Ways to make money as a photographer - from home. The 12 ideas I’m trying out this year.
You've heard me talking a lot about stock photography so far, and I've touched on starting a youtube channel - but this year I set myself the goal of testing out 10 - 12 ways to make money as a photographer, that I could primarily do from home. And since it's half way through the year now - I thought I'd share in case you wanted to get some of these going for yourself by the end of the year!
Ultimately, I really want to do lifestyle branding for small artisanal businesses, but right now, as a homeschooling Mum - I need to be home based, while also continuing to do what I love at the capacity that I can and improve my skills and not get stagnant.
Now some of these are short term income options (especially leading up to Christmas) - but many of them are long term income options. And the beauty of them, is that you can be relatively new to photography and start to earn an income - as you learn!
So lets jump into the 12 that I'm trying this year, we can discuss what level you need to be at for each one, and how each one is going to help uplevel you in a specific area of your journey! And at the end, stick around for a few other options I chose NOT to do this year - but they might work for you!
So:
#1, 2 + 3. Stock Photography, Videography and AI
#1: Stock photography is great even for beginners.
The only thing you really need to learn before you start is the basics of composition and understanding that this is not where you develop your personal editing style. Stock photography requires the most minimal of editing: it has to be clear and sharp and tends towards being well exposed. That's the majority of your editing here.
It's also a great place to learn how to tidy up your images both in the creation phase and the editing phase. You'll learn to see small details in your creation process cos it's easier to do before than in post!
The beauty of this is that you can completely do it around your kids and other commitments and the only thing restricting you is how much time you have to put into it. And the other great thing is that there's no client to answer to - you do it completely on your own schedule.
#2: Stock Videography.
I'm still getting into stock videography myself. It's teaching me to look for video opportunities and not just photography ones. Also, the more I do it, the more natural it becomes to alter settings on the fly between photographs and video - so I can take better advantage of opportunities that come up for both stock photography AND videography.
Also - videos sell for much higher on stock platforms and in today’s day and age of SO much video content - it's in pretty high demand too.
Again - this is something you can do at your own pace, around your own schedule. And if you want to be a photographer in another area - like if you wanted to be a wedding photographer for instance, having the ability to also get snippets of video during the day as an extra bonus for your clients, could well be the tipping factor of why someone chooses you over another photographer. Or if you want to get into branding photography like I do, you could also offer B-Roll as part of your packages for your clients to use on social media.
#3: AI Stock
At the time of post this (July 2024) you're only able to sell AI created images on Adobe.
But the insane advances in AI I've noticed just in the last 1 - 2 years and how quickly it's being integrated into business at SO many levels - this is like when the internet first started and all of a sudden people had email. It took a while for it to spread to the masses - but now if you don't have an email, people look at you weird. That's a massive shift from 25 years ago when people looked at you weird if you DID have an email. AI is going to be THE new technology and we're going to see it EVERYWHERE. From conversation language models like ChatGPT or Google's Gemini; to ManyChat that you'll now find a lot of creators using in their DM's on social media; to visual programs like Adobe's Firefly and Midjourney.
Right now is the beginning of that wave. And there's not really a barrier to entry - even if you don't have a camera, you can still create images on your computer to upload. And even though you're not physically "taking" the images yourself - it's a great opportunity to refine your compositions, colour choices, topics, and seeing what sells on stock.
I haven't got to this yet this year - but it's definitely on my list of things to at least familiarise myself with and start trying by the end of this year.
4, 5 , 6 and 7: The “marketing” set: Adsense, affiliate marketing, paid client work + paid teaching opportunities
4, 5, 6 and 7 kind of fall more into grouping marketing activities, rather than the actual things you're getting the income from. I'm talking about the trio of Youtube, a Blog + an Email list. You could totally tack in other social platforms here - but this is where I'm starting.
