For a lot of travellers, a trip around the globe wouldn’t be complete without a camera by their side.
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Documenting adventures with crisp and clear images without having to learn complex photography skills has become more attainable thanks to modern cameras and smart phones.
But for those who are interested in learning more about the art of photography, the possibilities to improve your craft — and earn money while on the road — are endless.
With increased use of the camera, travelers will gain a set of skills which can only be built through experience.
This post will explain how to use these skills to both practice and generate an income on the side. This method could be an excellent way to pay for trips or earn spending money while traveling.
Photo Credit: https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-13357601-silhouette-girl-taking-picture-by-camera-standing
1. Spread Your Influence
In recent years, social media sites have taken over the world of marketing.
Few companies go without posting on websites or utilising influencer marketing, and even fewer don’t have accounts at all. As time has gone on, most businesses have realised that building a following on these channels isn’t as easy as they expected.
Travel photos tend to be a big draw, and with the right equipment and practice, you will have an advantage. If you post engaging and quality content, traffic to your social accounts and website will steadily increase rather than stay stagnant. (That’s the goal, right?)
Once your presence has reached an impressive size, you will start to find opportunities to work as an “influencer”.
While the term is loaded and has different meanings to some, this means you will have the chance to work with brands for sponsored content. These opportunities will often come organically, with businesses getting in touch with you through social media or email.
To make yourself more accessible, you could consider using a company like Tribe. They will be able to pair you with businesses that are appropriate for your brand and niche. This can be a surprisingly lucrative hustle, with some people making a fortune out of their time on these sites while others see the money slowly trickle in.
2. Open An Online Store
If you’re like most people, you often fall in love with the places you visit on vacation, but sometimes you don’t realise just how much it until you leave.
At this point, it will be too late to go back and get all the photographs you would like to remember the exact memories that you enjoyed. This alone has opened up a huge market for travel photographers.
Creating an online shop on a site like Etsy or Zenfolio is an often free or low cost investment.
Websites like this make it far easier to sell your own goods to the public without having to spend a long time working on things like SEO and marketing. Of course, you will need to make an investment to get started with this as well, so it might not be for everyone. You can also build your own website solely for this purpose, though this can be a more expensive and time-consuming approach to take.
Purchasing a photo printer is also affordable and allows you to print unlimited copies of the places you visit without the hassle of going to a developer or print shop.
If you have the skills needed to properly edit the photos for printing and framing, the images can be sold to others who share the same love for exploring the world as you do.
3. Utilize Pay-Per-View
Over the last few years, companies have experimented with many different ways to make money online.
Whether they’re selling services, skills, or products, the lines have been blurred between business and pastime.
In the world of photography, this has opened the doors to enthusiasts to get paid for photos without even having to sell them.
By uploading your pictures to a site like Clickasnap, you can start generating a passive income when people look at them. It might not be a huge amount to begin with, but it shouldn’t take long before you start to reap the rewards of pay-per-view.
4. Become a Travelling Photographer
It’s becoming increasingly common for people to hold events and weddings overseas.
While planning an international event such as a wedding is usually more costly and stressful, it’s not impossible
Of course, though, finding a professional photographer who is willing to go overseas isn’t an easy task. However, if you’re a professional with quality equipment and ample skills, you’re in a unique position to offer services.
If travelling is your passion, and making money through photography is your aim, it makes sense to pursue this route.
In some cases, you might be able to travel completely free. In other cases, you will have to rely on finding couples needing services on the dates you plan to travel. A website is a good place to advertise this to potential clients, but it isn’t essential. As long as you’re able to manage a solid social media presence, it will get easier to network and market yourself.
5. Put in the Time and Effort
The idea of working while on vacation may not be everyone’s cup of tea. You can still spend time on photography while also finding time to relax. You can learn more about some of the benefits of a “working holiday,” below:
Learning: Much like a writer, a lot of photographers find themselves struggling to find fresh subjects. Utilizing a holiday break to take as many snaps as possible will help broaden your skills with each click of the shutter.
