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14 Ways to Make More Money as a Photographer

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You saw this article's headline somewhere and clicked on it because you want to improve your portrait photography business, right?  Well, this article will do NOTHING for you if you only read it.  Make today a DO day.  Take at least one of these ideas and ACT ON IT if you really want to make your photography business a success.

On a daily basis, I hear from photographers across the world who are scrapping and fighting to get a profitable portrait photography business off the ground.  It can be tough, but it is also worth it.  Unfortunately, I think many of these photographers put the cart before the horse, and it hurts their portrait photography business.  What I mean is that many photographers fight hard to get a client, but don't have a system in place to earn as much from each client as possible.  Also, they haven't considered creative offerings that would help them convince clients to book a session.

I hope these ideas will help to make your photography business more successful so you can better provide for your families.

Idea #1: Mini photo sessions

I believe that this trend is changing by the number of photographers who are advertising in the market right now, but most families do not pay for a photographer for every newborn, every Christmas, every soccer team, every year in school, every wedding, etc.  Most families will hire a photographer for a few of those events, but it is uncommon for someone to pay a photographer multiple times per year for all of these events.  They usually just pick a few.  Usually, the reason for this inconsistency with clients is because they don't want to spend the money.

You can sell to these clients by offering mini-sessions.  Perhaps the client wouldn't normally spend $300 and spend an afternoon getting the perfect Christmas card picture, but they may be willing to pay $100 for a short 30 minute session to get a great photo of their new baby.  I understand that you need to charge a lot to make your business work, but offering a smaller mini-session can help you get cash flow instead of hoping for more clients.  Remember, you don't make any money when you're on the computer doing advertising.  Your money comes from shooting photos and selling photos.

Money you can make by implementing this idea: Depends on a lot of things, but you could easily book 2 or 3 mini-sessions a week that you would not otherwise get.  That could easily earn you $300 every single week as a photographer.

Stock photography shoot by a photographer trying to earn extra money.
Stock photography

Idea #2: Stock photography

You have thousands of dollars of photography gear, you have the ability to make great photos, and yet you often find yourself just sitting around waiting for clients.  Don't waste your resources!  Grab a model and stick them in the studio!  Spend a free 30 minutes today shooting some photos that would be suitable for inclusion on the iStockphoto collection or on other sites like Fotolia.

Stock photography may not earn you thousands of dollars a year unless you dedicate serious time and resources to it, but it is certainly more profitable than sitting on your duff, hoping to get a client to walk in the door.  Get up and go shoot someone–anyone!

Money you can make by implementing this idea: Many stock photographers report earnings of $1 per image per month that it is on sale at istockphoto and other microstock companies.  That isn't much money if you only have a few images for sale, but it can be a decent return if you take great photos and have many of them for sale.

Want to earn $350 more from each wedding? Then check out this tip!

Idea #3: Heirloom photo at the reception

This is my super-secret tip that I haven't told anyone before, but it works like MAGIC!  How would you like to earn $350 more from every single wedding, without asking your client for a dime?  It's simple!

When you shoot the client's engagement photos before the wedding, ask the client which photo they would like to have printed HUGE to put in their home.  Not a little framed print in the hall, but a centerpiece wall-hanger print.  The kind of thing that hangs above the mantle.  When the client picks the print and you sell them on the idea of having an heirloom masterpiece print in their home, tell them the price.  More than likely, it will blow them away when they realize that a giant 30×40″ canvas gallery wrap like this will cost about $500.  So, they want the print, and you want their money.  How do you get the money without asking them to pay a dime?

Offer to print the gallery wrap at your own cost.  Then, make the proposition.  You'll print the photo at your own expense and bring it to the wedding reception.  Hang it on a nice easel at the entrance with a sign and a box.  On the sign, ask for wedding guests to make small donations for the couple so they can get the beautiful photo for their home.

I like to do this with the agreement that all the money in the box goes to the photographer up to the price of the photo (which can be a lot), and the wedding couple keeps anything above that amount.  9 times out of 10, there is way more money donated than the photo actually costs.  This method could easily earn you $350 more per wedding, and you don't have to ask your clients for ANY money!  Now THAT is a good idea!

Money you can make by implementing this idea: $350 more per wedding for every single wedding you shoot.  Oh, and this idea isn't just for wedding photographers.  You could do the same thing by taking someone's pregnancy photos and then having a great “big belly” photo available at the baby shower.  The possibilities are endless with this one.

Hit up your contacts so you can take more pictures

Idea #4: Hit up your contacts

I'm going to say something a little strong.  I don't mean to be rude, but I want this to sink in so I'm going to say what I'm really thinking.  “Photographers who do not keep an email list of clients and prospective clients are fools.”

