The course I teach at school is a semester long course, so I’ve been through it a good amount of times now. Without fail, the question I receive the most is “How do I start making money with my photography?” So here are my 10 best ideas on that – it’s basically a crash course in business school. They aren’t in any order, so don’t expect the pot of gold to be at the end of the rainbow here, I’m just writing them as they come to me. If you’re looking for more of the story of my journey to making money in photography, you can read about that in this post about how I made my first $10k (and much more) in photography.
10: Believe you’re worth it.
Everything I mean by this is found in this article I wrote on valuing yourself, but in a nutshell, the TLDR version is, if you don’t think you are worth paying, it’s going to be hard to convince anyone else. There is SO much more value in that article I just linked, so go read it, this is hardly even the tip of the iceberg, but it’s true. There is an art to asking someone to pay you for something, it’s called salesmanship and it’s been going on for thousands of years. So before anyone else is going to pay you, you’ve got to convince them you are worth it, and to do that, either you have to be a filthy liar, or you have to be someone who believes they truly possess a valuable skill.
9: Ask for work.
There’s no shame in saying to anyone, “Hey, do you guys need any photos taken?” because who DOESN’T need photos taken? There’s a birthday party coming up, a new ad going in the newspaper for a company, a dinner of honor happening, etc. No matter where you work, live, or simply exist, someone needs a headshot, a family portrait for a Christmas card, or memories of a dance recital. The possibilities from personal contacts to local businesses are VAST. If you can go to them, that might very well prevent them from going to someone else.
8: Give value to other people
Maybe I’ve been watching too much Gary Vaynerchuk lately, but even though he’s a modern peddler of this idea, the concept that if you give someone else something, they will subconsciously feel indebted to you and want to do something for you back, has been a keen business practice for generations. Think Michael Scott and the gift baskets he gave out in The Office’s season 4 episode Dunder Mifflin Infinity (big fan, here). But give away a print. Build a relationship out of a first act of generosity, this can pay off big dividends.
7: Have a portfolio
One of the best way to build credibility in your work or brand is to have quality work on display so people can see it and trust that because you were able to do work they appreciate for other people, that you’ll also be able to do work for them that they will be satisfied by. This is kind of a no brainer, it’s the essence of letting your work speak for itself. It’s why thousands of high school kids sell CUTCO knives, because they’re damn good knives and they require little-to-no sales prowess to prove they are a valuable product.
6: Use social media/direct messages.
Pair this with giving value to other people and you’ll be made. But for real, it’s so easy to get in contact with myriads of people today. Just reach out. Ask. A long time ago, I had friends who worked for a telemarketing company. They would cold-call people all day and try to sell stuff. Sure, that is a crap job and a lot of people hung up on them or cursed at them for calling, but think about how much less of a personal investment it is to send someone a Facebook message, tweet, or DM in Snapchat. It takes about 10 seconds and the worst thing they can say is no. Statistically speaking, someone will say yes eventually, you just have to keep casting out the nets until you reel one in.
5: Shoot for family
What would be better than identifying a group of people who would literally be ashamed to say no to a request from you? Well I’ve found you one, your family. Even if it’s your first day holding a camera and you’re absolute trash at it, your family will at least give you the opportunity to take a photograph because they love you. One kind of session I never look forward to doing is a baby session. I just don’t think I’m any good at it. Photographers who have skill at those shoots have my utmost respect. It’s just not in my skill set. But have I taken nice portraits of my own kids and put them on my website as a portfolio piece? You bet I have! So take advantage of your best captive audience. Even if you have to pretend you don’t know them on your website, they’re still better than nobody, because they give the impression that people trust you. And it’s not dishonest, they do trust you, the bar just happens to be a little lower for those particular people, and that’s nobody else’s business.
4: Sell prints/small shows/craft fairs
This would be a short term thing that would, in my mind, be more time than it’s worth, but if you’re a student in high school or college and have some free time and want exposure but can also take a risk of a flop, getting some prints made and going to a small gallery with them or even a craft fair could be a way to make a few quick bucks. These happen a lot around the holidays especially. This idea is probably my least personal favorite on the list, but I think it is honestly a good suggestion for one just starting out and wanting either a little cash or a little exposure. Exposure is guaranteed in this one, the cash would be a boon. Google around and find one in your area.
3: Work for free/cheap
This is just barely a step up from shooting family, it’s finding a way to lower the challenge of entry for people. What would make someone hesitate less to hire you? Well, if they had less risk involved in the process, less skin in the game. Working for free or at least very cheap is a great way to blow people away. If you have any sort of skill at all, and you are free, anything you deliver will be considered over-delivering, and that’s good. People love getting a deal, feeling like they got more than they paid for, and the key word in that phrase is feeling. People buy with feelings, not with their reason, so getting the vibes out in your community that it feels good to work with you is simply like starting a wildfire to your business.
2: It’s not what you know, it’s who.
Stay put and network. Digging around online for people is great, but the downside of that idea, is that they don’t know you, or owe you anything. They might say yes and it’s a good place to start if you don’t like seeing people face to face when asking them to give you a chance, but if you want your chances to succeed, make sure you actually network with people. Become known. If you travel to a new city every year, you’ll never get roots. I have made two big moves in my photography career. Once as I transitioned from a college student in Ohio to my original home in New York, and then from New York to Texas just a few years ago. Both times were devastating to my market presence. Luckily for me, gigs are not the only way I make money so it wasn’t a huge deal, but establishing yourself locally takes time, and not hopping around a lot will let other people realize you’re here and open for business.
1: Be skilled
This sounds like a dumb cop out to end on, but it’s simply what you’re going to have to do to be successful. The phrase “you can’t polish a turd” rings true. No matter what, if you have a bad product, it won’t sell. There is a reason Furbys aren’t flying off the shelves anymore, and this is it (I linked it in case you’re not up to speed on your late-90s-to-early-2000s fads). Keep learning, keep practicing, keep failing, keep pushing yourself to be better and you will get better. Start by reading every page on this website and that’ll be a great start. The better you become, the more any of these other techniques will gain traction with greater speed and intensity.
Those are my key ideas on monetizing at the beginning of your career. If you have any others that have worked for you, feel free to leave them in the comments section!
