Photography Side Hustle
Photography Side Hustle
Making Money as a Photographer
Episode 202 - Different genres of photography that you can earn money shooting.
The Transcript page - https://photographysidehustle.com/202
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Hey, how's it going? I'm Andy Jones, and this is episode 202 of the Photography Side Hustle Podcast.
… and the first one of 2026.
I have a sneaky feeling this year is going to be one to remember. It’s only the 18th of January, and the world is certainly changing.
Anyway, let’s get on with “Making Money as a Photographer.”
If you want to make a living from photography, you need to stand out and shine. To do that, you need to work on four things …
1. Camera Skills:
You need to know how to shoot in Manual Mode, understand lighting, and compose images that people want to buy.
Manual Mode, because you need to be able to change your settings for any situation. Knowing why you need to change a setting is essential. You can’t be a creative photographer using the camera in AUTO Mode. You have to take charge.
The same goes for lighting and composition. I still remember the feeling I had the first time I stood some family members under a tree, and I didn’t know how to pose them. I didn’t even consider the overall composition or the best light.
2. Develop a Style: This is something that is constantly changing. Your style and quality will get you bookings. Don’t get too hung up on style. When you edit your images, you make them look right for you; that is your style. Just be consistent.
3. Use Quality Equipment: I am pretty confident that all photographers who make a living from photography use professional-quality equipment.
Top portrait photographers don’t spend over $3000 on an 85mm f/1.2 lens because they think it gives a slightly better image than a kit lens. They buy it because the image quality is incredible; it’s the best lens available for their needs.
Now I’m not saying that if you want to be a top portrait photographer, you need to spend $3000 plus on one lens when you’re starting out. There are lots of used professional-quality lenses available that will more than fill your needs.
Instead of buying an entry-level mirrorless camera with a kit lens, you could buy a used Canon 5D Mark II and a used 24-70 f/2.8 lens. This setup will give you professional results straight away.
4. Business Skills: If you think being a pro photographer is all about shooting and editing, then I’ve got some bad news for you. Running your business will take up at least one-third of your time.
Sales, marketing, finances, setting up and running your website, and managing your social media accounts are just as important as shooting and editing.
Okay, so I’ve got that out of the way. So what are you going to shoot?
Let’s go through some of the genres you can shoot to make money.
The first one we're going to take a look at is …
Family Portraits
This is the starting point for most of us. We practice on our family, and our first clients are friends who pay a small fee.
Shooting family portraits is a huge market. But not all portraits are the same; you can shoot family portraits outdoors, at home, or in a studio.
As I said, family portraits are a huge market, but because it’s the starting place for new photographers, it can be difficult to get customers willing to pay a reasonable price.
It’s for this reason that people move on to shoot different genres, like …
Pet Portraits
Now, a lot of dog and cat owners treat their pets like children, and they’re willing to spend big money on some professional photos of their little snuck’ums.
Just like family portraits, there are different approaches to pet photography. Now I’m going to give you two photographers that I think are at the very top of the genre.
First is Kaylee Greer of Dog Breath Photography. Most of her work is done outdoors, and it is incredible. If you can replicate her work, you will never have to worry about bookings again.
Check her out at dogbreathphoto.com you’ll be blown away.
Next is Kim Jongen - Mother Puppers. Kim was a guest on episode 155 of the podcast. She is in the Netherlands and does studio dog portraits. Her work is consistently brilliant. I absolutely love her work. If you copied Kim's style, you would be booked months ahead.
If you would like to shoot like Kim, she does offer coaching calls. Check her out at motherpuppers.nl
Headshots
There are business people everywhere, and the majority of them need a headshot. A good studio headshot isn’t easy. I would suggest joining a group like the Headshot Crew. headshotcrew.com
The better your product is, the more you can charge for it, and if you can match the Headshot Crew's standards, you’ll be a winner.
Personal Branding
My daughter has done quite a few branding shoots for new small business owners. The images are used for their websites, social media, advertising, and business cards. It’s another huge market with lots of potential.
Weddings
A lot of photographers are drawn to weddings because they're a high-ticket item. I used to do weddings, and believe me, it takes a special type of person to shoot them.
With a wedding, you only get one chance to capture the couple's first kiss or the cutting of the cake. Miss something, and you will hear about it.
If you can handle the pressure and produce high-quality images, you can make a lot of money.
Real Estate and Airbnb
Real Estate photographers are needed everywhere. To compete, you need to offer stills, video, and drone footage.
Airbnb is a great market to get customers. We stayed at an Airbnb last year, and the photos sold the cottage. It wasn’t as nice as the photos promised. They had definitely used a professional photographer.
To get customers, you need to join Airbnb and go through all the rentals in your area. If the photos look awful, send them a message and introduce yourself.
Sports
Kids' sports are massive. The hardest thing is getting your first event booking. If you have a child in a sport, offer your services to the team. Just do it in a way that raises money for the team.
Landscapes
This isn’t the easiest way to make money. Some of the well-known landscape photographers on YouTube make most of their money from workshops. They do make money from books, calendars, and prints, but they’re well-known, and their work is incredible.
If you’ve been shooting landscapes as a hobby for a few years and your photos are excellent, go for it. Try to get known locally.
Travel
This is a great way to go on vacation and still earn a wage. You’ve got to be inventive. Just because you have some killer images of the Eiffel Tower doesn’t mean a magazine will buy them. There are thousands of photos of the Eiffel Tower already available on the Stock websites.
Instead, consider taking photos of the hotel you’re staying at and using them to secure free accommodation. Think about all the other businesses in the areas you travel, and what you can do for them.
Cars and Motorcycles
Last summer, the main street in my town was blocked off for a classic car show. There were easily over 200 cars and trucks on show. The owners are fanatical and would love a cool print or poster of their car.
Commercial and Products
Commercial photography is shooting images for businesses. Just think how many businesses there are in your town or city. If a company has just moved to new premises, offer your services.
Now, I used to list product photography when talking about commercial work, but that has changed recently. The problem is Google's Nano Banana AI. It allows you to snap a pic with your phone and reimage the scene.
Take a photo of, say, a water bottle on a kitchen counter, upload it to the AI, and tell it to place the bottle on a rock in a stream with a waterfall in the background. The results are scary. Now there are apps that use Google’s AI, so the process is faster.
Up until now, a team had to go to the mountain stream, put the bottle on the rock, and take photos of it. The company promoting the bottle had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get promotional photos. But now they can just pull out a phone and bingo.
So I wouldn’t consider product photography.
Right, that all I’ve got for this episode. I hope you found it helpful.
I’m going to get the snowblower out now and have some winter fun.
Talk to you soon, bye.