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Photography captures stories, emotions and perspectives like nothing else. Some photographers thrive in fast-paced fields like journalism or sports while others carve out a niche in fashion, nature or commercial work. Whatever path you choose, becoming a professional and developing a unique style takes practice and dedication.
You might think that after investing in gear, mastering it, spending hours shooting and editing and building a stunning photography portfolio the hard part is over. But landing freelance clients and steady gigs is a whole new challenge. Don’t worry, we’ve got everything you need to know to help photographers starting a business.
How to learn photography
Mastering photography starts with the basics—lighting, composition and camera settings. Playing around with manual mode and practicing different techniques can help you build confidence in your skills. Online courses, photography books and YouTube tutorials are great for learning, while local workshops and mentorships give you hands-on experience. The more you shoot, the better your eye for detail and storytelling will get.
Post-processing is just as important. Learning tools like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop lets you enhance your photos and develop your own style. Checking out the work of professional photographers and breaking down their techniques can give you plenty of inspiration. Joining photography communities, sharing your work and getting feedback will help you grow and build connections in the industry.
How to become a professional photographer
Becoming a professional photographer takes a mix of technical skills and artistic vision. Formal education like photography degrees, online certifications or workshops can teach advanced techniques, lighting setups and industry trends. Many start by working as assistants, gaining hands-on experience with clients, shoots and perfecting their craft.
Specializing in a niche like commercial, fashion or documentary photography can help you stand out. A strong portfolio that showcases your best work is a must, along with consistently improving your skills. But it’s not all about the photos. When learning how to start a photography business, you’ll need to understand pricing, contracts, and marketing. Crafting clear, fair pricing and creating contracts that protect both you and your clients is essential for long-term success.
To boost your credibility, consider joining photography associations or earning industry certifications—these can make you more attractive to potential clients and help you network with other professionals. Networking and building relationships with businesses, brands, and influencers in your niche can lead to collaborations and paid work.
Learn more: How to become an event photographer
How to make money with photography
Photographers have plenty of ways to make money from photography, from client work to digital sales and creative services. Shooting weddings, portraits and events can bring steady income, while commercial photography for brands and businesses offers higher-paying opportunities.
Selling prints, licensing stock images, or sharing exclusive content with publications are great ways to turn your passion into a photography side hustle. These are some of the best passive income ideas for photographers. You can also teach photography through workshops or online courses to share your skills and boost your income.
Learning how to create a website with an impressive portfolio is key to attracting clients, standing out and showcasing your work. Use a free website builder to build a professional site where you can share your portfolio, sell Lightroom presets, custom filters or photo editing services, and start turning your skills into profit. You can even monetize your expertise by offering ebooks, blogging photography tips or promoting mentorship programs.
How do photographers make money?
Shoot weddings, portraits and events: Capture special moments for clients and charge for packages, prints and albums.
Work with brands on commercial photography: Partner with businesses to create product images, lifestyle shots or marketing visuals for their campaigns.
Sell prints and digital downloads: Turn your best shots into wall art, postcards or digital downloads and sell them on platforms like Etsy or your own Wix eCommerce website.
License stock photos on sites like Shutterstock: Upload high-quality images to stock photo sites and earn passive income every time someone downloads your work.
Offer workshops, courses and mentorship programs: Teach aspiring photographers through in-person workshops, online classes or one-on-one coaching.
Sell Lightroom presets and editing tools: Create and share custom filters and presets to help other photographers streamline their editing process.
Create and sell NFTs of original photography: Explore the digital art space by turning unique images into NFTs and selling them on blockchain marketplaces.
Start a YouTube channel with photography tutorials: Share tips, gear reviews and behind-the-scenes content to grow your audience and earn through ads and sponsorships.
Write ebooks or blog about photography: Publish guides on photography techniques, business strategies or industry insights and sell them as digital downloads.
Offer photo editing and retouching services: Use your editing skills to enhance images for clients like wedding photographers or eCommerce brands.
Learn more: How to make money as a travel photographer
How to become a freelance photographer
Freelance photography is all about skill, strategy and standing out in a busy market. Picking a niche like portraits, events or product photography helps define your brand and attract the right clients. Investing in versatile gear and learning editing tools ensures your work looks professional.
