Over the last few years, the photography industry has gained in popularity. Despite the fact that photography has always been one of the most common hobbies among people, the number of photos both common people and brands take to post online is constantly increasing. This means the photography industry is predicted to grow exponentially.
However, there’s one situation that both aspiring and experienced photographers could not have foreseen: the outbreak of COVID-19.
With pandemic lockdowns around the world, when photographers can’t meet with clients offline, it’s no wonder that the global photographic services market can fall to $36.1 billion by the end of 2020 (source), down from $36.9 billion in 2019.
For most photographers, this means a loss in income unless they seek new creative ways to work online.
So, would it be great if you could make more money as a photographer?
Here are nine proven ways for photographers to make money online:
Sell photos via online stores
It’s no secret that every photographer needs to run a website that tells potential clients more about your business and shows your photos. During the discovery phase, people compare and contrast various photographers to make the right decision. What is more, having a website can help you make money online as you can set up your online store.
Luckily, it doesn’t take much time or effort to do it when you choose the right all-in-one platform like Pixpa. Any example needed? Check out how Redd Walitzki uses her website to promote and sell illustrations online:
Contribute to stock photo libraries
With the rise of small businesses around the world, the demand for stock photography has grown. Now business owners and marketers can choose from a variety of photos on stock photo libraries like Depositphotos to use these images or customize them for your brand identity.
Stock agencies attract millions of visitors daily, so you can market your photos in front of a wider audience who search for high-quality images. To make sure selling through stock photo libraries is quick and easy, take a look at the ‘Become a Contributor’ page:
Most stock agencies ask contributors to fill out necessary contact information to create an account and start submitting photos to libraries. In short, the process doesn’t take much time or effort, so it’s a great way for photographers to turn their hobby into a business and start making money online. You can also see stock photos on other websites like Shutterstock. You can read a detailed review of Shutterstock here.
Take Instagram product photos
As a photo-sharing app, it’s no wonder that Instagram attracts more and more users who love discovering visual content. Today, it is one of the most popular social media networks with 1 billion users. The popularity of Instagram gives businesses new ways to connect with their potential customers and interact with them. Moreover, the introduction of Instagram shopping helps to sell products in-app, so over 25 million businesses use this platform for business promotion.
The competition is high on the platform which means brands are in need of high-quality photos to stand out from the crowd. For photographers, this means more opportunities to make money online. Why? Brands send their products to photographers who can take flat lay photos, just like in the example below:
Edit photos for freelance clients
According to one research, users upload 300 million photos to Facebook and 95 million photos to Instagram each day. Since both common people and business owners are obsessed with the right imagery online, the demand for photo editing and retouching is growing.
As a photographer, you can find freelance clients who need these services and edit their photos online. Here’s how one client is seeking out for photo editors:
But if you want to speed up the process, you can reach out to your existing clients and market new services. However, it’s important to tell everything they should need about new services in your email so that you can avoid answering the same questions over and over again (services’ description, prices, deadlines, etc.).
To determine the right pricing for your service, you can do competitor analysis or turn to math helpers who can analyze the market and come up with a fair profit margin.
Monetize your social media following
The days when social media platforms were used for publishing photos of your food, pets, or friends are far behind us. With the growing number of social media users who trust influencer recommendations as much as their own friends, active social media users get an opportunity to monetize their profiles.
Pet photography can be an engaging niche for building an audience. Resources like Hello Bark provide information on pet products and training. Additionally, social media creators could consider sharing financial literacy tips with followers through engaging visuals. If done ethically, this could open doors for partnering with legitimate financial companies that align with one’s brand and values and will help their audience to generate consistent profits. The key is maintaining trust and transparency with your audience. Checkout Hello Bark for more information on the latest pet products and training tips.
Not only can you find clients on social media, but you can also promote your masterclasses or sell presets, just like in the example below:
Source
Obviously, the more followers you have, the more money you can make. Thus, it’s important for photographers to invest time and money into social media promotion as you can turn your followers into clients and therefore make money online. Gaining followers can be beneficial not only in monetarily terms but also in terms of gaining recognition, visibility, and exposure.
Share knowledge at niche conferences
In the last few years, online learning has shown growth as it gives more opportunities for students of all ages to obtain knowledge whenever they want. The number of online photography courses is increasing, so it gives photographers an opportunity to share their tips and tricks with aspiring professionals who want to work in the industry.