No, you don't have to Spam your clients every week and drive them crazy.  However, it can make you a lot of money if you carefully send emails that will be useful to your clients.  Here's an example of how to use your email list….

Jenny came in to have a pregnancy shoot done in December.  99% of photographers shoot Jenny's photos and casually say, “I'd love to shoot the newborn photos when she's born” as the client walks out of your studio.  That is lousy follow-up and I know you don't want a lousy business.  Get Jenny's email and send her an email a week after her due date.  Attach a couple baby pictures that you've taken and send a personalized email saying you enjoyed working with her, you would like to do the baby shoot, offer a discount, and mention a couple ideas you have for the shoot which make reference to the attached pictures.

Money you can make by implementing this idea: Almost impossible to guage with a number, but I think it is reasonable to say that you will get 2 or 3 times more return customers with this careful follow-up.  You can do the math.  That's a lot of money!

Get a second shooter deal for wedding photography

Idea #5: Get a second  shooter deal

When I speak with beginning wedding photographers, most of them admit to me that they don't usually pay a second shooter.  Sometimes it's a cost-saving measure, but most of them would be willing to use some of the proceeds from shooting the wedding to pay for a second shooter if they knew how to find someone at a reasonable price.  Also, MANY beginning pro photographers would be willing to second-shoot for someone else if they could get their foot in the door.

So, hop online and find a meetup group or a local camera club.  Rub shoulders and find other new pro photographers like you who are looking for the same thing.  Offer to second shoot for their weddings for a reasonable price, and you promise to hire them to second for you when you have a wedding.  I hate to use trite expressions, but that really is a win-win.  Get out there and network!

Money you can make by implementing this idea: First of all, you'll make money because the service you offer to your clients will be significantly improved by adding a second shooter.  Also, you could easily fill up a lot of free days by earning money as a second shooter.  This idea is a no-brainer!

Photographer shooting photos for a client
‘Tis the season!

Idea #6: Seize the (holi) day

The Christmas season is Christmas card season for photographers.  Also, it's when families are together, so you're likely to get a lot of request to do family photos.  Photographers who are too casual with their photography business simply put “Available for Christmas card photos” on their website.  Other photographers feel they are being proactive by having a Christmas card promotion.  Snore!  You care about your business and you know you can book more clients by putting a little more effort into your promotion.

Grab some Santa hats from the attic and get a family to go out with you for a couple hours.  Take some great Christmas shots so you'll have something to show on your site to potential clients.  Then, SPREAD THE WORD!  Offer your close friends and family members a free Christmas card picture and then ask them to change their facebook status to read, “Took the family to get our Christmas card picture taken.  Christy Jones is the photographer  and she did a great job.  The photos look FANTASTIC and she only charged us $97!”

Which photographer do you think will be busy in November?  The photographer sitting on their couch writing “Available for Christmas card shoots” on her website, or the one who gets up and DOES SOMETHING today?

Money you can make by implementing this idea: Most people won't want to pay $300 for a Christmas card photo, but the good news is that you can take Christmas card pictures in around 20 minutes if you have great ideas for the shots.  You could book a LOT of families if you charge a reasonable price and do a good job.  I think it would be reasonable to get 2 or 3 families a day during November to pay around $100 if you run a good campaign.  Since Christmas card pictures don't take much of your time, that is a good return for your time (depending on how much overhead you have).

It may not be the major league, but shooting kids' sports leagues can be a great way to earn a little extra money.

Idea #7: Shoot the masses

Most photographers would love to get a deal with local little league soccer (football for all you international folks) league to shoot the team pictures, but most leagues already have established relationships with photographers.  Shooting local sports groups can be very profitable because you get paid by 20 or 30 parents for doing just one shoot.  It's good economics!

So how do you break into this market if all the leagues already have relationships with other photographers?  Don't try to take the formal team pictures.  Go to the league and offer to pay them $200 or so for the opportunity to shoot action shots during league play.  The league will be happy because they get $200 for doing absolutely nothing.  All you have to do is go to the game, take thousands of shots of the kids playing sports all day, and pass out little fliers to the parents telling them that they can order pictures of the their kids through your website.

If you set up a Smugmug website with a folder for the soccer games before you go, you'll be able to put the URL right on the flier.  The parents log on, buy the prints, and then Smugmug ships the prints and collects the money for you.  Dead simple!  It could make for a VERY profitable day.

Money you can make by implementing this idea: Depending on the size of the league and how well you sell yourself to the parents during the game, you could easily earn over $1,000 doing this for a morning.  The trick is to keep going up to the parents and showing them the pictures on your LCD.

