Ideas for making money with Photography?

[adamjacob]

Hey, So I have recently got into photography and I have found out that I really don't like shooting portraits. I know thats where most the money is but how hard would it be to make money without doing all the family portraits. I would really like to shoot commercial photography like for advertisements but I'm not even sure how to get into that.

[candleman]

commercial stuff is cool.. i'd love to do that too.. but you need serious lighting and photogrpahic skills.
OH, and a reputation so you can actually get the work.


you could start out learning how to light and create high quality images by making "Stock" photo's and selling them online.

check out
Photoshelter & istock

[Jim Bryant]

Yup, if you just got into photography,you might want to get into learning the in's and out's of your equipment, take some lighting classes and business classes as well to learn about the cost of doing business.

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by adamjacob

Hey, So I have recently got into photography and I have found out that I really don't like shooting portraits. I know thats where most the money is but how hard would it be to make money without doing all the family portraits. I would really like to shoot commercial photography like for advertisements but I'm not even sure how to get into that.

You may want to look up some commercial photographers in your area and ask if they need any assitants. If you're willing to be a hard worker, make it to the job on time, take direction well, and solve minor problems without having to bother withe photographer, you'll have a shot even if you don't have equipment or a lot of technical knowledge off the bat. There are two blogs I'd suggest looking into; A Photography Assistant and A Photography Edtor. They're easy to find.

The only problem is that if you're not in NYC, you may not find a lot of commercial photographers near you.

Try it, and be persistent. Good luck.

[Art_in_MT]

Before you get paid to do fancy shoots with a real budget, you need to some experience under your belt. As a prior poster pointed out, if you are outside NYC (or LA) you may be challenged to find many commercial photographers to even volunteer to work for.

So how about looking a little more broadly?

Are there non-profit organizations in your area that involve children or exciting sports? Maybe you can volunteer to take professional quality images for them. They often need them for publicity or internal consumption by the membership. You may even be able to make a few bucks doing it.

Are there Artists in your area? Many of them need copies made of their artwork - this is akin to commercial work, and will build your skills in color correction and studio lighting, but without the huge investment (you can get started for less than $1000 if you read up on technique, are handy, and shop a bit.)

Or how about doing studio shoots of artists working? Either at colleges and universities, or in private studios. Artists are frequently looking for good images to use in gallery brochures, ads, and on their websites. I've been doing these since 1974, and still find these gigs enjoyable and often moderately profitable. (Here's a recent blog posting on one such shoot that I just completed last week: www.aheld.com - Ria de Neeve shoot )

Finally, don't hesitate to do your OWN ad photos. Pick a product, and come up with the most creative photos you can, using materials and settings available to you. Recruit friends and strangers to pose - pay them with fun and copies. You'll increase your photo skills and your people skills, while you build your creative portfolio.

In short - go take pictures. As you shoot more and more that are similar to what you think you want to do, you will learn how to do it, and likely meet people who will eventually PAY you to do it.

Best of luck,
Art

[Krusty79]

I used to work at a digital photo printing company and most of the photographers who we sent the biggest checks to were the ones who went out and shot kids events like school plays, talent competitions and sporting events. Some even shot dog shows or equestrian competitions, but there aren't as many as those events. Each photographer had his/her own site where they posted galleries of images. They would notify the parents where to go to view their kid's pictures and place orders on the site. I don't know if you want to do it that way, but my point was that the ones pulling regular checks had relationships with the schools/organizations hosting the events and built their niche shooting those events. If you have kids/nieces/nephews, that could be your foot in the door. Of course, I am assuming your photographic abilities are or will be good enough to produce satisfactory images of the events. Just another suggestion.

[Krusty79]

Here's a link to "52 Ways to Monetize Your Photos."

52 Ways To Monetize Your Photos

[Gina9942]

You can look into certain businesses already. I am a graphic designer for a huge department store in Manhattan, and we have our own photo studio in Brooklyn, where we hire photographers who just apply online. Obviously though they do have to have the skills and know-how to back it up, and usually a degree, but look into businesses as well, if you know what you are doing you can maybe send someone a "proposal" of sorts that you will shoot for the business instead of them having to rent a studio for a day.

Before where I am now I worked as a graphic Designer for Modell's Sporting Goods. We literally had a closet with two lights and a camera where we shot the merchandise, it was a terrible set-up, and if we were photographing models, we would rent a studio for the day. We could've used someone who came in, took the pics and left, sort of a freelance type thing.
(At this time I was not as into photography as I am now, so I didn't volunteer to do it, although I did get lot's of practice with lighting, and think it's what made me want to do photography) there's a website called STYLECAREERS.COM: The largest, fashion-only job listing site on the Internet!!! sometimes they have photography listings on there.

Good luck!!