6 ways to make money as a photographer

Beginning of the year, after all it is still only March, people are always looking for a way to make money.

And with photography it is nothing different, we are always looking for a way to earn that extra money, or even a new way of financial survival. Even nowadays many people still look for that perfect photo, after all we have a lot of things to share, a dog,  a son, a gym, a new house, a new expensive stuff and the list just grows.

And as a professional photographer your job can be to fulfill these little wishes of everyone out there, of course at the right price. And many times the opportunities are out there and you don’t even realize that they can be your new breadwinner.

So don’t waste any time and see at least 8 ways to make money as a photographer in 2019.

8 ways to make money as a photographer in 2019

1 Start a YouTube channel

Everyone who uses the internet has seen a video on Youtube, it is almost impossible not to have access to the huge content of the site. There are millions of videos on the most varied topics, taste and personalities and all this just grows each year.

Youtube is the second most popular place on the internet to search, second only to Google itself. So you can’t underestimate the importance of Youtube, even as a dissemination tool only.

As a photographer you can host a YouTube channel, and of course make money for it. You can run a channel with videos about photography, about editing photos, vlogs about your life as a photographer or even a DIY channel for photography.

Of course, for this endeavor to work you need a little luck in addition to having all the knowledge you would like to share with people. Having a large and regular audience are the first two major requirements for you to have any success within the platform.

With a good visual work and of course with relevant content you can even support your family, if your project goes well. You will probably start making money from Adsense ads, but this is not the only source of income for videos.

There are many enthusiastic photographers out there who may need your help.

Over time, a YouTube channel can grow significantly and you will have more opportunities for sponsorship and local events, and thus make more money across the borders of YouTube.

2 Make your photography blog

Creating and maintaining a blog, just like the one you are reading right now, can take more time and money than having a YouTube channel. If you are not so comfortable in front of the camera having a blog can be a good solution to make money as a photographer.

As in any other industry, photography blogs have been at the forefront of written information. Nowadays it is not very easy to put on the air a blog that stands out and has accesses that justify its work, and bring financial return.

Being creative and mainly active makes you create a good relationship with your readers and so you can start to create better content, and consequently have more visitors.

For many people the saddest part of blogs can be the amount of ads, or the writer’s willingness to sell something, and yes this is sometimes sad. But most blogs depend on some kind of income to be kept up, and sometimes ads and advertisements are needed.

And depending on the number of hits that your blog has per month, you can even earn a salary just being a blogger and writing from your couch. Just as maintaining a channel on Youtube can bring you opportunities outside the digital world, blogs can also serve the same purpose. 

With a good blog on the air, your career can go from being unnoticed to having national reach and making you money as a photographer.

3 Become a member of Stock photography sites

Stock photography sites are your best bet if you are an amateur photographer and want to work for yourself without much commitment. Investments are non-existent and you can still earn a fair amount of money, just working when it is convenient for you.

Just register your account on the stock photography website and start uploading the photos.

Before the upload is complete, your photos will be examined and, if they meet certain standards, they will be uploaded, and they can start generating income. If your photo is purchased, the money will be transferred to your bank account or PayPal account. 

There are a multitude of website options, and types of photo you can take to generate income. The most interesting way here is to research on this website what are the photo trends and try to create some material that fulfills this role. 

Pay attention to market trends in general, after all these photos will be shown in various advertising media. Things like descriptive titles and meta tags are super important when placing your photos on Stock sites.

Here are some of the best options on the market for you to put your photos up for sale.

• Shutterstock 
• Fotolia 
• Dreamstime 
• Getty Images
• iStock
• Stocksy
• Crestock

Of course, this may not be the best solution for those who need a salary from photography, after all, the sale can be seasonal.

But as some photos are there on your HDD just taking up space, why not give them a better function like having a passive income! Here is perhaps the easiest way to earn money as a photographer, it is not much, more money.

4. Participate in Photography Contests

To win a photo contest you have to be a good photographer and have a good photo to compete. The great thing about photography contests is that you can win a really good amount of money with a single photo and the bad thing is that the competition is very strong.

There are several photo contests out there. Some are international, some are regional and some are brand-sponsored photo contests. The amount of money you can earn depends on the factors mentioned above.

