Tips On How To Make Money As A Beginner Photographer

Are you just starting out in photography? Are you wanting to make some quick bucks here and there without certifications?

Well… I am here to help!

Let me introduce myself first, my name is Ashley and I have been doing photography for just a couple of years now. I absolutely love it! It all started as a hobby, and with enough practice I was actually able to start a small business! P.S. I made some pretty good money doing it too.

So, where do you start? I would say if you don’t already have a DSLR camera already, you may want to invest in one. I got my very first camera as a christmas gift with two lenses (To be more specific it was a Canon EOS Rebel T7 with a double zoom lens). Now assuming you already have a camera, and you know a little bit on how to use it… let’s move on to the most important step of them all.

Now you nah not believe what I say, but really the most essential step in all of this is PRACTICE. Take as many opportunities as you can to find your niche and where your creative eye is mastered at. You might be best at street photography, wildlife/nature, portraits (my personal favorite). The best opportunity for business is when you have a wide variety of skills in many areas because people might just ask you for anything!

Next you are going to need traction, and the best method is word of mouth. As some friends, family, businesses, artists, etc. if you could do some work for free or at a minimal cost. This is your best bet at getting your name out there, especially if they like your work. I personally made business cards with my name and email, which I got like 500 for $5, and you can make those pretty fancy as well. Remember, you want everything in your business to be pleasing to the eye, especially your work. Now I also created a website for scheduling purposes but I found that I didn’t actually need it, but it did make me look more “professional”, so that might be up to personal preference and budget. I will also say that making a website takes lots of time and lots of effort.

Once I started getting business, I made an Instagram account and posted some of my work. I had my friends and family repost and believe it or not, I grew pretty fast and was getting dms almost everyday to schedule a photoshoot. Depending on how good you feel you are, and your editing skills you can honestly charge however much you want! I recommend looking at other people photography prices or asking around to get a general idea and price accordingly (go with a lower price if your skills are not top tier because you won’t get as much business and you can use those as learning opportunities). Also for instagram be sure to follow other photographers and like their work, making friends can help you make business. Be sure to use hashtags on your posts, be active, and repost. Also if possible you could join photography groups on facebook and do events and workshops to meet super cool people, and learn super cool skills and even some credentials possibly.

When I was starting out I would only charge 20-100 dollars depending on time, place, how many people, and how many pictures they wanted to edit. I would also suggest investing in some editing software because really the magic is all in how well you make the pictures look after you take them, so try to get some practice on any basic platform like photoshop or adobe. I also recommend getting something like a dropbox subscription so it would be easier to share the photos taken. P.S another pro tip is to always have them pay before you give the pictures. This might be a no brainer to some, but it wasn’t for me so I had to learn the hard way.

As time goes on you can invest in stuff like box lights, backdrops, probs, more lenses, etc and get better and better at what you do. Photography is definitely something you can always keep learning and improving on and I hope I was able to give some good tips.

Be sure to check out my work @Ashleykenphotography <3

HAPPY PHOTOGRAPHY !