How do you make money from Photography?

rizla01

rizla01

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Terry
Edit My Images
Yes
This has probably been asked once or twice in the past.

I would like to get myself a decent camera soon but I need to justify any purchase that I make.

Quite happy to pay £2-3k for equipment if I have a chance of recouping most of it but might prefer to start with £300 - £500 (s/h) and upgrade accordingly.

How easy is it to make money from photos that I take?

Are Newspapers/Mags a good source of revenue? What about online sales?

Or is it really just down to a studio or events (Weddings/Parties) Etc.

What about commercial advertising (or Product photography)?

Obviously level of expertise comes into play but I would like to consider a definite direction to gain experience in.

All suggestions would be appreciated.
 
I'm no expert myself but I have a friend in Canada who started doing photoshoots for friends, which via word of mouth brought in more work in various different aspects such as sporting events, modeling shoots family photography.
He's now quit his job and has take it up professionally.
Bare in mind that it's a lot of effort and responsibility, particularly editing photos after you've actually taken them.

I had my first job yesterday taking portrait shots for a hairdressing competition for Derby College and it seems like it'll lead onto more work! (And I only have a S/H Canon 350D with a couple of lenses).

I'm sure other people will be able to give you more/better advice though :)
 
Spend a couple of years learning how to take decent photographs, and during that period you will discover what interests you and what you are good at. After that, the decision of which area to go into should have made itself fairly obvious to you.
 
rizla01 said:
Are Newspapers/Mags a good source of revenue? What about online sales?.
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Newspapers and online sales make me a living..

rizla01 said:
Quite happy to pay £2-3k for equipment if I have a chance of recouping most of it but might prefer to start with £300 - £500 (s/h) and upgrade accordingly
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£2-3k of equipment is nowhere near enough IMHO ... I spend more than that on my second camera body :)



.
 
KIPAX said:
I get that a lot :) But truth is I make most of my money because of my equipment.. the papers come to me for certain jobs because they know I can produce.. because of my equipment..
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I no doubt, I've seen you work :thumbs:
I only meant what I said in jest, no offense was intended
 
AndyJ1980 said:
I no doubt, I've seen you work :thumbs:
I only meant what I said in jest, no offense was intended
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Nooooo none taken.. I was just expanding on my original reply :)

To be honest a lot of the time its not my skill or expertise with a camera... its the fact i own a 400 2.8l for the best cricket shots or high iso cameras for indoor sports... There just using me :) your just not going to get the same shots in certain circumstances with lesser equipment and thats fact..
 
KIPAX said:
Newspapers and online sales make me a living..




£2-3k of equipment is nowhere near enough IMHO ... I spend more than that on my second camera body :)



.
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He's absolutely correct of course - depends what sort of photography you want to do. My equipment is over £20K - I think I can cover just about anything. To survive you need to be good - not just at photography - but you need good business sense - and good people skills. There is a huge amount of competition these days from amateurs giving work away - or working for peanuts. You need to work out your costs and charge accordingly - right from the start. Good luck - it won'r be easy.
 
Thanks for the pointers so far.

I used to be in sales so I'm pretty sure that I could sell myself and therefore anything that I produced provided it is up to standard.

But, I'm not the 'Arty' type and I also don't think that I would have the patience that some of you must possess in dealing with the public i.e. Weddings.

I can see that having eversoexpensive equipment will stand you in good stead once you have mastered it, but you still need a good eye (or two), obviously.
 
rizla01 said:
But, I'm not the 'Arty' type and I also don't think that I would have the patience that some of you must possess in dealing with the public i.e. Weddings.
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I think your on a hiding to nothing myself ...Sorry but not arty and not the sort to deal with public.. doesnt leave a lot in the money side of photography as you already killed of newspapers and weddings and anything else that has half a chance. :)
 
I've been freelance for 39 years and almost never deal with the public.

Andrew

Professional Photography for
Newspapers & Magazines, Public Relations,
Corporate Brochures, Websites and Annual Reports.
 
All of my sales were direct sales and in peoples homes so I can be quite affable.

It's probably just a confidence issue i.e once I was more sure of my abilities I would no doubt gain more confidence in dealing with complaints Etc (Then if I was that good, I would never get any would I - yeah right).
 
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awp said:
I've been freelance for 39 years and almost never deal with the public.
.
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Public, Customers, Sports people ect I stick them all in the same barrell.. they are all people I havent met before that I have to interact with and take pictures of .They are all equally new to me. strangers.

You still need the confidence to meet and greet and get on with no matter if they are a company director or a member of the great unwashed... You even have to be polite to tax dodgers :)
 
All half true - most of the people I deal with are professional photo buyers in at least part of their job - and they are mostly repeat customets too. Most of the general public haven't a clue what they are buying - which is partly why there is no much sub standard work being sold/used. Also if you deal with the 'public' you mostly have to keep finding new customers - which is very time consuming too.

You do need confidence to meet and greet - and taking group shots of 100 people can be quite daunting too. :) All comes with time/practice. That's where the people skills come in.
 
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I mostly meant these are the people I will be meeting and photographing..

As an example.. Tuesday night I got a commision to go to a boxing club in burnley.. never been before.. had to meet people never met before and do a photo shoot of trainer and 2 up and coming boxers.....You can't do that unless your confident meeting people/public
 
rizla01 said:
This has probably been asked once or twice in the past.

I would like to get myself a decent camera soon but I need to justify any purchase that I make.

Quite happy to pay £2-3k for equipment if I have a chance of recouping most of it but might prefer to start with £300 - £500 (s/h) and upgrade accordingly.

How easy is it to make money from photos that I take?

Are Newspapers/Mags a good source of revenue? What about online sales?

Or is it really just down to a studio or events (Weddings/Parties) Etc.

