Photography can be an expensive hobby. Once you’ve purchased your first point ‘n’ shoot camera, it’s you’ll soon be hankering after a DSLR and some choice lenses too. And, so the journey begins as an amateur photographer.
The progression with more cameras, lenses, tripods, and other equipment can be a bit troubling when your hobby continues to rise in cost. Looking to stay within a budget is a problem at that stage, but it doesn’t need to be. Instead, turn this hobby into one that generates some money as a side hustle for you.
Here are four suggestions for ways to go about doing that. At least it’ll likely cover the cost of your gear, and will be fun too.
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Earn Money Each Time Your Photos are Viewed Online
Making money from your photos online is not always easy. There’s considerable competition, and some services have been gobbling up photo libraries and stifling competition as they go.
However, ClickASnap is doing things differently. They provide a service that’s free to sign up where photographers can upload their photo library and get paid each time the photo is seen. The photos on their service experience millions of views, so it’s a great way to monetize existing photographs if you’ve been taking snaps for a few months or years.
The service also provides useful statistics on your account, including how many photos are uploaded, the number of times they’ve been seen, and how many times viewers have added a heart symbol to say they loved the photo.
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Wedding Photography
Being a wedding photographer is a great way to get out of the house on the weekend and put your skills to good use.
Most new photographers get early gigs by shooting their friends when they’re getting married. Even if they have hired an approved photographer, they may accept you tagging along to capture other less formal shots. If you’re doing it for the experience and to build a wedding photography portfolio, they haven’t got much to lose.
Starting this way, you can build up your skills and develop a portfolio of wedding shots to show. This will give paying clients more confidence that you won’t let them down on their big day.
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Take Artistic Photographs
Another type of photography is artistic photography designed to be purchased, framed, and hung on the wall.
It represents a more affordable piece of artwork compared to an expensive painting, especially for younger people who often appreciate impactful modern photography more than pricey artwork. It is also more comfortable than buying a piece of art from an unknown artist and people later asking who painted it? With photography, people only care if it’s an impressive photo, not who took the snap.
Develop a photographic style that’s sincerely yours, and repeatable for different scenes or portrait photos. Use a website to exhibit your photographic artwork. Then combine it with a packaged framing and shipping service.
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Teach Short Courses on Beginner Photography
Many people wish to learn how to be a photographer as a hobby or to develop it as a career, but don’t know where to begin. Signing up to a short course as a beginner is their next logical step.
Turn your photography knowledge and experience into something valuable for students. Produce an online video course published on Udemy or another course site that connects teachers to students.
Alternatively, run a photography class or workshop in-person if you can build a small following sufficient to book enough seats locally.
There are many approaches to turn a photography hobby into one that generates money for you. It may just be a small side hustle that shares your interest while covering the growing list of gear that you own, or it could expand way beyond that and completely surprise you.
