People often joke that the first pot of gold for a photographer is to sell his camera. There is still a certain threshold for achieving stable and rapid cash flow through photography. However, in addition to selling equipment, there are many ways to obtain income.
Today I will summarize for you several ways to monetize from photography:
1. Taking orders
This may be the most common way for photography enthusiasts to monetize. Orders can be taken for portraits, conferences, event sites, pets, commodities, etc. Relatively speaking, portrait shooting may be more popular than .
If you want to receive orders stably, in addition to solid technology, you also need some network and communication skills. However, if your work is very eye-catching, some people will take the initiative to take photos of you.
If you have friends who want to make money by taking orders, it is recommended that in addition to practicing your skills and improving your aesthetics, you should also show more of your photos .
2. Selling photos
This may be the photography monetization method of with the lowest threshold for , because we can now sell pictures to third parties through the gallery, or directly sell the pictures to the gallery. Well-known photography websites such as 图bug, 500px and other well-known photography websites support users to sell their own photos.
Why is the threshold low? Because good photos may not necessarily sell well, which means that your income may not be completely proportional to your technical aesthetics. If you want to get more income, you need to understand , who is buying your photos, , and , how will they use after purchasing.
Generally speaking, some photos will be sold as materials for secondary processing to create , such as water droplets, smoke, snowflakes and other materials with simple and clean backgrounds;
Some photos will be directly used as promotional materials such as websites and posters;
Some photos will also be directly used as display objects , such as made into artistic photos for display.
So it can also be understood as "direction is greater than effort". According to my own experience and that of friends around me, concise and generous still life photos and on-site photos of fixed places suitable as backgrounds (school playgrounds, stages, conference rooms, etc.) have relatively better sales results.
3. The platform publishes works
. Currently, the effect of simply publishing photos is not that good. The large traffic is basically concentrated in various types of videos, especially short videos . Making your own photos, shooting process, etc. into videos with copywriting will be much better than simply posting photos.
If you have a certain fan traffic base, you can make considerable profits from traffic or advertising on the platform.
4. Publishing photography books
Publishing books is based on a certain reputation. At present, it requires a lot of energy and money in the early stage. It may be thankless for ordinary photography enthusiasts.
Photography books generally focus on teaching and personal portfolio , so photographers with the ability to publish books generally do not use it as their main source of income, but choose to open courses or other methods.
5. Opening courses
Like publishing books, opening courses is also a method of monetization with a high threshold. Generally, opening online courses is the main method, and it can be monetized through traffic advertising or tuition fees.
In addition to its own influence and ability, it also needs certain publicity capabilities. Of course, if done well, the benefits can be considerable.
For most enthusiasts who want to make money through photography, it may be more appropriate to take photography as a side job. Enjoying the photography process and simply recording life itself is already a very meaningful and valuable way of life.
That’s it for today~