I'm a big fan of working smarter not harder and after years of wondering "how do the big creators do it all?" when you start to group things together, you can see how they all intertwine - and with some strategy, you can do more than you thought you could. Think about it this way - if you have 3 kids, you don't pick them up individually from school and drop them to each after-school activity. You pick them all up collectively, drop one to soccer, one to swimming, and one to gymnastics - then you go do the grocery shopping, organise dinner and grab a card for Great Aunt Petunia's 96th birthday while you're there, and then you go back and get the kids. As parents, we don't think twice about planning our day to maximise our time. And Great Aunt Petunia isn't going to be mad because we didn't make a special trip to the card shop just for her - she's going to be thankful that you remembered her and bought her a card. It's the same with doing ALL the marketing and social media these days - if you don't work smarter, you're going to burn out before you even get going with it.
So for example - I make a script for my my YouTube, which then gets put up on my blog, and is generally the basis for my newsletter too. One piece of content delivered different ways to work towards different income and communication objectives.
#4: Paid Client Work
There's a few ways a YouTube channel (and accompanying blog) can be great for you as a photographer - the first, and I think often overlooked option - is that it can give people an idea of what it's like to work with you and see behind the scenes. One of the hardest parts about choosing people to work with anywhere in life is wondering if they are the right "fit" for you. YouTube gives you a great platform to really introduce people to your personality and the way you like to run your business - so if you are a maternity photographer, a brand photographer, or even a stay-at-home product photographer - this provides an excellent platform to "introduce yourself" to potential clients. - So even though client work isn't one of my top goals for this year - I know that building a YouTube channel, will help me in the long run.
#5: AdSense from YouTube
This is a long term income goal - one that I know I won't really be hitting this year. My goal is to be monetised by the end of this year - but that's really up to how good my content is and how good I get at understanding you guys and what you are looking for. Right now I'm making video's about things I love to talk about, and my experiences so far - but eventually, I know that to grow on the platform - I'll need to uplevel my strategy. Plus I'm well aware that while some people earn 6 figures from YouTube - some people earn only a few dollars a month. So that's why I think it's important when you're investing a huge amount of time upfront (as you do when you're starting most things) to really consider multiple sides to it, not just one. And if you're wondering if starting a YouTube channel as a photographer is a good fit for you - check out my last blog/video on just that topic.
#6: Affiliate Marketing
Along the same line as AdSense - I'd like to be able to bring in some money through affiliate marketing - which for some people feels a little cheap. But here's the thing, when you start to get good at something, inevitably, other people want to pick your brain about the gear you use, the settings you use, what courses you've taken, why you make the choices you make, etc. So I kind of think of affiliate marketing like a payback on time given. It's not uncommon to ask to buy someone lunch to pick their brain - but this way, it's just digital. It's also dependent on the type of content your making - and if it makes sense to share things with your audience. I think that’s the key - it really only feels sleazy if you’re trying to force something in that doesn’t fit with what you’d naturally talk about. And if you've got a blog, this works well on the blog too - so you're not relying solely on YouTube.
#7: Learning Resources
People always want to learn. And we're always coming from different perspectives, different reasons to learn, and different WAYS we like to learn.
And from a creator’s point of view - we have favourite ways to create. We may want to write a book on something, create a step by step video course, or create a Facebook group to do live teaching, with the ability to answer questions live. AND - just like in last week’s video when I was talking about how people like different TV shows and different YouTube channels - people like different teachers too. I LOVE to talk about photography and videography and YouTube, but I also have experience in design, marketing, branding, administration, systems creation, etc - and I'd love to put together some resources for other photographers in my space that encompass these other necessary areas. I like the idea of having a subscription system - where there's one topic a month, and everyone talks about it, and there's a Facebook group to keep supporting people - I personally LOVE being in spaces like that, and I'd LOVE to create that myself. So is there a particular way you enjoy learning that you could provide for others?
And before you think - "oh, but there's a tonne of others teaching the same thing" - I come back to the same points - you might not like them. Or their teaching style. Or the culture within their group. Or you might not like that the group ends up so big that you feel that your voice will be drowned out - so why bother. We all have more to learn, but we also all have so much to share and teach from our own perspectives and unique experiences.
