Is photography a hobby or a career for you? If it’s a hobby, I’m guessing it’s a pretty expensive one? What if your Photography could pay for its-self?
Who [The hell] Am I?
Many of you may know me from here, I started in November and have become totally and utterly hooked on the platform. In ‘Real Life’ I’m a full time wedding photographer. Over the last 8 years I’ve shot 300 weddings with my wife for our business ‘Sansom Photography’. We’ve been listed as one of the worlds leading Wedding Photography businesses and have been paid to shoot weddings all over the world. We’ve won and judged some of the worlds biggest awards and turned what was once a hobby into a full time business, paying a good salary for nearly a decade.
I want to show you how you can do the same. [Not necessarily in weddings]
This post means a lot to me and I’ve put a lot into it, so please consider resteeming if you enjoy it 😊
Now I admit, the whole ‘expensive hobby’ thing is a bit of an assumption. You may love photography but be quite content with your smartphone or an old compact. In which case I wholeheartedly commend you! I suppose I’ve always been one of those people who jumps into things with both feet. There’s a lot to be said for using what you have, and pushing that to the limit, but there’s also a case to be made for using the best kit you can reasonably afford. I suppose this post is aimed more at the latter, but lets face it, if you’re a keen enthusiast, hobbyist or ‘wannabe’ professional the idea of making money from what you enjoy doing has to be appealing right?
Do what you love and you won’t work a day in your life
Now I’m not saying that to scare you, or to put you off; quite the opposite, I’m saying it to prepare you for those bad days. Those accounting days, those ‘client from hell’ days, those ‘I just want to take photos without any pressure!’ days! I will say that Photography has given me a job and lifestyle unlike any other, and I simply can’t imagine doing much else for a career!
Pick a job, any job. Musician? Actor? Professional Athletes? They have it easy right? Maybe from an outsiders point of view they do. But with every job there are negatives, aspects of the profession that just aren’t what attracted us to it. Whether that’s hours of press interviews to advertise a new film or the day to day complaints that you and I might share.
If you want earn money as a photographer I’m here to wholeheartedly encourage that. But I’m also here to tell you it’s not all easy, there will be days (Possibly weeks, months, or years!) when you second guess your decision to pursue professional photography. It’s still the best career in the world to me!
[Photo by my wife @Vtravels and copyright Sansom Photography]
Spend Money to Make Money
It’s hard to get out there and make money as a photographer without a certain amount of kit. You don’t need a lot, and in the coming days I’ll be talking about exactly what you do need. But suffice to say some investment is needed, just like in most careers. Don’t be afraid to jump right in and *BACK YOURSELF.
If you need a little support on this one, here’s my two cents – You don’t need to spend LOADS. Just a few bits and you can get started, earning your investment back in no time. In the absolute worst case scenario you can always sell your equipment on if it really doesn’t work out, making your loss minimal. So whether it’s asking a mum and dad for a loan, or saving up your spare money from work, just find that start-up fund and get yourself the equipment you need to work as a professional! (That certainly doesn’t mean Professional level cameras either!)
You’re already doing step 1
You’re on Steemit! You’re part of a unique movement where we are ALL earning money from our hobbies and passions. If you really don’t have any way of jump starting your progress with a small equipment purchase then don’t worry! Produce good content on here and the Steem Dollars quickly add up. If you’re in the early stages like me you may not see a huge return, but you don’t need to! Remember, you only need fairly inexpensive equipment to get yourself started!
I’m certainly no expert, and am totally used to seeing $0 next to my posts, so I don’t want to profess to know more than I do. But what I have seen on Steemit is that, despite the occasional crappy post that rakes in 100’s, most of the content that does well on Steemit is well thought through and genuine content. If you believe in your content, then the community will too!
Try some of the photo contests, they are a great way to build a following. I'd suggest ones by @Photocontests and @czechglobalhosts as two that I have found to be great contests (Thanks @schmidthappens for sharing the latter with me!) Essentially just get yourself out there, don't give one word comments and try to add more value to the community than you take!
