Still don’t understand how photographers are doing this

Doccy Woccy said

After five years on PP I’m convinced there’s only one way to make money from all the photography gear I’ve collected, and the hundreds of hours mooching about in the forums, watching YouTube’s to slowly and surely learn this craft..

Coupling all that with experience I’ve gained paying for and shooting with some of the best models here I could find whose diaries matched up with mine, self reflecting and gaining feedback from my peers..

And further paying for, travelling to and taking courses in person with professional photographers and photoshop artists around the world.

Here’s the secret…

The way to make some money from all of the above…..

List all my photography gear on eBay and sell the lot!

I saw you preparing the ground, knew exactly what was coming, but I enjoyed the punchline anyway! 😃

No one is going to pay you, your images are sadly not good enough. That's the easiest answer I can give you. Invest in yourself, go on workshops, learn what makes an image outstanding...and you probably still won't get paid. The truth is, purpleport is mainly about putting models and photographers together...and the models will be the ones getting paid.

Repzee Photography people aren't making money from photography on here, even when they pretend they are.

There may be one or two exceptions, but they don't count.

Repzee Photography said

I’ve been doing photography for 11 months. I’ve seen models and other photographers come in and start charging after doing it for a month. When I put my rates up 4 months into photography I was shut down. How on earth are people making money so quickly from this I really don’t understand?

Talent makes money! Well talent and good marketing! 

I am not going to critique your work, but look at your work and ask yourself how does it compare to the best photographers on this site???

Then remind yourself only some of them make money from it

if you’re expecting to turn models here in to your customer base then I think you’re in for a big disappointment because most are in a position to cherry pick who they TF with and thus don’t need to pay, alot are photographers too and can and do self shoot. 

Only rare exceptions will a model pay a photographer, this is when that photographer has a unique and strong style that no over else offers and that model just has to have it. It”s rarer than unicorns 

ways to make money from photography based on your skill set

 Night club photographer 

Product photographer- bet yourself a light box and practice shooting objects 

Food photography for stock companies 

Scotty Mack Images said

Bigfish3311 said

The photographers that make money from here you could probably count on one hand. The photographers that are making money are mostly getting their customers elsewhere. Mostly not from the modelling comunity.

On the hand, if that hand was missing 3 fingers.

This is a resource for photographers to find models, it doesn't work the other way.  Models rarely pay photographers, you need to market to agencies, marketing companies, etc.  They aren't looking on PurplePort for photographers.

This last bit exactly. I'm a full time pro photographer who earns a living from it. I have only ONCE had a client find me and message me on PP. Still no idea how that happened ! I'm here to cast for commercial bookings where I need a model, think e-commerce etc.... or to pick up the odd TF shoot when it's beneficial to both parties, not just for the sake of it.

If you want to make money from photography PP is not the place. It IS however the place you arrange TF shoots, or pay models, to create a broader and more appealing portfolio.
And broader appeal is key here. People do pay for photography, the trick is to find out what type. Then create a portfolio slanted toward that, then find a way of advertising that to the market that wants it. Knowing the market is critical.

A free pro tip is this : 80% of my clients pay me in order to help them make a return. So they are either selling something or themselves. They need good photographs to attract customers. So, develop your skills to produce relevant images these people would happily pay for and advertise in a place where they are looking. I never ever forget I am just a barrow boy, anyone selling something is. The basic rules of how that works remain the same. And PP is not part of it.

Rob Anderman said

Scotty Mack Images said

Bigfish3311 said

The photographers that make money from here you could probably count on one hand. The photographers that are making money are mostly getting their customers elsewhere. Mostly not from the modelling comunity.

On the hand, if that hand was missing 3 fingers.

This is a resource for photographers to find models, it doesn't work the other way.  Models rarely pay photographers, you need to market to agencies, marketing companies, etc.  They aren't looking on PurplePort for photographers.

This last bit exactly. I'm a full time pro photographer who earns a living from it. I have only ONCE had a client find me and message me on PP. Still no idea how that happened ! I'm here to cast for commercial bookings where I need a model, think e-commerce etc.... or to pick up the odd TF shoot when it's beneficial to both parties, not just for the sake of it.

If you want to make money from photography PP is not the place. It IS however the place you arrange TF shoots, or pay models, to create a broader and more appealing portfolio.
And broader appeal is key here. People do pay for photography, the trick is to find out what type. Then create a portfolio slanted toward that, then find a way of advertising that to the market that wants it. Knowing the market is critical.

