Side Hustle Ideas for Photographers

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Apr 30

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Ideas for photographers to make extra income

Not every photographer makes their income solely from photography. There are several ways to generate income as a photographer without just the act of photographing. Since photography can be an up-and-down business based on seasonality and other factors, many photographers look for alternative ways to earn additional income. Learn about different side hustle ideas for photographers to generate income. Side hustles for photographers

Guest posting

Are you an avid writer? Consider guest posting as a potential side hustle for photographers. Reach out to some of your favorite photography blogs and see if they are taking guest posts. Many sites will pay for guest blogging contributions, especially if you know a thing or two about SEO. Regardless of whether the opportunity is paid, guest posting is also great for your own SEO. Guest posting drives links back to your website, which can improve its ranking.

Starting up a podcast

Do you have a lot to say on your craft? Start up a podcast. It’s a really fun way to share your expertise with other professionals, plus get to know peers in your field! Podcasts can also generate revenue for photographers with both sponsorships and affiliate linking. Affiliate links are a great way to get started generating podcast revenue, while sponsorships come as you build up your listenership. Promoting affiliate links within your podcast can show potential advertisers how you talk about products that you stand by to your audience.

Hosting a YouTube channel

If you’ve got a lot of downtime, consider hosting a YouTube channel. Not only is this a small way to make YouTube ad revenue, but you can also use it to monetize in other ways. One way to monetize your YouTube channel is through affiliate links. If you are an affiliate for any equipment or software that you really love, you can do tutorials and promote on YouTube. A second idea to monetize via YouTube would be to have sponsored videos. Similar to promoting software and equipment you love with affiliate links, collaborating with sponsors can generate income.

Stock photography

Go through your backlog of photos and see if there are some that are usable for stock. If they have people in them, make sure you have the proper model release forms signed. Otherwise, try it with still life images, architecture, landscapes, etc. to see if there are some images that may work for stock. Some advice when you are picking out stock photography: choose unique images. There are going to be thousands of stock photos of a flower available, so don’t pick a generic photo of a flower. If you have a flower in a wine glass, for example, that’s already more distinctly different from the average flower photo. Search for creative shots for stock image licensing.

Photography coaching

Is there something you’re really, really good at? Try your hand at photography coaching. Coaching is a great way to spread your expertise to other photographers and create some profit for your business. Offer some complimentary coaching sessions to people in your audience who are interested. This is a solid way to get your coaching business off the ground. You can then collect testimonials from those that you have coached and market your business with that feedback. It’s also a great way to test-run your coaching business and see what can be improved upon.

Selling online education

Developing the coaching idea even further, creating online education can be a valuable avenue in your business. This could look like e-books on topics that you are very knowledgeable about that are one-off sales. If you want to go more in-depth and sell a higher-ticket item, creating a course is a good option. These often include several modules diving deep into specific topics that your course covers. This can include downloads, videos, audio components, reading components – online courses are very versatile.

Freelance editing

Is photo editing something you actually don’t mind doing? Consider yourself in the minority when it comes to photographers. So many photographers don’t like culling their images down from events or photo shoots. Freelance editing is an awesome skill to put to work as a side hustle. Plus, keep your creative brain on its toes by editing the work of other photographers. See what they’re up to and how they’re shooting when you dive into freelance photo editing. You can market your freelance editing business on your own, or use directory sites to promote yourself. There are plenty of sites where businesses can search for freelance individuals to hire them.

Selling presets

If you have a stunning and distinctive editing style, sell presets to other photographers. You can promote these easily and for free on your social media channels to photographers who follow you. Presets are valuable for photographers as it speeds up the editing process. It can also help them to achieve a look that they can’t figure out on their own. Selling these digital products can be an easy way to generate passive income, as once you put them for sale and automate the marketing, you never have to think about the sales again.

Selling templates

Do you have some design skills you love to put to use? Sell templates to other photographers and creatives. Think about how other photographers are using PDFs and design documents. Can you design a style guide for them to fill in for their clients? How about a guide to local venues? You can sell templates for resumes, investment guides, flyers, and other design-forward documents photographers can use. These can be sold directly on your site or through a third-party provider.