Don’t be afraid to be cheap [And honest]
Not everybody has the budget to spend a lot on photography. In fact there’s a whole section of the market who would love to pay a photographer, but don’t have the budget for the going rate. They aren’t expecting to pay peanuts for a world class photographer. Hell, sometimes they just want it to be cheaper than going out and buying a DSLR themselves!
The best example I can give is my own start in photography as a profession. I decided to shoot weddings. Only problem was I had never actually shot a wedding before. Or even attended one for that matter. So I started out charging roughly 20% of what my cheapest competitors were charging. I was totally honest and up front with clients – this bit is really important. I didn’t tell them I had more experience than I did. I set their expectations but shared my excitement for their wedding. My portfolio showed I could take a half decent photo and honestly, that was all they really wanted. For that price they probably just saved a friend, or uncle Bob from having to be the photographer for the day!
It could be weddings, portraits, commercial work. It doesn’t matter what field you are entering into, don’t be afraid to be the cheapest person out there. At least until you pay back your initial investment and find your bearings!
How to find work. 1 – Your website
This can often seem like the most daunting for new photographers. How the hell do you get yourself out there? I’ve talked before about ‘hustle’, and that’s what it’s all about. If you want to do this – for real – then hustle is essential. You might spend hours pursuing leads that end to a booking, if you have hustle you’ll get started right away at securing the next booking. Of course some of you may just want a supplemental income, in which case you have every right to celebrate that booking by taking a break. Just be aware that there will always be newcomers out there hustling every hour of the day!
Build yourself a website. This one’s pretty obvious, yet so many photographers don’t just get out there and build a website. There are plenty of low cost options out there, Wordpress being the most popular, but any site builder will do! Remember, it DOESN’T HAVE TO LOOK GREAT. That might sound counter intuitive as a visually based website, but just having something – even a site you don’t particularly love – is better than having nothing but a plan for a world class website. Over time your site will improve, you’ll learn how to make it look great or you’ll earn the money to pay someone to do that for you. In these early stages your selling point definitely isn’t going to be your website, or even your images. It’s your price point. So make that the easiest page to access, and your low cost clear. Don’t worry about putting off people with bigger budgets – you don’t want them right now anyway!
How to find work. 2 – Adwords
Google adwords is the main reason our business became a success. I’d love to do a bigger post on just this subject but for now I’ll share the main takeaway points you need. In the first month after I built my basic, poorly designed website I booked over 20 weddings. Within 7 months I’d shot over 70 weddings. Adwords and other pay-per-click services DO work. IF you’re cheap. Not too many high end clients ever look at Adwords, but clients who just don’t have the budget for an experienced photographer – even a cheap one – will always be hooked by a to the point ad. Something along the lines of ‘Wedding Photography from just £200’ worked a treat for me.
I’ll admit, Adwords can get pricey, but don’t make the mistake everyone else seems to of saying ‘I want to spend £30 per month’. WHY do you want to spend £30? If I told you that £30 would book one wedding, would you be happy with that? If each wedding was paying a £50 deposit, you’d be gaining £20 per booking even before taking the final balance. In which case wouldn’t you rather spend £3000 and book 100 weddings than spend £30 and book 1? Again, this isn’t limited to weddings, it’s the exact same thing for Portraits and Commercial Photography, only the return is often quicker than weddings. It’s totally possible to book and shoot a Portriat/Commercial job in the same week
So, with that in mind, why would you budget £30 over a month? If you have £30 spend it all as soon as possible. The thing about pay-per-click is that your £30 will always buy roughly the same amount of clicks. Why have a click per day when you could have 30 per day? If one of those 30 is going to book, why not get them to book on the first day instead of risking finding that one customer right at the end of your 30 days? Take their deposit and re-invest. This alone is how I got my business started and paying the bills!
How to find work. 3 - Get out there
More hustle. Get the hell out there! It doesn’t really matter what you’re shooting, what’s wrong with making money from shooting ANYTHING? In our early days I would have shot just about anything [Legal!] if there was money involved. In our first year we mostly shot weddings, but I also took photos for a Keyhole Surgery company, a few small cafes and even a complete ‘how to’ guide for a Taxidermist.
