MAKE MONEY as a Beginner Photographer!
– So I'm actually in Scotland right now. I'm on a small island called Cara, and it's a short ferry ride
away from a town called Oban. We're hanging out with
two guys that we met, two Scottish guys that are really cool, named Connor and Jamie. They're two beginner photographers, and I was talking to them a little bit, and it got me thinking about when I was a beginner photographer. And when I really wanted
to make that transition from being a beginner and learning, into making a little bit of money. Or even making money as
a beginner photographer. The most important thing
when you're learning is experience, you have
to try to find ways to do as much work as you can, take every opportunity
that you possibly can, so that you can get better. But that can be really
hard when you're managing a part-time job, or going
to school at the same time.
There are a few things that I did when I was balancing my university career and working at a restaurant,
and trying to learn photography and videography,
all at the same time, to make me a little bit
of money on the side. So I wanted to share some of
those tips with you today. Because there is a market
for your skill set, even as a beginner. I also want to let you guys
know to please stick around until the end of the
video, because I partner with the guys at Shuttout, and together, we're actually putting together a little photography contest, where you
guys can actually win cash. And it doesn't matter
what skill set you're in, you can participate in this contest, so stick around, and I'm gonna talk about that a little later on.
And without further ado,
here are some of the ways that you guys can make
money even as a beginner. (celestial music) Okay, so I'm actually
inside the castle right now, which is super cool actually. Let's get to my first point, which is tell people what you do. Now this is super important for beginners, because you need to get comfortable telling people what you
do, and I first-hand know how awkward it is to talk about yourself. I'm actually really bad at
it, and it still kind of makes me uncomfortable,
but you need to know what to say, and you need
to know the language to use. And for someone who's a
beginner, this is great practice for when you become a pro later on, and then you'll have that pitch down like the back of your hand. You'll know it so well, and
it won't be awkward anymore. People need to know what you
do, and they need to know that either you're
starting out photography, or that you are a photographer, because otherwise, they
won't know to hire you.
And a lot of times, getting jobs is just through word of mouth. To give you guys an idea of what to say, I've jotted down a little
pitch or one sentence, or two sentences, just to give you an idea what this can sound like for you guys. I've been taking photos for some time now, and I'm eager to pursue this as a career. And I'm really excited about
taking on some more projects that'll help me learn even more. So through that sentence,
you're being honest about your skill level,
you're new, you are learning, but you do have some gear,
and you have some skills that are valuable to somebody else.
So tell people what you
do, whether it's someone you met at a coffee shop, to
your mom's best friend Susan, tell absolutely everyone,
because this is how you'll get your first few jobs. So I did a ton of different
projects at the beginning that were super weird, and
were all through word of mouth. So one of which, which
is actually pretty funny, was my mom's dance teacher,
she taught belly dancing, and I made a little
promotional video for her. And it was one of my first projects ever, and I thought it was pretty good, and it was great practice for me. So it doesn't matter what it is, just get the experience,
and the way you're gonna get the experience is by
telling people what you do. (relaxing music) Okay, so now we're in Glasgow, and I know we literally went from Cara, which is an island like close to Oban, to Glasgow really quickly for you guys, but basically, we got really
close to missing our ferry, and had to book it there, and I didn't have time to shoot anything else.
So we took a train into Glasgow today, and we're just exploring the city. So right after you tell
someone what you do, tell them what kind of content
would work best for them, and what you can do with your skill level. So for that real estate agent,
you could say something like, hey, well, have you thought
of getting new head shots? And for the dance teacher,
you could say something like, well, have you thought of
making a promotional video? Because that's something that I could do, and it's a great idea to have
that promotional video online, because people like to see what, for the real estate agent,
who they're working with, and for the dance teacher,
they'd like to see what your dance classes look like, and that might make them more likely to actually show up to one of the classes.
So it can actually get them
more work because of this. So it's important to explain
what the type of content is, but it's also equally
as important to explain why they would need that type of content. Just explain what you
do, be nice about it, be honest, but just remember
not to be too pushy. And I promise, these two
things will really help you get some of your first jobs. – Okay, straight up
hijacking Lizzie's video for a second here, 'cause I'm gonna tell you one of the points. So, one of the big ones
that I've been focusing on the last little while
is, stock videography and photography, and this
is a great way to actually make a little bit of
income at the beginning, because you can basically shoot anything, and you can make money off of it.
