How to Make Money as a Photographer
Have you ever wondered how to make money as a photographer doing what you love without chasing clients 24/7? Perhaps you’ve tried uploading to stock sites or sharing your work on Instagram, but the income hasn’t been consistent.
I’ve been there.
I remember spending hours trying to piece together a store with different tools—one for hosting files, another for payments, and a third for emails. It was a mess. That’s why I genuinely appreciated discovering Sellfy, an all-in-one platform that makes selling digital products and prints simple and manageable.
Today, I’ll walk you through real ways to make money as a photographer in 2025, from selling Lightroom presets to coaching and launching print-on-demand merch.
Want to skip ahead? To start an online store right now using Sellfy, follow this startup guide.
Can Photography Make Good Money?
Absolutely! Photographers can earn a good living, especially when they combine active work (like shooting events or working with clients) with passive income streams such as selling digital products.
A recent PetaPixel survey found that nowadays, 52.6% of photographers offer mostly digital items (downloads, presets, templates) along with some physical prints, while 24.2% sell exclusively digital products. That means over three-quarters of photographers are successfully earning from digital goods in addition to traditional gigs, which is a great sign of passive income potential.
Take underwater photographer Tobias Friedrich and filmmaker Christian Maté Grab, both have built successful photography businesses using Sellfy as their main storefront. I’ll dig into their stories soon. But just know this: you don’t need a roster full of clients to win.
In 2025, learning how to make money as a photographer is easier than ever. With the right platform and a few unique digital products, you can build a steady income without pricey gear or nonstop client work.
How to make money as a photographer
1. Sell Lightroom presets and photo filters
2. Sell LUTs and video editing presets
3. Create and sell photography eBooks or guides
4. Sell digital overlays, textures, and creative assets
5. Teach online photography courses or workshops
6. Offer one-on-one coaching or mentorship sessions
7. Launch a paid membership or subscription for exclusive content
8. Sell prints and wall art with your photos
9. Sell photo merchandise with print-on-demand
10. Shoot weddings and events for clients
11. Offer commercial and real estate photography services
12. Provide photo editing and retouching services
13. Sell your photos on stock photography sites
14. License your photos for commercial use
15. Start a photography blog (advertising & affiliate income)
16. Grow a YouTube сhannel for photography сontent
17. Leverage Instagram and TikTok for sponsored сontent
18. Host photography tours and workshops
20. Explore new platforms and trends
1. Sell Lightroom presets and photo filters
Selling Lightroom presets is a no-brainer for photographers. They’re easy to make, always in demand, and keep earning long after you first launch the sale. Digital products are easy to distribute, scalable, and offer great potential for passive income. And when it comes to selling photography presets, they stand out as one of the most popular and profitable items, especially for photographers who want to share their unique editing styles.
Take Tobias Friedrich, for example, a professional photographer who specializes in underwater photography. He sells his custom Lightroom presets through Sellfy, turning his editing skills into a steady stream of passive income. Using an automated digital storefront, Tobias can focus more on his craft while Sellfy handles sales, file delivery, and payment processing seamlessly.
Sellfy for photographers is one of the best platforms for selling digital products, offering a simple setup, automated delivery, and customizable storefronts tailored for creatives.
2. Sell LUTs and video editing presets
LUTs (Look-Up Tables) simplify color grading by letting videographers and creators apply cinematic looks to their videos with a single click. This instant transformation saves hours of editing time and helps develop a unique visual style. Christian Maté Grab is a great example of someone who turned this demand into a thriving business, building a six-figure income by selling his custom LUTs online through Sellfy.
Christian started by experimenting with color grading on his travel videos, aiming to capture the exact mood of each moment. When people began asking how to get that cinematic look, he launched his store to share his LUTs and Lightroom presets with filmmakers and photographers just starting out.
3. Create and sell photography eBooks or guides
Creating photography eBooks or downloadable guides is a great way to turn your photography knowledge, whether that’s editing techniques, gear suggestions, or composition advice, into an easy-to-digest PDF or e-book.
You’re good with a camera. That’s all you need to start teaching others how to use a camera or edit photos. Then just package what you know and start selling—simple.