As I was watching the Taxidermist skinning his third squirrel and wondering if I would ever void my brain of the smell of dead squirrel (The answer is no by the way!) I knew this wasn’t ‘living the dream’ by conventional standards. It was my dream though, because Photography, and Photography alone was paying my bills. I didn’t have a boss and I got to call myself a ‘professional’. I couldn’t have been happier!
So – Get Out There! Go to your local town and ask around small businesses, ‘Do you need any photography at the moment?’. Once they know you aren’t going by the standard day rates it’s amazing how many small businesses want some new photos. As always, be honest and don’t make out that you’ve just finished your latest shoot for Vogue! Always give these clients more than they are paying for, whether that’s the time you put in or the number of images you deliver. I guarantee that in just a few days of going door to door you’ll have a few clients who – given your low prices and over delivering – will be clients for as long as they can afford you!
Stick at it!
Photography certainly isn’t an easy career. But it really is a wonderful one! I would love to think that this might inspire just one or two of your to seriously give it a go! As I’ve sat down to write this, on a cold Boxing Day in Yorkshire, I’ve realised that one post clearly isn’t going to be enough. I’ve just gone over 2000 words and I know that’s a fair bit to get through! Please do keep an eye on my feed as I will be posting many more articles with the aim of educating and inspiring!
Hello. It is cool. I love it.
Thanks
Oh. Cool photo. Thanks for your sharing.
Thanks!
Oh. Cool photo. Thanks for your sharing.
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Wow, that's awesome to hear! Thank you!
Great and insipring post! Thanks :)
Thanks!
Inspiring post
Thank you!
Really Nice Post I Like to Way You Explain ..
I will Try Some Methods From above SooN
Thank you very much @socialanne!
Congratulations, your post received one of the top 10 most powerful upvotes in the last 12 hours. You received an upvote from @hendrikdegrote valued at 155.52 SBD, based on the pending payout at the time the data was extracted.
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Wow! I think I owe him a beer...or ten!
Wow it’s nice to see you writing to try and help other people :) really good post, hope it helps a lot of people !
Thanks V :) You know I love a bit of writing!
This is pretty helpful, I'm going to start trying out the photo contests, hopefully gain some more exposure.
That's great to hear! Definitely, anything that increases exposure is a good thing!
Thank you for the great post! I cant't see myself as a wedding photographer at the moment, but I dream of traveling for some years and finance my travels with photography. With Microstock sales and now Steemit I think I am on a good way.
Haha we used to dream of travel, now we just dream of being at home! That said travelling with Photography is a totally achievable goal! Microstock is a great way to suppliment income!
Well, I hope so! I love the passive income that Microstock provides. Congratulations to the success of your post, well deserved!
Thanks dude, it's always weird when you see the numbers going up, but great to know it's been well received!
hey ...i am a little man on photography because i have no camera and theoretical knowledge on it but i dont know why i love the view and photography.... i have a smartphone Asuszenphone 2 ...i use this to take photograph and post in steemit ....you can visit my blog to see ( if u have time) i dream that one-day by earning from steemit i buy a good camera because i love to capture the view i like ....by the way thanks for sharing such a inspirational post.
No problem at all, thank you so much for your kind words! Stick at it and I'm sure you'll be buying a new camera in no time!
Good advice. Nice centered images. Very clean.
Thank you! Yep, I do love things centered!
Great article about photography and getting money from what you love. And what you have said here is applicable in every aspect and every hobby can easily become a business but it will never be easy.
I hadn't really thought about applying it to other walks of life but yes, I suppose you're dead right!
I am not even close to your professional level in photography, but I pride myself on my good eye for pictures. And while it's not a passion I'd transform into a full time job, I'm more than willing to make it a good chunk of what I do for a living (I create online content, and it pairs up nicely with original pictures). I'm going to follow your advice and try to make something out of it! Thank you for sharing your experience!
PD: Those shots are perfect! I love that most of them break the traditional rules and are unique. Amazing work!