Here’s a piece of information about one of photography course teachers:
To speak at online conferences, you can send your CV to organizers. But the variety of web conferencing solutions makes it easy for photographers to set up online courses and organize conferences where you can share your experience with other colleagues without sharing your income. Checkout this post to find the best web conferencing software for your business.
Make prints for clothes
When it comes to making money online, photographers are not limited to photography-related tasks–think outside the box and come up with a new creative idea on how to monetize your skills.
An example? As a photographer, you must have advanced skills in Photoshop which allows you to create unique prints for clothes. Since modern shoppers crave choice, offering various prints for their t-shirts, sweatshirts, or masks is a great way to grab the attention of retailers and start making money online.
What is more, you can find print-on-demand platforms that help photographers reach potential customers and sell photography prints. Check out how one of these platforms offers potential contributors to monetize their skills:
Write educational blog posts
Living in the digital age, when people have access to different educational resources, it’s no wonder that the number of self-taught photographers is growing. Most aspiring photographers turn to professional blogs in order to find theoretical knowledge, read success stories, and draw inspiration from other photographers.
This means photography blogs are in search of professional photographers who can write education blog posts in exchange for exposure or money. For example, Loaded Landscapes offers $20-$150 per a single post.
Before starting to make money with writing posts, you need to create your writing portfolio so that your potential clients can take a look at your writing samples. The best way to do it is to start writing for niche blogs. Example here.
Here’s how to find guest post options on Google:
- Photography + “write for us”
- Photography + “submit the guest post”
- Photography + “contribute to the blog”
- Photography + “contributor guidelines”
- Photography + “become a guest writer”
Launch Your Photography Course
Last but not least, creating an online course on online learning platforms is also a great way to make money. Regardless of the situation, people will constantly learn new things, so photography.
To make money, create a mind blowing photography course, share facts and your personal experience to make it stand out and start selling on online learning platforms. Being a new instructor, you can offer your course for free for a limited time and once you get enough review, consider charging a justified pricing.
Keep this process going and once you build a notable student base, consider shifting it to your own platform, i.e., website/blog or create your personalized membership portal. There are multiple tools that allow you to create and sell your online course at an exponential rate. For example, Kartra is the best all-in-one digital marketing suite for content creators that you can use to excel.
Use freelance marketplaces
Today, more and more people become freelancers, so they seek out new ways to find clients around the world and gain exposure. Clients are also looking for reliable platforms to hire freelancers, so it’s no wonder that the number of freelance marketplaces is solid–Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, to name a few.
If you want to make money online, you can create a profile and add your resume so that potential clients can analyze your works, experience, and prices. To stand out from the crowd and grab the attention of potential customers, you can use a brochure maker to create e-brochures that tell more about your services. Let’s take a look at the example below that illustrates how photographers market their skills on these platforms:
Using freelance marketplaces for photographers is great for two main reasons: these platforms attract a solid audience of potentially-interested clients and you can feature client reviews on your profile to give customers a reason to choose you over your competitors. As a result, chances are that you can be hired as a freelance photographer fast.
Additional Resource: If you still need some guidance, you can check out Laurence Norah’s Photography Course. This photography course with everything you need to master your camera and take better photos and also guide you on how to earn money from it
Conclusion
The photography industry is constantly changing, so professionals should adapt to these changes. Whether you’re an experienced photographer or you’re just thinking about starting your photography business, it’s important to know proven ways to make money online as it gives you more opportunities to grow your income.
Check out this informative and straightforward piece of work by our friend Joy explaining what sort of camera equipment you should purchase if you are a beginner or a seasoned professional photographer so you have the right knowledge before you spend your money. If you are interested in mobile photography check this out.
I hope these points will help you to earn more from your photography, but if you need some photography tips to work as a full-time photographer, you must check this article on tips that helps you to become a full-time photographer by Marlboro Wang.
Interested in exploring more career options as a photographer. Learn more about architectural photography. Check out this article to find more information: https://architecturechat.com/blog/essential-steps-to-learn-architecture-photography/
About the Author:
Hugh Beaulac
Hugh Beaulac is a content strategist and SMM manager who helps small and mid-sized brands promote their products and services online. With over 7 years of digital marketing experience, Hugh also contributes as a guest author to popular blogs and shares his tips and tricks. When he’s not writing, he loves to read classic literature, play board games, and attend art exhibitions.
