# Anyone make money on the side from photography? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 13, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267 "2008-03-13T19:24:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/1 "2008-03-13T19:24:33Z")
Does anyone make some cash doing photography alongside their day job? How do you get ‘into’ this racket? How do you get started/make yourself known to those who will pay for photographs etc… It seems like if I can make a bit of money off it I might do it more and so get better at it (and make more money as a result). I realize it might not be as ‘simple’ as that but I’d still like to know… And don’t worry, unless you’re in the Isle of Man I won’t be invading your turf! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/2 "2008-03-13T19:37:32Z")
One of my co-workers does. He does weddings and parties mostly. He doesn’t make a ton of money but does get to write off most of his camera and equipment habit. He started by doing a couple of events for free, put up a web site with some of his work and little by little word of mouth gets him business. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/3 "2008-03-13T22:15:04Z")
I used to do weddings years back when Studebakers and Dinosaurs roamed the Earth. A friend and I didn’t make too much money, but we enabled folks who couldn’t afford a lot of money have some nice photographs of their wedding. We’d make maybe $150 profit on an average job. Most jobs were obtained from relatives and friends of folks we’d already done jobs for. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/4 "2008-03-14T01:04:30Z")
I used to have an eBay store, from which I sold prints of my photography, mostly from travels. All of my photos were edited in Photoshop, often with special effects way beyond what could be done with a camera. Then eBay raised their rates and put me out of business. I’m currently developing my own site. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/5 "2008-03-14T02:58:23Z")
panache45, do you do the prints yourself and send them out, or sell the images to download, or do you go through someplace like CafePress? (Why yes, I have considered doing some thing like this myself. Why do you ask? :D) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/6 "2008-03-14T03:21:30Z")
[QUOTE=Lok] panache45, do you do the prints yourself and send them out, or sell the images to download, or do you go through someplace like CafePress? (Why yes, I have considered doing some thing like this myself. Why do you ask? :D) [/QUOTE] I do the prints myself; that’s the only way I can control the images, especially colors. And all of mine are 11x17. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/7 "2008-03-14T03:32:21Z")
You mean you actually print them, or you have them printed by a local shop? I can’t see putting in a dark room, especially since my only experience with developing film was over 20 years ago and only with black & white. And while I am being nosy, do you ship them flat? Do you matte and frame or offer the option? I can see why you would have a standard size, it would make it much easier to deal with everything. Unfortunately, one of my best shots is 36x8. Not really a standard size. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/8 "2008-03-14T03:44:44Z")
My sister used to make her living photographing weddings but she ended up getting out of it. The growth of digital photography was eating up the profits. ---
**Author:** ![theater\_in\_a\_crowded\_fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@theater\_in\_a\_crowded\_fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theater_in_a_crowded_fire)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/9 "2008-03-14T12:37:42Z")
I do the occasional wedding or other event on the side. It’s not the most profitable thing in the world and I don’t do it that often, but I’ll usually at least cover my expenses and make a bit of extra cash. I’m really not at the level where I feel like I can charge people anything remotely in the range of the serious true professional portrait and wedding photographers in my area, but that makes me an option for those on a limited budget who are willing to accept something a bit less than that sort of absolute perfection and professional services. I can’t really offer a lot of advice as far as making contacts other than to just let it be known that you’re available through advertising or such. My day job is as a reporter and photographer for a small local daily newspaper, so most often I get connections from people who know what I do for a living and have heard by word of mouth that I’m willing to do a small job on the side. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/10 "2008-03-14T13:29:11Z")
I used to take the pictures in the real estate multiple listing services way back in college. I spent every Saturday morning doing them & took in about $400 each week for the work. (Great for a college kid). I am pretty sure the agents do all that themselves now with digital. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-make-money-on-the-side-from-photography/441267/11 "2008-03-14T13:55:01Z")
I may not be a good example. I am a professional newspaper editor, but I used to be a relatively highly regarded photojournalist. If someone (usually magazines sometimes news chains, occasionally photo agencies) needs me to shoot something and I have some free time, I will do it. It brings in some good cash and it can be a nice paid vacation. It does not hurt that I live in a pretty isolated area and there are not many known photographers out here. I will not do weddings. I hate dealing with the whole hassle that entails.