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Photography as a side hustle?

JTC

JTC

PFM Villager...
In a few years I hope to retire. I’m wondering about supplementing my frugal existence with a couple of ‘hobbies that pay’ and wondering whether there’s any prospect in photography and selling prints of local scenes etc. as one such. I’m also old and ugly enough to realise my limitations and so am not expecting much, but nevertheless wondered about the feasibility of bringing in (say) a couple of k per year from photos.

I’ll couch this by also saying that I know that it’ll likely do well to cover materials and travel costs if at all, but as a presumably frugal retiree I reckon I’d have these costs anyway, so might as well get some return.

So, given that a few on here ostensibly operate at least on a semi-professional basis, would you be kind enough to disabuse me of the notion? Ta.
 
Just down the road from us, there's a local farm shop / cafe, and last time I was in, there were a host of a local photographer's photos, some framed on the wall, some mounted in a flick-through display, all of local scenes, and all, to our minds, way overpriced.

I found myself thinking - "Who's going to buy photos of the local landscape, when they live here already, and can see it for themselves?"

Paintings, yes - maybe - if the artist can form a style that appeals, but photos will be for the tourist market only, surely, and unless you're in a high-traffic tourist area ...?
 
Do not do work for friends or acquaintances. If it gets around that you are available, they will approach you on the basis of permanently working at "mates rates" or "I'll cover the cost of your materials". Digital photography costs are more about your time than film, paper and chemicals. It is very difficult to present your friend with a bill that reasonably covers your costs, time, travelling expenses etc. without the risk of losing the friendship.

Digital photography via a phone has democratised the making of reasonable images to the extent that anyone can turn in an acceptable photograph. Unfortunately anyone does.

Going to a professional photographer or even enthusiastic part timer should be about a distinctive vision or style as your unique selling point.
 
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Try it. Take your best 6 photos. get them enlarged and beautifully printed, mounted and well framed under glass. That's cost you £50 a picture? So you want 50% ontop of that? 30%? Find a busy local cafe or farm shop and ask them to put them up. What will they charge you?
My guess is you'll need £100 each for them just to make 10 or 20 quid. ?
Then there's the hassle and what happens if they don't sell etc.
The camera phone and cheap online printing house killed this idea.

Learn to paint, and still you will never ever cover the cost oif materials and time (unless you turn out to be Banksy or Picasso) :)

Or have one picture that is so extraordinary that all the world wants it. Good luck!
 
As per Ian Hughes post John, don't bother. Worked at the Alibam for ten years and got a rep as a Wedding photographer on the side. Before binning all the negatives, realised that about 60% of the Weddings I'd done were never paid for. All my Sons friends love my photos of my Grandkids, get any business from it, zilch. Then I get asked can you do our Birthday Party, can you do our Hen Night, can you do candid's at our Wedding when they've hired someone for a few Grand. Spent a fortune on quality prints and folk want them for nothing. Total mugs Game, won't even pay for your Equipment. Sold four framed prints to a local Hotel for 60 quid so broke even, follow up Biz. zilch apart from Folks wanting them for a tenner!
 
As an aside, unless you have a Bricks and Mortar Establishment, folks will just take the piss as I found out buying and selling Hi-Fi for a few years.
 
I've sold a few mounted photographs, but I have a retail shop in which I can display them. I also sell a few as cards, usually to accompany bottles of wine bought as gifts.

A few years ago I was asked to do a series of photos of landscapes through which Wilfred Owen passed during his time in France for One Little Indian records (Bjork's label) to form a CD booklet. I think that my invoice was about £750, which wouldn't have covered my costs (research, 2 trips to France etc) and the fact that I was asked to do it was only due to my knowing Penny Rimbaud, who made the record. It was a joy to do though, and I was enormously proud of it! But the bottom line is that I take photos for my own pleasure, and to sell a few is a small bonus that doesn't come close to covering the costs of the hobby.

There is a market for limited edition prints in the architectural and landscape 'fine art' genre (long exposure, heavily post-processed, often B&W, specialised), and a few people I follow make a living from it. They usually need to supplement the income from print sales by running field courses. I suspect that they will soon fall victims to AI, which will enable anyone to replicate it on their phones with the press of a few keys.

There is also a small, specialised market for individually handmade traditional silver bromide B&W prints, but the time, skill and dedication required must make for pretty lean pickings,and again incomes are usually supplemented by running courses. I recently bought a small one off Andrew Sanderson print for £85.
 
I've 'dabbled' in this. As others have said selling prints is a difficult business, I've sold a few but certainly not enough to cover costs. I've had more success with low run zines, but even these you'd struggle to break even, though I have one zine that is in profit (ie its paid me minimum wage for the work involved, and the main buyer has just ordered another batch). I've made some money from running workshops, though this is very hit and miss (I've not run any during/since Covid), I enjoy these and given a nice bunch of participants can be very rewarding, but they are hard work and draining (esp 1 to 1, small groups IMO are easier!). There is also quite a bit of prep that needs to be done ie. shooting locations (you need some crowd pleasing locations!), with regard to time of day, timings, where toilets are, cafe stops, etc, etc and needing a bad weather back up plan. I might return to these in the future but have no immediate plans, though I have been asked to run some more.

