Turning a hobby into something that you can make money from isn’t always the easiest thing to do. But when that hobby is photography, then there are probably more opportunities to do just that. You don’t need to be a professional London photographer, taking snaps of the stars, to make a living from it. So what are the top ways to make money from your photography?
Stock photos
One great way to make money from photos that doesn’t involve too much work is to sell your pictures for stock photos. There is a huge demand for good quality stock photos of all kinds from web designers, bloggers and even marketing agencies. Therefore, if you can take the kind of pictures that could be used in any of these areas, you have a good chance of selling your images to stock photo companies.
Create an eBook
If you have a little writing skill along with the ability to use your camera (or can pair with someone who can) then you could always create your own eBook. Write about your journey as a photography or a tips style book about how to take a certain type of photography, including plenty of your own examples to illustrate it. Then you can market the book across the internet. Alternatively, if you have a blog, you can use the eBook as a giveaway to get customers to the website and buy other services from you.
Capture local events
Someone reports on virtually everything that happens these days and the key to this is that they often aren’t near where the event they are reporting about. But what they often do need are photos to go with those reports so if you can take good photos you can sell them to people reporting on these events.
Product photos
Offering your skills to a company who need good quality product photos is a great way to make some money and build up your portfolio. The more of these types of jobs you do, the more you will be able to do and suddenly you find yourself shooting for a big name multi-national company (hopefully!). If you want to go down this route, you could get started by offering local businesses the service free in return for reviews and the ability to use the shots in your portfolio.
Sell your images on Etsy
Etsy is a website that has become the go-to place for unique and handmade items and that can include photos. Whether you frame them, print them onto canvas or offer them in a book, you can take your images to a wider audience by setting up an Etsy shop. They do charge a percentage for each sale and a small cost to add items to the website but opens you up to a large audience of potential customers.
Create printables
Printables are huge at the moment, allowing people to print everything from calendars to to-do lists and time organisation. People want them to be colourful, attractive and engaging and using real images in them adds something different. Take shots during the year to create a seasonally based calendar or a collection of flowers, birds or places for a themed one.
