How many members make money in some way through photography? (Page 7): I am a hobbiest , but have been lucky and made a few dollars off some different contests I have entered.

plessner Loc: North Dakota

I am a hobbiest , but have been lucky and made a few dollars off some different contests I have entered. Different people have asked me to take pictures for them at family events or of sports events-- for good friends I am glad to do it and just give them the pictures. A friend who wanted some shots to put on the cover of a CD he is producing got charged because he will be making money off the final product. Plus he had me help carry in and out all his gear!

texaseve Loc: TX, NC and NH

I sell some here and there and absolutely make TONS .......of no profit!! :-) It is fun. I made my real money as a nurse before I totally messed up my back.

the f/stops here Loc: New Mexico

isokc wrote:

I hear how hard it is to make money in photography and it's very competitive. I'm wondering what percentage of UHH members (take an educated guess if you want)make money through photography. Just for clarification, it can be small amounts, large amounts, money made through selling prints or perhaps in some other way.

Just curious. Thanks for your guesses!

I've been a pro since 1972. I've been a forensic & legal evidence photographer since '85. Now I teach, do some testifying, live off my investments and have fun traveling and capturing images in the nature & wildlife arena.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

isokc wrote:

I hear how hard it is to make money in photography and it's very competitive. I'm wondering what percentage of UHH members (take an educated guess if you want)make money through photography. Just for clarification, it can be small amounts, large amounts, money made through selling prints or perhaps in some other way.

Just curious. Thanks for your guesses!

I won't take a guess concerning other UHH members. I can only tell you what I'm doing myself.

Back in 2012 I figured out how to make money off of my photography and I set about doing it, first setting up shop at Fine Art America and then marketing myself to my target audience. I told myself, "Self, when you get to the point that you are making $5,000 a month off of your photography, you may quit your day job."

Well, I quit my day job on December 31, 2015.

Here's the essence of what I do: http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-327835-1.html

boomboom Loc: Stow, Ohio

I put some framed photos and matted photos in a few craft shows this year and it did surprisingly well. The magic word is "PROFIT". When I look at how much I spent on mattes and developing and frames, I don't make a profit, but I do make a little recovery money. Besides it's fun to sell to people other then family who appreciate your product. Mine are strictly nature photos and over the years I tended to accumulate many framed and matted photos so I needed to move a few out of my basement. I'm looking forward to a few more craft shows this Fall.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

isokc wrote:

I hear how hard it is to make money in photography and it's very competitive. I'm wondering what percentage of UHH members (take an educated guess if you want)make money through photography. Just for clarification, it can be small amounts, large amounts, money made through selling prints or perhaps in some other way.

Just curious. Thanks for your guesses!

I used to own and operate a multimedia company specializing in video adverts BUT never got to the point of considering it my main source of income... However, the multimedia work was a lot of fun and I met an interesting group of people!

I'm a consulting Engineer by training and this keeps a roof over my head and puts food on the table. I'm still a very active photographer with astrophotography being my main interest but this doesn't stop me shooting weddings, portraits, wildlife, landscapes, aerial, etc. I've got talked into contributing a monthly photography page, From My Office Window, to our local newspaper. If people like one of my photos and want to buy it, I'll print it and frame it for them.

As for the money made, it is secondary to anything else... It is the absolute joy of photography that keeps me going! And I've always felt the same towards any my enterprises, i.e.: find something that really turns your crank... and the money will follow.

bwa

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

tinplater wrote:

My family pays me to not take pictures....

Bwaaahaaahaaahaaa! I know the feeling! ;-)

donolea Loc: Nashville, TN

isokc wrote:

I hear how hard it is to make money in photography and it's very competitive. I'm wondering what percentage of UHH members (take an educated guess if you want)make money through photography. Just for clarification, it can be small amounts, large amounts, money made through selling prints or perhaps in some other way.

Just curious. Thanks for your guesses!

It is my full time gig, which I blend with my digital painting and graphic design.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

It seems like a lot more than 2% of the people responding to this question have made some money from their photography.

btbg

I'm the sports editor, writer, page layout and photographer for a twice a week paper.

Got the job because of my photography because I had no journalism background. Been doing that for the last nine years.

Before that made some money from wedding and senior class photography.

Make enough money that I have a D5 on back order now, which should improve my work. Its replacing a D300 that has taken nearly 750,000 photos and has a scratched sensor. Works fine at f2.8 but shows the scratch when stopped down.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

I sometimes shoot golf tournaments for my country club. In exchange for my images they give my wife & I free buffets for the event I just shot. Works out to be about $8.50 per hour not including PP.

Don

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I had hope to one day be good enough to open a studio, then I checked craigslist and other places in my area and its filled with tons of ads of people advertising photography services.

Ive sold some stuff on line and make a few bucks photographing dogs. Not enough to live on, but a few bucks to help when GAS strikes...

Bike guy Loc: Atlanta

I never thought about making money until I read this forum and had some comments from visitors to my home.
Purely a hobbyist, who like many of you, have taken some incredible photos, several that are framed and, with wife's permission, displayed in our home.

We have had guests over for dinner and today I had some furniture that was reconditioned delivered by the 'artist'. She raved about my photography and wanted to know where she could purchase some prints. I was like, really?
Duh?
So question, what website(s) do any of you suggest where I can upload my better photos and allow them to be purchased?
I use Flickr, but mainly as a back up and for sharing family event photos.
tha

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

There are 63,244 members of UHH but a vastly lower number actually participate in the forum.

Don

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

PAR4DCR wrote:

There are 63,244 members of UHH but a vastly lower number actually participate in the forum.

Don

Any idea of the number that simply view w/o commenting?

bwa