A free pro tip is this : 80% of my clients pay me in order to help them make a return. So they are either selling something or themselves. They need good photographs to attract customers. So, develop your skills to produce relevant images these people would happily pay for and advertise in a place where they are looking. I never ever forget I am just a barrow boy, anyone selling something is. The basic rules of how that works remain the same. And PP is not part of it.

Rob Anderman offers the answer, nothing more to say on the matter.

Rob Anderman said

Scotty Mack Images said

Bigfish3311 said

The photographers that make money from here you could probably count on one hand. The photographers that are making money are mostly getting their customers elsewhere. Mostly not from the modelling comunity.

On the hand, if that hand was missing 3 fingers.

This is a resource for photographers to find models, it doesn't work the other way.  Models rarely pay photographers, you need to market to agencies, marketing companies, etc.  They aren't looking on PurplePort for photographers.

This last bit exactly. I'm a full time pro photographer who earns a living from it. I have only ONCE had a client find me and message me on PP. Still no idea how that happened ! I'm here to cast for commercial bookings where I need a model, think e-commerce etc.... or to pick up the odd TF shoot when it's beneficial to both parties, not just for the sake of it.

If you want to make money from photography PP is not the place. It IS however the place you arrange TF shoots, or pay models, to create a broader and more appealing portfolio.
And broader appeal is key here. People do pay for photography, the trick is to find out what type. Then create a portfolio slanted toward that, then find a way of advertising that to the market that wants it. Knowing the market is critical.

A free pro tip is this : 80% of my clients pay me in order to help them make a return. So they are either selling something or themselves. They need good photographs to attract customers. So, develop your skills to produce relevant images these people would happily pay for and advertise in a place where they are looking. I never ever forget I am just a barrow boy, anyone selling something is. The basic rules of how that works remain the same. And PP is not part of it.

OP - the above is the crux of what you need to know.

Some photographers on sites like this have progressed to the point they get paid regularly by models, but most or all of them migrate elsewhere once they reach that stage. Your activity here might help you along that path but looking at your portfolio now, and recognising how much it needs to improve, your fastest and most effective (and probably essential) route would be in conjunction with appropriate tuition. Most successful model photographers freely admit investing in tuition along the way and will say who with. The good news is that some of those tutors are on this site.

Huw said

Repzee Photography people aren't making money from photography on here, even when they pretend they are.

There may be one or two exceptions, but they don't count.

That will be gear offered in the Wanted/For Sale group.

Timmee 😜

You have 7 references and one of them is a cancellation, I know photographers with 500+ references and a wonderful portfolio who still do not get paid. As stated dozens of times this is a website for photographers to network and book models. Not the place to try to sell portfolio shoots to models who have a choice of thousands of photographers offering TF or to pay the model 

Bad Dolly said

You have 7 references and one of them is a cancellation, I know photographers with 500+ references and a wonderful portfolio who still do not get paid. As stated dozens of times this is a website for photographers to network and book models. Not the place to try to sell portfolio shoots to models who have a choice of thousands of photographers offering TF or to pay the model 

OP - the above illustrates perfectly why those capable model photographers who do want to be paid migrate elsewhere. You'll eventually need to find an appropriate market place.

Some points to keep in mind during this and all similar discussions:

- Models don't need photographers. The majority of photos are viewed on tiny screens at low resolution, so anyone can create the content they need on their phones. Those models who do want to work with creative photographers will usually have their pick of them. There are far more people calling themselves photographers than there are people who call themselves models. So the photographers need the models more than the models need the photographers, which is why models can be selective and/or charge fees, and most photographers will never have that luxury.

- Commercial success is a combination of luck, contacts, hard work, business skills and talent. Talent alone is no guarantee of making money.

- To make money you need to identify a market where there are people who are willing to pay for your services. Usually that will be for weddings, families or pets. People will spend silly money on anything related to their nuptials, their kids or their fur babies. The great news there (for those that can live with themselves, and there are many) is that you can get away with shit work because people will think any photo of their child or pet is beautiful no matter how rubbish it actually is. The bad news is that those markets are over-saturated already and finding a niche is tricky. 

- Offering good, even exceptional photos is not enough to run a successful photography business. People want experiences. They'd rather have a great experience and decent photos, than an average experience and great photos.

