Making money from your hobby

I have just recently started photography and one of the main things that I have seen so far is that equipment is expensive. You get really nice equipment but at a price!

I have read bits and pieces of how you can make some additional cash from this hobby and I was wondering if someone could maybe give me some pointers or some links to articles about options and how to get involved in making a bit of money.

I have read about stock photography as an option - but I also do not know much about this

Help please!

There is so much information available on the net. It is about being very good friends with Mr. Google.

The other thing to do is to page through the threads in "Talk About Photography" and "Cornering the Pros" here. There are have been dozens of posts and responses about this very subject.

It is getting to be tough sledding in the photography market these days. With high quality cameras available at a very attainable price point there are more and more people trying to do just what you are.

Good luck.

ssim wrote in post #2232789
It is getting to be tough sledding in the photography market these days. With high quality cameras available at a very attainable price point there are more and more people trying to do just what you are.

About 100 million would be accurate. And you have to spend money to make money. Lots of it.

Start out entering in local art shows. Some have cash for being best photograph in whatever catagory. It is also good networking free advertising.

Don't get trapped in this way of thinking. I agree with this guy:
http://www.photo.net/l​earn/turningpro.html

I am doing photography for fun. I'm taking pictures of what I want, when I want it and I am responsible to nobody.

If I were to do it professionally, there would be clients with their demands. I'll have to buy more equipment than I need just for hobby. I'll have to pick up the camera and shoot something I don't really want to shoot. For paid assignments, your finances are on the line cause you can get sued so you need to have a double of everything. Do you need a double of everything for a hobby? Hell no.

Consider this: For a hobby, I have my 4 cheap lenses with the 300D. Sometimes it doesn't focus accurately or hunts. Sometimes the buffer overfills and I can't take a picture. So what?

If I were a pro, I'd have to invest an arm and leg into the pro equipment to start making money... which makes no sense because I don't need it for my amateur shooting.

My point is: Don't shoot for money to finance equipment you don't need in the first place. It grows really fast on ya

Thank you DocFrankenstein, that article was very enlightening!

I thought about doing some work to pay for the hobby and have shot stuff for a museum and sold a few prints as well and have done some volunteer work for non profit groups and stuff and my feeling is that it turns my passion into drudgery.

I find myself taking shots that are not inspiring or artistic to me in hopes of selling the shot or taking boring shots of stuff b/c that is what the client wants. I have since decided that I won't be doing shots for the main purpose of selling. I have a pro account on smugmug, so if someone likes a shot I took, then they can buy them. But I decided not to take shots for the purpose of selling them b/c the shots that sell well are usually snapshots of people at event, kids playing team sports, and things like that. My neighbor at work is a pro and he rarely if ever shoots for pleasure. While his work is top notch and he shoot for major companies, I don't see him enjoying it any more and he shoots what pays, not what inspires him.

I shoot for pleasure and I want to keep it that way.

shooting for money is nice but it takes the fun out of the hobby. I did a motorcycle calender shoot for a friend who owns a motorcycle shop for free and it was fun, the models made it more fun. payment for the models,[just girl friends of the bike oweners]was some 8x10's and a cd of the shoot.the owner of the shop let me and the girl who works for him handle the entire thing, he was there just to watch.the day this becomes a job i think the fun of shooting what you like comes in second and thats no fun.

The posters above have given you some hard earned advice.
POS hit it right on the head. Doing a single project for the basic enjoyment of it is one thing. Having to do it, changes everthing.
You do need decent gear just to be able to produce a good product. Lets not quibble over just which gear is 'the-best'.
If you do decide to go into a market area, you will find many got there before you.

Having said that, I have found a niche market (my advice) and enjoy a reasonable income from it. However, working for money changes all. In practice, only about 20% of the overall work is directly related to obtaining images. The bulk is marketing and promotion of your services. If you enjoy the entire process (as I do), then it can be overall, quite pleasant, but no longer just "fun".

Before you even try...get good with your gear!

If you truely like photography don't worry able making a dollar just take the best pictures you can possibly take and the rest will come. And yes photography is one of the most expensive hobbies you will ever get into so you might want to start you a"lens jar", where you can dump your change and extra money into to save up for that Lglassyou want.

I have a neighbor that goes to the local kids soccer games and does sports photos. He started as a lark just shooting his own 4 year old daughter and then some friends. More and more parents (including me!) started approaching him at the games offering him cash to shoot their kids too. We proud parents are suckers, aren't we? This led to making some contacts which led to doing some of the smaller local high school and junior high football games. Occasionally he'll do some pooling at some of the bigger games. He has purposely kept it very small time and personal. Told me when it becomes "a business" or "work" he'll quit doing it. He just enjoys himself, has learned a lot about photography and has made a lot of new friends. You can see him at the soccer fields on just about any given Saturday.

Bottom line........just do it for the fun of it. See where it takes you. If you make a few bucks, well thats just bonus!

OKTX......well said.

Shooting as a pro is nice work, as photography is nice work.
Even on a 'not so nice' assignment, I see it as a challenge, and still like the work that way.

You do need to find yourself another hobby if you turn pro though...

The linked article is spot on IMO.

I get offers from parents to pay me for pictures I shoot at my kids games and also get alot of offers from my other hobby woodworking. To me these are things to take me away from work and the stresses of buisness. To me putting the stress of running a buisness into my hobby kind of defeats the purpose of it.

If you turn your hobby into a business, what are you going to do for fun?