Too young to make money for photography?

[mebemelissa]

I'm 14, but would like to start a photography career in any way I can right now.
I have already done a job for an electric company's website.
$70 to shoot, edit, and put on a cd.
My mom told me I should offer to take people's senior pictures at school, but my school already has a photographer for that.
When I'm 15 or 16, I want to see if I can work at the portrait place I live near.
I also read about selling images online.
I went to redbubble and istockphoto, but I don't really know how it works or if it's a good idea to let people buy my pictures. Can they use them anywhere they want after they pay for them? And can anyone really make money off of that?

Here's some of my favorite pictures I've taken:
Why I Love Fall...
Untitled | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Photologyst]

Looked at your photostream.

You have talent and a very good eye. Keep shooting at every opportunity.

Place only your very best photos online.

No one cares what age the artist is, as long as the photos are good.

Love your doggies.

There are lots of experts here who can give you professional advice.

[OsmosisStudios]

Your images are quite good, but theres more to just pretty pictures when it comes to running a business. Learn more about the business side of things, but feel free to get some experience while youre at it.

[candleman]

well,
(love this one)

as far as i understand, you cant sell online until you're 18. depends on the site i guess..
BUT, you may be able to strike up a deal with your mom where they are sold under her name online and you get the $$. All you would need is a contract between you and her saying you hand over rights to license the images on your behalf until you're 18.

yes, you can make decent money for the right images, a handful of people even make a living from it.
Today i made $23 after comission... not enough to retire.. but its still better than $0
Dont expect to make any serious money.

if you are serious about the path, study business and marketing as a major in College over photography. The pictures are the easy part.
Also, ask a local Pro if you can work for free by carrying his bags, or holding reflectors.. whatever.
you will learn a heck of alot by just watching and listening. Hey, you might even get paid...

you really need to learn about your camera.
all the pictures i looked at were:
Auto Exposure
Auto WB
Auto-Area Focus (i'm not saying use Manual focus, i'm saying you should choose the focus point)

SO, start here ald learn about the exposure triangle, and so-on.
Auto isnt good enough... as you have literally NO creative control.

all the best

[AnneWynne]

You are not the first to ask this question. If you want to see what has been said to others, search this board.

You certainly have a good eye and a lot of potential. You are fortunate in that you have discovered a passion that can become a career early in your life where money is not all that necessary for you (ie, mom and dad pay the rent).

Mom had a great idea about taking Senior portraits. What the school has is a portrait photographer who takes studio photos for the yearbook and the formal portraits the parents buy. What you can do are the on-location senior photos that capture the personality of the senior. Do a Senior Photographer google search to see what I mean.

There are lots of things you can do to make money with your photos, including selling prints at craft/art shows. Start small and local and grow from there. You can also sell online through your parents. Lots of other products can be made from your photos like tote bags, mouse pads, coffee mugs, etc. Patty Hankins is a good example of a nature photographer who uses Facebook to market her products and direct people to her website.

But the main thing to focus on (pun intended, gg) is expanding your craft...learning as much as you can about photography, photoshop, as well as the busness side of photography. This forum is a great resource, you can learn a lot from Jim Bryant, Jim Poor, Candleman, Sime, and the many other seasoned pros on this board.

Good Luck,
Anne

[bhursey]

The casual senior portrait idea is great for what you want to do. I do 2-4 of those shoots a year. Find a good park you like and use that. Because many people are frustrated with the limited, photo selection and over pricing of studio senior portraits they come to you. Your probably are going to have to do a few portfolio building shoots charging either a small fee or nothing. Learn as much as you can about your camera, and keep shooting. Tell your clients not to tell anyone that you shot their images for free or next to nothing. You will be surprised how many referrals you may get. Build your self a web page and put the pictures up there. Make sure to have a simple model release contract and to bring your mom with you because she will have to sign all the legal stuff. Also the parents of the senior if under 18 will have to sign the release also. This will allow you to post them on your web page.

[Indigo November]

I'm 16 and I do it. Never really occurred to me that age could be an obstacle...
Been selling photography since I was 12, photoshoots only in the past year.

Do what you love, don't even acknowledge the obstacles!

Looked at your flickr, you have a good eye, keep it up.

[PassionatePhotographer]

What you could also consider is contacting your school's photographer to see if you can do some part-time (evening, weekend or holiday) work with him (or her) or assist with the senior portraits. Or try to get your school to send you on a "work experience" placement.

Doing it that way may bring up other copyright or payment issues; but it will benefit you in the long run by letting you see how someone else runs their business and may give you a mentor to improve your photography more.

[Biomech]

No one cares what age the artist is, as long as the photos are good.

Ignore that comment. Despite what people wish were true, age will play an important role. It's the reason people don't pay 12 year olds to fix the electricity supply in their house or have 14 year olds replace the breaks on their car. People WILL judge you because of your age. What you need to do is build a reputation as a can-do guy/girl and have people ask for you knowing full well you're 14.

In response to your question about a career. There's no dramas starting off a career - running a business of your own would be slightly trickier (as pointed out). Certainly try and get work with other people, be a second shooter etc etc and build up a portfolio. You'll probably find by the time you're 18 you'll have a big catelogue of clients asking for you

I probably wouldn't bother with the stock image industry, there's loads of people out there and you get pennies for your work.