Most photographers are never into photography for the money. It is considered an artistic pursuit, with its beauty leaning more on the desire to capture moments for fun and for the sake of being creative.

However, the good thing about this artistic discipline is that while it certainly is a fun activity, it can also be a potentially lucrative hobby. If you are ready to turn this interesting pastime into a career, read on.

Making Money from your Hobby

Diversification is the winning game in photography. This is a hobby that offers plenty of income avenues. At the start, the returns from the different areas you choose may be small but increase with time.

Diversification opens the avenue of protection, given that in cases where one stream of income dries, another opens up. Over time, you may choose to gravitate towards specific field(s) and specialize in them.

Even after you have specialized, maintain several other income streams. Here are more tips on making money from your hobby.

Offer Clients Photoshoots

You may need to have a studio to offer a photoshoot. However, there are many clients, such as small businesses looking for outdoor photos. It means that even if you do not have a studio, there are many opportunities out there.

Businesses today have websites and social media sites which need professional images. Walk around your neighborhood and approach business owners and managers and talk about your services. How can you help the business attract more customers?

The best way to get started is to build a strong portfolio, design an attractive website, talk to friends and family, and share your work and achievements on social media.

Do not ignore the online platform. Work on the local SEO of your website to ensure people looking for your services find you.

Sell Digital Copies through Stock Photography Sites

Beautiful photography is attractive. If you have a good collection of sizeable photos with high-quality, you can submit them to stock photography sites. For instance, you could take advantage of Shutterstock, which is considered to have fair pay rates.

iStock is a solid choice for those looking for more exposure but don’t mind a lower pay rate. Why also not upload them to your personal Flickr account and have them licensed through Getty Images? The major advantage with stock photography sites is that they do all the work for you.

You only need to upload great images. Once people like them, you begin earning. When creating your stock photos, remember to focus on a particular niche and stay clear of current trends.

Capture candid and authentic images. When choosing your ideal stock photo site, consider the exclusivity rights, pay rates, and the exposure.

Blogging

If you can create an excellent blog and manage to attract high traffic to it, you could earn a decent amount through ads. Google Ads, for instance, is a popular way to do this. Do not limit yourself to online ads. Approach businesses you feel may want to benefit from your blog.

For instance, if you create a blog that focuses on photography tutorials, find out if you can get photo workshops that could be interested in advertising with you. Approaching advertisers directly means you get to keep all of the ad revenue.

Be careful only to feature high-quality images. Remember to optimize on your SEO skills. This ensures that your blog is fully optimized for the search engines to allow more people to find you.

Increase your online presence by writing about other photography blogs. This will place you as the most influential voice in the field of photography.

Enter Photo Contests

Some competitions offer cash and others equipment. Becoming a winner in the contest or a runner up can give you invaluable exposure and enable you to build a positive reputation. Even losing can expose you to greater opportunities, such as drawing potential clients to your site. Should you win in any contest, mention it in your “about us” page.

Making money in photography doesn’t have to be that complicated. It only needs you to have an innovative mind and the urge to work competitively in a hobby that you love.