Photography is one of the most acclaimed artistic expressions, and from its inception, it quickly became a favorite for capturing memories. Currently, photography is a conglomerate of techniques that serve as a vehicle for expressing, communicating, selling, promoting, and enchanting all those who observe them. Becoming a freelance photographer can be your ideal side hustle!
Whether you are an experienced photographer or just starting in the world of photography, we want to show you how you can leverage your talent to earn extra income every month. Here we show you how.
- Types of photography
- What do you need to be a freelance photographer?
- How to become a freelance photographer?
- Schedule and earnings expectations
Types of photography
Before you start working as a freelance photographer, you need to choose which types of photography you will do, if you will do a combination of several or if you will specialize only in one type of photography. This way you will know what to offer your customers and you will know what your strengths are.
Here are the best-paid and most requested types of photography of the moment:
- Photography for events: Event photographers are hired to attend weddings, parties, graduations, and all kinds of events to capture memories and the overall atmosphere. They offer individual and group photography packages, as well as general photographs of the event or party.
- Photography for families: Family photo sessions are commonly highly demanded. These involve photographs of families with children, couples, animals, and newborn babies. These kinds of photographs are extremely popular.
- Fashion Photography: Photography for fashion or fashion events has always been a very prominent category, in which photographers are dedicated to capturing models wearing clothes of major brands, both in a studio and on the catwalk. Fashion photography requires a considerable level of experience.
- Advertising Photography: Advertising photography can cover a wide range of possibilities, as it is entirely dedicated to selling products and services. It may be related to photographs of products for catalogs, photographs of facilities, shops, hotels, clinics, work teams, etc.
- Gastronomic photography: Gastronomic photography is one of the most influential in recent years, with the boom of fusion cuisine and new culinary trends, food photographers are hired to photograph dishes for all kinds of restaurants, both luxury establishments, bars, and local restaurants.
What do you need to be a freelance photographer?
To become a professional photographer you will need to take at least one course or workshop on photography since it is essential that you know the different techniques to execute quality photography, as well as you must also know the functions of professional cameras. On the other hand, the photography workshops will also teach you the process of image processing, which is applied on a computer with the help of programs such as Photoshop and Lightroom.
One of the essential elements to be a photographer is to have a good camera, currently there are thousands of models available for all types of photography and tastes. There are some of them that are more expensive than others, but in the end they are worth it when it comes to creating higher quality photos. The camera will depend on the type of photographs you take or what you think you need to do your job. If you are taking a photography course we recommend bringing your camera to learn with it.
The next important element that you must have as a photographer is a computer powerful enough to edit your photographs with the aforementioned software. The computer can be a laptop or desktop computer, but it must have a good processor, RAM, and plenty of storage space to store the photos you capture.
On the other hand, a photographer is not only determined by his camera and computer, it is also important that you have light rings or reflectors to help you give more light to your photographs, this applies especially if you are a studio photographer, although you also need good lighting on outdoor locations, and sometimes sunlight is not enough.
Last but not least, to start your way in photography you will need a portfolio where you include your best work, this will serve as a letter of introduction to offer your services, and so customers can see what kind of work you do and what you are capable of with the camera. Organize a good digital and physical portfolio to promote your services.
How to become a freelance photographer?
There are many options to start working as a freelance photographer, and for them, the most important thing will be the number of people you can reach and offer your service to. Here are some of the best ways to do this:
- Create an account on different social media. Social media has become an integral place to entertain, but also to promote services, so if you create an account on different social media, you can show your work and offer your service as a photographer to people who are in your city. You can organize rates or prices for packages of photos, this will make it easier for them to hire you.
- Search for projects on freelance job sites. Extra job sites like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr are widely used by photographers looking for short projects where they can earn some extra cash. Here you can create your profile with details of your experience and apply for projects posted by employers. You can also create an advertisement offering your services and wait for proposals from employers.
- Promote your services to your acquaintances. Although this is an old-fashioned technique, it can still work. It is about spreading the word among your acquaintances and start offering your photographic services, little by little you can do sessions for them and ask them to recommend you to other acquaintances, this chain will continue to grow until you start getting more clients. If you combine this with your social media strategy, your freelance photographer business will grow quickly.
- Sell your photos on stock image websites. There are now hundreds of web platforms where you can download stock images, commonly used for blog articles, editorial posts, social media, and more. If you are a photographer and want to make some quick money, you can sell your photos to these platforms and get money easily, on some you will have to give up the rights, but on others your name may be displayed and you will get attributions as well as money for them. The best sites to do this are Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, and Shutterstock.
Schedule and earnings expectations
The schedule of a freelance photographer is as its name suggests, you will work only on the projects you choose that fits your schedule, so you can combine this work with any other regular job that you have. If you work as a freelance photographer you will surely be in charge of doing sessions during the weekends, either at events and parties or photoshoots for families, it will also depend on the type of photography you do.
The earnings of a freelance photographer can vary, as they depend on the number of projects or sessions you do, and the rate you add per hour of work or package of photographs. However, a freelance photographer can earn on average between 20€ and 40€ per hour. If you are a more experienced photographer or if you are a beginner photographer it can also vary.
Are you ready to become a freelance photographer?
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