Tuesday, March 10, 2009

HELP! - I Want to Earn Some Extra Cash With My Camera!

As the current financial climate is really beginning to bite, more people are looking to earn money from their photographs and saying that they want to generate an income with their camera. They want to know how to sell their photographs online or how to start and build a wedding/portrait photography business etc? But at the present, people are spending less and everyone is tightening their belt so what are your options?

The first question that you must ask yourself is – Are my photographs good enough to sell, do I have the confidence to photograph people and do I have the commitment to see it through? Making money with your camera is not an instant quick fix for your finances. Don’t forget there’s the seasoned pro photographer out there also trying to drum up more business and if they are struggling, well what about the newcomer?

But things are not all bad. The large company has to still market their goods and services. Couples are still getting married and there are still opportunities for the portrait photographer. Even in the hard times people still have money for luxuries but you have to market your photographic services and marketing usually involves spending some hard earned cash. But if you’ve got the money, confidence and commitment, then go for it!

As the owner of a Digital Camera you do not have any film or processing costs. You can shoot as many pictures as you want without using any spare cash that you may have. One market I would certainly look at is the Microstock Photography Market, but don’t expect to be rich overnight. The big plus with submitting your photographs to the Microstock Photography Market is that you don’t have to layout any money to get started. The pictures that you upload to the libraries, who sell them on your behalf, charge no joining or subscription fees. They take their commission when and only when your image has been downloaded from their library.

I know it sound too good to be true, selling pictures each and everyday and receiving your commission cheque at the end of every month, well it is too good to be true. The commission that you receive from a download can be as little as twenty five cents. But before you stop reading let me explain. You can have that image registered with any number of Microstock Libraries. You could sell hundreds a day in theory, but I doubt that you will until you have built up a really good portfolio.

I personally, on average earn six dollars every year for each image that I upload to the Microstock Photographic Market. So if I were to upload ten images from my day out this Sunday I should earn over the next twelve months sixty dollars and another sixty dollars in the next twelve months. Some of my images have not sold yet; others are downloaded very other month. My top selling images sell on a regular basis and bring in a regular income.

My personal view of Microstock Photography is that it is an additional regular monthly income, my pension for later in life. I also regard it as a release where I can be creative and shoot my own thing. If you love taking pictures, look forward to building a future income, setting a goal to aim for all without spending any cash, Microstock Photography could be for you. Yes you can make good money from it but you must be totally committed and upload images on a regular basis. As a long term option then Microstock Photography could be regular passive income from your camera that you are looking for!


If you're sick of deleting photo after photo, tired of not understanding how to use your camera, and want an easy way to master photography, continue reading.

Photography can be tough. I know. There's the complex camera that's filled with dozens of buttons that seem to have no meaning. Composing the shot so it looks nice. And to top it off...if the light isn't right you'll end up with dark, blurry, or overexposed shots.


No wonder so many beginners give up fast.
Al Sanchez Professional Photographer