How to Make Money at Home Taking Photos
Taking photos is your passion and you want to make it your at-home business, but you may be unsure of how to make money at home taking photos. There are so many ways to accomplish this that it will just be a matter of what works for you. Depending on how much money you want to make at home taking pictures, whether it be part time or full time, will help you decide how to market and sell your photography.
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Instructions
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Getting Started
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First you will want to decide how you want to take and sell your photos. In addition, deciding how much time you will want to devote to your business will also be important.
A traditional setup would be having a studio and office or combination of the two where you take portraits or still photos of people or objects.
Another option is to take photos of things on location, such as nature scenery or cityscapes or other photos outside of your home and sell them to media outlets or online vendors.
Full time or part time income can be made with either of the two choices, depending on your time commitment and marketing skills.
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If you decide on the traditional in-home setup, you will need to set up a studio with a backdrop setting, office for processing orders, an account with a photo processor for mass production or a printer for producing your orders at home and an invoice or billing system. For many just starting out, this is a more costly business start-up, but you can start small to minimize your costs and use outdoor or public spaces for less costly backdrops.
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Choosing to go the nontraditional route is a bit easier and less costly. With a good digital camera, you can take newsworthy or artsy photos and sell them to local media outlets or online. Some of the online sources to sell photos include PhotographersDirect.com, Getty Images, Retna, ShutterStock.com, iStockPhotos, ShutterPoint and Fotolia. There are others out there, so you can sell to different outlets. Although some of these outlets pay only cents on the dollar for photos, you do not have to be a professional to make money. You can use these as business builders while you get more experience and move on to higher-paying outlets when you have perfected your business.
Although media outlets such as Retna or Getty Images are sources to sell your professional photography, they are for the more seasoned photographer and can take months to respond to submissions. In a new business, try contacting local media outlets to make your first photojournalism sales. Wedding photography, senior portraits, children's portraits and other event driven jobs are places for an intermediate photographer to start.
For the beginner, insurance agencies can provide a source of income. Agents look for photographers to take photos of valuables or accident damages for claims. Realtors can be another source of income looking for home photographers.
Media outlets such as local newspapers, magazines, radio stations (event photos), small corporate newsletters and local business websites are another source of income for all levels of photography skills, depending on the newsworthiness and currency of the images.
Marketing
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Marketing your new photography business will get it started in the right direction and keep business coming in. The first step is telling everyone you know about your business. Use email, Facebook, Twitter and word of mouth. The more people who know you are in business, the better.
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Next, designing a website to display your photos and business cards are a good idea for showing samples and projecting a professional image. Visit local media outlets, insurance agencies and real estate agents, dropping off your card with your website listed on them to generate some potential customers.
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Advertising can be costly, but creative advertising can make you more money. Some ideas are advertising in high school newspapers promoting graduation photos, nonprofit newsletters for kids' photos, email advertising to newsletter subscribers on your website and submitting photos to local free newspapers in exchange for byline and contact information.
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Tips & Warnings
Contact local media outlets to sell timely photos and get weekend, holiday or night photo assignments. Advertise on the cheap to maximize profits Beginners, start small to be sure it is the career path for you.
Read terms and conditions of your photo sales. Don't sign over your rights to any of your images unless you are comfortable with the terms and payment. Relicensing the images can generate more income.
