How to Make Money as a Photographer: 11 Realistic Ways to Earn

Making money with photography is the dream for a lot of people. Though photography as purely a hobby is plenty for others, many of us reach a point where we want to see some return on the time, effort, and gear we’ve invested.

In general, we all start out as hobbyists. Over time, as your skills grow, you might start wondering how to turn that passion into a profession, or at least a solid side hustle.

Here is an extensive guide to making money as a photographer. I have included realistic earning expectations for each method so you know what you are getting into, whether you want to shoot weddings or sell street-photography prints.

Of course, it’s possible to combine these money-making ideas to create multiple streams of income.

Take on assignments for customers (B2C)

Let’s start out with one of the most traditional ways to make money: doing photography for everyday people. You can do this full-time, part-time, or just on weekends.

If you go full-time, you will need plenty of customers. If you just do it on the weekends, you can afford to be picky about who you work with. You will easily find families that need a portrait within your network or on social media. Or maybe someone you know is getting married.

• Earning expectations: Family mini-sessions usually range from $150 to $300, depending on your area. Wedding photography is much more lucrative, typically starting at around $1,500 for beginners and easily scaling to $3,000-$5,000+ for established professionals.

Take on assignments for businesses (B2B)

Maybe family portraits and weddings aren’t your thing (just like me). In that case, you can go the B2B route.

Companies big and small need photos. They need visual content for their social media, websites, and marketing materials. You can niche down into a topic you genuinely love. For example, if you are into sports, you could find your local sports shop and help them make photos for their social media. If you specialize, like only doing headshots for corporate teams, your value increases.

• Earning expectations: Commercial day rates vary wildly by location (whether you are in the US, UK, or here in Belgium), but expect to charge anywhere from $500 to $2,000+ per day, or $100 to $300 hourly for shorter gigs like professional headshots.

Be an assistant or second shooter

If you don’t feel ready to take up your own clients yet, being an assistant to another photographer can be incredibly helpful. Helping them set up gear for portrait shoots or carrying light stands is an insightful learning experience while you get paid.

Alternatively, you can second shoot for an established wedding or event photographer. You get to learn on the job, get paid, and build your portfolio all at the same time without the stress of being the lead photographer.

• Earning expectations: Assistants usually make around $15 to $30 an hour. Second shooters with their own gear can make $30 to $75+ an hour, depending on experience.

Sell prints of your work

Maybe photography is something you do purely for yourself. You like going out and taking beautiful photos of landscapes or the world around you, and you don’t want to take pictures on request for customers.

You can sell prints on your own website or use platforms like Etsy. People love hanging artwork in their homes. To make this efficient for an international audience, you can use global print-on-demand fulfillment labs that print and ship locally to your buyers in the US, UK, or Europe.

• Earning expectations: You set your own margins, but photographers typically make $10 to $50 in profit per print sold.

Monetize your street photography

A lot of people ask how to make money from street photography. Street photography is notoriously difficult to monetize because you aren’t shooting for a specific client. However, it is possible once you build an audience.

You can sell zines, self-published photo books, or limited-run prints of your best street shots. Another route is to host local street photography workshops in your city, guiding tourists and beginners through the streets while teaching them to observe and frame candid moments.

• Earning expectations: Zines can bring in a few hundred dollars per print run. Guided street photo tours can fetch $50 to $150 per person for a half-day session.

Start a photography blog or YouTube channel

This is a long game. One, as you can see from my photo blog, I play too. It takes a lot of effort to start and needs a lot of maintenance. Though once it’s going, it keeps going.

There are several ways to make money with a photography blog:

• Display Ads: Networks like Mediavine or Google AdSense pay you based on the traffic your site gets.
• Affiliate Marketing: You can link to camera gear on Amazon, B&H Photo, or local retailers. If someone buys through your link, you get a small commission at no extra cost to them.
• Sponsorships: Brands might pay you directly to feature their software or gear.
• Earning expectations: It starts at $0, but a successful blog can eventually generate anywhere from $500 to several thousand dollars a month in passive income.

Leverage Instagram and social media

If you have a knack for building an audience, you might be wondering how to get paid as a photographer on Instagram.

You don’t just have to use Instagram as a portfolio to attract local clients. If you build a large enough following, camera brands, software companies, and even travel boards will pay you for sponsored posts. You can also use the platform to drive traffic to your preset store or affiliate links.

• Earning expectations: Micro-influencers (10k-50k followers) can charge anywhere from $100 to $500 per sponsored post.

License your photos (Stock Photography)

Maybe some of your work is less artsy and more informative. Stock photo websites make it easy to sell these photos to anyone who can use them: mainly publishers and marketers.

I used to use Wirestock to get my photos to all the different agencies at once. It’s a one-time effort to upload, and Wirestock even helps with tagging the photos for you. Once uploaded, you can sit back and relax.

• Earning expectations: Stock photography is a volume game. You might only make a few cents to a few dollars per download. You need thousands of photos in your portfolio to consistently earn $100 to $500 a month.

Sell Lightroom presets

Some people like them, and others hate them. But there is a massive market for Lightroom Presets. If you are good at editing and have a distinct style you have developed, selling those settings can be worth it. You can host your own shop on your website or sell through third-party marketplaces.

• Earning expectations: Preset packs usually sell for $15 to $50. Because it’s a digital product, the profit margin is nearly 100% after hosting fees.

Rent out your gear

You might have collected a lot of gear throughout your photography journey. Renting out lenses or camera bodies you don’t use often can be a great way to recoup some of your investment. Platforms like ShareGrid or Fat Llama connect you with local creators who need gear for a day or two.

• Earning expectations: Depending on the gear’s value, you can earn $20 to $100+ per day by renting out a professional camera body or a fast lens.

Join competitions for the prize money

Competitions often offer lovely prizes to win. Of course, there’s no guarantee, so it might be all for nothing. But even if photography is just a hobby, it’s a fun way to test your skills, get your work seen, and possibly boost your bank account.

• Earning expectations: Prizes range from a few hundred dollars to $10,000+ for major international competitions, often alongside free gear.

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