5 Things to Know to Make Money With Digital Photography

If you are like many people who have cameras, you have probably wondered if you could really make money with digital photography.  But there are some things you need to know before you try to quite your day job and make money with photography.  Here are 5 things that everyone should know before trying to do this.

1. 
   Make sure you know your camera.  Pretty much every person on the planet has a camera these days but I venture to say that only about 20% of them actually know how to use that camera.  With digital cameras selling cheaper and cheaper these days more people are getting them without ever learning the ropes or even reading the owners manual.  But knowing your camera will help you get the most out of it and help you become a better photographer so you can make the most money from your photos.


2. 
   Know how digital photography works.    This may seem obvious, but digital photography is slightly different than film photography and you need to know not only how to expose pictures properly and how the aperture affects the pictures but also how to edit the pictures with some computer software.  Having the right software is key because you can totally change the look of the picture and its usefulness as a selling picture by editing it creatively.


3. 
   Know your market.  Who do you want to sell pictures to?  What kind of pictures will your market want?  These are questions you will need to answer before you can become successful in not only creating pictures that will sell like crazy to your market but will also be able to charge top dollar for.


4. 
   Know how to get maximum exposure to your work.  If people cannot find your pictures you will not be able to sell them.  That's the simple truth of the matter.  If you are selling your pictures online you need to find the websites that are getting the most traffic and hit those really hard.  If you are prints to people in person you need to find the arts and crafts shows that get the most potential buyers.


5. 
   Know how to charge for your pictures.  Whether you are selling your pictures on a website or trying to figure out how to charge for events and for your time, this can be the biggest hang-up for new photographers trying to make money with their work.  It is a bigger mistake to under charge than to over charge, however.  When you sell yourself short it also says something about your work.  When you take pride in what you do you can charge a little more and people who love your work will be more than willing to pay you what you say you are worth.