In the first part of today’s post, I’ll tell a story about Matthias Haltenhof. Then I’ll show you 21 different ways to start your own photo business. In the third part I have a few tips on what you should pay attention to and give recommendations for online marketing.
Do you really want to turn your hobby into a job?
Many of us dream of being able to engage in photography every day. Maybe the job isn’t going well, and maybe you don’t find it particularly fulfilling. But before you really start thinking about making photography a full-time job, let me tell you a story.
Matthias Haltenhof
Matthias Haltenhof started photography as a hobby during his studies. He kept learning more and more. At some point, photography was incredibly important to him. At the end of his studies, He got to the point where He said to himself:
“If you don’t do it now, you’ll never do it. So I tried to make money from my photos”.
He took orders, acquired clients and did photo shoots. He also photographed within various subject areas such as portraits, which were not really his area. At times he had to have own money increased by the employment office, but he was able to pursue photography every day.
In the spring of next year he had a photo assignment for the Thale tourist office. He should take pictures of the Bodetal and the surrounding area. In a contract he agreed to produce 25 hero shots in that one week. That’s a lot for a week, especially considering the weather could throw a spanner in the works. He photographed every sunrise and every sunset. He ended up making 25 pictures. But after a few days a week there, He realized that he wasn’t happy.
He has been alone all week staying in a $20 a night vacation rental to take photos to complete his assignment. He had to make a living doing what he actually loved.
Being forced to do something every day to pay your rent can take the fun out of it. For many of us, photography is a beautiful thing, something you do when you feel like it – not because you have to.
So think twice about whether you really want to go down this path.
21 ways to make money from photography
I am now working in online marketing and therefore have the support to be able to take photos when I feel like it. Thanks to the internet, there are now a variety of ways to make money from photography. I have collected 21 of them. In addition, I give you in the gray boxes how you can start with the respective path.
Almost every one of these ways is suitable for earning enough money to make a living from it. Often more than that. It all depends on how much work you put in. Almost all paths are also suitable for starting it as a part-time job.
1. Offer commissioned work
A classic way to get into full-time photography is to do commissioned work. Someone asks you to take certain photos. Wedding photography, portraits and architectural photography are particularly well known.
How do you start?
A dedicated website is definitely useful for this. So you have to go to customer acquisition. This can be done through online or offline marketing. For example, you can place ads in newspapers or draw attention to yourself through advertising on Google or Facebook. Of course, recommendations from customers for whom you have already photographed are also very helpful.
2. Reports for newspapers
With this business model, it is often the case today that the photographer takes the photos himself and then sells the pictures. In the meantime, many newspaper photographers are on the road independently and offer their pictures to the newspapers for sale after the actual photograph has been taken. If you are the first at the scene, you have a good chance that the pictures will be bought afterwards.
How do you start?
Establish contacts with the local newspaper and inquire about possible collaborations. Is there a fixed model? Are more photographers needed or does the newspaper already have a sufficient base of freelance photographers?
3. Stock photography
In stock photography, you also take photos in advance and then offer your pictures for sale. You store images for specific topics (“in stock”). You can then upload your pictures to stock photography platforms and tag them. Prospects who need images for a specific purpose, such as a magazine or flyer, can then license your images there. Depending on the size, you will receive between 50 cents and 2 euros per picture sale. That doesn’t sound like much at first, so it’s more about the mass of good pictures. A picture can of course be sold several times. Practice shows that it is also possible to earn good money here. There is an exciting article about this in Robert Kneschke’s blog.
How do you start?
Sign up on platforms like iStock or Shutterstock. Take a look at how other successful photographers operate there and for which topics they produce pictures. Which images have many downloads? What keywords are used there? Familiarize yourself with the quality standards required for the stock photos. Then you can start making stock photos yourself and upload them there.
