4 Ways to Generate Income with Photography (You May Not Have Considered)

4 Ways to Generate Income with Photography (You May Not Have Considered)

Building a solid client base to the point where you have sessions booked year-round usually takes months, and often years, to achieve.  Sometimes, you will be overbooked, yet six months later, you may struggle to book a single session.

Unfortunately, this is often the “way things are” with a photography business (and many small businesses, for that matter!) in the first months and years, so please know that things usually get better over time.  You just have to be persistent!

In the meantime, if you have trouble booking client shoots but still want to earn an income with your photography, here are some ideas to help you generate income while working towards getting your schedule packed with bookings.

1. Real Estate

Real estate agents and contractors regularly need photographs of the inside of homes – for online listings (real estate agents) and also for portfolios of model homes (contractors).

Contact your local real estate agents to see if they need someone to photograph homes.  You will generally be paid on a “per house” basis.  In the same vein, consider approaching interior designers, especially new design firms that are just getting started and may not have a lot of images yet of their designs.

2. Teaching

Many colleges and universities have adult/continuing education programs that include at least one photography course. 

These courses are usually Digital Photo 101-type courses.  If you are skilled with your digital camera/Photoshop/Lightroom and can present a solid portfolio of images, you will be more than qualified to teach it.  You do not need to have a master's degree or teaching certificate to teach this type of course!

3. Salons

Just as interior designers need photos of their designs, hairdressers and makeup artists also need images for their portfolios.  Be sure to check with your hairdresser to see if they need any photos of their latest creation in the salon.

If you are open to it, your hairdresser may also be willing to barter with you and trade a haircut/color for some photographs.

Remember – hairdressers see a lot of soon-to-be brides, so ask your hairdresser if they would be willing to recommend your photography business to their clients who are planning weddings.

4. Guest-Blogging

Becoming a guest contributor for your favorite photography blogs is not only fun, but it's also more accessible than you may think. 

Photography blogs are always looking for fresh content, and putting together a concise proposal for a post (or posts) will help speed the process so that the people in charge of scheduling posts can go ahead and get you on their schedule.

This is also a great way of getting to know readers within new communities, which can broaden your horizons as an image-maker.  There are endless ways to generate income through photography, so keep an open mind.  To stay afloat, you often need to be a Jack (Jane) of all trades with your photography.