-A.
Thank you so much! That's great to hear and absolutely the aim of this blog post (and most of my blog posts!) It doesn't need to be a replacement for a full time income, but it's an easy way to make a bit on the side if nothing else! I say easy, it's only easy if you enjoy it which I presume most people reading this do!
I'll be following you to learn a bit more about photography. I'm currently using a traditional Cybershot, but since I'm taking a more serious interest in photography, I'll be switching to a DSRL. Which one would you recomend for a newbie? I'm thinking of a Canon Eos Rebel T3i. Is that a good pick, in your professional opinion?
-A.
Wow! Awesome post! I will used what I learn for my aerial photography; amazingdroneage.com Thank you. -Sam
Good luck! I got my drone license in January here in the UK but decided not to pursue it!
Great post and awesome photos! I'm one of those who loves photography but is only using a smartphone. I've been meaning to buy a camera but a smartphone is just too convenient. I love to travel and I like traveling light. But now, I think I might be buying one.
Nothing wrong with a smartphone! But in terms of earning money I think a proper camera is a great place to start and certainly doesn't have to cost the earth!
Hey skiesandsports!
Thanks for sharing :)
No worries!
Most of this relates to anyone trying to make money at anything that makes them happy. Most people need to read this every day. I think we all need a reminder once in a while. Love it.
I hadn't thought about it like that but yes, I absolutely agree! Why WOULDN'T you want to make money out of a passion instead of something you despise?!
Stick at it!
Wonderful advice and can be applied to anything nowadays. With a quick win - no time attitude it's becoming harder and harder to stick at something and allow it to mature and reward over a period of time.
Great article. Thanks for sharing!
Following!
Thank you very much :) Definitely something that seems to be getting lost on young people. That's no to tar everyone with the same brush, but I think it's a very difficult time to be young, and hard to see that you WILL get rewarded for consistent hard work!
Those are actually some useful and actionable pieces of advice.
Thank you, glad it's helped!
Thanks for sharing your passion,photography is my dream!
Your advice it's really helpfull @skiesandsports
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Very nice, this is very inspiring once
Thanks!
Good advice and i also love those images and rich content
Great to hear! thanks!
Thanks man, really need this
No problem!
it's really nice brother..keep it up ..i liked it
Will do!
Thanks for taking the time to share this. I find it really interesting, especially because I sort of skipped conventional practise and went straight into crypto financed photography...
I love to get a view into the world of photographers, appreciated!
You're welcome dude, thank you so much for the re-steem :) really appreciate it! That's what I love about photography, you don't need any real qualifications! I guess I kind of have 'qualifications' because I got a bachelors at Film School, but that's not where photography comes from as you well know :)
Im making money just being here posting pictures, which is nice. Im just trying to get myself to a new camera so i can get back to shooting everyday.
Good plan! That's why I started here, to buy myself a new Mirrorless for travel work!
I want a mirrorless for vintage lenses because Im kinda poor.
Haha vintage lenses look great! Remember, it's not about the camera!
Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. In this instance it is kinda about the camera. I want a small flange distance to maximize the amount of vintage lenses i can use. Right now I'm looking at the a7 series. I will probably get the original from a couple years ago.
Aaaahhh, I see! I get you now, I have an old Leica III, can't use the 50mm summicron on anything except Micro 4/3. The Sony camera's seem great, especially if you're doing any video. I had a Fuji X Pro 1, but the autofocus was terrible (although the images were so nice!) I'm planning on getting an Olympus E-M10 III next week to see how that works, I tried one and the autofocus was insane compared to the Fuji! (Not that that matters for vintage lenses!)
Very motivating post! I've kind of put my camera down, here lately; I just haven't felt the inspiration. I mainly enjoy snapping shots of bugs, because they don't have expectations of an awesome shot. The part of the post about being real with people and setting the expectation for them is good advice. I have been wanting to try to learn portrait photography, and you have given me a good strategy to do it. Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome :) Really happy to offer some inspiration, this place is incredible for that! It definitely seems to reward well thought out content which can only be a good thing!