As @eternumviti says "The bottom line is that I take photos for my own pleasure, and to sell a few is a small bonus that doesn't come close to covering the costs of the hobby". There is also the balance of what you want to photograph and what might be commercially viable, I don't want to be influenced by selling criteria, I'd rather take pictures of what I want, and if someone likes it then great!
 
Perhaps @Lefty will be along to comment. From previous comments he has produced cards, held an exhibition & may have some better advice

My experience is that it won't produce any reasonable income unless you strike very lucky or have some contacts already. I produced a zine for the charity I work with last Christmas - advantages were that it was at the right time of year & had a ready audience of members & supporters. It raised £300 which was fine with what I was trying to achieve but was on the back of a lot of time spent getting the images together

I find it more satisfying producing booklets, prints & calendars for presents where you also have a choice of what goes in them - what you like may not be what others like. I had a couple of requests from family members for calendars - printed by Cewe the quality was superb but at about £25 a pop you'll run at a loss from the word go!

Final thought is that I would find it very hard to compromise on quality, but that also comes with a price
 
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John Barry said:
Perhaps @Lefty will be along to comment. From previous comments he has produced cards, held an exhibition & may have some better advice
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Thanks for the mention - hope you're well :)

Unfortunately, I have to agree with what others have said. There isn't much money to be made in selling prints. I am fortunate to have a local framing shop / gallery sell my prints. They have been very good in terms of promoting me as a 'local artist' and have my name in the window / biography on display and prints up on the wall right alongside the big name agency artists (mostly painters). They are in a prime location with huge footfall. Whilst this did result in sales, if you take the retailer's cut and material costs into account and factor in the time required to take, process, print, frame, curate and write descriptions etc for each image, then there is hardly any profit left at the end of it all.

If you are looking to make money from photography, then photographing people is the way to go. (family portraiture, weddings, corporate headshots etc.). I did some paid family portraiture a fair few years ago, and the they were very happy with the results. Sadly it wasn't something I enjoyed so I stopped. However, if it's something you can see yourself doing then I'd say go for it.

Lefty
 
And interesting thread with saddening replies. I've been toying with the same idea as I've been told many times that I should sell prints and cards, but I can't see a way to do more than cover costs. I recently started to sell some online via an agency and am watching my income creep up slowly towards £10...
I may use some post-op recovery time to make a few cards and take them along to local cafe's and touristy shops just to say that I've tried, to see what happens and for the warm glow that yet another unsuccessful business attempt gives..
B&Q beckons sadly...
 
I had some interest from a few teams racing at Santa Pod a few years ago. A suggestion was made that I should have some photos printed as large posters and sell them from a pop-up stand in the trade area at the next big meeting.
I did the maths, and apart from the financial risk of possibly not selling posters I’d paid to have printed, I’d have been stood in the trade area all day after a 90 mile drive, probably hungry and thirsty, missing all the action.

 
A mate tried it, he did a few weddings and bar mitzvahs. He's not Jewish, but got a reputation for being good at it. But nobody wants to pay for it. He makes a bit of beer money doing hen nights here and there, but that's more about being paid to go round the pubs with a load of pissed women than earning anything.
 
I think it might be summarised by a joke doing the rounds among pro photographers some years ago:
What's the difference between a professional photographer and a 12-inch pepperoni pizza?
I don't know what is the etc
A 12-inch pepperoni pizza can feed a family of four.

Having taught budding professional photographers in a number of settings some years ago I would say that utter persistence was about the only quality required. DGP
 
DGP said:
Having taught budding professional photographers in a number of settings some years ago I would say that utter persistence was about the only quality required. DGP
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Agreed. The successful motorsport media photographers I’ve known have been quite a sight when they’ve been among drivers, team owners etc. incredible gifts of the gab, make the potential customers feel good about themselves, get stuck in there, never stop. Pressing the shutter button was a very insignificant part of the day.
 
I have done a few weddings in the past, and not too long ago was asked to quote to do another down here in Cornwall so I went to have a chat with the couple to find out what they wanted and get some idea if I wanted to do it.
I was told within minutes that the other quote (from a mate of his) was for £200 for all day with all images edited and on a USB stick.
I didn't stay long.
 
steveinspain said:
I have done a few weddings in the past, and not too long ago was asked to quote to do another down here in Cornwall so I went to have a chat with the couple to find out what they wanted and get some idea if I wanted to do it.
I was told within minutes that the other quote (from a mate of his) was for £200 for all day with all images edited and on a USB stick.
I didn't stay long.
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Yep, it’s the endless requests for yet another edit that would lead to me telling people to f-off.

Selling through an agency detaches you from the customer, and I see that as a good thing.

Keep away from the public. They don’t want to pay, and don’t have to.
 
Never make your favourite hobby an income (from experience...not with photography though)

Inevitably the hassle will kill the joy ... unless you are very gifted and/or very, very lucky.
(.. just taxes are enough to blight the soul)
 
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