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PHOTOGRAPHY ARTICLES PUBLISHED BY BAREBULB GALLERIES
Kicking off our new monthly photographic article series this February 2004, we start with the topic of...
Innovative Ideas for Freelance Photographers on
How to Earn a Living with Photography
As many skilled photographers already know, photography can be a lucrative business when you put in enough effort, dedication and hours, polish up those business and marketing skills, and not to forget, some essential financing! But sometimes it takes that little extra innovative thinking to generate that much needed extra business and income.
You may already be aware that there are many fields of photography to specialise in – commercial & stock photography, professional portraiture, limited edition photography... to name but a few. Maybe you have already moved into specialising in one or another area, but are looking for other ways to generate extra income.
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In this month’s article, we mention a few innovative ideas on how to make extra money with your freelance photography business, never forgetting that the first rule to a successful & lucrative photography business is: Market Yourself, Market Yourself, Market Yourself! Get out there, talk to potential customers, offer your services where-ever and whenever you can. Carry business cards where-ever you go, and pass them out freely.
- Keep an eye on local news and special events being held in your local area – local newspapers and company newsletters are always on the look-out for that special photograph to add to their editorials. Photograph community events, trade shows, circus and theme park openings, sports events, new shops & stores’ grand opening events, public school events.
- Frequent tourist locations or attractions – set up a mobile photography business and offer tourists single and group portraits with the tourist location in the background in either polaroid or digital prints.
- Don’t forget public holidays! Who wouldn’t like a professional portrait of the whole family gathered together for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years? Have bunny ears ready for Easter kiddie portraits, Santa Claus stocking-hats, elven caps, & those cute stuffed reindeer antlers for Christmas. Move out on the streets and snap those scary little Trick-'n-Treat-ers on Halloween!
- Network with moms – offer to photograph their children’s special events: Baptisms, Birthdays, First School Days, Teen graduations, Prom nights. You’d be amazed how quickly the news will spread if one mom is delighted with her photographs – pretty soon you’ll be in great demand by other moms! Never forget the power of word-of-mouth marketing!
- Approach businesses – offer public relation shots, executive portraits or even progress shots on construction sites. Offer your services as a real estate photographer, interior décor photogrpaher, product photographer for catalogs or sales manuals.
- Schools have been mentioned above, but deserve a special second mention, when it comes to photographic opportunities – not only can you offer your services as their yearbook and school event photographer, you can also get innovative as a friend of mine has. She approached several pre-shools and kindergardens in her community, and with their permission, spends a week per school snapping away at the children at play – posting her photography at the entrance of these schools, for parents to view and order. Needless to say, she has built up a thriving business, as parents, impressed by her quality & method of photography, starting contacting her for other special events.
- Freelancers who love to travel and get around – there is an abundance of opportunities to make money on the road… Drop in at resorts and offer “a-day-in-the-vacation-of” photo packages to foreign vacationers, liase with summer camp organisers to photograph either their special events or storybook the complete summer camp event, take some time to photograph scenery where-ever you go and offer postcards, greeting cards, reprints and novelty items featuring your photography for sale at tourist gift shops and hotels – and, last but not least, don’t forget those multitude of parades & festivals all over the country!
- Of course, for those freelance photographers that have a little less wanderlust, and have a knack for the more technical aspects of photography – there are many other ways to set up a lucrative photographic business without competing directly with those large one-hour franchises: You can set up your specialised photographic services in one location, taking special care to market these services extensively to the community businesses around you. There is always a demand for duplicating, retouching, restoration, and even hand-coloring services in any community. Setting up photography workshops for children & amateurs, and organising photography field trips for nature photographers, or even starting a photographic club in your community are just a few more ways of not just getting involved, but also helping to spread the word on your photographic services and endeavours.
As a last word on what it takes to generate income with photography - remember that business does not come to you just because you are a photographer - it comes to those freelance photographers that make a serious effort in marketing themselves and getting out there, keeping an eye open for opportunites and seizing them!
Copyright Silver McBain © 2004 (BareBulb Galleries)
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[ This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in part or whole in any way without prior permission from the author. If you are interested in using this article either in print or on your web-site, re-publication is free-of-charge, requiring only a link back to www.barebulb.com and visible display of the author's copyright. Please CONTACT US for the necessary permission. ]
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Have a comment on this article? - Add your own innovative ideas, views, and success stories!
FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHY WRITERS! – if you wish to submit free articles to publish here, please CONTACT US for more details. Articles are always welcome!
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