How to Make A Living As A Photographer
How many times have you heard the phrase "don't quit your day job" when talking about pursuing a creative career? Do you ever feel like you have the potential to enter a new market, but are worried about it sustaining your lifestyle? Believe it or not, a career in photography can be extremely lucrative, and allows you to follow your passion for capturing the perfect shot. Still not sold? Here are eleven ways to make sure you're earning enough to make a living in the photography world.
1. Freelance for local magazines. You probably have big dreams of your photography being in Rolling Stone, Esquire, Time, National Geographic and so on -- but you may be overlooking some fantastic magazines in your hometown. Most cities have their own circulated publications, whether they be geared toward lifestyle, fashion, food, drink, or local interests. Start by sending out a few of your best photos to the editors and ask if they're interested in your work, and chances are they'll be more than happy to send you on assignment to shoot the next big event in town.
2. Throw a portrait party. You've probably attended a make-up, tupperware, or some other product sales party at least once in your life. If not, here's how it works -- get a big group of friends together (these shoots work best with ladies who'd be interested in glamour or boudoir photography), serve some drinks, and let the ladies take turns in front of the camera, while you play some music in the background and let everyone else watch and cheer them on. Then, once everyone sees how great they look in their glamour shots, work in a sales pitch to the conversation, explaining your rates, and maybe even give them a special discount. Chances are you'll book a session with at least half the attendees.
3. Design the Christmas card/graduation or wedding announcement. If you alredy have a firm grasp on Photoshop (which, as a photographer, we hope you do!) then you can design a cute graphic to go along with your shot of the recent graduate or couple-to-be. When shooting a client for an event like this, offer to include a card or announcement design for a small added price. They'll most likely want to take advantage of the bundled package and won't want to make the effort to go to another company for the design.
4. Shoot regular events with large groups of people. By this, I mean get out to your local little leagues! Any sporting event, especially one involving kids, is a great photo opportunity. Parents want those awesome action shots of their little jock to hang as bragging rights in their house, so give them those shots! Go to the league and offer to take pictures during each game for one set price. Then, either on your current website or any easy photo share site like SmugMug, upload your shots and hand out business cards to the parents on the sidelines to check out the pictures you got that day.
5. Be busy during the holidays! This is probably one of the easiest methods of making a good photography profit. No matter the holiday, parents want shots of their kids in cute outfits, and group shots of the family for greeting cards. The important thing is to be proactive -- get some early shots of friends and family in holiday attire up on your website, offer them a discount if they publish the photos on their Facebook with a link back to your site, and wait for the calls to come pouring in.
6. Keep your contacts constantly updated. The best photographers are the ones who became a family's "go-to" for photo shoots -- the ones who send out a monthly email of what offers they have going on, and to touch base with existing clients to make sure the bonds stay strong. You don't need to spam your list constantly, but that monthly reminder that you exist is crucial!
7. Suggest an "heirloom" photo at the big event you're shooting. If you capture that one perfect shot, the money shot, of the new bride and groom, the mom with her new baby, or the college grad walking down to get their diploma, talk it up as much as possible to your client. Rave at what a beautiful shot it is, and suggest they use it as an "heirloom photo" -- the type of photo you have blown up huge to hang above the fireplace to hand down to your family members. These can be pricey, but make sure they know how much sentimental value these types of photos can have.
8. Shoot stock photography. Don't let your thousand of dollars of photography gear sit and gather dust while you wait around for clients. Take an hour or so of free time any day you have it and shoot photos of basically anything, then upload them to sites like iStockPhoto and Fotolia to start making money.
9. Promote mini sessions. Sometimes the big bucks and long sessions scare away customers, so offer a smaller session to tempt your clients into wanting more!
10. Offer 50% off deals. If you have a big chunk in your schedule that you'd like to fill, offer a flash sale to your favorite clients. Use that contact list to send out an email a day or two before your sale, and stress what a great deal they'll be getting if you sign up today.
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