As a professional photographer, Lee Morris goal has always been to charge the most money for the least amount of work. While wedding photography allowed for this, it also had its drawbacks, such as not being able to book many weddings and experiencing dry spells with no events to shoot.
Recently, he has come across photographers who take the opposite approach by trying to shoot as many jobs as possible for less money. One example is school portrait photographers, who can make hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a year by taking portraits of kids and teachers for yearbooks and other school materials. However, this is a secretive industry with little competition due to the photographers’ reluctance to share their secrets and techniques.
Another type of photography that interests Morris is “run and gun” style, where a photographer is on location at touristy spots and takes candid photos of tourists for a fee. This can also be lucrative, as the photographer can shoot multiple jobs in a day and have a constant stream of income.
He then discusses event photography, such as taking photos at parties or corporate events. This type of photography can also be profitable, as the photographer can shoot multiple events in a single day and have a consistent stream of income.
Setting up a print fulfillment account can also be helpful in order to sell prints and digital copies of photographs to clients. He advises photographers consider offering a limited selection of products to their clients in order to avoid overwhelming them and potentially resulting in no sales. Adding a markup to the cost of the products helps, either as an absolute amount or as a percentage.
Photo captured by Aman Tyagi
Morris also mentions the option for clients to purchase digital copies of the photographs, and suggests that photographers only offer the full resolution file in order to avoid confusion and potential issues with low resolution files. Setting a maximum print size for each digital file can protect the photographer’s work and prevent clients from printing large sizes without permission.
Overall, Morris suggests that photographers consider these alternative approaches to traditional wedding or portrait photography in order to potentially increase their income and have a more consistent stream of work.
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