If only I have the same talent in editing like yours, then I would probablt\y be investing my whole life in photography.. I too love editing pictures, i just dont have the necessary tools for it.. hehehe this is such a nice info to those who aspire to become a good one.. thanks for sharing your idea! :)
Thank you! There are some great editors out there, fortunately my wife is one of them! Also we have an editor for our professional work which really takes the strain off!
Very nice, so inspiration ❤
Thanks!
Great shots!! Definitely following you now!!! Great points here and welcome to steemit!!!!! I know your not brand new but I just found you!! Great points! I'm no Pro and i don't do enough volume to make a living at photography but I love it and try to shoot anytime i can!
Thanks dude! Really glad you enjoyed it :) Pro or not I think everyone can do it if the passion is there!
Thank you for sharing this genuine post with us!
You know, everything is hard in life, especially careers that are in demand, but not in a lot of supply (acting, photography, music, etc.), but as you said "If you stick to it then you can make it". Of course, you need to take into consideration of working smart, but also being consistent.
I call it work CONSMARTENT!
Holy cow! I just made up an awesome word...ha.
Anyway, thank you for being honest and helping others out by sharing your tips :)
Winny out ;)
Couldn't have said it better myself! thank you so much for the support :) it really is awesome to know this one had struck a chord with so many Steemians!
Very nice. Thanks @skiesandsports
You're welcome!
Thanks for the advice.
I have thousands of photographs I've taken over the years. These pics are mostly landscapes and nature that I took just because I was there with my camera or phone. But even before I joined Steemit I was thinking about making a career out of it and trying to figure out the best way to approach it.
Thanks again for sharing and good luck on Steemit.
No problem! I really take a lot of enjoyment out of helping give people the courage to follow a passion and photography is what I know! I think the world would be a lot happier if everyone followed their passion! Let me know if you have any questions etc :)
This is so helpful!! Thank you so much. I am a film photographer and cinematographer. I just made the leap this year to go full time. I'm also new to Steemit. I will take your advice re: the Adwords. Thank you again!
Fantastic! Good on you dude! Yep, the Adwords thing works, trust me! Our business does mentoring for photographers and we've seen all of our students go full time, many off just Adwords!
Bonjour, quel superbe article, il est très bien détaillé, ça à dû vous prendre beaucoup temps, pas vrai ?
Vous méritez d'être plus populaires sur la plateforme steemit, car votre travail fourni et passionnant et très impressionnant ;)
Ravie de vous connaître, mon nouveau ami.
J'espère que tu pourras aller voir mon contenu sur mon blog ;) et tu donne ton avis, ok ?
https://steemit.com/@mocto
Bonne journée ;)
I wish I spoke French but I'm going to go out on a limb and say thanks :) I know I could do Google translate so I apologise for my laziness!
resteem this post! I like
Thank you so much for the resteem @dolov! That's very kind :)
perfect
Thanks :)
Excellent photos about young people in love. I hope you still publish many new good photos. It was nice to see.
Thank you! Don't worry, I'll be posting lots of photos and articles!
Thanks for posting and ideas..
Thanks!
It's nice to hear more of your story along with all the great advise. :)
Thank you :) I'll be doing plenty more articles too :)
Level 👍good work and awesome shoot.
Thanks!
Great post my friend! I would appreciate if you could check out my profile I do photography too ;)
Thank you! I have a lot to catch up with but will take a look ASAP!
Great tips. Thanks for the post!
Thanks dude :) really appreciate the continued support :)
I love taking photos and struggle quite a bit with my capabilities vs what I want to do! Im following you to hopefully learn more and maybe one day I'll get there... thanks for writing this!
Ah that's so nice to hear! I hope I can help! Always happy to offer any advice I can :)
Great content! Thanks for the post!
Thank you! I put a lot into these so it's great to get a good reaction!
You're welcome!
Nice post! Thank you for sharing this post. You have encouraged me to become a professional photographer. I follow and upvote you.
Ah that's amazing! Thank you :) Good luck! Let me know if I can help :)