4. Photo workshops
If you have some basic knowledge of photography yourself, then you can start offering workshops. You’re probably thinking that you’re not ready yet. But think about how intensively you deal with photography. How much time have you already invested in it. What have you learned during this time? You can pass on this knowledge.
How do you start?
Think about what topic you want to cover in your photo workshop. Then think about how you can best teach this topic to the participants. What structure should the workshop have? Which documents are necessary? Do you need a training room? You can rent it in almost every hotel. To try out whether you like workshops at all, you can offer your first photo workshop for free. At the end, you should have the participants fill out a feedback form to improve your workshop. How do people find out about your workshop? You can post about the workshop on a forum like the DSLR Forum and say it’s free. That’s how I started it.
5. Teaching photography in community college courses
Here, too, the aim is to impart your photo knowledge. You can earn money with a course at an adult education center. If it suits you, you can also offer several courses.
How do you start?
Like a workshop, set up a concept for a course. Of course, this course must be divided into hours over several weeks. With such a concept, you can contact the local adult education center and ask if necessary. Or you first telephone the adult education center and ask if there are certain courses that they would like to have in their program. If the courses you want fall into your subject area, you can create a course for them.
6. Create video courses
In video courses you present your photo knowledge as a video. Participants can buy such a video course online as a download or offline as a DVD and then watch it at home.
How do you start?
Think about how you can best impart the knowledge. What parts should the course be divided into? What practical exercises should the participants do? It is up to you whether you film the course or record it on the computer. After the video editing, you must provide the necessary documents for the course. When the course itself is finished, it goes into marketing. Again, you can choose between online and offline marketing.
7. Use affiliate marketing
What actually is affiliate marketing? You write on your website, on your YouTube channel or wherever you act, whatever camera and lenses you use. From there you can link to Amazon, for example. Whenever someone clicks on your link and then buys it, you get a small commission. This is how I do it on my recommendations page. For photo equipment, the commission on Amazon is 3%. It’s not much, but the bigger your channel or website gets, the more it’s worth it.
How do you start?
You need a website or YouTube channel. Then you can sign up for the Amazon affiliate program, for example. Now you can set links to Amazon and if you sell, you get the commission.
Affiliate Marketing Course are available on YouTube.
8. Banner advertising on your own website
If you run your own website for your photography, then you can also use advertising banners there to earn money. Of course, the more visitors the website has, the more rewarding it is.
How do you start?
Build your website and then steadily expand it. You can then register with Google Adsense, for example. There you can generate a code that you embed on your website. Adsense now plays suitable advertisements for the visitors of your website.
9. Write e-books
Do you enjoy writing? Then e-books could be a business model for you that you can use to make money. Here, too, it will probably be about passing on your photo knowledge. You can write the e-books on your own computer and then offer them, for example, on Amazon or on your own website.
How do you start?
Again, you have to think about what you want to write about and how you want to structure your e-book. Which pictures do you need for this? Do you need to create graphics to explain certain topics? When your e-book is ready, you can place it on Amazon KDP or offer it on your own website via Digistore24.
10. Enter the art market
The art market is probably one of the more difficult models to monetize your photos. One hears stories about high prices and auctions again and again, for example in photography by Andreas Gursky. Nevertheless, of course, some photographers try to enter the art market and earn very little money during their lifetime. But still: It is possible.
How do you start?
I believe that contact with galleries and curators plays a major role here. These are the people you need to approach with your finished portfolio.
11. Write books and articles
Writing about photographic topics isn’t just for e-books. You can also write your own book. A word of caution in advance: the authors of books often only earn a relatively small share of the sales price. This is usually more of an ego project, so that in the end you can be proud of having written your own book. With several photo books and the right contract for your share, you can also earn money here.
It can be more interesting to write professional articles for photo journals and magazines. These are needed again and again and do not have the size of a book.
How do you start?
You should try for yourself whether writing such articles suits you. Then you can get in touch with magazines and editors. Here you can ask if certain topics are currently in demand or if there are any plans for special editions on specific photo areas.
