Making money from your photography?
Discussion
Depends what you shoot.
Weddings/people/events/sport you make money from being hired/contracted to shoot
Same with product/food photography.
Landscapes I generally make more money from tours and workshops than print or licence
Whatever , you will need a good portfolio of images in the specific field you want to try to make money in. Curate this, cull it, be tough. Better to have few great works than many average ones.
Weddings/people/events/sport you make money from being hired/contracted to shoot
Same with product/food photography.
Landscapes I generally make more money from tours and workshops than print or licence
Whatever , you will need a good portfolio of images in the specific field you want to try to make money in. Curate this, cull it, be tough. Better to have few great works than many average ones.
I used to shoot at kids football tournaments as well as other sporting events. I used to tag along with photographers who had their own printing kit and who used to print on site. Some pay a flat fee for you to shoot - whilst others pay a cut of the takings (lucrative on a good day, not so much on a bad day).
I could easily make £200-£300 (more in some cases) shooting over a weekend tournament.
You do need a decent zoom lens though. I started shooting with a canon 70-200L, but eventually bought a 100-400L just for shooting sports.
I could easily make £200-£300 (more in some cases) shooting over a weekend tournament.
You do need a decent zoom lens though. I started shooting with a canon 70-200L, but eventually bought a 100-400L just for shooting sports.
I don't know if this will help, but I make money from photography exactly how you want to. As it stands, my income is from the following:
Getty
A greetings card company in California who I now have a relationship with and they use a few of my images and pay me quarterly.
Imagebrief
A yearly motorsport event. I went one year as a spectator with my camera and used the photos I took to secure me a press pass for the next year. I then put all of the images on my website and sell them to the drivers. I don't charge very much per shot (probably around or slightly less than they do at track days) but I easily cover my costs and then some.
Random newspapers, magazines and other publications. They usually find me but occasionally I submit.
Jobs through word of mouth. These have ranged from album covers and promotional portraiture to photos for historic record for English Heritage.
I don't make enough to go full time but if you band yourself about enough you'll make sufficient amounts to spunk on gear you don't need.
Getty
A greetings card company in California who I now have a relationship with and they use a few of my images and pay me quarterly.
Imagebrief
A yearly motorsport event. I went one year as a spectator with my camera and used the photos I took to secure me a press pass for the next year. I then put all of the images on my website and sell them to the drivers. I don't charge very much per shot (probably around or slightly less than they do at track days) but I easily cover my costs and then some.
Random newspapers, magazines and other publications. They usually find me but occasionally I submit.
Jobs through word of mouth. These have ranged from album covers and promotional portraiture to photos for historic record for English Heritage.
I don't make enough to go full time but if you band yourself about enough you'll make sufficient amounts to spunk on gear you don't need.
I used to, but it was more hassle than it was worth.
I was mainly doing motorsports stuff, but the problem was that someone else started shooting the same series, but giving away their images, so my sales pretty much dried up.
Alamy is another option for selling photos, but I've only got a couple on there at the moment.
I think that the best way to make money from photography is to sell a book called "How to make money from photography".
I was mainly doing motorsports stuff, but the problem was that someone else started shooting the same series, but giving away their images, so my sales pretty much dried up.
Alamy is another option for selling photos, but I've only got a couple on there at the moment.
I think that the best way to make money from photography is to sell a book called "How to make money from photography".
covmutley said:
Alamy looks interesting, will have a look at that. Although blackmail sounds the most exciting so far!
I have a few on Alamy - and have actually sold one (of a squirrel no less). It's the only one however in about 5 years of having images on there.I wouldn't bank on making a living from it - unless you are dedicated and can upload hundred/thousands of images.
I have quite a few on Alamy but the annual revenue is under £1k I reckon. Price for stock images can be very low and also you have are beholden to what style is in vogue at the moment. Having said that I only shoot for me, so it's £1k more than I'd otherwise have from these images. Prices can be low e.g. National newspaper 1/4 image I had sold for $75 before Alamy commission @ 40%, so $45 @ 1.6 = £28 to me 
It seems that now a lot of guys are like Rob D, making more from workshops and tours rather than selling the images themselves. Selling their time and expertise to help the rest of us learn and become better photographers.
One thing that does look potentially quite profitable is we have a few guys that shoot the local cycle races around here and host images through smugmug etc where you can purchase ones of you racing. The way seems to be to keep the individual image cost down and get a good range of folks buying them. Taking our cyclocross league as an example, at any given race you have races for ages 8 to 50+, so there must be 200+ people racing. Assume a buying rate of 10% of participants with a spend per head of £20 and a 50% commission and you're in the £200 range for a day's effort. Only you can decide if that's worth your time. You could apply this to sports / events you'd like to cover. If you love what you're covering and you'd be there anyway, then probably yes. Otherwise it looks like a rate around £20 per hour before expenses...
