r u making $ with your camera?

[Zen000]

Is anyone making $ with there hobby.

Note: this is not intended for the pro's! Just the ametures who make some $ on the side. I would like to know how u do it.
Do you:
Sell prints?
Soot occasional wed?
Photo friends events?
Sell on internet?......
Also what type of photos have you made money in?
portraits?
Landscape?
Wildlife?
Sports?....

Im trying to justify the money i spend on photography. So im looking to make some $ in order to, no not recoop but to buy more photo equipment.
Thanks,
Nick

 

[Darrel60784]

My suggestion would be to purchase your equipment like another hobby and just enjoy it. There are those that are trying to make a serious run at photography as a profession and a living. These days It's getting harder and harder to do that. It takes time, experience and commitment. If you have the talent and want to make a run at starting business, have a commitment towards professionalism and providing top quality prints at fair market value, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, leave the work for those running a serious business. Just my two cents...

Is anyone making $ with there hobby.
Note: this is not intended for the pro's! Just the ametures who
make some $ on the side. I would like to know how u do it.
Do you:
Sell prints?
Soot occasional wed?
Photo friends events?
Sell on internet?......
Also what type of photos have you made money in?
portraits?
Landscape?
Wildlife?
Sports?....

Im trying to justify the money i spend on photography. So im
looking to make some $ in order to, no not recoop but to buy more
photo equipment.
Thanks,
Nick

 

[simon]

This place can be dangerous

The more time I spend here, the less time I spend in the creative area - and with $$ paying customers.

NG's are horribly addictive and can be a real curse.

--

• Simon, Sydney

 

[Marc Benjamin]

Hey Zen,

I had the same thought lingering on my mind since I've bought my D100 w/Nikkor 28-200 (3K all together so far!).

And yes you can make money! But before you do, you really need to know a great deal of Photoshop!

That aside, start with selling simple BW headshot prints to students in your local community colleges actor training/stage courses.

My experience with friends has been, the better a friend you do a shoot, the lesser you'll get paid. A fair deal would be cost of developing + lunch/Drinks.

Remember Time For Prints...... your not gonna make money as a photographer from the get go.

Is anyone making $ with there hobby.
Note: this is not intended for the pro's! Just the ametures who
make some $ on the side. I would like to know how u do it.
Do you:
Sell prints?
Soot occasional wed?
Photo friends events?
Sell on internet?......
Also what type of photos have you made money in?
portraits?
Landscape?
Wildlife?
Sports?....

Im trying to justify the money i spend on photography. So im
looking to make some $ in order to, no not recoop but to buy more
photo equipment.
Thanks,
Nick

--
Thanks,
and hey,
Keep the Faith!

Nikon D100
Nikkor 28 - 200 3.5 - 5.6
Minolta Dimage X
Photoshop 7
and never shot on film based SLR

 

[Bill Grove]

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can make some money part time with it. I really youth sports photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball, soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[Terry H.]

Bill,

How do you like photoreflect.com as your source of website and sells? I want to do the same thing, but with skydiving pictures? I see you sell a 8x10 for $12 on photoreflect.com, how much of that sale would you get?

Terry

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can
make some money part time with it. I really youth sports
photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball,
soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new
camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and
sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or
may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying
to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I
have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no
one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo
business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the
action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and
something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is
setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I
haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty
close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I
want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to
do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small
business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[Bill Grove]

Photoreflect has worked very nicely. They take 18% plus 3% for credit card processing. I use EZprints through photoreflect to print the photos and they are excellent. The print on Fuji photo paper and the photos are really nicely done. Orders take about a week to process and they ship directly to the customer. The way I have set up the pricing, 4x6 photos are the most profitable and it is by far the most popular size. Many parents buy 4x6 photos and then order 8x10 or larger later after they see the quality of the photos / prints.

I looked at a number of website to do this with but photoreflect seemed to me to be the best deal. $0 cost to setup, they provide software to manage the website, they pay every two weeks if you have orders pending. Overall very simple and easy.

The one thing I would recommend to someone thinking about this would be to get a cable or ISDN hookup, the photo uploads will take forever to get done with 56K. Also when a customer orders you have to send the full file to EZprints for processing if someone orders 10 different 4x6 prints it would take an hour + with 56K. I added ISDN in Sept. and it has been great, very fast.

How do you like photoreflect.com as your source of website and
sells? I want to do the same thing, but with skydiving pictures? I
see you sell a 8x10 for $12 on photoreflect.com, how much of that
sale would you get?

Terry

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can
make some money part time with it. I really youth sports
photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball,
soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new
camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and
sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or
may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying
to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I
have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no
one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo
business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the
action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and
something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is
setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I
haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty
close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I
want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to
do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small
business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[John Ricard]

Check out http://www.nikonpro.com

It is a service that allows you to sell prints online to people that you have photographed. It's easy to use and I've made quite a few sales from my site there. It costs about $40 a month to maintain, but its worth it to me.