Memories: You will ultimately be using your photos to make money. The beauty in this, is you can keep them for as long as you like. This gives you an excellent chance to collect memories on paper rather than in your mind.
People like the idea of making extra money from a passion project, but it can be a challenge to get started. You will need to push yourself and be extremely determined.
But hopefully, with the above insights, you can feel inspired to start your own journey of making money through photography.
**this is a collaborative post.
I had no idea I could get paid if people just viewed my photograph on Clickasnap. This opened up so many doors, thanks for sharing!
Right!? It’s just a wonderful idea 😀
This is so informative! Do you know of any photography courses that you would recommend?
Thank you! I am glad that it was helpful 🙂 I studied photography a bit in college and learned most of what I know there, but YouTube has some extremely helpful beginner videos that are free! There is also a book I read that is called The Beginner’s Photography Guide. You can find it for less than $5 on Thriftbooks.com! 🙂
You’ve shared some really great ideas in here that I hadn’t considered. Perhaps a new kind of freelancing is in store, lol!
Haha! With your photography skills, I am sure you would have it up and running in no time! 🙂
These are amazing ideas! I am definitely looking for ways to improve my photography in the coming year. I love getting inspired when I travel. 🙂
Me too! I am always looking to improve. Travel is a great way to get inspired! I can’t wait until we can do it again 🙂
Such an informative post! Thank you so much for sharing
You’re welcome, Cristina! Hope you find it helpful 🙂
Great suggestions, I have never heard of Clickasnap so I’m going to look into it!
It’s a really neat site! I already signed up for it and it’s easy to use.
Super handy article! Thanks for the great tips
You’re welcome! Let me know if I can provide any more info! 🙂
Love the tips, would be a great way to earn some money on the side, while i work on monetising the blog!
Yesss! And now seems like the perfect time to do it with some extra time on our hands he he
These are some great tips, thanks for sharing! Really want to get better at photography so this is really useful!
There are some great tips! I am going to look into the getting paid per views. Thanks for sharing.
Wow no idea I could get paid-per-view! Great tips, thank you very much for sharing!
Thanks for the tips!
Super handy tips! I didn’t know about the pay per view option, worth checking out
Thanks for putting this together
Really helpful post! I had never considered using things like Clickasnap. I will totally take a peek at that!
I am a keen photographer and have been learning a bit more about photo taking so hopefully one day I can get to the point where people might want to buy my photos. But until them I just love doing it anyway, even if it’s just for me
Omg I have litteraly been thinking about doing just that, this post offers so many wonderful ideas!
This is super helpful! I had never heard of Clickasnap, but I’m signing up right now!
These are great tips! I take picture as part of being a travel blogger and I never knew about the pay per view option! I’ll be checking that out for sure
Practical suggestion! Love it. I’m exactly working on the online shop direction for not only my favorite photos, but also for other travel blogger or visual content creators in our community! Crossing fingers that would work well.
This is an amazing idea! I am working on building an online photography shop of just landscapes now, but it’s taking longer than I thought it would! haha
Very informative post! As a professional Portrait Photographer (I only shoot travel photography for pleasure right now), my business has currently ceased because of coronavirus. I’m looking now into trying to make some money from my travel photographs, so this post was helpful. I will check out Clickasnap now!
I hope these tips can come in handy for you! With a background in photography I am sure you will be very successful if you launch a travel photography page!
These are great suggestions! I love travel photography!
Thank you so much! I appreciate you coming by to read it 🙂
really great ideas x
Aw thanks so much Claudia!
Such a good post! I have always wondered how to make some extra money!
Thank you for reading, Dana! I hope it comes in handy for you 🙂
These are great tips! I had no idea you could make money just from people viewing your pics. Thank you!
Thank you! Yep, its a great way to earn a little extra cash on the side!
I hadn’t heard of Clickasnap before, thanks for the tip! Also selling photos to brands can be a good way to monetise travel photos, I’ve had an airline once buy one of my photos for the cover of their inflight magazine.
Ohh that’s a great idea, Greta! I’ve never thought to ask brands I work with if they are interested in buying my photos. Thanks! 🙂