Chris
It seems that now a lot of guys are like Rob D, making more from workshops and tours rather than selling the images themselves. Selling their time and expertise to help the rest of us learn and become better photographers.
One thing that does look potentially quite profitable is we have a few guys that shoot the local cycle races around here and host images through smugmug etc where you can purchase ones of you racing. The way seems to be to keep the individual image cost down and get a good range of folks buying them. Taking our cyclocross league as an example, at any given race you have races for ages 8 to 50+, so there must be 200+ people racing. Assume a buying rate of 10% of participants with a spend per head of £20 and a 50% commission and you're in the £200 range for a day's effort. Only you can decide if that's worth your time. You could apply this to sports / events you'd like to cover. If you love what you're covering and you'd be there anyway, then probably yes. Otherwise it looks like a rate around £20 per hour before expenses...
Chris
£1k would do me! Events seems a good one too, I like the idea of just making a little off things you would be doing anyway.
My 6yr old lad does track cycling and he will be doing some under 8 races later this year probably (and getting whooped!) so I will scope that out as a future opportunity.
Out of the saddle by covmutley, on Flickr
My 6yr old lad does track cycling and he will be doing some under 8 races later this year probably (and getting whooped!) so I will scope that out as a future opportunity.
Out of the saddle by covmutley, on FlickrEdited by covmutley on Friday 20th February 17:57
Moonhawk said:
I have a few on Alamy - and have actually sold one (of a squirrel no less). It's the only one however in about 5 years of having images on there.
I wouldn't bank on making a living from it - unless you are dedicated and can upload hundred/thousands of images.
Weird! My first stock image sale was of a squirrel, too! And a "boring old grey squirrel" in Hyde or Holland Park at that!I wouldn't bank on making a living from it - unless you are dedicated and can upload hundred/thousands of images.
Tip: just take pictures of furry, rat-like animals (failing that, I hear - anecdotally - that beavers can be good.....)
I did something similar to what you want, doing it as a sideline whilst (very) fully employed, so time was tricky. Both for travel/getting pictures and especially for contacting potential buyers/outlets.
It worked reasonably well and I've made a bit, but am probably at the too 'arty' side and too unwilling to do the weddings, or events route with a defined customer in mind so it was never enough to even think of living on, more a way to fund a hobby. My sales came mostly from direct approaches to publishers and photo libraries, plus competition wins which can be pretty lucrative.
I'm moving that way again, but on a more full time basis as I'm now freelancing in my other field, but I don't expect to make too much. The main thing for me is not blowing it all, and way more, on yet more gear! The Internet should help me project work more easily, but it also means there is so much competition that getting noticed is going to be so hard and when I was at it digital wasn't around, or in its infancy, so that too has added way more photographers and images to the pool.
Fwiw, if you can just cover costs without doing weddings or workshops etc. I reckon you'd be doing well.
It worked reasonably well and I've made a bit, but am probably at the too 'arty' side and too unwilling to do the weddings, or events route with a defined customer in mind so it was never enough to even think of living on, more a way to fund a hobby. My sales came mostly from direct approaches to publishers and photo libraries, plus competition wins which can be pretty lucrative.
I'm moving that way again, but on a more full time basis as I'm now freelancing in my other field, but I don't expect to make too much. The main thing for me is not blowing it all, and way more, on yet more gear! The Internet should help me project work more easily, but it also means there is so much competition that getting noticed is going to be so hard and when I was at it digital wasn't around, or in its infancy, so that too has added way more photographers and images to the pool.
Fwiw, if you can just cover costs without doing weddings or workshops etc. I reckon you'd be doing well.
covmutley said:
£1k would do me! Events seems a good one too, I like the idea of just making a little off things you would be doing anyway.
My 6yr old lad does track cycling and he will be doing some under 8 races later this year probably (and getting whooped!) so I will scope that out as a future opportunity.
Nice image, looks like he's having a blast. I'm sure lots of parents would like a similar type of image. Note sure what the rules are re selling pics of kids now in these odd times we live in. Might be worth checking with the league your lad races in. If you are there anyway it could be a nice additional bonus. If he wants to know what getting whooped is like, I can easily let him know! Vets cyclocross whilst very friendly is super competitive and as a baptism to bike racing of any kind it's been "interesting"My 6yr old lad does track cycling and he will be doing some under 8 races later this year probably (and getting whooped!) so I will scope that out as a future opportunity.
Edited by covmutley on Friday 20th February 17:57
For the other Ph'ers that have sold stock images, my most successful image is....a grey squirrel in Central Park. Who are these people buying up all the squirrel images?
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