Cash in with your camera while travelling

Photography can bring in a bit of money while you travel. There are a fair few methods to cash in with photos such as stock photography, but there are only so many pictures of sunsets and landscapes that people need. If on the other hand you can get pictures of people with model releases you may have a chance of making some decent passive income. But that is not what this method is about.

You can offer your services as an amateur/ intermediate photographer to people to capture their ‘special moments’ and sell the images to them for a good profit. I know my mother was always complaining to everyone about not having any family photos, cursing the fact that she didn’t have a camera whenever an ideal opportunity presented itself.

Of course times change and technological advancements makes it almost impossible not to have someone with a camera in any group whether it be a high end digital camera or one build into your cell. But if we are honest the majority of people aren’t good or even above average photographers.

This is where you come in. If you offer good quality images at good prices you shouldn’t have any problem making money with this method. Having said that it can be difficult in the beginning to approach potential ‘clients’ (for want of a better word).

First things first though:

To use this method, you will need a digital camera, laptop and cheap memory sticks ($10 each from ebay or electronic retailer etc) plus the confidence to offer your services to strangers. Also having a mini portfolio of images you have taken under similar conditions is highly recommended.

1.First you need to find potential buyers. Parks and picnic areas are my favourite places to find ‘clients’. I avoid beaches and playgrounds for obvious reasons when using this method (you don’t want to give people the wrong impression).

2.Strike up conversation with people. I am not a “hard sales” type of guy and I doubt that it would work with this method anyway. Just asking how they are enjoying their picnic or whatever they are doing can start a great conversation.

3.Let them know what you are doing with your travels. Places you have been and things you have done etc. Don’t be afraid to tell them about your service. The worst that they can do is tell you to go away in unpleasant terms, but this has never happened to me. In fact most people comment what a great idea it is even if they don’t buy any portraits.

4.Show them your portfolio and explain how your service works. (Heres the method by the way:)

•Take some good quality family portraits.
•Upload them to your laptop.
•Let the customer choose what shots they would like.
•Load the images onto a memory stick.
•Give the memory stick to the client.
•I charge about $20 for the first shot (which pays for the memory stick
and setup) and five for each additional shot they want. If they buy say five pictures and there are still other good images I will include them on the drive for free.


5.Get paid. Accepting payment can be difficult if the client doesn’t have cash. On the rare occasion that the buy realises that they don’t have cash on them after you have completed the work, you will need to decide what to do.

Perhaps you could create a simple website with a paypal donation link and trust them to pay for the photos. People are usually honest and are willing to pay if you do a good job.

You may even set up a more complex site that you can upload the photos to and once payment has been received the customer can download the images.

I know i said this post wasn't about stock photography but you might consider offering people free pictures if they agree to sign a model release if the images are of high quality. Explain about stock photography to the client and why you are willing to give them away for free. If all goes well you can upload them to sites like istockphoto.com to earn some passive income.

So there you have it. A simple technique that can earn you money to keep you travelling. It requires work and practice, but get good at it and it may very well fund your trip. If you aren’t confident with your photography, pick up a book or two and start advancing your photography skill.