Are you in the Money?

[smoke665]

Interesting read on How Many Photographers Are Making Over $300,000 a Year? | PetaPixel How Many Photographers Are Making Over $300,000 a Year?

 

[cgw116 141]

IRS/CRA audits tell all!
Not far from "I Sleep till Noon Daily and Made $500,000 Last Year in My Bathrobe!"

 

[4073707]

I was once given a free hotdog for photographing a food cart.

Does that put me in the 1% class??

CHEERS
JBO

 

[Don Fischer]

I think the best money would be made with either commercial photography or family photo's. Portraits! With pretty much anything else if you don't already have a name for yourself, it's a long walk up those stairs.

 

[Don Fischer]

I was once given a free hotdog for photographing a food cart.

Does that put me in the 1% class??

CHEERS
JBO

I broke down a month or so ago and put some framed photo's in an out of the way second hand store. One month and four sold at $120ea. Boy looks like a long way to $300,000! had no idea how much to ask for them. print my own on a 13" printer and make my frames with wood off old buildings and scrap piles. Charge $.20 sq in for photos and $50 for frames up to 12"x24". Don't have a store of my own I have to support so works out alright if you don't want to get rich by next weekend! just started putting in some 8x10 frames and charging $35 for them if I put in their photo, dust cover, foam core back wall hanger and wall bumpers. Just the frame and do it yourself, the rest. $20 for the frame. looked at frames in some local thrift shops and new factory 8x10 all seemed to run close to and a bit over $17. Timed making 8x10's several years ago and seem's I could do 7 and hour then. To make 300,000 dollars at $35 each I'd only have to make 8571 frames a year. Think I'll put it in whoa right here. I live on SS and my picture money just help's me get out to take more picture's!

 

[smoke665]

IRS/CRA audits tell all!
Not far from "I Sleep till Noon Daily and Made $500,000 Last Year in My Bathrobe!"

Only one industry I can think of that you could do that

That said there are still a lot of specialized commercial photographers that have the equipment/knowledge/experience to pull in big bucks.

Portraits

Even back in the 70s before digital, portraits were tough to make money doing, especially if you weren't in major markets. The only one I know that made serious cash in portraiture was Olin Mills and his family owned studios. At his peak in the 80s he was bumping $500 million in annual sales.

Today, with the proliferation of "Moms with cameras" out there they've driven the prices down to where it isn't profitable.

One of my most lucrative side hustles back then (though not for the squeamish) was forensic photography for the SO, and local attorneys.

 

[cgw116 141]

Friends do fashion editorial. They ask me for occasional MF filmwork for their assignments. They generously cut me a nice slice. More than covers lab costs and several months' bar tab. Suits me. I don't feed kids or pay a mortgage from it. Still strange that the medium format kits I clung to are now suddenly in demand for the 120 film "look" and their apparent rarity.

 

[Don Fischer]

I think a dig problem with the photo industry comes from cell phones. When it comes to cost, how does the camera industry fight back? Average person doesn't need a high dollar print of the family and many simply can't afford it. My son has an expensive cell phone which doubles as his camera, video recorder, speedometer, auto mechainc and it's what he has for a computer. Top of that he can actually call people on it and get calls on it. I gave his daughter a Nikon 5000several years ago as she liked taking photo's but, found out she prefers her cell phone. So when she moved out my son took it over but he's never even tried it. Now he gave it back to her and Seem's no one knows where it is. They both take photo's with their cell phone's and keep small photo's in the phone. Neither has ever had a picture blown up or printed. Not a lot different with business's that use phones. They carry around their cell phones everywhere. I can remember when lot of business's use point and shoot cameras. What the heck, their business is not photography, it' something else. One down fall of the Common human is their ego so they do spend some money on portraits. But even then, I don't think portraits are as popular as they once were. early on there weren't many photographers around so they could keep pretty busy, today everyone is a photographer. And for a lot of people good enough is good enough. I guess I'm one of them. I try to understand the stuff on these photo forums but ya have to learn a whole new language to get it. I think my photo's are pretty good but I'm sure they also lack refinement. Had a know it all on another site look at one of my B/W's some time back and he laughed at me and called it a color photo! Trying to understand this stuff takes a college degree in language!

 

[webestang6412 1]

That said there are still a lot of specialized commercial photographers that have the equipment/knowledge/experience to pull in big bucks.

And a good salesmen with plenty of BS to hook clients.

 

[Tinstafl115 111]

I have found the trick us ti get into a niche like the fashion world or producing content for the OF girls. They need some stuff that is over the top and will pay for it.