There May Be Money In Those Photos

There are pictures everywhere. Magazines, newspapers, buildings, homes, offices, wallets. They're a way to preserve our memories. They're a means of capturing and recording nature's beauty. They can provide the photographer with a great sense of fulfillment. And, if the photographer desires, they can provide an income.

If you're a photographic hobbyist, and want to try your hand at selling some of your work, don't give up your day job. Be realistic. As a freelance photographer, you probably won't be making an income high enough to support yourself right away. Check out some of the many ways to make money as a photographer and decide which ones sound like they'd fit your lifestyle. Talk to other freelance photographers to see how they got started.

Decide if you want to take on photography jobs, sell your pictures, or do both. If you're going to accept photography jobs, such as weddings or birthday parties, you should develop a portfolio of your best work. This will give you something to show potential clients. If you don't have enough good pictures to build a portfolio, take your camera bag and go out and take some quality shots to make an impressive display. Then, as you get more jobs and experience, you can add to your portfolio. Quality is more important then quantity in a portfolio.

Whether you are a natural born photographer or not, the basics for taking good quality pictures can be learned. If you need help, take a class, talk to other photographers, join your local photography group. Most all community colleges and many public libraries offer photography classes. Many of them are quite affordable, or free. Always keep working at improving and learning new techniques. This will help give you an edge in being able to have higher quality photographs when trying to sell yourself for a job or sell your product.

There are a few avenues for selling your photographs, outright. One outlet for selling your photographs is consignment. This is a good way to get your work out there and visible with no overhead. They display your pieces, and pay you a certain percentage of the receipts. You need to determine, up front, what you feel you must have for each photograph so that they can be priced in the store to get you your bottom line.

Another approach to market your photographs is setting up at the many craft shows and bazaars that can be found throughout our country on any given weekend. Most of these shows require a fee for the space and you'll need display equipment. You have to really enjoy interfacing with the public to choose this mode of sales. It's hard work. You're hauling your displays plus product to the show, setting up, tearing down and hauling back home to do it again the next weekend. But, there are people who wouldn't sell any other way and you might be one of those people.

You could also elect to sell your photographs wholesale. If you are able to get your work placed in a couple upscale retail stores, all you have to do is get your photographs to them and let them do the rest. Leaving you free to take your camera bag, loaded with camera and accessories, and go out in search of more salable photographs.

By: Suzanne VanDeGrift

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Suzanne VanDeGrift has developed this article for M-ROCK.COM, manufacturer of a Modular Fanny Pack Camera Bag System .