Start by coming up with a business name. Offering free or discounted sessions is a great way to grow your client base, document your first projects and collect testimonials to make a photography portfolio. Your portfolio should tell a story and showcase a variety of styles and projects. A simple website with a booking system and clear pricing makes it easy for clients to hire you. Choose a domain name that matches your business idea and brand. For a pro touch, consider using industry-specific extensions like a .photography domain to make your website stand out.
Landing steady work takes smart marketing. Social media is a great tool, but don’t just post photos—engage with potential clients, share behind-the-scenes content and offer tips. Networking with local businesses and collaborating with other photographers can also open doors to paid gigs. Listing your services on freelance platforms is another reliable way to find jobs and build credibility. Clear contracts, pricing for profit and good financial management will keep your freelance business sustainable.
Learn more: Photography business name ideas
7 places to find freelance photography jobs online
01. Upwork
Upwork is one of the biggest and most popular freelance work marketplaces with over four million businesses and ten million freelancers. With hundreds of photography-related listings, the gigs are divided into many different categories so that each user can find their perfect match. Upwork’s jobs can be on-site or remote, paid hourly or for a set price, short or long term, and aimed at entry, intermediate or expert-level users. Sure, all this categorization may seem like a lot of hassle but look on the bright side: the more specific it gets, the more likely you are to find a project you absolutely love.
You may find that most jobs are about photo editing rather than photo shoots as the majority of them are aimed at remote workers, but there’s a fair number of remote still photography projects you might be lucky enough to get. And you might actually live close enough to great on-site jobs such as creative portraits, wildlife and weddings.
02. Freelancer
Meet the world’s largest freelancing marketplace boasting nearly 20 million freelancers and employers. There are three ways to get jobs at Freelancer: contests where clients choose from a selection of works that users present; projects where users offer their bid on a listing before starting any work; and being contacted directly by clients.
If this bidding system makes you think that your only chance of getting a project on this site is by offering your services at an uncomfortably low price, you’ll be glad to know that employers review experience and portfolios prior to making a decision and tend to choose higher bids in order to get more professional results.
Because of the platform’s size, there are hundreds of photography jobs at any given time, both on-location and remote. Most listings are related to photo editing, portrait, travel, product and video. You can browse all listings by type, category, budget, skills required and location.
03. Guru
Guru is considered one of the most successful online job marketplaces. While the photography jobs offering is more limited than on the two giants mentioned above, there are still hundreds of listed gigs. The most popular topics are photo editing, Photoshop actions and event and product photography. Listings can also be browsed by category, location and budget.
Guru takes great pride in its payments system which aims to offer higher flexibility for both employers and freelancers. In order to do so, the platform offers four kinds of customizable agreements that both sides must sign before the project is started. Guru also lets freelancers see when a job is funded before they decide to apply and allows employers to review the work before making any final payment.
In addition to applying to listed jobs on the site, freelancers can advertise their own services for which they list their price per hour and a minimum total to pay for the completion of the project.
04. PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is quite a bit smaller than the previous three sites but that doesn’t stop them from offering hundreds of photography-related jobs. These jobs include a wide range of projects like photo editing, tutorials and product, wedding and event photography. The listings are categorized by location, experience level required, budget and status. Users can ask for clarification on each job’s characteristics by commenting on its public board.
Listings are divided between fixed price and hourly wage and users are required to send a formal proposal in order to apply. Employers later choose whom to hire from this pool of proposals. Additionally, employers can browse creatives’ profiles and send job offerings directly to them and users can also create their own listings offering specific services at a set price.
05. Hubstaff Talent
Hubstaff Talent is a relatively new platform and takes the title of the smallest marketplace in this list. Because of this, the number of listed jobs is much lower than on other sites – but so is the number of people competing for the same gig.
Instead of focusing on short-term projects, Hubstaff Talent has taken the road less paved and aimed at any kind of remote job. This means that listed jobs can go from one-day tasks for a fixed price to full-time positions. Listings can be browsed by type, category, skills and experience level required, budget and pay rate.
Freelancers can create their own profile for employers to browse, which includes a short bio, skills, website and social links, resume, portfolio and hourly rate. Because the job listing section of the platform was only recently included, most of the action happens here.
06. Fiverr
Technically, Fiverr may be better described as a place for online freelance photography jobs to find you. Here, freelancers are the ones posting the kind of services they offer and for how much while buyers browse the marketplace to hire them.
