It might seem harder and harder to make a living as a photographer these days but are you really maximizing your earning potential? There could very well be some revenue streams you haven’t tapped into with your photography.
For some quick tips on earning more as a pro, check out photographer Pierre T. Lambert’s video tutorial below with five ways to make money as a photographer. Some of these, undoubtedly will be things you already know but it’s a good refresher and motivator, nonetheless.
“You’ve got to invest time and effort into it because nothing comes easy, nothing comes magically in life,” Lambert says. “We’ve all seen those ads but don’t believe it. You’ve got to grind but that’s why we grind on something that we love so it’s actually easier.”
Method #1: Print Sales
“The pros of becoming an artist photographer who sells his art prints is that you can do things that are truly dear to your heart,” Lambert explains. “You can work on personal projects and use that signature as an artist to sell your work to collectors who want what you create.”
Method #2: NFTs
“NFTs are non-fungible tokens. They allow you to create digital assets with a limited supply and traceability. Just like in the real world where you would have only five of those prints available in that size, you can set that also in the digital world and people will collect it.”
Method #3: Stock Footage
“Grab your camera, get out there and start shooting stock photography and even stock videos. What does it mean? It means taking photos and making them available for other people to license them. For that, we’re lucky because there are a lot of platforms that are selling stock photography and videos.”
Method #4: Portrait Sessions
“If, like me, you like to speak, you like people, well, method #4 is for you and it is to do personal shoots. You could be making $500 or $1000 this weekend even if you’re not established as a portrait photographer. A lot of people want to have their portraits done well for social media, for dating apps, for LinkedIn, for professional reasons or just for memories and that’s where you come in.”
Method #5: Commercial Shoots
“You can go and talk to businesses. You can go to your local coffee shop, real estate agent, bar and restaurant and ask them if they have needs for photography. Literally walk in with your camera, show them your portfolio, tell them, ‘Hey, I know how to shoot these kinds of things and I would love to do it for you.’”