 

[Bill Grove]

I really think you get the same level of service from Photoreflect for zero cost each month. You don't get the "nikon pro" name but I don't really think this matters to the customer.

 

[Pamela Almodovar]

Is anyone making $ with there hobby.
Note: this is not intended for the pro's! Just the ametures who
make some $ on the side. I would like to know how u do it.
Do you:
Sell prints?
Soot occasional wed?
Photo friends events?
Sell on internet?......
Also what type of photos have you made money in?
portraits?
Landscape?
Wildlife?
Sports?....

Im trying to justify the money i spend on photography. So im
looking to make some $ in order to, no not recoop but to buy more
photo equipment.
Thanks,
Nick

I use mine as supplementary income. I made about 600.00 last month working on Saturdays. I made christmas cards, calendars, portraits. I had a friend who wanted a calendar for her husband. He coaches the youth basket ball team that this two sons play on. So she wanted pictures of the two of them and her husband with some of his natural expressions. It was a real hit and a lot of fun. The calendars are a real hit. People love flipping the months and seeing their family. I hope one day to make more but for right now it's just a lot of fun. I do agree with the comment about knowing Photoshop. But I believe you really need to know many programs. I use a calendar program, a card program, a publishing program and a couple of photo editing programs. I could probably get by with one but knowing a few gives you variety. My favorite project last month was a lady who wanted a collage of her daughter and marilyn monroe. I didn't have to use my d100 but I did have to know photoshop. I want to eventually make web sites for people also. I can take all the photos and make the web site. I love my camera.

Pam

 

[Blue60407]

Simon, very neat solution to signature/equipment. Very creative! Were you the first to do it?

This place can be dangerous

The more time I spend here, the less time I spend in the creative
area - and with $$ paying customers.

NG's are horribly addictive and can be a real curse.

--

• Simon, Sydney

--
Blue
http://www.pbase.com/image/1582173

 

[Terry H.]

Thanks Bill. I will definitely will look into photoreflect.com. I use DSL for my internet connection, so I should be okay with downloads. Do you give out business cards while you are out shooting these events?

Terry

I looked at a number of website to do this with but photoreflect
seemed to me to be the best deal. $0 cost to setup, they provide
software to manage the website, they pay every two weeks if you
have orders pending. Overall very simple and easy.

The one thing I would recommend to someone thinking about this
would be to get a cable or ISDN hookup, the photo uploads will take
forever to get done with 56K. Also when a customer orders you have
to send the full file to EZprints for processing if someone orders
10 different 4x6 prints it would take an hour + with 56K. I added
ISDN in Sept. and it has been great, very fast.

How do you like photoreflect.com as your source of website and
sells? I want to do the same thing, but with skydiving pictures? I
see you sell a 8x10 for $12 on photoreflect.com, how much of that
sale would you get?

Terry

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can
make some money part time with it. I really youth sports
photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball,
soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new
camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and
sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or
may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying
to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I
have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no
one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo
business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the
action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and
something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is
setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I
haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty
close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I
want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to
do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small
business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[John Ricard]

Geez...I wish you had told me that LAST year when I started paying NikonPro!!!

Seriously though, after reading your post, I switched my service over to Photo Reflect. I've already created the new storefront and cancelled my Nikon Pro account. The new site, http://www.johnricard.photoreflect.com should be active by Monday.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Darrel60784]

Why is it that people always feel that they have to try and recoup their money on photography equipment? It's a hobby just like anything else. I ride motorcycles but I didn't start a motorcycle business to recoup the expense of my new bike.

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can
make some money part time with it. I really youth sports
photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball,
soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new
camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and
sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or
may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying
to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I
have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no
one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo
business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the
action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and
something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is
setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I
haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty
close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I
want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to
do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small
business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[Bill Grove]

I do hand out business cards but I am really low key about it. The only other thing I did was to have a photovest that I wear that has the website name on the back of it (embroidery I didn't spell that right did I ?)

Word of mouth is the best. You can also be more proactive and work with the league and have coaches pass out info etc. I have always offered free photos to the leagues to use on their website in exchange for a small tag line saying were the photos have come from.

Terry

I looked at a number of website to do this with but photoreflect
seemed to me to be the best deal. $0 cost to setup, they provide
software to manage the website, they pay every two weeks if you
have orders pending. Overall very simple and easy.

The one thing I would recommend to someone thinking about this
would be to get a cable or ISDN hookup, the photo uploads will take
forever to get done with 56K. Also when a customer orders you have
to send the full file to EZprints for processing if someone orders
10 different 4x6 prints it would take an hour + with 56K. I added
ISDN in Sept. and it has been great, very fast.