What about commercial advertising (or Product photography)?

Obviously level of expertise comes into play but I would like to consider a definite direction to gain experience in.

All suggestions would be appreciated.
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Easiest way to make money in photography is selling kit :lol:

You need to be at a standard that is high enough for people to want to buy your images, you need to find a gap in the market or be better in an area than others, you need to be priced to reflect the quality of your work but also for the area you are working in.
 
KIPAX said:
I mostly meant these are the people I will be meeting and photographing..

As an example.. Tuesday night I got a commision to go to a boxing club in burnley.. never been before.. had to meet people never met before and do a photo shoot of trainer and 2 up and coming boxers.....You can't do that unless your confident meeting people/public
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Now that I would find easy. No probs in dealing with people on a face to face level.

I can just imagine a Wedding - 200 guests and 20 professional amateur photographers among them, questioning the methods, equipment, shots Etc as well as the Dads taking there own pictures and getting in the way, esp after a few pints. Sounds like murder to me.
 
rizla01 said:
I can just imagine a Wedding - 200 guests and 20 professional amateur photographers among them, questioning the methods, equipment, shots Etc as well as the Dads taking there own pictures and getting in the way, esp after a few pints. Sounds like murder to me.
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There are ways for dealing with these situations! :)
 
KIPAX said:
oops... I changed from just my url to that...and it took 2 days for pics to start appearing on facebook.. Waste of time they just dont care.
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You can disable 'right click' in fotopic, not fool proof but just may deter the casual thief.
 
For me personally it went like this...

- Bought a 350D for Safasri holiday, got some half decent snaps
- Started practising more and learning more, trial & error, bit of reading up
- Got into taking my camera to any holidays/days out/events, feel in love with shooting anything :)
- Bought a better lens, got more into it.
- A friend liked my shots and asked to use one for a local Magazine cover, I said sure.
- She then asked me to do it every quater when the mag is out, for a small payment, I agreed.
- I shot some parties for friends, then got asked by one to shoot an event for her company, again for small payment, I've done a few more since as they were pleased.
- Also done a Christening for small payment.

Usually it is just word of mouth, people asking you as they like you're work and you're cheaper than a pro (obv not as good mind), for what they want you are enough etc.

I've since done things for the company I work for, and for other friends, sometimes free, sometimes I get a little payment. I used every penny I earn't to buy new kit, so now I have a better body and accessories.

I've been asked 5 times now about doing Wedding's - however I realise this is a massive thing so have always said no, I will do one when I know I can 100% nail it.

I think the best way is to practice, with friends (who will photo well), on pets, friends sports teams, or just go out and shoot landscapes, get your images online (I just use facebook but people often comment they like my work and I've lost count on the number of my pics used as profilers). It can just be word of mouth.

That is just my experience, I want to keep doing small jobs and keep up the learning/practice until I'm at the level I want to be, then I can take on a Wedding and maybe start doing a few of those for friends for ok fee's in order to buy new kit and go from there.

I'm always offering to shoot people I know when I see that they have potential to look good in photos, its fun! :) For me any fee is just a bonus, I do it for the love of it, it's very rewarding to see people delighted over your shots.

However the flip side is that now I'm 'me + camera' - i.e everyone always asks me to bring the camera along, i.e to parties etc.
 
Hi Shabba,

Thanks for that, insight.

I can see that may be the way I'll end up going if I don't decide on one particular course. Nothing wrong with that mind, and 'for the love of it' appeals more than for the payment, BUT it feels better to think that both aspects could play equal.

I like the idea (To start) of getting a 40D and build up on the glass, then perhaps upgrade the body if it feels right.

Just got to make that first move and at the same time feel justified in doing so.
 
Go out and take photos...

no-one (with any actual budget) will hire you without a strong portfolio of relevant images to what they want photographing.

Not all types of photography have a market, try finding a buyer for the average macro shot of a bug....

Disregard equipment, buy new stuff when you genuinely need it.

There's SO many skills - namely people skills - that you learn by shooting, and NEED to be spot on if you are taking photos professionally. You need to be adaptable - my work has taken me from quarries to schools in the last month alone. You need to be in tune with your equipment so that you do not have to worry about it. I had a flash die on me today - in front of a client isn't the place to panic or worry about it or try to get it to work. Put it in your bag, grab another, keep on working...

go out and take photos....merely owning a 'big camera' does not qualify you to be a 'professional photographer'.
 
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rizla01 said:
As stated
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most professional photography is of people.

go take photos of people...


seriously, just go take photos, you'll verge towards whatever you enjoy.
 
Fairly sure that I said that in post #3 - only a bit more abruptly! :p :D

Did you take lots of photos of Bingo btw?
 
Why for you kick my dog and call hees name eff off, when you know hees name ess Rover? :lol:
 
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Hi spend 3k on equipment 1 camera 1 lens, so lets say and buy a strong portfolio, + name drop.

canon 1Ds III and a 24 70mm


that set up would nail every shot money in the bank;)


funnily enough i have a set up like this for sale soon:cool:


Merc
 
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I've read this thread with interest and my very basic reply is that to make money you need to have a product people want to pay for, which is about taking quality pictures, being professional, being a good people person, having good commercial sense. You and your pictures are the product essentially.

I would also like to say to Kipax I continue to admire your approach and attitude and I take my hat off to you fella.

shabba said:
However the flip side is that now I'm 'me + camera' - i.e everyone always asks me to bring the camera along, i.e to parties etc.
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I think we all suffer from this a bit, and you just have to show strength of character here. If I'm going to a bash as a guest and just want to chill, unless I want to take some pictures for myself, my camera stays at home. People are learning to respect that my photography is a business first and tend not to ask too often nowadays.
 
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