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Advice on making money.
so all of the photography i do is basically for myself and a hobbie. however, i thought about trying to make money off of it and that's when i realized that i have no idea on how to go about doing that. i know many photographers make money doing portraits of paying people, but i don't want that as an option since i don't even have a studio. so can anyone give me advice on how to make some profits out of photography? Sep 15 05 07:14 pm Link Weddings Sep 15 05 07:21 pm Link anything and everything Sep 15 05 07:30 pm Link What Nat said, and... Stock. I don't shoot it but have had tons of requests to buy/lease it. I don't do weddings either, sometimes I wonder what it is I actually do. A photog friend of mine who I believe is on the border line of being mentally challenged, just bought a brand new Jeep as a second car from only his weekend shoot earnings. He shoots weddings, parties, sweet sixteens, whatever event stuff comes his way. Sep 15 05 07:31 pm Link Weddings will probally be the most profitable, some photogs can make anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 a wedding ( sometimes more depending ). It can also be the most stressfull, the "client" as we'll call them can usually be very emotional, very penny pinching , and if you miss a shot, its like you missed the man landing on the moon and will sue you to no end. So.... Best of Luck. If you do weddings make sure you have proper lens and setup, like if you are going into the business with some kit lens that cant shoot wider than f/3.5 , forget it. Sep 15 05 07:31 pm Link Nat Meo wrote: Ditto. Sep 15 05 07:31 pm Link Glamour Studio /Gary wrote: Eh maybe a decade ago, now most stock can be obtained from places such as istockphoto.com at rather nice quality for less than 3 bucks, where as the photo themselves get .10, .20, and .30 cents depending on the size downloaded. Sep 15 05 07:32 pm Link Weddings, product photography, etc. Sometimes garage bands will pay a photographer for good shots, but not often. Don't count on getting rich, though. Weddings are a bit high-pressure. You've got to make sure you know your stuff. Hell hath no fury like a bride scorned. Sep 15 05 07:34 pm Link I've had the same thoughts. Tried to calculate cost of S2, D70, garage studio and equipment that came with it. I've spent thousands in the last two years and made about 200$. But I love it. And realize I've got to be smarter(much) and more selective now. My buddy does about 10 weddings at a Vegas chapel each Saturday and he's made enough to pay for his 20D and 70-200VR in the last three months. I would never want to do it but at least he's seeing his work paying for his hobby. I'm just a starving artist... Sep 15 05 07:38 pm Link Karl Blessing wrote: You got that right! That's one of the reasons I don't do it. Sep 15 05 07:39 pm Link Glamour Studio /Gary wrote: However I do find stock can make money, normally if you do them by request, or work-for-hire so to speak. Where you have systems where buyers send out specific requests on specific needs, but even then we're talking 500$ at the most for a request fullfillment, and usually for publications, and other forms of one time use. And the chance of getting a request you specialize in frequently can be slim as well. Sep 15 05 07:41 pm Link Masha wrote: have you considered a career in blackmail? Sep 15 05 07:46 pm Link Karl Blessing wrote: I have done a few by request but that's about it. The highest paying one was actually around $500. But true, you can't hold your breath waiting on those. Sep 15 05 07:47 pm Link qphotonyc wrote: well now i have. what a great idea! winky face. Sep 15 05 07:53 pm Link Masha wrote: Just be sure that all the pictures are in areas where there are no "expectations of privacy" Sep 15 05 09:20 pm Link Photography makes me the most money on April 15th. Back when I was making a living at it I had four major sources of income. 1) I shot modeling schools stuff. Paid very well, but the work sucked. No creativity at all. I had one $3500 day (kiddie portfolio mill) and a whole lot of $100 days (this was back in the '80's.) 2) Model portfolios. Mostly referred by agencies, but also word of mouth. Typically half a day of shooting and half a day of developing would gross $100-$200 for three rolls of 35mm and half a dozen prints. 