For inspiration, check out creators like Kelly Prince, who brilliantly sells her writing guides on Sellfy. Her success shows how creators can turn their knowledge into income with the right tools.
4. Sell digital overlays, textures, and creative assets
If you work with photos or video, you already know how much a simple light leak or a bit of grain can change the feel of a project. The right overlays or film effects don’t just add polish, they make the whole thing click. And I’m sure most of you might offer dramatic sky overlays for Photoshop, vintage film grain textures for an authentic analog vibe, or even customizable social media templates designed specifically for photographers.
Take Austin Newman. He’s a self-taught filmmaker who turned his love for retro-style effects into a thriving business. It all started with free 8mm film grain packs on YouTube—no hard sell, just showing creators how to make their footage feel cinematic. The value spoke for itself, and before long, he had a loyal audience and a steady stream of sales.
His story demonstrates that with creativity, consistency, and the right platform, a passion project can be transformed into a full-time career.
5. Teach online photography courses or workshops
If your DMs are full of “What camera did you use?” or “How’d you shoot that?”, pay attention. That’s demand. You’ve got something people want to learn, and teaching it might just be your next income stream.
Video-based courses are one of the most scalable ways to show others how to make money as a photographer while monetizing your expertise. Once created, they can generate ongoing passive income with little to no maintenance.
And they’re in demand too: beginners want to learn editing techniques, lighting setups, gear recommendations, and more straight from real working photographers. Take Keydrin Franklin, the self-taught creator behind 924 Photography. What began as a hobby in 2011, after buying a camera on a whim, grew into a thriving business backed by a loyal YouTube and Instagram following. As the demand for tips grew, he launched his first tutorial: a step-by-step dodge-and-burn editing course.
To keep things simple, Keydrin used Sellfy to host and sell his videos. “I uploaded, added a description, set my price, and had a link in my Instagram bio within minutes”, he says.
6. Offer one-on-one coaching or mentorship sessions
Unlike presets or courses, coaching is a premium, high-touch service, and people will gladly pay for access to your brain.
You can package your knowledge into 1:1 Zoom calls, portfolio reviews, or mentorship programs. It doesn’t matter if you’re helping beginners learn camera basics or guiding semi-pros through creative blocks or business strategy, if your insights are worth charging for.
To make booking simple, many creators treat coaching like a digital product.
Get clear on what you’re actually offering. Is it creative feedback? Business advice? Help with editing? Maybe all three. Then put together a simple service page that spells out who it’s for, what they’ll get, and how to book you.
Sellfy tip: share client wins (with permission) on social media to build social proof. Even a few testimonials or DMs saying “This changed my workflow!” can go a long way.
7. Launch a paid membership or subscription for exclusive content
If you’re constantly creating, whether that’s digital products, behind-the-scenes edits, before-and-after breakdowns, or monthly challenges, why not bundle it all into a paid membership? Subscriptions are one of the most reliable ways to build recurring income while deepening your connection with your audience.
Offering early access to tutorials, bonus editing videos, or a private community for feedback and Q&As gives fans a compelling reason to support you, especially when that support comes with exclusive content in return.
Keep the offer simple, focus on value, and make it easy to subscribe. Platforms like Sellfy make setting up a membership as easy as uploading your files and setting a billing schedule. You can create weekly, monthly, or annual tiers, and everything from payments to delivery is handled automatically.
8. Sell prints and wall art with your photos
Sometimes your best shots deserve more than a digital like; they deserve a place on someone’s wall. Turning your photography into wall art (posters, canvases) is a timeless way to monetize your work and give people something tangible to enjoy.
Print-on-demand (POD) services have made this approach easy and low-risk: you don’t need to invest in printing, storage, or shipping upfront, since those costs are handled per order. Make sure to check this guide on selling posters online, as it shows a truly low-risk route for photographers to generate some passive income.
Award-winning underwater photographer Tobias Friedrich, for example, uses Sellfy to sell everything from photo books to yearly calendars. He loves that once his products are listed, “everything is automated” and he can even “earn passive income while I sleep”.