Now obviously, certain
clips are gonna sell better than others, so I
would focus on industry, medical, travel, drone, whatever you can get your hands on, that's actually good. Most likely that will sell better. So go out there, get some different stock videography assets,
whether it's shooting on your cell phone, or
shooting on an HD camera because a 1080p clip, or a basic HD clip, will make you money,
whether it's a dollar, $2, $50, $100, you're gonna
start making money, just by shooting what
you might already have, or going out and just shooting stuff with your friends or on your next trip. – So talk about friendly
people, our friend Sinead, her uncle lives here, and he drives the coolest black taxi cab ever. Look how cool this car is. Pat's being super generous, he's giving us our own private tour of the city. Thanks Pat! – Cheers, everybody!
(Lizzie laughs) (upbeat music) – My next tip for you guys is to join different Facebook
groups in your community that are related to events, or just photography and videography. You guys ask me all the
time how you can get jobs while you're in school,
this is a great way.
There are tons of
Facebook groups organized to find you guys not only jobs, but there are event groups
that you can join in on, and they'll post often,
looking for photographers or videographers for certain events. And the best part is,
you don't actually need a ton of experience to
get some of these jobs. A personal story of mine
is when I was in school, I'd only had my camera
for a couple months, it was a Canon T3i, by the way. In one of those Facebook Ryerson groups, they posted, hey, need a
photographer for a talent show, and there's a small honorarium of $100. So I submitted my very small portfolio at the time, and they accepted me. So not only was that great
event experience for me, I got more photos for my portfolio, and I got a little bit of money too. And for those of you who aren't
going to school right now, there are still other Facebook groups that would be perfect to join, so you can look up
anything from photography, or videography, or producing,
or film production, and you can find tons of these groups right within your community, and they're posting all the time, looking for volunteers, looking for PAs, looking for any small jobs
and little help on set.
So that's great for experience, and you might get a little money. So just reach out in the Facebook
groups in your community, and I promise, that will help
you get work in the future. (energetic music) Okay, so fun fact. I'm actually in one of the locations that they used to shoot Harry Potter, which is pretty awesome. I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd. Anyways, the next thing I wanna talk to you guys about is honorariums. So if you don't know
what an honorarium is, it's basically a small sum of money awarded to someone who's
providing a particular service. So an honorarium is
something you can ask for when you're doing one
of your first jobs ever, because it's always a small amount. Usually it's like $50 to $100,
but honestly they can range. It's really looked at as kind
of a flat fee gifted to you. Clients are usually happy
to provide honorariums, because they know they're already getting a discount with you.
No one would charge $50 or $100
to do that particular work, but you can, because you're a beginner, and your time is still valuable. So all that honorarium shows you is that your client now values
your time, and the effort that you're putting into
this particular project. So it never hurts to ask
for a small honorarium. And that way, you can make a little money, which is better than making
no money at all, right? (bright music) Okay, so we're back in the hotel room, because classic Scotland,
it started raining. So anyways, the last
point I wanted to mention is to sign up for a website like Shuttout. I'd never actually heard of
a site like Shuttout before, but I immediately recognized the potential for not just beginners, but also for experienced photographers as well. Essentially, Shuttout is
a website where you can upload your photos and enter
them into different contests. And there's tons of
different ones to enter. And the great part
about this for beginners is because not only can you gauge how well your photos perform against others, but you can make some money just by uploading photos you already have.
There are two ways you
can enter these contests. The first way is for
free, but you can't win the monetary prize that
way, and the second way is only a $2 entry, and you
can win the grand prize. And the best part is that
for every person that enters, the prize gets bigger and bigger. Because I partnered with
Shuttout on this video, I'm actually holding my own
contest for travel photography. And Shuttout is giving
you guys a free $2 entry, so that's $2 USD, that you can enter in my contest or any other
contest on the website that you'd like, and I really don't know why you wouldn't, because it's a free $2, and you can win money. So if you're interested,
check out the link in the description, and send
me your best travel photo. Whether it's a landscape,
or a busker in New Orleans, it really doesn't matter,
it's any travel photo that makes you feel
something from a new place.
So go ahead and submit, it's
free $2, I hope you win. So the contest is starting
at a $50 prize right now, but like I said, it goes up every time one of you guys enters. So honestly guys, whether
you sign up for my contest or another contest in the
future, Shuttout is a great way to gauge how your photos
perform against others, to get ideas from other
photos that perform well, and finally, just to make
some money on the side. I honestly wish this was
around when I was starting out. Those are my tips on how to make money as a beginner photographer,
and don't forget to enter the travel photography contest. Again, it can be any
style of travel photo, landscape, portrait,
it just has to be from somewhere else where you don't live, and whatever makes you feel something.
So to enter that, link
is in the description, and I will see you guys next time. So right after you tell, bleh bleh bleh – [Camera Man] And from the top. – Way to gauge how your
per photos perform against, how your per photos? Uh, I'm sorry future Lizzie..
