Digital Camera - Ken Gilbert

46
Approach
localfirms
John Durrant of www.propertyphotographer.co.uk
turns a profit
from photographing property,
so why don’t you show your local
estate agents what you can do?
Estate agents seem happy to
advertise properties snapped on
a compact – why is that?
The only explanation I can come
up with is that a lot of agents don’t
realise they’re in the marketing
business. A few photographers
knocking on their doors might
enlighten some of them!
So is ‘knocking on their doors’
the best way to get business?
There’s no substitute for seeing an
agent face to face. Take prints to a
meeting to show them your work,
although a good website is also an
important marketing tool.
how much can you charge?
At the lowerend of the property
market you might be charging
£30-£50 for a job that might take
an hour or two, while properties
over £1m are likely to involve
advanced techniques and
additional time in Photoshop. At
that level you’ll need to charge
£350-£700 per day.
how busy could you be?
The peak selling season is spring,
and this year I was flat out, working
every dayfor almost twomonths.
That kind of stress and effort is not
for the faint-hearted, but it would
typically be followed by a less busy
period over the summer.
DiffiCulty rating
DigitalCamera July2010
Earning potEntial
iStockphoto
Make cash from
your holidays
above Alwaysask
before taking
pictures of locals –
some nations are
sensitive about this
Last year’s POTY
winner Bragi
J. Ingibergsson
There’snothing like
going on holidayand
taking pictures of
exciting new places,
but while you’ve got
your camera with you, why not take
advantageofthe opportunityto
recoup some of the costs?
While youcould set up aspecialist
photoholidayand ask otherstopay
to join you in a photogenic location,
the holiday/work bias will obviously
be shifted towardsthe latter as you
take on the role of tutor-come-host.
However, youcan still potentially
make some money and have a ‘proper’
holidayifyou think alittlemore
laterally. Forexample,when you
booked your holiday, it wasmost
likelypictures of hotels, campsites
and destinations thathelped you
decide. Brochures and websites get
With prizes totalling £850 in each of
its 12 categories, plus a cheque for
£10,000 for the overall winner, you
don’t need to look any further than
Digital Camera’s Photographer of the
Year competition forthe chance to
makemoneyfromyour photographs.
But with morethan 101,000 entries
last year, you’ll have to fend off some
pretty stiff competition if you want
to emulate last year’s champion, Bragi
updated regularly so, while you’re
away,why not shoot some pictures
with aviewtomarketing them to the
placeyou stayed when youget back?
Making £20 for ashot of acampsite
would pay for a night, perhaps.
Speculate too…
Similarly,consider shooting images
for stock libraries, competitions and
magazines – not just photography
publications, but travel and holiday
magazines as well. It’s speculative
work, but thinking about where you
are, who might use pictures of it and,
mostimportantly,contacting them
when youget back could coverthe
cost of morethan afew of the meals
you had under the summer sky.
DiffiCulty rating
Enter POTY and win £10,000!
Earning potEntial
J. Ingibergsson: “I’ve been taking part
since 2005 and, in this time, three of
my photoshavewon prizes and two
were highly commended,” he reveals.
”I wanted to win awards, but the most
important thing formewas to enjoy
photography – if you get a prize, great,
but I don‘t shoot with that in mind.”
DiffiCulty rating
Earning potEntial