Photography for most people is an art and a passion. Many get into it in pursuit of their creative ambitions without attaching a dollar sign to it. While photography as an art form can be fun and fulfilling in many ways, you can easily turn this hobby of taking fantastic pictures into a way to make money online. Below are a few tips to help you turn your artistic discipline into a lucrative profession.
1. License or Sell Your Photos on Stock Photography Sites
As a photographer, you have probably heard of stock photography and how to use it to monetize your work. If you have a portfolio of high-resolution photos, you can submit them to stock photography sites and start earning money through this. Ensure that you add keywords such that they are easy to find and interested parties can buy them. Moreover, you can license these photos and sell them over and over. To raise additional awareness for you as an individual photographer, you can build a photography website There are plenty of stock photography sites to choose from to your art including iStock, Shutterstock, Bigstock or you could add your photos onto your own personal Flickr account and license them through Getty Images.
How to sell your stock photos:
- Sign up as a contributor. You’ll be required to provide some necessary basic information about yourself, as well as identification documents to prove your identity.
- Read and familiarize yourself with all the submission guidelines.
- Upload your pictures and add metadata, photo descriptions, and relevant keywords.
- Submit your stock photos for review.
2. Hold a Photoshoot
You don’t need to have a professional photo studio or rent one in order to carry out photoshoot for your clients. Some prefer taking outdoor photos or daring locations not confined within four walls. All you need to get started is a website showcasing your portfolio and sharing your art on social media or other sites to attract more clients.
3. Sell Your Prints
Sometimes you have to do all the groundwork on your own, trusting in your art and sell it by yourself. Most people appreciate a beautiful piece of art, and there are a few ways to sell it to them.
- Sell your photos on your own website or upload them to high traffic sites like Imagekind.
- Sell framed copies of your photos at art and craft fairs.
- Get your photos displayed at coffee shops, restaurants, and other outlets.
- Offer printed copies to your clients.
- Sell your photos at local art or photography galleries.
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4. Do Freelance Photography for Newspapers and Magazines
Get in touch with your local newspaper or magazine and ask for some freelance work. The income won’t be stable at first, but with time the local publication will give you a steadier stream of jobs of taking shots of local events and news stories.
5. Submit Your Photos To Contests
This is one of the most underrated means of earning money from your skills probably because most photographers don’t think their photos are good enough but many wind up being surprised at just how talented they are. Even if you don’t win the ultimate cash prize, you still gain a lot of exposure for your art. Here are a few photo contests you can sign up to.