Don’t let the name trick you, we’re not saying you should be selling your work for $5. While “five dollar gigs” were the platform’s initial purpose and a huge part of its growth and success, nowadays the site has expanded to include more pricey projects. So which kind of photography services can you offer on Fiverr? The sky’s the limit! Still photography, photo editing, portraits, landscape postcards… you name it (literally).
Because the only way to get a job here is being noticed by a buyer, gig hunting may be a challenge until you get some customers and reviews – but on the bright side you might get a steady inflow of relatively quick projects in the long run.
07. Your own photography website
That’s right, your website is more than a way to showcase your photographs. In fact, you should see it as the most powerful tool to reach customers. Think about it – how do people look for business and services nowadays? Exactly, they look it up on the Internet.
If you are a photographer looking for freelance gigs, you definitely want people to be able to find your work on the Internet easily. Make sure you offer all the information these visitors might need – where you are based, what kind of work you specialize in, how much you charge, how to contact you etc. To guarantee that all these potential clients actually get to see your portfolio, pay attention to your site’s local SEO so that it’s the one that shows up first on search engines
But no matter how good your photography website ends up being, don’t limit your online presence to it. There’s a sea of opportunities waiting for you in social media platforms where the right steps may lead you to wonderful projects.
Tips for different types of photographers
Real estate
Sharp, well-lit photos help sell homes faster, making real estate photography a profitable niche. Use a wide-angle lens to show off spacious interiors, shoot during golden hours for the best natural light, and learn post-processing to fix distortions. Adding virtual tours and drone shots can set you apart. Build partnerships with realtors, home staging companies and rental agencies to land steady work.
Wildlife
Wildlife photography is all about patience and preparation. Learn animal behavior, invest in a telephoto lens for distant shots and practice shooting in different lighting conditions. It's important to follow ethical practices like keeping a safe distance and respecting natural habitats. Submitting your work to magazines, stock photo sites and conservation organizations can help you turn your passion into income.
Sports
Speed and precision are everything in sports photography. A fast shutter speed, continuous autofocus and high ISO settings help you capture action-packed moments. Positioning yourself strategically on the field is crucial. Building relationships with teams, leagues and media outlets can lead to regular gigs. You can also boost your income by selling prints and licensing your images.
Concert photography
Concert photography isn't easy with low light and fast-moving performers. You'll need a fast lens (f/2.8 or lower) and a camera that handles low light well. Get access by connecting with venues, bands and media outlets. Shooting local gigs or for music blogs is a great way to build your portfolio and open doors to festivals or touring artists.
Travel
Capturing stunning destinations takes adaptability. Learn to shoot in different lighting conditions, master composition techniques and tell a story through your photos. Earning income from travel photography can mean selling prints, licensing images or working with tourism boards. Starting a travel blog, building a social media presence and partnering with brands can help grow your reach.
National Geographic photographer
Becoming a National Geographic photographer is tough and competitive. You need strong storytelling and technical skills. Focusing on documentary, wildlife or cultural photography can help boost your chances. Build an impressive portfolio, pitch story ideas to editors and gain experience through freelance work with travel and nature publications.
Forensic photography
Forensic photography requires sharp attention to detail and technical skill. You'll be documenting crime scenes, injuries and evidence with precision. It's important to master lighting techniques, depth of field and crime scene protocols. You might work with law enforcement agencies, forensic labs or legal firms. Certification programs can also help build credibility in this field.
Weddings
Weddings are fast-paced and emotional, making strong storytelling skills a must. Combining candid and posed shots helps capture the full experience. Reliable gear like dual cameras, fast lenses and backup batteries is essential. Marketing through social media, bridal expos and vendor partnerships can help you book consistent clients. Offering albums and premium edits is a great way to boost your income.
War photographer
War photography is one of the most dangerous and demanding fields. It takes resilience, quick decision-making and the ability to work in high-risk environments. Staying up to date on global conflicts, working with media agencies and putting safety first are all key. Many war photographers get started by covering local protests and political events before moving into conflict zones.
Nature
Nature photography combines landscape, wildlife and macro photography. Knowing weather patterns, seasonal changes and natural lighting is essential for capturing stunning shots. You can monetize your work by selling prints, licensing images or working with conservation organizations. Success in this field takes persistence and passion.