How to Get Paid to Take Pictures [as a Hobby or Profession]

There are multiple ways to take pictures and get paid, pictures of landscape, animals, people, or even small objects has value. You could help multiple small businesses or individuals with providing relevant stock photography.

Get Paid as a Hobbyist Photographer

Getting paid as a photographer for just making a few bucks as a hobby is fairly easy and only requires a small bit of effort. These types of money-making methods are mainly for photographers who are small and follow this criteria: 

While these jobs are legit and do exist, keep in mind that the less effort you put into this, the least amount of money you will make. So even as just a hobby the work you put towards your image release determines the success and outcome. 

Sell Stock Images on Online Marketplaces

One of the most popular and quickest ways to make money by taking pictures is uploading your stock images online. Getting your images uploaded this way provides users the ability to purchase the use of your image for their own needs. 

Going this route can easily pay you 15-45% in royalties. Websites typically determine the price of your images based on rarity, value, and demand. Usually, you can expect the overall price of each license for your images to be one to hundreds of dollars.

You can upload multiple images throughout a few websites to really get a decent cashout. Uploading on these websites can be easy however you will need to buy your rights to a standard license to start actually selling. Some websites worth checking out: 

If you are a traveller and love to make money on the go with your photography hobby, be sure to check out how to get paid from travelling. 

Sign Up for Photo Contests

Signing up for photo contests is a great way to get your name out there while also earning some extra cash. Just be cautious of where you sign up for such contests, as its not really worth it if they make you pay to participate, unless you really want to get your name out there. 

A few good reasons to try photo contests, and to consider them as a general hobbyist would be:

You can win from a few hundred to even thousands from these contests. If you apply for a well known contest you could also win free gear with trophies and all sorts of goods.

They are also pretty straight forward and you simply need to make an entry to be a contestor. Depending on the contest, winners are usually announced within a month or two. So once you enter, just sit back and wait for the results! 

A couple places you can find some local contests would be at these Fine Arts Shows or the Sony Photography Awards. Also keep an eye out online for the search query “local photo contests” as this could vary depending on your location. 

Freelance Job Boards

Freelance gigs are an easy and cheap way to get paid for taking pictures. You do not really need much of a portfolio to get started as a freelancer, however the better you display you rwork, the better the gigs you could come across. 

Some of the best platforms you could find some good photography gigs would be: 

You can easily make your first $500 to $1,000 by freelancing in you first 5-6 months. Typically you can see some good high numbers if you spent about 1 to 2 hours a day on freelancing. 

Get Paid as a Professional Photographer

Becoming a professional Photographer is the ultimatum of making money by taking pictures. There is a huge demand for photographers whether its for events, production studios, or even individual interests like blogs or YouTube channels.

While getting started can be quite time consuming, within about a year you can easily land your very first high-paying gig from $500-$1,000, Once you start landing more clients and proving your experience, you will easily make $2,000-$4,000 a month. 

To get started searching for clients, its super important to create a portfolio and build a personal brand. Pinpointing your niche is also extremely important to ensure you prove consistency and become an expert in a particular field. There are many ways to get yourself out there and start earning, especially at large events and being always proactive with other photographers. 

Art Shows and Craft Fairs

Art shows can be an easy way to show off what you can do and provide potential clients with a visual representation of how you can provide them your services. Unfortunately, a majority of these fairs are paid and may require a lot of time(like a month or two) for preparations. 

The benefit of these is to create a solid foundation of network and find some solid contacts. The best part is once you have your booth set up, potential clients simply come to you!

Most of these types of shows are local, however to get started you should.

Wedding or Event Gigs

Events and Weddings are extremely important gigs for photographers who are already in practice. These are some of the most popular gigs available to photographers, and are one of the best ways to start making money from taking pictures. 

A few tips as I have assisted many wedding photographers would be: 

Once you get the hang of this kind of gig, you can easily make $1,000 or more per session. For events, like conferences, you could get paid per day session, which could get you up to (minumum) $7,000 from one event.

Portrait Gigs

Portrait gigs are one fo the most common gigs out there. There are many ways to get involved with portraits, as many indivudals need this service for jobs, graduations, or even for influencer profiles. This is the easiest type of niche to get into, as you can literally call up your friends and ask to practice with them or ask if anyone is looking for a photographer. 

From social media to school, to even your 9-5 job, finding clients can be super easy. Just keep in mind that depending on the reason for portraits will determine: