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Hello everyone!
I’m currently a full-time college student attending school (the Master’s University in Santa Clarita, CA, in case you were wondering) about 1,000 miles away from home. This means I’ve basically pressed the rest button on my connections here at home and know no one aside from the people at my tiny church and the students/faculty at my school. I’m studying to get my undergrad in biology so I can go to chiropractic college afterwards.I’m looking into some additional ways I can earn money to help cover tuition costs, and I think one of my greatest assets is my knowledge of photography/videography.
I have limited hours to devote to this and need a flexible schedule.What are some ways you’d suggest I could maybe start a profitable side job with my photography with my non-standard and limited schedule?
Thanks,
@loganlamarI’m not sure how well this would work, (since I’ve never actually tried it,) but I’ve thought a lot about shooting video commercials for small businesses, or doing product photography as a side gig.
I’m still finishing high school, but when I have more time, I might start experimenting with that type of thing…
And I’m sure you’ve already heard this, but if you shoot some product or coffee shop etc. for free, That might help get the ball rolling.
I’ve listened to Peter Mckinnon before on the topic of making money with photography and videography.
Not sure if I could fully recommend him as far as wholesomeness goes though…
Since I haven’t earned a lot money with photography yet, I would love to hear what other, more experienced, photographers have to say on this topic!I’m excited for you @loganlamar! Keep up the good work of study.
Never been in your situation, but here’s what comes to mind right off. Most anything will spring out of your current connections. Talk about it with everybody you know personally. Does the school have a dedicated photographer already? If so, do they need anything? If not, what does the school and it’s faculty need? I wonder if some sort of trade-of-service could be more lucrative than selling actual services or product. The best way to make money as a photographer is doing portraits for individuals, families or weddings (if you’re into that). See if people need an event photographer. Do you know a professional who needs a 2nd photographer? If you can’t find anything through personal connections, perhaps find a local photography club and ask them, or “Join as a Professional” on a site like Bark.com. The service is what you’re going to want to sell, not necessarily the product. Perhaps flipping equipment: buying broken/used equipment, getting it fixed locally, and then reselling it for more on Ebay. Another thought is coaching; people may pay you to teach them how to edit or organize their photos. Sell your knowledge of photography.
Let us do keep brainstorming!
(By the way, @ernestf-lloyd, like your new profile picture. 🙂 Looks like your someplace other than PA?)
(By the way, @ernestf-lloyd, like your new profile picture. 🙂 Looks like your someplace other than PA?)
Yeah, I was in Colorado for a few weeks in August and September! @jamesstaddon
Hey @loganlamar, great to hear about your degree. All the best with your studies. University studying can be fun, challenging, and rewarding.
I’ve also never been in your situation before, probably because I haven’t approached photography from a business standpoint. It’s been more of a hobby for me when I have the time. Unfortunately, my studies (Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting and Finance) are time-consuming, leaving me with minimal time for photography.
@ernestf-lloyd Actually, I do shoot videos for my father’s small business, and in fact I’ve gotten a lot of valuable experience through that. In fact, shooting for my dad led up to a gig with a small life-coaching conference. I shot the whole thing, edited it in a month, and it paid for a part of my tuition! I guess my challenge is that I don’t have a lot of networking connections (again, I just started school in a brand new city to me—my connections are very very few).
@jamesstaddon Yeah, shooting for the school was something I had actually already considered and looked into a little. Unfortunately, they have a super solid communications and cinema department handling video for them and using equipment and skills that far surpass anything I’d be able to offer. As far as photographers are concerned, my roommate (another avid photographer) inquired and it sounded like it was a pretty competitive opportunity and they didn’t currently have a need.I guess I’m looking into outside connections. I like the idea of doing family photography sessions, I know I could shoot videos for a business, and I’ve heard a bit about real estate photography. I guess my question then lies primarily in marketing. I have skills and equipment, but how do I get the ball rolling?
@joshua_ong haha yeah time shortages are where we have to get real creative with how we go about this, and also why we need to get a little creative here with any potential job opportunities. They can’t take up a whole lot of extra time or they need to be really flexible when it comes to what I can put into it.
Hey @loganlamar, I’m reaching out to some folks I know who might be able to answer your question better than I would on those points. 🙂
I like the idea of doing family photography sessions, I know I could shoot videos for a business, and I’ve heard a bit about real estate photography. I guess my question then lies primarily in marketing. I have skills and equipment, but how do I get the ball rolling?
If you haven’t already, I think it would be good to set up some sort of portfolio so people can see your work. Even if it’s a small sampling, you can add to it as you go.
As far as marketing, I can’t speak from experience since I don’t particularly market myself at the time being. However, like you said, the photography world is full and seems pretty competitive, so you have to find a way to make yourself stand out.
I think some ways to do that is, like James mentioned, finding needs to fill. For example, a lot of photographers are expensively priced and thus a lot of families really can’t afford them, so perhaps pricing yourself more affordably than others in the area would fill that need and connect with that “unreached group”. You’d probably have to do more sessions to make up the money, but if it fills that need and generates business, it might make up for itself.
Perhaps there’s a niche (like, homeschool families) you can reach out to. Contact homeschool groups or your state’s homeschool organization and see how you can connect with families that would be blessed by your services.
Another idea I’ve had is to market family sessions as a gift to give others (who couldn’t otherwise afford it). You could charge higher prices, but still serve those folks, by marketing your sessions as gifts. People like to be generous, and giving the gift of happy family memories to a friend is a great gift! 🙂
You might also consider pricing yourself in such a way that you could offer discounts so people feel like they’re getting a fantastic deal by working with you (and of course, that should be the case).
Like I said, not speaking from experience here but just some ideas that came to mind!
Those are some good ideas, @bennett-family.
Mary replied with the following….not as much as I was expecting, but some experiential advice none the less:
Real Estate Photography– There’s some online resources for learning real estate photography but I’ve never looked into it much. I do know that real estate agencies typically sign an exclusive contract with real estate photographers.
For portrait photography– I first got started by offering some free sessions to friends and sharing them on my FB business page. I typically get my booking through word of mouth and referrals.
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