Idea #8: Freelance for local magazines

National magazines have a team of photographers.  Smaller magazines on general topics such as cooking can get most of their images from stock; however, local magazines are usually scrapping for photos of local places.  If you start searching the magazine racks around town, you will most likely find that there are two or three small magazines or weekly newspapers.  Send a few photos to the editor and offer more for a reasonable price per photo.

If the editor likes your work and you charge a reasonable price, you could get many assignments to shoot places around town in your free time.  This is also a great way to get your name out there and build your portfolio.  The trick is to stop thinking this is a “good idea” and go DO IT!

Money you can make by implementing this idea: Totally depends.

Prints for clients!

Idea #9: Prints for referrals

Most photographers ask clients for referrals.  Every once in a blue moon, you might actually get one from asking.  However, you could be getting 10 times more referrals if you put some thought into how to get the referrals.  Here is one way you could improve your referral system.

After a shoot, offer a free print for each local friend or family member the client refers to you.  The prints will cost very little to you, and the referral is worth much more.  Then, send out a friendly email to the referred friend.  Attach a photo from the friend's shoot, mention that the friend thought that she would like to do a shoot of her newborn or something, and then offer a decent price reduction since the person is a referral.  Some people won't bite, but some will.  Either way, it gives you a tool to bring more people in the door.  It gives you a plan to make your business work rather than sitting around and hoping your expensive newspaper ad will make the phone ring.

Money you can make by implementing this idea: Totally depends.

Portrait party!

Idea #10: Portrait parties

For many years, makeup salespeople, Tupperware salespeople, and your annoying neighbor have been getting sales for their companies by asking people to hold a party and invite their friends.  Then, the salesperson attends the party, provides some entertainment, and then pitches a sale to the attendees.  Some of these parties can be really fun, and others are a bit too pushy.

Photographers, especially female photographers, can take advantage of this idea too!  Do a portrait party where you make a home-studio in the person's house and take fun pictures of all the women who come to attend.  If you're clever and can throw a good party, the attendees will love it!  Then, make your pitch and offer a price reduction to do a shoot for the women.  If they have kids, newborns, or even just a spouse, they'll be on the hook for another session.  If you have the personality for this type of thing, it could be a great way to get clients booked!

Money you can make by implementing this idea: If you are a “people person” and can make the event fun, it is likely that you'd get around half of the attendees to book a session.  Multiply the number of sessions by your normal fee, and you have a great profit, and it was fun to earn!

Idea #11: 50% off holes

If you have a decent number of bookings, but you often have holes in your schedule with the studio sitting empty, shoot out an email to some of your clients that you haven't seen in a while and offer a 50% discount if they come in to fill that hole.

Money you can make by implementing this idea: 50% of your normal booking fee.  It may not be much, but it's worth infinitely more money than you'll earn by just sitting around.

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Idea #12: Get your clients in a rut

Sit down for a minute and make a LOOoong list of all the professional pictures someone could have taken of them during their life.  Pregnancy photo, then newborn photo, then a Christmas card, then a shoot when they turn 1 year-old, then a shoot of the kid when they are walking and talking, then another Christmas card, then a family photo, then a school photo when they go in school, senior portraits, engagement shoots, wedding photos, anniversaries, headshots for work, etc.  The possibilities are endless from just one client.

The trick is that the PHOTOGRAPHER needs to clue into this system and get the clients in a rut.  Get them in a routine.  Think about it.  When you get an oil change, the first thing you see in your car after getting back in it is a sticker on the windshield telling you when you need to return for another oil change.  Photographers need to do the same thing.  Right when the client orders the pictures from one shoot, hand them a coupon for their Christmas card picture, or whatever the next routine shoot will be in their lives.  Then, follow up with them when it's time for the shoot.

Money you can make by implementing this idea: If the question is how much money it's worth to get 20 shoots out of each client instead of just one shoot for each client, I think we can all see that this idea could be worth thousands of dollars and bring return customers for many years to come.

Idea #13: Design the graduation announcement/Christmas card/baby announcement/wedding album

If you're a photographer, you already know how to use Photoshop.  That's all you'll need to know how to design a fantastic wedding album, Christmas card, graduation announcement, or many other paper photographic goods.  It would truly be a shame if you shoot your client's Christmas card photo and then lose the upsell by not offering to make the Christmas card.  Also, you'll be able to do much better than the ugly templates at Walmart anyway.  Don't make me use the trite “win-win” expression again…

Idea #14: GET OUT THERE AND CRUSH IT!

