Without really meaning to.
I covered this topic a little bit on a recent Tiktok just talking about how I got started in photography and
one of the surprising ways that I found that ultimately made more money earlier on in photography.
So I thought, you know what, I've got a few of these steps.
I'm going to put them into a YouTube video and tell you guys how you can make your 1st $100 with
photography in 2022.
It's the first on the list, which you have heard a lot before.
This is assuming you currently have no network in freelancing as a creative and that is going to
be reaching out to friends and family who you already know and already have a personal
reputation with and offer them and sort of their closer friend, network, your
services as a photographer or videographer.
Now this might end up being time wasted, but it's very good to check there.
Is there anyone in your current network, who you or your friends already know or your family
even know who kind of does need a photographer doesn't know where to look.
And when your name pops up they go, oh, it's so and so yeah, you can come to my photos.
I trust you, you're probably going to do it for quite cheap.
I personally had one experience like that via a restaurant that my mom happened to
know the restaurant manager was looking for a website, video of the venue.
So I went over and I did that job and at the time it was the biggest job I've done actually
before I finish this point, that happened a couple of other times for me, luckily a lot of people I know are in the
music industry.
One band alone hired me to do two music videos at the very start of my career.
So that gave me a very good kick off of working with a group of people as a set of
clients, luckily kind of informally, but then having to deliver a full project.
So if you're just getting started and you haven't yet tapped into pretty much everyone that you know,
get started.
A really good way to get started is just to message people on facebook, on insta,
just texting them.
Maybe don't email them because people aren't going to read your email number two and this is going to be the first
time you're reaching out to new people who might not know you at all and this is just going to
be offering free or ludicrously cheap work.
I also did this.
When I first moved to leeds, I messaged a bunch of tattoo artists,
barbers, different hospitality venues offering essentially free work.
And I ended up shooting three videos for free when I first moved, but each
of them was like a 62nd instagram sort of highlight video, one for a barber, one
for a hairdresser and then much later a slightly delayed one.
I traded a one minute video with some photos for two tattoos for myself and a friend.
You can sometimes get a trade out of it and tattoo artists are more than happy to tattoo you
in return for shooting some video.
I understand what these first two, you might be thinking, you've heard them before, whatever, but trust me, there is no
get rich quick with video and photo, you might get lucky and you might have someone really close to
your network, even a really close friend who suddenly is, you know, getting money into their
business or into their creative pursuits and they want to pay you to be there, go to and if you
do get that, take it and run.
But a lot of the time it's going to be networking, getting yourself known, making
sure that you're a pleasant person to work with and that you deliver work that the client is ultimately happy with.
Number three.
This is branching out a little bit further and this is going to be posting into local photography and videography groups,
looking for opportunities as a second shooter.
So you can do this by going on facebook a lot of time and going into safe for me, there's like a
leads photography and models group or west Yorkshire photography group and sometimes
the shoots in there that you don't want to be involved with and that's totally fine, Don't get involved with those shoots.
There's, there's a lot of them, a lot of wedding photographers live in those groups and when I
first started I was interested in shooting some weddings just to sort of see what the experience
was like.
So I posted these groups saying, hey, I just started freelancing this year.
I'm looking for opportunities, A second shooter on weddings, happy to do it.
You know, expenses being paid would be nice.
I'll come along, do whatever you want sound.
You get an extra, you know, 2000 images to be able to deliver to a client at pretty much
no cost.
So as long as you're not genuinely blind with a camera, then that photographer is going to get a
massive return on investment because you might get angles and moments that they couldn't get for whatever
reason.
So having your additional photos there is going to make a world of difference for their job.
I only personally did this with two different photographers for weddings, but that did turn
into paid work.
So I did one job where I was just covered for expenses and the photographer picked me up, drop me
off.
We had a great time, got to know each other.
The second photographer we met up beforehand just to sort of get to know each other and I think they wanted to
decide whether they actually wanted me there on our wedding day or not, luckily they said yes.