12. Create presets
If you work a lot in image editing, then you certainly have a certain routine in it. Perhaps you have also created presets for Lightroom or actions for Photoshop. A business model can now be to offer comprehensive presets for sale.
With the appropriate programming skills, it is also conceivable that you will develop plugins or independent programs for image processing.
How do you start?
In addition to the presets themselves, marketing plays a decisive role here. Presets sell best when you’re already a household name in the photography world. You can promote the presets via your website, YouTube or Instagram, among other things.
13. Get active on YouTube
How to Make Money from YouTube? If you upload videos there and those videos get enough views, then YouTube will pay you money to show ads there.
How do you start?
The first thing you need to do is build a YouTube channel about your photography. You should continuously produce interesting videos and thus secure as many subscribers as possible. Over time, you can start monetizing within YouTube.
14. Offer travel lectures
If you enjoy traveling, then offering travel lectures afterwards can be a worthwhile business model for you. The basis is that you process your photos of the trip as a presentation. With that you can then go on tour and give this talk in different places. Of course, marketing also plays a major role here.
How do you start?
In addition to creating the actual lecture, you have to organize the events yourself. You need to find space for it, get the ticket sales going, and then promote the event itself.
15. Sell usage rights
Selling usage rights primarily works passively, at least for me. Agencies want to create a flyer or a website, for example. They then look for pictures on this topic. If they now become aware of your pictures, then a request for the usage rights of the respective picture comes in.
How do you start?
You should spread your pictures as much as possible on the net. Image communities, photo competitions and your own website are important. Search engine optimization also plays a role here. Of course, there must be a way to contact you on your own website.
16. Become a sponsor / influencer
If you have a certain reach, it can be interesting for companies to sponsor you. Then you will receive an amount of money for using their photo equipment and also for promoting this on your social channels.
Especially on Instagram, it’s common for a company to pay money to have their product featured in the photos. Depending on how many followers you have, this can be a lucrative business.
How do you start?
The most important thing is that you have a name in the photography world. This can happen in many different ways. It certainly makes sense to build up a good Instagram channel with many followers. Then at some point you can approach companies and ask about cooperation. Normally, however, companies will approach you at some point anyway.
17. Set up your own (online) shop
Running your own (online) shop can be a major project. First and foremost, this is about trading in photo products. But it can also be interesting to offer your own products via the shop.
For example, one idea would be to focus only on filters. Especially in the field of ND filters or gray gradient filters, there are still some manufacturers like Lee or Singh-Ray, which are not so easy to get.
How do you start?
Especially with an online shop you can start small. For the first steps you don’t need an inventory with 1,000 products, 20 are enough. Here an investment is necessary to store a small stock. For your own online shop, website hosters such as All-Inkl offer ready-made shop installations that you can start directly with without any major programming knowledge. Again, the key factor here is marketing.
18. Lend photo equipment
Similar to a shop, another business model is not to sell photo equipment, but to lend it out. Many people want to try a camera or lens before they buy it. Borrowing a larger camera for a specific job is also relevant for some photographers.
How do you start?
Of course, for a rental you need your own cameras and lenses, which you have to invest in in advance. So to start this model, a major investment is needed. In addition to a website, you should then primarily deal with online marketing.
19. Offer image editing as a service
Some photographers have a relatively fixed workflow for their images. So it can make financial sense not to do the post-processing of photos yourself, but to hand them over to a service provider. This service provider could be you.
How do you start?
You can create a profile and offer your skills on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork or MyLittleJob. Interested parties will find you there and then commission you to post-process their pictures. The more orders you have processed there, the more money you can ask for your services.
20. Sell your images as prints
This point is of particular interest to the artists among us. You can sell your own pictures via exhibitions, your website or via appropriate platforms. If you need more information about printing, you will find it in my post about printing photos.
How do you start?
