Thanks to the photographs, we manage to keep in memory the memories of the most vivid, and sometimes even fateful moments in life - birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations and other joyful events. With the development of digital technology, it became possible to create colorful and expressive frames that realistically capture happy moments. It is no coincidence that one of the most popular and sought after today is the profession of a photographer. How to make money on pictures? Is it possible to learn the art of photography yourself if you have neither experience nor knowledge? Learn about everything that is interesting to novice photographers from our article.
What attracts this profession
Can a photographer make money? Of course, because this profession is highly paid, which, most likely, is attractive. But a person who makes a living with a camera knows not only about the merits and practical advantages of his work. As you know, each coin has two sides. The advantages of the profession of a photographer include:
- Lack of a strictly defined schedule and work schedule. Basically, all photographers are free artists, and therefore are their own masters. To find a job in a prestigious company as a full-time employee, you will need many years of experience and positive recommendations.
- Creative occupation. The correct setting of the frame and the creation of photography is a complex process that embodies various ideas of the artist. Success is 99% dependent on the creative approach of the wizard. To make good money, a novice photographer needs to understand as soon as possible that his activity is the path to self-realization and creative heights.
- Demand in the market for services and high income. Demand for photo services is constantly growing, so the instantists are not sitting idle. It is difficult to say how much photographers earn per month, but the earnings of eminent authors can exceed hundreds of thousands of rubles.
- A variety of areas of activity - the photographer can work in completely unpredictable areas: fashion and style, marketing, the wedding industry, restaurants and hotels, children's and romantic photo shoots, etc.
Those who do not know how photographers make money are sure that there is nothing complicated in their profession, but only continuous joys, interesting events, and opportunities for realizing creative ideas. In addition to a free work schedule and the prospect of turning your favorite hobby into a stable, well-paid employment, this profession also has significant disadvantages.
Cons of working with a camera
You need to know not only about the charms of the art of photographs in order to become a photographer and start making money. As a rule, many are afraid of the following aspects of this profession:
- The lion's share of the time is taken by the processing and removal of the same type of photographs.
- The cost of technology, which allows you to get pictures with the highest quality resolution, may exceed the price of a used car. In addition to modern expensive cameras, the instantist needs additional related equipment (flashes, lenses with different characteristics, light, lamps, etc.).
- High competition. Every day, customers become more demanding and sophisticated in their desires, so the number of photographers willing to make unique high-quality shots is constantly growing. How to make money to the photographer? First you need to stand out from the general crowd of artists and offer consumers something special - something that other artists do not.
- Social insecurity. In case of illness, no one will pay the sick person for a free photo artist, and on vacation he can go on his own at any time, but exclusively at his own expense. Thus, the photographer should always have personal savings.
In any case, the hardest part is to start. How to earn a photographer your first fee? More experienced craftsmen recommend debuting on holidays. On Saturday and Sunday, as well as on red dates, the maximum number of orders falls on the calendar. This is a great chance to prove yourself in photography. However, work on holidays and weekends is one of the significant disadvantages, according to the photographers themselves. Their rhythm of life has fundamental differences from the way the average people work, on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sunday they relax and spend time with their families.
Is there a secret how to start earning money for a novice photographer? First you need to understand that this profession is associated with a time-consuming and tedious process of editing images. As a rule, a simple layman does not even guess about all the complexities of the work of a photo artist, since they remain “behind the scenes”. Many are sure that this is a holiday work, so if you are not ready to spend hours looking for the best angle and sometimes spend hours looking for it, it is better to leave the idea of ​​becoming a photographer.
What qualities should a photographer have?
There should be a vocation for any professional activity, and besides it, individual abilities that will help you to get accustomed and fulfill yourself in the chosen direction. How do photographers earn? They are constantly in contact with customers, so they must have not only the proper level of professionalism, but also certain personal qualities. So, a novice photo artist should be:
- Communicative, because by nature he will have to communicate a lot with people. The accompanying characteristics of a successful master should be goodwill, tact and the ability to negotiate.
- Own the basics of psychology in order to find an approach to customers, to have them to themselves, to reveal their true mood and state of mind with the help of photographs.
- Responsible. It’s enough to be late for the shooting a couple of times or to cancel the order at the very last moment, so that you can put a bold cross on the reputation of a novice master. Each customer, paying for photography, expects punctuality and a serious attitude to work.
As for professional qualities, here the basic is the presence of imagination and speed of reaction. Each moment is unique, so the instantist should instantly capture valuable moments. A talented artist sees beauty in ordinary things and demonstrates it to others through photo frames.
The first steps in comprehending photo art
Thinking about how to start making money, the photographer must understand that real, satisfying ambition earnings will not appear immediately. Despite the fact that you can become a photo artist from scratch, without any education, you will have to make a lot of efforts to acquire baggage of theoretical and practical knowledge, skills, gain enough experience and confidence. It does not matter where and by whom the photographer worked earlier. Success in a career depends on how much he chooses the right direction in photography. The following directions are considered the most popular today:
- family photo shoot;
- Portraits
- wedding shooting;
- romantic love story;
- children's photo shoots;
- accompaniment of corporate events and various events;
- commercial photography for advertising, catalogs, magazines, menus, etc.