8, 9 & 10. BOOK, PRINTS, CALENDAR
This is a working smarter not harder idea, and something I think ANYONE can do, and it's even better when it's your local town. It gives you the ability to get some exercise, improve your photography, learn more about your town, be out and about with your camera so people see you as a photographer in your community, and it's something you can do with the kids in tow! I see this as a total win/win/win/win. Everywhere, winning. lol.
#8: Make a book of photos of your local town
My shadow and photography buddy, my sweet 7 year old. :) Who apparently takes better photo’s than I do when it comes to street photography…
Photo by Miss 7. Editing by me. This one’s definitely going in the book!
#9: Provide the option to get prints from the book
You don't even need to specifically print them out yourself - you could do the whole thing automatically online. There are a tonne of print-on-demand websites available. Just do your research and make sure you get test prints before you decide to go with them.
#10: Other print-based ideas such as a calendar, postcards, Christmas cards, etc
So that's one lot of photography for you - Not that I'm saying it's a small task, but one lot of photography, results in 5 or 6 or more product ideas.
Not to mention that it's a great networking opportunity for you - it's a great way to get your name out to your local community by producing a book, about your local community.
There's a TONNE of photo book printers online these days, so it'd just be about choosing one that fits in with your budget and the quality you're after. Then you could not only sell the book - but you could sell prints from the book, along with other smaller ideas like postcards, Christmas cards, or even a calendar! One lot of photos - multiple uses.
You could sell these at your local Saturday markets, gift a few to your local library, council, medical center, etc - places where locals go and would be looking through a book while they wait for appointments. Therefore you're getting it in front of locals who might like photos of their town, and other local businesses and people who may hire you based on your books! And don't forget to include links in the book of how to contact you directly, and where to buy other book copies and prints.
CHRISTMAS MINI'S
#11: Christmas Mini Sessions
I think mini sessions are a great way for those of us who don't specifically want to be available all year round doing things like weddings - to still do some live photography. And Christmas mini-sessions with kids can be a heap of fun! I did this a few years ago, and I really loved it - but I totally underpriced myself for what I delivered. I was doing half-hour to hour-long sessions for $25, PLUS a gallery of sometimes up to 50 images that would take me 4 or 5 hours to edit... So this year, I'm definitely changing both my pricing and the product I deliver. I hate the idea of holding back people photo's I've taken - but I can't charge for 3 images, and then deliver 50. That's like 5 hours difference when it comes to editing! And in case you're wondering what takes that long? Christmas is in summer for us - so we're seeing bare arms and legs and it's mosquito season. So between bites and bruises and teenage acne... editing kids can sometimes take a bit longer...
So I definitely see myself creating packages this year so I control the amount of time I actually put into them, and people can choose the images they want me to put my time into.
In the same vein as above - I'm all for working smarter where possible - and if you're going to have a stall at a local Saturday market to sell your prints and photography book and calendar leading up to Christmas - it's also a great space to be advertising and booking Christmas Mini sessions!
12. MERCHANDISE
#12: Creating your own Merch line
It sounds silly - but I've always LOVED other creators merch. There's something about it that makes you feel like you're part of a community. And it's such an easy way to support other creators too. Is there something fun you've always wanted to create? Why do you buy other creators merch lines? I think it's such a fun option, and I'm looking forward to learning more about it myself this year and sharing the behind the scenes with you guys!
Also - remember that Christmas market we’re selling our books and advertising our mini sessions at? ;) #smarternotharder
WHAT'S MISSING FROM THIS LIST?
You may have noticed I haven't included things like selling presets or LUTS, because I'm not really there yet. Also, you could edit photos for other photographers. You could do one day a month where you open your studio for fresh corporate headshots and do a flyer drop to all the businesses in your town. There are SO many options when it comes to photography and working around your busy life and kids. This year is definitely huge for me, and I knew it was a year I wanted to try lots of things - but I also "batched" a lot of those things. Like doing stock photography, videography and AI imagery. And photos for my book are doubling as prints & calendars, etc. So I'm still trying to work smarter, not harder where possible.
So what else can you do from home to be a home-based photographer - even if you're new to photography? I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments and share with the rest of this awesome little community! 🙂
See you in the comments,