- If you want to make money from photography you need to identify a market, put together an offering that can appeal to that market, develop a strong business plan, work your backside off, and hope that luck is on your side. If you're on Purpleport hoping to make money, I suggest you start spamming Americans with referral links and hoping for the best.

I think photographers who make a living at it have a studio, or work for someone who has suitable spaces and assets.

They may have a studio by owning a 4 storey building in central New York[1], by renting every Thursday afternoon off the owner of a small studio in Milton Keynes[2], or by being one of a cooperative of 4 photographers who together rent a basement studio in the business and commercial district of a county town[3], each having one day of the week and one weekend of the month[4] as their own and a cleaner[5] to come in on the other day.

Or they may do product photography, on things small enough to fit in a light box in the spare bedroom, and borrow a corner of the Massey Ferguson showroom for their occasional big non-tractor shot (obviously depends on having a contract to shoot the Massey Ferguson tractors there, one day a month - not easy to get I think)

Note that photographers who have a studio very often don't make a living at it , and those who routinely work for someone who has suitable spaces and assets are far from certain to make a career of it or not need another job or three.  Suits some very well I think.

Saying to your client, in your admittedly tiny studio in a corner of a building behind the High Street "The light is really good outside, lets go and pose you by the castle" is fine. Saying to your client, on the phone, "meet me in front of the castle" less so.

I expect I've left out out various use-cases, by all means fill them in. It might make an FAQ essay. 

[1] AFAIK there was one photographer in that particular niche, and I think he has retired.  The ex-bank IIRC is now being turned into flats.  "Always carry a camera", he said, "It is hard to take photographs without one" although nowadays phones have moved into that a bit.

[2] I do not know of an actual example, although I've seen offers and been tempted, but don't take Milton Keynes literally.

[3] An example is actually to hand.

[4] If there are three of you, and you want a 4th, I'm up for it

[5] Essential.  No we don't do it ourselves, it never works.

Back again :-)

To make money from any artistic venture you need a few things:

1. Be passionate about what you photograph.  Don't take pictures just because you think it will make you some money.  Fakery will get you nowhere, your audience will know.
2. Know who your target audience is.  Work out who buys the photos you like to take.  If you don't know your customers, then you are off to a bad start.
3. Watch videos on marketing.  Remember, making money is about sales.  Bad photographers can make a fortune with good marketing, and great photographers can die poor.
4. How will you make money?  Will it be from sales of your photos?  There are lots of people making money from education, YouTube, writing reviews, and websites. 

One of the best things you can do to start is learning how to create a "Lead Generator" page, one that attracts attention.  This will allow you to collect the email addresses of pre-warmed potential buyers for your product.

No one makes a dime by dropping some pretty pictures on Purple Port or Instagram and waiting for a cheque.

Kevin Connery said

Stu H said

You can charge if you want.

The trick is to find someone that's buying what you are selling.

CalmNudes said

Figure out who is going to buy from you what it is they are paying for and concentrate on delivering that.
If people aren't buying the reasons are normally simple. The product isn't what they want or not at the quality / price they want

A Shot in the Dark said

All that matters is whether you're providing something someone wants to pay for.

The audience on PP is extremely unlikely to buy photographic services from any but the very best photographers. And by that I mean the top dozen or so, not the top 10%, 5%, or even 1%. This is simply not the venue for it, even if you were in that elite group.

You need to make some determinations:

• What can you offer that others can't offer more effectively?
• Who is the audience for that?
• Where can you reach that audience?

Once you've done that, take CalmNude's advice. 

:-) Absolutely true about PP as an audience. 

My simple business plan for ANYTHING is answer these questions - which are similar to the above. 

1. What am I selling. "Camera rental with operator" is probably not saleable, are you selling a way of remembering a wedding, portfolios for models to get work from other photographers, content for product catalogues (print or on-line) etc.

2. Who is going to buy it from me ? Why are they buying it at all, and if other people sell it , why will they choose me - or choose a competitor?  You don't need to be best, or unique, or cheapest. Being local or having great service might be the key factor.

3. What will they pay, and how many do I need to have a viable business ? (which has a bunch of supplementary questions -including costs, and the size of the market)

4. How will they find me?

Ask where you find the required number of paying customers for pictures like each one in the shop window.  That is pretty brutal.
If anyone believes the market is there for pictures like theirs, if they're right , and find the customers at a suitable price point they have business. Alternatively the market isn't there (or is too small, at least at their pricing) or they can't find the customers who are out there, and the venture fails.