Actually Make Money with Photography

[@kaleyds1]

Awesome tips. "Double your money without doubling your effort." I'm going to use that example. Thanks!

[@davidherring]

Appreciate it!

[@rhyno23rjr]

Great advice, your website is probably the best Photographer website I've seen.

[@davidherring]

Aww thank you so much! Squarespace and a bunch of custom coding learned through a bunch of questions I've asked on Squarespace forums haha.

[@pfbentley1019]

Photography - it beats a real job.

[@davidherring]

Truth!

[@21Virtues]

This was an awesome video, thanks for sharing your wisdom dude.

[@davidherring]

Thanks!

[@thatsamuellu]

Very informative and useful video! Thanks for sharing, Dave!

[@davidherring]

Thanks Sam!

[@ziilima]

Great video! Thanks for sharing the wedsite

[@davidherring]

Thanks!

[@AnnkurKumar]

Hi, Brother, your videos are always informative. Watched maximum videos of your channel back to back. 3:16, tell me more about making a portfolio website, which platform to choose for portfolio website? Secondly, how find clients for portraits, events,candid ( not wedding necesarily) , corporate headshot? And tell me / guide what else gear i should choose to use, alongwith nikon d3100 + 18-55 & 55-200 lenses. I happen to get some photography stints in 2010 (but then have to stop due to personal raeasons). But now photography landscape might have changed a lot. Help !!

[@davidherring]

Thanks! 1: Squarespace (discount link in the descriptions) 2: network and meet people. People hire people they know. 3: Try prime lenses instead of zooms. Get a 35 or 50 and only shoot with it.

[@gayleruble6529]

Great insights! Thanks for sharing sound counsel that can apply at various on ramps!

[@davidherring]

No problem!

[@Pixieset]

What an awesome video filled with so many golden nuggets. So simply shared and without judgement. No gatekeeping on sharing how photographers can make money ♥

[@davidherring]

Thanks! And thanks for what you’ve built to make the business side efficient and functional!

[@Pixieset]

@@davidherring thank you for trusting Pixieset with your workflow 🙌

[@markbe2412]

Great overview for those that want to make some money! Not all do, but it's a good thing to think about and see if that's what you'd want.

[@davidherring]

Definitely. Just trying to kick start anyone who wants to move in that direction.

[@JPWineberg]

Great advice! Love Pixieset, I've been using it for years for presentation and delivery of images. I know this isn't the exciting part of photography as a career, but how do you take care of health insurance for a family of four, retirement and other benefits that don't exist as a sol proprietor? I struggled with that for years and ultimately had to take on a full time job and do my photography on the side and focus more on passion projects. I definitely enjoy my photography more and have more creative freedom.

[@davidherring]

We have a bit of a unique situation as my wife and I are both “artists” and we have a blanket S Corp that covers both our independant businesses via a DBA. She’s a tattoo artist, we own her studio, and I do photography, videography, and creative consulting. All of this allows us to have a robust business that can take care of our family.

[@sdhute]

Good advice and content enjoyed it.

[@davidherring]

Thank you!

[@NumberOneBlackGuy]

And how do you actually get clients

[@davidherring]

I talk about this at 3:20 in the video. 💪🏼

[@jaxytvids]

I loved second shooting weddings. I got to focus on the artsy stuff (rings, decorations, place settings, etc) and the primary got to deal with all the bridal party crap. Show up, shoot, hand over the card, and take the cash. 🤑

[@davidherring]

That's great!

[@trentschlamp]

Awesome video dude, super informative. Subscribed!

[@davidherring]

Thanks!

[@gottanikoncamera]

I’m intrigued by the idea of passive income by licensing images to a company. Could you give me a couple of examples of what types of images a company would want to license? Are you shooting on spec with hopes of hawking an image to several companies or are you shooting specifically with a company in mind?

[@davidherring]

Two ways about it: 1 - You do a paid shoot for a company, and they license from you. For instance, in 2022 I did a shoot for Visit Vancouver. They flew me in, paid me for two days of shooting, and they license photos from that shoot. You can see an example here of a photo they are still using: www.visitvancouverwa.com/listing/moulton-falls-regional-park/1948/ 2 - You have images, and someone reaches out from a brand to license it. I have a ton of landscape images. Someone from Target's art department found me on social media and licensed a landscape photo I took a few years prior that I had shared. Target licensed that photo and still sell it in stores as an art piece. I wouldn't go shoot for a brand and tag them in hopes of them licensing that from you. Businesses have budgets, and won't just throw cash at something you've already shared for free. If you want to do work with a brand, build a relationship with them. Maybe that starts through social. Or go to trade shows / conferences they will be at and meet them face to face. This, in my experience, is best. If you have other questions, DM me on IG and I'm happy to chat!

[@gottanikoncamera]

Ah, gotcha Dave, thank you. I was just curious. And you do create some beautiful landscapes.

[@MKWHD]

What was the site you recommended? I can not see it in the description.

[@davidherring]

pixieset.com/ref/3O9jLiq5A7

[@diongrvs70]

Dave thanks for making this video. Are there any websites you can recommend for those interested in being second shooters? Thanks in advance for your response.

[@davidherring]

shootwith.me/ is run by some really good people I was able to have some discussions with a few months ago. I’d recommend them!

[@rybread81]

Thanks for the video, I'm in a purgatory state of trying to sell my abilities to people. I'm afraid it will take away from the pleasure of creating.

[@davidherring]

I get that. Do what’s best for you!

[@ericmorales1934]

I have tried many ways to make money, I’ve only gotten a gig in a wedding literally on SATURDAY, I didn’t know what to charge so I charged very little that a lot of friends told me YOU ARE CRAZY and I am out in the black now.

[@davidherring]

It's really easy to undervalue ourselves. It's ok to be competitive and price aggressively, but it's not ok to settle and not charge what you are worth. My system is a formula where I'll go: VALUE OF GEAR USED / 10 + HOURLY RATE So, for instance, if you're asked to photograph a wedding and you plan to bring a Leica M11 ($7K) and a 50mm Summilux ($5K), then you're at $12K / 10 = $1200. Let's say you want to make $350/hr, and the wedding will be 8hrs all in. Your quote would be $4000. This is just a starting point. Maybe you want to go GEAR / 5 instead of 10. Or maybe you want to make $500/hr. Or $200/hr. You can still run this formula.

[@ericmorales1934]

@@davidherring this is something I am going to try next time!!!

[@shikataganai824]

@@davidherring this example breakdown of cost is so helpful, even just as a starting point, very valuable. So glad I perused the comments this time lol

[@davidherring]

@@shikataganai824 If you ever have any specific questions, hit me up in a DM on IG.

[@MyPhotoVideoLab]

Nice work !!! ;)

[@davidherring]

Thank you!

[@Akashdownloader]

6:17 hahahaha. Nice video, tnx.

[@davidherring]

Thanks!

[@mandiworld]

The passion would surely disappearwith the customer pressure. Nah..

[@davidherring]

Yeah you have to be able to withstand the business side for sure. Not always fun, but over time you get the clients you want.

[@barrycomer3688]

Nice video - zooming in and out is annoying

[@davidherring]

Thanks