And then I went and shot that wedding with them and then two days later they had another wedding down south
and they said, look, if you can be there then come do it.
They paid my expenses and paid me like a pretty cheap day rate, but still
from one post in a photography group.
I made a bit of money increase my connections and build a wedding portfolio which I have
ultimately never used.
I am shooting a wedding in May, but that's incidental.
I didn't intend to shoot the wedding number four.
And this is the one that actually shared on Tiktok and this is get to know established photographers and
videographers in your area.
Now, this is something that I didn't lead again inadvertently.
I didn't really go out with the intention of doing this.
It's just that from the couple of connections that I made like this.
I have had a return on investment by several 1000%.
It's been wild, especially down to like a couple of people, those really
good connections that you make will pay back so much.
So, so much.
So it's really important to keep those things in mind.
And what I actually did here in my case was I reached out to photographers and videographers
on instagram.
So specifically a couple of people I you know, had been following them for a while.
One particular photographer, I was trying to shoot food.
He's very established the photographer in my area.
So I just asked one time I was like, I would love to come shoot some behind the scenes for you.
Just sort of see how you do it.
So, I just wanted to know what was different about his shoe to mine, like, what was I not doing that he
was doing?
Ultimately, actually, I went to his shoots all the way he was shooting and then realized there
was no secret source, he's just got an eye for it.
The relationship that had been formed with this photographer led to us being
friends, and then also occasionally having other work sent my way, and some of the work that
photographer actually sent my way was from a couple of agencies, Which then those agencies led
to a lot of my work through 2020 and 20, Again, I'd like to reiterate when I first
message these photographers, it was not with the intention of what ultimately
happened happening.
So, it was purely out of interest curiosity.
I was very hungry.
I was, it was 2019, I was probably making 800 to £1000 a month off of
photography work and videography work, which was just enough for me to live in what, luckily is quite a cheap
house, but at the time, I was just like, look, I need to learn, I need to learn.
I need to meet some people, I need to see what they're doing.
I need to just gain connections with them and have conversations with them.
A lot of the conversations you have with more experienced freelancers ultimately will educate you a lot
more than any courses, or, you know, specific training, a lot of the
time, it's just meeting people, picking up little bits from different people and ultimately put
together how you operate your business and how you produce work for a client.
And lastly number five, I've done this one time and it kind of worked, but this is
something I tend to recommend to other people who are specifically interested in a niche of photography or shooting
events, and this is going to be attending free events, photographing
them and then sending the work to the organizer.
Let me explain, especially in the UK, on event, right, if you just go on eventbrite, put in your
location and find free events soon, you will see a whole lot of events that you can just rock up
two for free, you don't have to buy a ticket, you don't have to get permission to be there, and you can attend and
shoot, I did this and went to a classic car day about three years ago I attended, shot a bunch of
photos, delivered the photos to the organizer, he liked them, use them, but it never
turned into work, but for sure if I'd done this with multiple events, maybe events that I
had more of an interest in classic cars, I'm actually more interested in now than I was then,
but again, I say if you wanted to get in with tattoo artists, we wanted to get in with the wine industry,
the whiskey industry, the craft ale industry, the coffee, the coffee gang, you can just go to
one of these free events photograph and do it very well.
Or even like put together a quick highlight video of your own experience there and then you can provide your
finished work to the organizers or to those who are featured in your photos or your
videos and not only will you give them something for free, but hopefully you'll make a good
connection and then when they think we might need some photos soon, if you did good work,
they'll reach out to you.
This is similar to producing a spec project or like a piece of spec work, but this
way you actually have a direct relationship with a potential client and often you're not
sort of creating a spec project for Nike who might not hire you instead.
You're creating some nice free work for a small to medium sized business or
events organizer who is probably totally in your ballpark of potential
clients.
So that's my five ways to make $100 with your camera today.
I hope you've enjoyed this video.
If you have subscribed to the channel and I will see you in the next one