3) Events. Store openings, award presentations, charity fashion shows, car shows, sports events (usually jr. high school). Money was all over the place, but it was steady work. 4) Advertising. Mostly boutiques and bikini shops for freebie and specialty mags. The best part was that the bottom end work, while not paying much, also didn't involve art directors. There were way too many $0 days though. I eventually got better work, but given the chance to go back and do any of it again, I'd rather just shoot myself. -Don P.S. These days I'm an aerospace engineer, but maintain a small stock business. I don't farm the work out to stock agencies because they've got more pretty girl pictures than they need anyway. What really happens is that art buyers for magazines and books and an occasional ad agency photo buyer find me on the web and write directly. I don't think I could make a living being this limited, but it almost pays for my materials and equipment. Here the key is to have a very easy to find site. Fortunately I've been around for a long time. Googling "editorial fashion photography" will find me first. Sep 15 05 10:54 pm Link if you are putting 110% into your photography efforts now, up that to around 200%. keep stressing on bettering your work. wedding photography is pretty lucrative. and you can be great it at. just remember that there is more work involved other then just showing up, setting up, and shooting. you have to survey the location to a tee. check the lighting that is going to be present, and make sure you have figured out the camera settings you will need for every different area you will be shooting at. and be ready to do some battling if you have to tell them what would work best for the pics, places to pose, angles, etc. i shot a wedding with another MM photog 2 weeks ago. it was his job, and the wedding's director had a shooting in some tough conditions. good luck Sep 16 05 07:16 am Link qphotonyc wrote: LOL...nice. I've always wondered what the heck to do with the "nightshot" setting on my Sony F828! Sep 16 05 07:35 am Link Making $ off of photography is like anything else. The more you put into it, the more you'll get out (referring to time and $). With stock, there are several stock agencies that will sell for you, however you need to become a full time bookkeeper to keep track of who has what image and where they go and then do nothing but shoot, shoot, shoot then PS, PS, PS. Ad agencies will always offer shouts on what they are looking for. The trick is to either have that request ready or to be set up to shoot it already and be hellâa creative. Eventually you'll start to see some income. Weddings are always a safe bet if you can deal with the headaches and lack of weekends (first buy stock in Tylenol). Blackmail photography works well if you've got good medical insurance and a fast car. Although I wouldnât recommend whitmale photography  Sep 16 05 07:55 am Link 1) Get experience to back your price. 2) Build a portfolio that shows your experience and commands that price. 3) Network. Network. Network. ASK for referrals, ASK for testimonials, FOLLOW- UP with previous clients. Sep 16 05 08:12 am Link Karl Blessing wrote: And contracts/releases absolving you from financial liablility beyond what the client paid. Sep 18 05 09:31 am Link stock!!!! I didnt see any weddings in your portfolio so why is everyone telling this person to do weddings..... Sep 18 05 09:40 am Link DragonFlyImage wrote: Who's stock? I didn't see any photog named stock. Sep 18 05 01:48 pm Link People who diss micropayment stock photography have no clue how it works at all. I am certainly nowhere near "lucrative" on iStock, I mostly do it for the exposure-- I have gotten some paying wedding and portrait gigs from people seeing that I do sell photography. However, I do have friends and aquaintences (I will not name names) who make well over $1000 a month on their iStock royalties (which are now 20, 40, and 60 cents at minimum, jeesh. )Sep 18 05 01:57 pm Link dissolvegirl wrote: But what works for you may not for someone else. There's much more involved in shooting stock than just taking pics and selling them. It's a completely different business. Many would rather do what they like, if they don't like shooting stock then that's like working at a job that you don't like doing. Some of us own full time studios, we don't have the time or need to shoot stock. No one is saying don't do it, there are just many more things that can also make money. Sep 18 05 02:29 pm Link Glamour Studio /Gary wrote: i'm pretty sure "stock!!!!" was advice telling me to do stock because i don't shoot weddings. Sep 19 05 07:18 pm Link Yes stock is a geat way to make some fast pretty simple money. But if you are with a stock agencies you will have to get them a lot of work each month in order to stay with them. I wanted to see what people are charging to put a modeling porfolio together. if you let me know that would be great thanks Sep 19 05 07:27 pm Link |
, course they may expect it as they are walking out to their car, but not legally substainable.
