Etsy
  • Bigstock
  • Fotomoto
  • Crestock
  • 500px
  • Snapped4u
  • PhotoShelter
  • TourPhotos

Note that you can also build your own website and sell your photos there.

How Much Money Can You Make In Stock Photography?

Stock photos, as mentioned, often go quickly on the photography market, as they capture day-to-day goings-on that businesses love to take advantage of. That said, don’t expect to get rich off of stock image sales. Photographers tend to make between 25 and 45 cents per month per photo, according to experts already in the field. With that in mind, you can use these photos to build up your portfolio, but you may want to break into other industries if you want to make more money as a professional photographer.

Can You Become Rich Selling Photos?

It is possible to make a living selling photos, especially if you find a niche fine art market for your work. However, do not expect to make a substantial amount of money right off the bat. Focus on building your portfolio and making connections with repeat clients. This way, you can build your reputation and begin to reach out to other, more influential parties.

Why Types Of Photos Sell Best?

If you’re looking to determine what photos sell best, you’ll want to consider your market. Stock photos often sell well, as businesses will use them for headers and in blog posts. Bloggers and influencers also need images for their content. If a travel blog is looking for landscapes, or if an apparel merchant wants shots of models, those photos will often do better than the others you have on hand.

Why Do Photographers Pay Models?

Models do more work than you may imagine as a photographer. Yes, it’s on you to set up your shot, but models often have to provide their own costumes and hold complex poses for extended periods of time. When you pay a model, you compensate them for their presence and for the use of their image in your work. Note that you do not always have to pay royalties to a model, but models can negotiate for those kinds of payments in their contracts, especially if your work is going to be widespread.

If you want to supplement your income while starting your photography career, Swagbucks can help. When you create an account with the platform, you can take surveys, watch videos and play games to earn points within the platform. When you earn a certain number of points, you’ll be able to cash them out in exchange for gift cards to your preferred retailers.

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