There is no universal way to make money for a photographer. To choose a winning niche, you should analyze what service is most in demand in a particular city, decide in which area the artist can feel confident and comfortable, and only then acquire professional equipment.
Theoretical minimum for beginners
No matter how trite it may sound, but practice should only be started after studying the theory. Regardless of the chosen direction, each photographer should be aware of three existing parameters that affect the final picture:
- Exposure is the period during which the light beam refracts and hits the lens array.
- Aperture - it controls the diameter of the rays penetrating the matrix.
- ISO - allows you to adjust the sensitivity of the camera.
Experienced photographers compare these terms with a glass and a bottle of wine. ISO, for example, sets the size of the glass: the higher the ISO value, the smaller its volume. The time period during which the wine glass is filled with wine is endurance, and it is more appropriate to compare the diaphragm with the diameter of the neck of the bottle through which the wine is poured. The photographer’s task is to compare the optimal parameters so that the wine glass is filled to the brim, and is not half empty or crowded.
It seems to many that one can do without theory. In fact, in order to start earning money for a photographer, as a rule, real practice is necessary, which cannot be replaced by any training. However, it is the theory that gives the basic knowledge that is needed in order to find the causes of corrupted personnel in the course of work. It may not be known how long it takes for a novice artist to understand which factors affect blurriness and which factors affect the clarity and detail of an image. Without an idea of ​​the basics of composition, it is unlikely that a person will be able to competently take a perspective or harmoniously capture a model in a frame. Similar difficulties may arise with a photographer who does not know how to work with light.
Correction of finished frames
And, finally, the most important thing: a successful and harmonious shot is only half of a high-quality photograph. Finishing a photo takes a lot longer than the process of finding a successful shot. Some beginners mistakenly think that it is enough for them to purchase expensive equipment and related equipment to get high-quality pictures and the photographer can make money.
Strange as it may seem, representatives of the older generation of photographers are inclined to believe that there is no need to process a good picture. Allegedly editing does not allow to convey the reality of the atmosphere in which the photo was taken. However, this is not quite true. Correction does not interfere with the authenticity of the picture, but, on the contrary, adds life, truth, genuineness to it and emphasizes beauty. Even those images that at first glance seem ideal and do not need to be processed must be edited.
In order to improve photography, modern photographers use a whole toolbar. These are programs for image correction — Photoshop, Lightroom, GIMP, Krita, Paint.NET, ChocoFlop, and others. With their help, you can perform initial processing of illustrations, including changing the color gamut, exposure, and enhancing contrast. Most of these programs are paid, but before buying any of them, you should say a trial demo version, valid for 30 days.
How to make money to a novice photographer in private photo shoots
To transfer photo art from a hobby status to a status of professional activity that brings good income, first you need to draw up a business plan and think about organizing the work process. The photo image is in demand in many areas today, so you need to decide which of them the novice master would like to create.
Most modern photographers profit from private photo shoots. This is a photograph designed to capture unprofessional models. Today, many arrange photo shoots, confining them to significant events in their lives. Social network users prefer to change the avatars of their accounts as soon as they have pictures from a fresh photo shoot, showing the public footage from their personal lives. Well, who would not want to get colorful photographs with an image on the background of a glowing Christmas garland or surf, flowering meadows or red-gold tones of the autumn forest?
If you are interested in how much the photographer earns on average at private photo shoots, then you will not get a definite answer. In Moscow, for example, prices start at 1,500 rubles. per hour of the wizard. The success of a photo shoot largely depends on how correctly the place for it will be chosen:
- Outside. In this case, picturesque locations can be found anywhere: on the city square, park alley, in the forest, on the promenade, etc. Narrowing the selection circle for a suitable place will help the specific shooting theme, for which it is also necessary to choose accessories and scenery.
- In a photo studio. This is the easiest option for beginners, since shooting indoors is less problematic: there is no way to work out the background and interior in advance on the street. However, you will have to study a number of nuances regarding the use of studio lighting.
- In any room. You can hold a private photo session in your home or in a nice cozy cafe, and a luxury hotel room, billiard room or night club is also suitable for shooting. How to earn a novice photographer on such shootings? To get decent images, you have to purchase a special lens that compensates for the shortage of focal length. In addition, it is necessary to immediately address the issue of lighting, that is, use a flash or special lights.
Wedding Photography
A wedding photo shoot is not a private shoot. During such a large-scale celebration, it is difficult to get the right focus, adjust the light and achieve static, correct and comfortable poses from the models. At the beginning of the event, all the participants of the festival are full of energy and enthusiasm, therefore, in the first hours, high-quality production shots are much easier to make. By the end of the evening, good shots requiring a minimum of editing are rare. The photographer has to catch complex angles, improvise with lighting, and subsequently - a lot of retouching.
