Tips for Making Money As a Photographer
Anyone can snap a photo, but it takes a special eye and lots of planning in order to make money as a photographer. Simply putting your photos on a print site is not enough for people to make a purchase, they want to know who you are and that is where marketing, creativity, and a few tips from BeFunky will launch you into success.
These 4 simple tips will help you stand out in a sea of images and online shops.
Tip 1: Create Art Prints
Using your creativity outside of snapping the images is a great way to make money with your photos. Folks who are looking to buy photography as art are looking for something unique, and this is where the Photo Editor comes into play. Utilizing a Glitch effect is a great way to make any photo look unique. Research art markets in your area, and sign up for a booth with your prints in tow. Set up an Etsy storefront for your artistic prints where shoppers can make purchases from the comfort of their homes. Get creative with the Photo Editor, and start sharing your art with the community.
Tip 2: Network on Social Media
In this day and age, if you are a creative person trying to sell your art you need to be active on social media. Platforms like Instagram offer you the ability to market your content and network for free. These connections could range from other photographers that like your work and share it, models who will sit for you, mentors, or buyers! This is the best way to get your name out there with your images, but be sure to add a watermark to your images before sharing them. This is a simple way to ensure that people know your name and that your images are not reshared without crediting you as the artist. When people see your name regularly, they will know that your work is worthy of the price to pay.
Tip 3: Sell to Stock Image Sites
Selling stock is one the most common ways a photographer brings in a little extra cash. It’s a no-brainer way to use those extra photographs that are just sitting around in a folder and turn them into stock images that could instead be making you passive income. There are a few different ways of breaking into the stock photography business. The simplest track is to open up an account at one of the many stock photo selling sites like Shutterstock.com or Bigstockphoto.com. Here, your images will earn a small amount per download and payment will be sent to you. Another option is selling stock images to more exclusive stock companies that cater to publishing companies for book covers, billboards, and more. These stock dealers are a bit more selective, but typically pay better than other sites.
Tip 4: Curtate a Portfolio
The hardest part of making money as a photographer is having a portfolio of images for folks to look at to decide if they are going to pay you or not. However, there is an easy solution to this – start taking more photos and curate your portfolio. If you need support, don’t be afraid to reach out to local photographers and ask if you can shadow them on shoots, go hunting for rare locations, or ask strangers in the city to snap their portraits! Take as many images as you can to make your portfolio robust and representative of your talents. Once you have a good portfolio, everything else will fall into place.
Start Making Money With Your Images
With these 4 tips, you are now equipped with the knowledge of how to make money as a photographer. Whether it be passive income from selling stock photos, to setting up at a local art market, you can start earning money with a little help from BeFunky’s Photo Editor.