Want to start small? Try selling limited-edition photo prints or digital photo books. Want to branch out? Explore mugs, canvas wraps, or home decor featuring your photography. Tools like Canva or Placeit can help you mock up your images on various products to test the look before launch.
9. Sell photo merchandise with print-on-demand
Your photos don’t have to stay trapped in pixels. Turn them into custom products that people can use, wear, and show off, such as mugs, T-shirts, tote bags, or even phone cases. It’s a simple, scalable, and low-risk way to make money with photography while giving your audience something real to connect with.
With print-on-demand, you won’t need to worry about inventory, upfront costs, or shipping headaches. Just your photos, on real products, made to order. It’s a low-risk model: if something doesn’t sell, you lose nothing. This makes it perfect for testing ideas, like running limited-edition merch drops or seasonal collections based on your best shots. However, if you choose to use a service like Printful, you’ll still need an online store to connect it to.
But wait, there’s a better way. You can build your store with Sellfy and have a print-on-demand service already built in. All you’ll have to do is upload your photo, choose from 100+ products, set your price, and you’re live. When someone buys, printing and shipping will be handled automatically while you stay focused on work.
10. Shoot weddings and events for clients
If you’re serious about making money with photography, weddings and events are where the real budgets live. These gigs often pay well, with wedding packages alone ranging from $1,000 to $5,000+, depending on your skill level, location, and the services you include.
Start simple. Offer to shoot a friend’s party or a small ceremony. Or assist as a second shooter to get experience without pressure. These gigs help you build a solid event portfolio and learn how to handle fast-paced, real-world conditions. Once you’ve got a few shoots under your belt, it’s all about how you deliver. Show up early, communicate clearly, and overdeliver on quality. Happy clients bring referrals — and that’s the backbone of a strong wedding photography business.
If you’re looking to make money as an event photographer, you’ll need some sort of digital portfolio. But why stop there, if you can boost your income per booking even further? You can accept bookings with an eCommerce platform like Sellfy and offer easy upsells like extra hours, engagement shoots, or printed albums. These aren’t pushy—they’re value adds.
11. Offer commercial and real estate photography services
If you’re looking for steady, high-paying work, commercial and real estate photography is worth your time. Local businesses, restaurants, realtors, and Airbnb hosts all need sharp, professional visuals to sell their spaces or services, and they’ll gladly pay someone who can deliver.
Real estate is another solid niche. Real estate agents aren’t looking for wild creativity — they want sharp, on-brand visuals that help them sell. That means great lighting, straight lines, natural edits, and consistency. If you can deliver that, you’ll stand out fast.
But there’s still room to upsell some extras like video walkthroughs, virtual staging, or basic editing services. Plus, this kind of work can scale. One-off jobs often lead to repeat business, referrals, and retainer deals. So, whether you’re shooting cozy Airbnbs or sleek product setups, this is one of the most practical ways to make money with photography.
12. Provide photo editing and retouching services
Not every photographer or client has the time, patience, or skill to do detailed photo editing and retouching. That’s where you come in.
If you’re confident in Lightroom, Photoshop, or Capture One, you can turn that skill into a reliable side income (or even a full-time business). Start with a specific niche—natural skin retouching, moody color grading, product cleanups. Don’t try to do everything. The more dialed-in your style, the easier it is to attract the right clients.
The best part? Photo editing can be done remotely, which makes it a flexible side hustle or full-time gig. Plus, you can package your services for different needs, such as quick edits for social media, full retouching for professional portraits, or even creative composites and digital art.
Build a small portfolio of before-and-after examples. You don’t need 50, 5 strong ones will do. Offer clear pricing and turnaround times. You can also sell editing presets, brushes, or templates to complement your services and create passive income streams.
13. Sell your photos on stock photography sites
Stock platforms like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and Getty Images give you access to a massive audience. But here’s the tradeoff: they take a cut, set the rules, and you’re competing with millions of other images. Your photos have to stand out among millions to make consistent sales.
That’s why some photographers choose to sell directly.
Instead of uploading single files to big platforms, try packaging your work into themed photo bundles. Think city skylines, food textures, beach sunsets, and sell them from your own storefront. You set the price, keep the profits, and you own the relationship with your customers.