First, of course, you need a good portfolio of your work. Then you should look into exhibitions and vernissages. Your own website can also contribute to sales with the right marketing. Through platforms like Saatchiart you can apply to be included in their portfolio and start sales through it.
21. Organize conferences & trade fairs
Have you ever been to Photokina? There are various trade fairs and conferences on various photographic topics. If a strong organizational talent is your strength, then you can organize such an event yourself.
How do you start?
At the beginning you should align your event with a specific topic. What interesting speakers are there? Which photo makers identify with this topic? In addition to large premises, you probably need a team that can handle this task with you. You need to find sponsors and promote your event accordingly.
What makes a successful photographer?
How do you become a successful photographer? If you have read this far carefully, you will have noticed that I have mentioned marketing very often. I believe that for a successful photographer only about 20% of the skill is photography. At 80%, the much more important skills are in marketing. You should be able to market your images and yourself online and offline. This is the only way to reach enough people to be successful with your photo business.
Do I need a business registration?
If you want to make money with one of the 21 ways with photography, then you should definitely register a business. For starters, a secondary business is sufficient, which you can apply for for little money.
I registered my business online at the local trade office 4 years ago in 10 minutes. The cost for this was 25 euros.
My recommendations for online marketing channels
If you want to build your photography business, then you have to decide for yourself what to do with your limited time. Since I come from online marketing, I would like to recommend some channels of it.
Google My Business
Especially when it comes to local customers in commissioned photography, Google My Business is one of the most important factors. Here you can achieve a lot with relatively little investment of time. For example, customers search Google for “wedding photographer Kassel” and then find the local providers with your phone number. Then the customer often just picks up the phone to make an appointment.
The Google My Business profile should be well maintained. There you can use search terms in various fields, which should be tailored to your own activity. You can also load current pictures into this profile from time to time to draw customers’ attention to you.
Own website
Having your own website is part of the standard repertoire of marketing. Depending on your skills and budget, you can have a website created externally or create it yourself.
If you don’t have the skills to do this yet, you can learn them along the way. If you register an address and a hosting service for your website, these hosts often have the option of directly installing specific software for your website. This is where WordPress comes in handy. This system is relatively easy to use and offers plenty of opportunities to expand your website later on.
Building your own website may seem like an impossible task at first, but it’s worth the journey. You will learn an incredible number of skills that will help you professionally later. If you get stuck with something, just use Google to find the solution. Many other people have dealt with the problem in question before you. You can almost always find help that way.
Blog
A blog takes a little more time. However, it is a good opportunity to show your current work and projects from time to time. With WordPress you can create this blog on your own site and thus further expand your website.
Of course, social media marketing is also important. Here I recommend that you set up a Facebook fan page. There are also many free instructions and guides on the net. Many photographers have complained that Google’s normal reach has continued to decline for months. That’s true, but it’s worth investing a little money in your own posts on Facebook that are important to you.
For example, if I share a new blog post on Facebook, only about 50 people will see this post without paying. However, if I advertise the post with 5 euros for my Facebook followers, then I make sure that the people who have liked my page also see this post. That’s how I reach about 500 people. I write about 2 new posts per month, so with a total of 10 euros per month these costs are also absolutely reasonable.
As a photographer, you can hardly avoid Instagram these days. This is about posting new photos regularly, using the right hashtags, and being active in the community. There are many different social channels, but in the end I would only recommend Facebook and Instagram to keep the effort manageable. This is how the greatest effect can be achieved.
Get start now…
That must have been a lot of new information for you. If you plan to make money from your photography, don’t wait for a specific moment. You also don’t need a new video camera or a better SLR camera. Strictly speaking, you could even implement almost all business models completely with your smartphone.
Take one or two of these paths and get started.
What is your experience of making money with photos? What has worked for you and what hasn’t? Write to me in the comments! If you want, I can also give you a short update on each new post, so you won’t miss anything.
