Cameras are wonderful tools, and if you find yourself looking for a way to make a little money, then your camera may be just the ticket. You will need to decide how you want to use your camera to make money, but I have a few suggestions for you.
If you live in a local tourist area, then you can take a Polaroid camera with you to a popular tourist destination. Offer to take pictures of people for a small fee. Be sure that you cover your expenses and try to charge an even amount, such as $5, to avoid the need for change. With the new digital printers for cameras, you can even do this business high-tech. You can spend a couple of hours here and there at your location and begin to bring in a fair amount of money.
Taking pictures and creating your own postcards is another way that you can begin to make money. You should begin by picking out a few good scenes in your local area. Then you will need to visit the scene a few times so that you can get a good idea of the time of day when it is best to take the pictures. Go out and get the photos. Then you will need to purchase postcard paper and print out the pictures on the front of the postcards. You can approach local business owners and ask them to put them up for sale in their stores.
If you are new to photography and want to go into event photography, you should start small. Unless you have a great array of work, people will want references. Begin with birthday parties for children. While you will not make as much, there is not as much pressure as there is with weddings and other high-profile events. Offer to come out and take some candid shots of the kids as well as some pictures of them individually. You should find out the theme of the party and come up with a basic prop set. Take a picture of each child, and then the birthday parents can offer it up as a souvenir to their guests.
Taking pictures for your local paper may be an easy way to make a little extra cash. Sometimes newspaper editors find that they want a good photo layout, but they do not have the staff photographers to send out. You may be sent to high school graduations, proms, or little festivals to get good pictures. The key will be to get the pictures and take care of them in a short timeframe so that you are making a good amount of money per hour.
Taking pictures for family postcards and holiday cards is another interesting way to make money from taking pictures. Just like with the scenery postcards, you can print the pictures onto postcards. Have a variety of holiday-themed cards for the families to choose from so that they can get what they want. You will need to meet up with the family and pose them for the pictures. Try to get them to take pictures near something that speaks to the family. A farm family may take a picture in front of the tractor, for example, or an athletic family may want to bring their gear into the photo. The key for you is to capture their personalities in the picture.
Finally, you can create a book of your photography. Think of a theme. You can do local festivals or your city at night or any theme you would like. You will need to spend several months out taking pictures that work with your theme. In the end, you will pick 50 or 100 of the pictures and turn them into a book of pictures. Write a little page or so about each of the pictures so that people will have a reference point.
These ideas are only a few of the ways that you can make money with your camera. If you are interested in photography, sit back and think a while. You are sure to come up with something that will allow you to combine your passion for photography with your desire to make money.
By Julia Mercer
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