International photo contests are the most lucrative and the winnings can range from $ 2,500 to $ 10,000 for a winner. In some cases even the runner-up or third-place winner can earn some money.

Do not think that only professionals can win this type of contest because this is not true, sometimes it is enough to be in the right place at the right time. Of course, this cannot be a job, after all you won’t win in contests like this for the longest time, of course this can be a beautiful side gig.

5 Become a freelancer

What if you were called to work only when they needed you?

This would be great after all, the rest of the time you could spend creating something, and maybe making more money. There are several sites on the web where it is possible to advertise your work in order to be hired as a freelancer and maybe make money as a photographer.

For this you need to have some form of portfolio and availability on your agenda!

Websites like Freelancer and Upwork are great for starting this job.

The site usually receives a percentage of your earnings until you become more popular and earn more money. Then, the percentage decreases. Being a freelance photographer allows you to do something other than photography and you can even do other types of work.

These sites are versatile and allow you to contact customers worldwide, creating possible new contracts and opportunities for you. Do not forget that every photographer has responsibilities and even working as a freelancer they will not leave you alone.

6 Start your business in photography

It’s here mainly for you who don’t live in a very big city. Although it is not so easy to start a business in photography, if you live in a slightly smaller city, your path may be less obstructed than you think. In a smaller city you will have fewer customers, that is true, but you will also have less bureaucracy and less competition.

Define very well what you want to photograph and research if there is a market for your work in your city, if so you can start preparing business cards. You can have a small studio or just an office and thus serve establishments in the city for advertising photos.

You can even try something in the local newspaper of the city, almost every city has one of these, to do the photographic coverage of the stories The most difficult thing is to put your work to the test, go out there selling your services, if you manage to get over that point, you will have a great time photographing in your own city and probably will not have much competition.

7 Specialize in portrait photography

Making portraits will always have its place in the world of photography, even with all this flood of cell phones and apps that promise world class blurred backgrounds. Somewhere there is always someone who needs a photo professionally taken for a job interview, for the LinkedIn profile and so on.

Portraits are always a good choice when you want to make money as a photographer. If you have an acting school in your city, you can create a partnership to make the books of future actors and actresses. If you know a lot of people who work with social networks, Instagram and Facebook you have another opportunity for you to help create the visual material of these profiles.

Even certain celebrations like 16 years old party, engagement requests, weddings among others, all these events need to have portraitist from time to time.

No matter the reason, there will always be someone wanting to have a photo well taken, and there is where the opportunity for you to get new jobs. The only things you need are quality photographic equipment, which includes portrait lenses, tripod, light diffusers, etc. And it is likely that you already have all of this.

8 Jobs as Photo Editor

Do you know how to edit photos? Are you responsible with deadlines? Can you work under pressure? If your answers were yes, why not work as a freelance photo editor?

It is a very broad opportunity and depending on your knowledge and networking you will be able to make a beautiful career in this segment.

If you have mastered editing software, just create an account on some website like Fiverr, one of the largest in the freelance work segments, and put a good portfolio at your disposal and publicize your work. The platform is super simple and just like you there will be countless ads, that is also true, high competition, but if your portfolio is good you have no reason to be afraid.

If you speak other languages ​​there is the possibility to serve people from all over the world, further diversifying your editor portfolio.

What are you waiting for?

Making a living from photography may not be as difficult as you might think, but neither is that fantasy of going around the world taking pictures and getting paid for it. You will need a nice waist game to get on the market and win customers.

By doing all this, you can even replace your job and work only with photography, of course it will not be easy.

These are just some of the ways you can make money as a photographer in 2019. As you can see, there are many ways to do so, even as a freelance photographer, who can still earn a good amount of money. Whether you are a photographer or a photo editor, the potential for winning is enormous.

Thanks to the great popularity of social media sites, in addition to smartphones, people still value photography, which is great for photographers. Of course, the value given to photography today is very different than 30 years ago, and it is up to the photography professional to align with the new market.

Today, the rule and turning around, in some fields, situations where there is job stability are rare, and when I talk about photography this is the most true. If you want to live working with something you like and pay your bills, you just have to get up from your chair and “face it”.

And then you have a list of ways to make money as a photographer in 2019, leave it there in the comments.