You are now armed with 13 creative ideas to improve your bottom line.  You are now in the driver's seat.  Are you going to immediately spring into action and make one of these ideas happen, or are you going to leave this site and keep searching for more tips… always learning but never succeeding?  Decide on what tip you're going to do, and write a comment below to commit to it.

If you benefitted from this article, please share the idea on Facebook/Twitter/Google+ by clicking on the buttons at the top-right of this article.  Also, make sure to LIKE the Improve Photography facebook fan page so you can see these tips in your facebook feed each morning.

Sometimes, it takes the intensity of a nerd with coke-bottle glasses, suspenders, and a bullhorn to get out there and crush it. Get out there and make your portrait photography business a success!!! Get the word out!

79 thoughts on “14 Ways to Make More Money as a Photographer”

  1. Lots of great ideas. I can personally attest to number #7, shoot the masses. I have dome this many times, and doing it at university was how I funded my first digital SLR. In fact I am even setting up my own online service helping photographers sell photos from just such events (shameless plug: http://frozenevent.com)

    Laurie

    1. Glad to see photographers from Brazil on the site. Eu fui missionario da Igreja de Jesus Christo dos Santos dos Ultimos Dias quando eu morei no Brasil. Tenho saudades do Brasil. Eu quero muito tirar ferias e viajar em Sao Paulo um dia.

      1. Ola’ Jim,
        Nao pude deixar de comentar. Eu moro em Boston mas estou ajudando uma amiga a iniciar o negocio dela de fotografia em Sao Paulo. Passei a manha inteira a ler os artigos em sua pagina; muito obrigada por dividir seus conhecimentos, sua generosidade com certeza lhe rendera’ muitos frutos. Tenho certeza que minha amiga adoraria te receber em Sao Paulo caso um dia queira voltar ao Brasil.
        Eu um dia ja’ fui da mesma igreja que voce, e penso que os ensinamentos cristãos moldem em nos um caracter de luta, persistencia e amor ao proximo. Minha filha de 25 anos faz fotos amadoras com uma Nikon D90 desde os 17 anos de idade, e ela tem muitas conexões na area de eventos e muitos amigos fotógrafos, quero ajuda-la também portanto, investiremos em novos equipamentos e vou me educar o máximo possível para testar essas aguas como sua coadjuvante; escolhi os seus cursos pra essa jornada. Um grande abraço e mais uma vez obrigada pelo seu trabalho maravilhoso !!

        1. Oi Sandra,

          Obrigado por commentar nessa pagina. Eu tenho saudades do Brasil. Amo Sao Paulo e quiero voltar la um dia. Quero passar pelo Pantanal, e de Manaus tambem.

          Sou grato por minha missao que me levou ao Brasil.

          Um abraço.

          Jim

  2. Thanks for sharing the post. So, are you starting a photography business down in Brazil? I didn’t see many photographers while I lived down there. I guess it’s just not a cultural practice to hire a photographer for events?

  3. Great stuff Jim. I’m still in the starting phase of my journey (6 months in). Loved the post. Regarding the mini-sessions, do you propose offering a CD with all the photos or 4-5 images as a digital download?

  4. Great tips!!! thank you very much… my creative brain is now flowing with some ideas!!!

    I love coming to read your blog .. keep up the great work!
    Stacey

  5. I found this site about a week ago and love it. I’m working on my smugmug site, and have been shooting high school girls varsity soccer as well. Being received well and I’m hoping to capture very individualized photos of each of the girls during the game, print and frame them at 16×20 and present something to the parents that they can take home and hang in the family room….. once the daughter is married and has her own children, what a great memory when looking at the photo and being able to say, “that was mommy when she was in school”. Thanks so much for making a great site available to all of us “beginners” (3 years)

  6. Thanks for the tips, Jim! I read your article on Wednesday night, sent an email to my girlfriends about offering portrait parties on Thursday, and was booked that day for a party on Friday. Can’t say I made a lot of money but it was more than I was going to make otherwise!

    1. Thank you for the tips! I’m excited to try some of these new things! I actually just sent out a text to some friends who were inquiring about shoots and offered them holiday mini sessions for the month of November! Thanks again for the inspiration!

  7. I love your helpful website. Thanks for sharing your great ideas and talent with us. One of my talents is editing. I can’t help it, mispelled words and incorrect punctuation POP out at me. So allow me to return the favor for so many TIPS with this note – you have a spelling error on this page.
    In the sentence, “Money you can make by implementing this idea: Almost impossible to guage…” the word guage should be spelled gauge.
    PS I cannot wait to do the model poses. I’m not a pro, I just want to improve my photography. I know several people who would love to be models for a day. Thanks!

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