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Earning those pennies.

Posted by Mr_Leeman, 24 April 2014 · 1,824 views

I'm yet to even comtemplate selling an image and most definately not ready to pitch myself as a pro and offer services. But wondered what the rest of you do.

Apart from being hired for weddings and comissioned pieces, how else does photogrpahy generate earnings for you? Do you sell on stock sites? In galleries?

Part of my job involes photogrpahy so technically I am a paid photographer and I produce acceptable enough images for my employer.

What was the first photo that earnt you money, and how did you feel?




I started out with concert photography as a second shooter for a local weekly newspaper, I think my first gig was an evening with two or three politically progressive bands. I was very nervous, even though I had shot quite a lot of bands for my own enjoyment before. This was in the days of pressed Tri-X and it was a relief to see the first contact sheet back at the paper's darkroom. The newspaper work opened many doors, and then I got work as an assistant to a product photographer.

 

Today I mostly shoot on comission, portraits and product work.

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I was a reporter for a small regional newspaper for awhile, and I had to shoot my own stories. The first time I saw my photos in print, I was pretty dang thrilled--and glad to get a little more cash too because they paid me extra for the images. Ha ha! I remember one week was a slow news week, and I had turned in the memory card with a few extra random images that I had taken just to play around with the camera. I was so surprised to see about three of those random images (a squirrel, a man mowing the lawn, and some other thing) show up in the paper--they paid me for them though, so I was pretty pleased.

 

Nowadays I'm an editor and a part-time teacher at a college, so any income I generate comes mostly from those jobs…but I do some portrait and wedding photography on the side and bring in a leetle bit more. I was pretty ecstatic about the first wedding I ever booked, I must say. 

 

Right now I'm in the process of learning about commercial photography and hoping to break into that world. I'm not terribly interested in doing stock photography (and I think Getty pretty much just ruined it for everyone by making so many images royalty free), but I do know there is demand in many local markets for good photography. My little Project 52 Pros group (that I constantly mention, I know) is not just about learning the art part of commercial photography--we're also learning about the business aspects. We've only just started that part of the course, so I can't say much about it.

 

Also, where are you? If you're anywhere near Phoenix, AZ, Arizona Highways magazine offers one- and two-day photography business workshops. I attended one and learned quite a bit about ways to earn money with photography. 

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Oh, duh, you're in the UK. Never mind about Phoenix!
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Interesting stories. I'm hoping to join a local club and see if the communitty spirit leads to new paths...

 

I know exactly on a personal level where I want my photography, but not sure career-wise. I'm currently in design and mareting for a chemical manufacturer, so I dlook after the brand, all the lterature and the photography - which is a mix of product shots, coprorate and things for training processes. Did a photo shoot of a truck a few weeks back for the first time and it turned out great.

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I guess my first "paid" job was for our college newspaper.  I think there were two or three of us who were selected to receive a one hour class credit each semester and a small amount of money per month as photographers for the paper. 

 

After college, I shot for myself and printed up some shots.  I got a few jobs through people seeing my photos and through word of mouth.  Ended up doing lots of different things - pets, portraits, some promotional photos and album covers for musicians that I shot and weddings.  I even got some advertising stuff including some brochures for a company I worked for.  None of it paid very well although I did get decent money from the weddings. 

 

I thought about trying to build the wedding business, but really wasn't all that interested in shooting weddings so never really pushed it.  I mostly just had fun shooting what I wanted after that until about 10 years ago and shot a few things for friends.  I also did some assignments occasionally.

 

When we picked up our first digital camera, I knew I had to go digital...Eventually I bought a D100 and did lots of free photography for our local Little League just because I enjoyed doing it and the kids / parents loved the pix.

 

I eventually picked up an unpaid job shooting for a local web site.  I mostly took that job because it got me field access to any sport I wanted to shoot, thus I had the access I needed and wanted to shoot my son and his friends.  That led to his school asking me to shoot for them.  Another web site also asked me to shoot for them at the same time.  In both cases, I still have the same access and I'm paid based on photo sales.  Long term I plan on expanding my photo business to more than just sports unless I can find just the right sports job.  Even now, I am planning to build space on my web site to highlight non-sports photos - flowers, sunsets and other landscapes, macro and whatever else catches my eye...

 

And, I continue to try and learn / push my skills to improve!

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