Getting into photography pays, whether you are just dabbling with it as a hobby or if you see it as a career to pursue. Even if you are doing photography as a hobby, you can still make money from the photos you take if you sell them as stock photos. You can also earn a living by taking pictures in many different ways by being employed by a company or by finding freelance work.
If you are really serious about making a career from your passion for photography, here are some of the photography careers that pay:
Event Photography. Photographers in the event photography business are usually experts in finding the best angle and the perfect lighting when taking pictures of various special events. They also can determine the right tone to be used when capturing the memorable moments in special events like birthdays, bar mitzvahs, and weddings.
According to simplyhired.com, the average annual salary of an event photographer is $37,000. However, this may greatly vary depending on the kind of event specialized on by an event photographer. The clientele, location, and experience of a photographer can also be a big factor when it comes to the matter of salary expectations. For example, an event photographer specializing on doing wedding photography can earn $2,500 or more for one full day of shooting.
Restaurant Photography. Restaurant photographers are those who offer the service of taking the pictures of restaurant customers for a fee. The number of restaurants needing the services of experienced and excellent restaurant photographers is increasing because restaurants usually need high quality photographs to be used in their advertisements and other marketing campaigns.
A restaurant photographer can earn around $63,000 on average according to simplyhired.com. Just like in other lines of the photography business, the pay will greatly vary especially if you consider experience and location. Also, considerations on the company, industry, and benefits also play a role in the computation of the salary that you will get in case you want to go into restaurant photography.
Photojournalism. Periodicals and publications like newspapers, journals, and magazines always need to have visual images to run with their articles, reports, and other stories. These photos are either printed or are posted in the websites of these publications. This is why a career in photojournalism is something that the media cannot do without.
According to simplyhired.com, photographers in the field of photojournalism make an average of $40,000 a year on the average. Matters like location, company working for, industry, and experience matters a lot in determining how much you should receive if you go into photojournalism. You also have the option to seek employment in a publication or to go freelance. A definite plus when working as a photojournalist is the opportunity to travel to various places and, even, around the world.
Pet Photography. Pets are becoming more and more popular and many are considering their pets as part of their family. This includes being pampered, clothed, given medical attention, and the likes. The number of pet owners who wants to have professionally-done portraits of their pets is steadily increasing. This is a major reason why the pet photography business is getting more lucrative.
According to simplyhired.com, the average yearly income of photographers into pet photography is $79,000. Of course, this is a specialized branch of the photography business and you may not make that much when you are just starting out. You would need to build a loyal clientele, do some networking, advertise your pet photography business, and build your reputation in order to earn more.
…hope this helps,
Ray Baker