How do you like photoreflect.com as your source of website and
sells? I want to do the same thing, but with skydiving pictures? I
see you sell a 8x10 for $12 on photoreflect.com, how much of that
sale would you get?

Terry

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can
make some money part time with it. I really youth sports
photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball,
soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new
camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and
sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or
may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying
to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I
have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no
one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo
business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the
action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and
something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is
setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I
haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty
close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I
want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to
do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small
business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[Jeff Davidson]

I get press passes & photo vests, at the west coast CART events, I attend, from a website, I photograph for. I get to go places I couldn't get to, when I was buying tickets, to the events. I get closer to the action & I don't have chain link fencing, in my pictures, anymore. I also got a ride, around Laguna Seca, in a pace car, last year. Some, wouldn say, I don't get paid, but that lap, was priceless.

Jeff

Is anyone making $ with there hobby.
Note: this is not intended for the pro's! Just the ametures who
make some $ on the side. I would like to know how u do it.
Do you:
Sell prints?
Soot occasional wed?
Photo friends events?
Sell on internet?......
Also what type of photos have you made money in?
portraits?
Landscape?
Wildlife?
Sports?....

Im trying to justify the money i spend on photography. So im
looking to make some $ in order to, no not recoop but to buy more
photo equipment.
Thanks,
Nick

 

[Peter Dove]

Why are people having a go at people trying to recoup costs on photography????

As far as I see it, if you could make money from something you consider a hobby its a bonus, who wouldnt love to have a job they enjoy doing?

I spent over £2500 on equipment so far and I take pictures at our equestrian centre every weekend at the competitions. I dont do it very efficiently, its only me and I make over £100 each time. I sell the prints to people there and then with the Epson 1290S. I miss a lot of shots because I need to print the photographs and sell, I bet I could easily make double that if I had an assistant.

So please lay off people who want to make money from their creative ideas and hobbies. In days where money is hard to come by for some people, its nice to justify the spend by recouping some of the costs!

Peter

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can
make some money part time with it. I really youth sports
photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball,
soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new
camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and
sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or
may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying
to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I
have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no
one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo
business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the
action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and
something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is
setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I
haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty
close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I
want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to
do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small
business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[Bill Grove]

For me it is the satisfaction of taking pictures of the kids and the photos are good enough that the parents want to buy them. It does allow me to justify equipment that I would not normally buy. An example of this would be the pocket wizard setup to do remote flash with for basketball, I would have never bought them without the potential to make back at least some of the money.

The other part of if is trying to justify the extra time you put into it with your better half.

If there is an area of photography that you really enjoy you can
make some money part time with it. I really youth sports
photography, I have a football and wrestling son and a softball,
soccer, basketball daughter. I helped justify the cost of new
camera equipment by taking a few extra sports photos of kids and
sell them for a resonable price. This is an area that there may or
may not be someone (read pro) doing in your area. I am not trying
to step on toes or put a full-time photographer out of business. I
have only looked at sports and clubs or leagues were there is no
one doing it. Most money in youth sports is made in the team photo
business which to me would be just another job. I prefer the
action photo side of things as it is a much greater challenge and
something that most parents can't do themselves. My business is
setup as a legitimate business, I pay sales tax and income tax. I
haven't paid for my D100 and lenses yet but I am getting pretty
close. My goal is to simply cover the cost of new equipment that I
want to buy. A second goal is to get my kids interested and try to
do some of the photography themselves and also learn about small
business.

You can take a look at my website at http://www.mvpshots.com

 

[Peter Dove]

Hi,

My wife and I run an equestrian centre. I take pictures at the competitions ( one day each weekend ). I print them out on my Epson 2190S and sell them in various sizes.

I am also getting very good in photoshop and started doing digital makeovers for people.

Have a look at http://www.soleyphotos.com , the site is not complete, and click on the Beaver button or the Jess Wildder button and see some samples of the things I have been taking. When you click on the Beaver button the person rising the horse is me

Cheers

Peter

Is anyone making $ with there hobby.
Note: this is not intended for the pro's! Just the ametures who
make some $ on the side. I would like to know how u do it.
Do you:
Sell prints?
Soot occasional wed?
Photo friends events?
Sell on internet?......
Also what type of photos have you made money in?
portraits?
Landscape?
Wildlife?
Sports?....

Im trying to justify the money i spend on photography. So im
looking to make some $ in order to, no not recoop but to buy more
photo equipment.
Thanks,
Nick

 

[James Riley]

Why is it that people always feel that they have to try and recoup
their money on photography equipment? It's a hobby just like
anything else. I ride motorcycles but I didn't start a motorcycle
business to recoup the expense of my new bike.

If somebody were to ask you to run errands for them on your bike, eventually you would want to charge something, wouldn't you?

--
JR