I wonder how much wedding photographers earn? Even rough estimates can inspire newcomers to this area: during the wedding season, successful craftsmen receive impressive profits - from 100 thousand rubles. The wedding "hype" begins in April and lasts until the onset of frost. People get married every day, except Sunday and Monday, and marriage ceremonies are held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. There are almost no weddings during church fasting.
An experienced wedding photographer can shoot from five to ten events in one month. The price of a wedding photo shoot largely depends on the region and the name of the master. For example, in the capital, high-quality photography costs newlyweds 50-150 thousand rubles. How much does a photographer earn in Moscow? The answer to this question has already been received.
In the off-season, when weddings are recruited no more than 1-2 per month, the photographer makes money on small private photo projects, children’s, “pregnant” and family shoots, accompanied by hen parties, corporate parties and New Year's matinees. By the end of the wedding season, it is better to prepare in advance in order to manage to receive orders for studio photo sessions.
Sale of images in photobanks
We are talking about specialized resources on the Internet, where aspiring photographers can sell their work and make good money for them. Any photograph is a creative product of the activity of a particular author, and therefore should be protected, like any other intellectual property. It’s just impossible to take and place unique pictures in a magazine, for example, as an illustration of an article. Where then to take the necessary frame? You can get it yourself, but in the absence of professional equipment and suitable conditions it is much easier and more profitable to buy a ready-made picture. The owners of large Internet portals, editorial offices of magazines and newspapers, advertising managers, public relations agents, etc. apply to photo banks.
How do photographers make money on photo banks? There is nothing complicated, but in order for the author’s pictures to be in demand and more often bought, first you will have to create a bright and original portfolio with samples of work. The same photo can be sold to several buyers, so you need to catch current trends with lightning speed. Among the modern and most popular, it is worth noting the topics:
- people;
- cars;
- business;
- the medicine;
- healthy eating
- attractions;
- sports training;
- natural landscapes.
It is enough just to reflect on which images are more often found on the Internet, in the media. If, for example, they write a lot about pension problems, then photos of this topic are currently in demand. Women's websites and magazines require illustrations related to pregnancy, childbirth and parenting, and organic images with documents, graphs, and portfolios are suitable for businesses. The list can be continued non-stop.
How much beginner photographers earn at photo banks depends on a number of factors. It is worth noting that images for photobanks need to be worked out carefully, since they are subject to a number of strict requirements for high quality and resolution, the absence of company logos of trademarks and brands, and brevity. There are plenty of resources that allow beginner photo artists to earn. The most famous of them:
- Shutterstock;
- Istockphoto;
- Fotolia.
The minimum deduction for a photo on Shutterstock is $ 0.25 from each photo upload, however, in some cases, the cost of one unique image can reach tens of US dollars. In order for buyers to find your photos more often, it is necessary to correctly write down the keywords by which search engines give pictures to potential buyers.
The work of a full-time photographer
A photographer can work for himself or be an employee of an organization. Work in the state is preferred by those who are attracted by stability and the availability of social guarantees. To get a formal job, you need to find a suitable institution in your city and, if there is a free vacancy for the photographer, send a resume and portfolio. First of all, you should pay attention to:
- advertising agencies;
- MEDIA;
- entertainment facilities (restaurants, art cafes, night clubs, etc.).
You will have to shoot, as a rule, official events, concerts, competitions, ceremonies. The services of a professional photographer are often needed by schools, kindergartens, institutes. In this case, the work is carried out under the contract. The owners of restaurants, hotels, sanatoriums, recreation centers, boarding houses, beauty salons, private medical institutions, etc., as well as the owners of online stores, for which it is especially important to beautifully shoot the offered goods, also need high-quality photographs. The horizon for activity is almost unlimited, therefore those who are not sitting idly by and responsibly approach work quickly gain a client base, gain invaluable experience and impeccable reputation.
Conclusion
Based on the foregoing, you can get an approximate idea of ​​how much photographers earn in Russia. The monthly income of a novice master will depend on the place of residence, the presence of competitors, the quality of the equipment used, personal qualities, etc.
The first few months, each photographer will have to replenish the portfolio and fill customers, almost without thinking about huge earnings, but at the same time in the regions of Russia it is impossible to meet a novice photographer who would agree to do the work for less than 1000 rubles - this is the price of one hour of work, and rent If necessary, photo studios are paid separately by the client. In the capital, an hour of photography can cost 3-4 times more.
To become a truly professional photographer, you need to find a common language with the client and anticipate the wishes and expectations of customers from the shooting. If the quality of the photographer’s services does not disappoint, he will be recommended to friends and acquaintances. Famous masters often organize thematic photo projects with the use of decorations and outfits that correspond to the general style. Such work is estimated at around 4,000 rubles. in one hour. As a result, the client receives about 15-20 flawless shots. Thus, the income of the photographer is determined by the level of his professional skills and the number of orders.