Photographer Aditya Varma takes this approach with curated collections that speak to a specific aesthetic. His work shows how going direct gives you more control and lets you build a brand, not just a portfolio buried in someone else’s marketplace.
You don’t need a complex setup to get started. A simple eCommerce site makes it easy to list, deliver, and promote your photo bundles.
14. License your photos for commercial use
Licensing your photos directly to businesses and clients is a smart way to increase your earnings beyond the usual stock sites. Instead of selling images through a platform that takes a big cut, you negotiate the terms yourself, which means higher payouts per photo. You also keep full control over how and where your photos are used, how long they stay live, and whether they’re exclusive or not. It’s a win-win: better pay and more say over your work.
For example, a travel magazine might license one of your destination shots for a print feature, paying anywhere from $150 to $500, depending on the distribution and rights. These deals usually involve a usage license, outlining details like duration, placement (online, print, social), geography, and exclusivity.
To get started, you don’t need a huge client list, just a solid portfolio and a way to showcase your work. Create a “For Licensing” page on your website and share clear licensing terms. You can also use tools like PhotoShelter or Pixieset to deliver licensed files and contracts efficiently.
15. Start a photography blog (advertising & affiliate income)
A blog is more than a place to share your work—it’s a long-term income stream that grows while you sleep.
If you’re already writing Instagram captions or sharing tips with other photographers, you’re halfway there. Turn that into blog content: tutorials, gear reviews, editing workflows, location guides, or even behind-the-scenes breakdowns of your shoots.
Once traffic starts coming in, you can monetize it. Use affiliate links to recommend gear or software you actually use. You can share your favorite cameras, lenses, or editing tools and earn a small commission when someone buys through your links. And don’t forget to promote your own products like presets, guides, or templates directly in your posts
The trick is consistency. Write with a clear voice. Focus on topics people search for. And make your posts useful, not just personal. A solid blog does more than earn you money—it builds trust. It grows your brand. It pulls in email subscribers and clients without you having to constantly promote.
16. Grow a YouTube сhannel for photography сontent
If you enjoy teaching photography, filming behind-the-scenes shoots, or sharing editing tips, a YouTube channel can become both a creative outlet and a business.
Many photography YouTubers earn a steady stream from AdSense, with creators making anywhere from $0.01 to $0.03 per view. But ads are just the beginning. The real opportunity is in selling your own products, from Lightroom presets to online courses. Every video you post is a chance to promote your digital products in the description or through direct callouts.
To estimate your potential, try Sellfy’s free YouTube Money Calculator. It helps you predict how much you can earn from ads, sponsorships, and product sales based on your views, CPM, and engagement.
You don’t need fancy gear to get started. A phone, decent light, and something useful to say is more than enough. Pair your growing channel with your own store, and you’re not just chasing views—you’re not just building an audience, you’re owning it.
17. Leverage Instagram and TikTok for sponsored сontent
Instagram and TikTok are two of the best platforms for photographers to grow an audience and turn that audience into income. As your follower count grows, brands may approach you for sponsored posts or product partnerships, paying you to feature cameras, lenses, or editing tools you love.
Once you’ve built trust, brand deals follow. Companies are looking for creators with real engagement, not just big numbers. If your audience is dialed in and you’re sharing tools or gear you actually use, sponsorships feel natural. You can also plug in affiliate links to earn commission on the stuff you already recommend.
You don’t need to be an influencer to make this work. To get started, post regularly and engage with your followers; reply to comments, join trends, and use hashtags wisely. Tag brands you use and admire; sometimes they’ll notice and reach out for collaborations. Sponsored content can be a great way to earn while sharing gear and techniques that fit your style.
Combine this with selling your own products, and you’ve got multiple income streams growing together.
18. Host photography tours and workshops
If you’re an experienced photographer, hosting in-person photography tours or workshops can be a fantastic way to earn serious income and connect directly with your audience. Many well-known photographers run annual tours or workshops, charging anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per participant. These events offer hands-on learning, personalized feedback, and the chance to shoot in inspiring locations alongside like-minded creatives.
Take Tobias Friedrich, for example. He leads international underwater photography expeditions, where participants pay to learn from his expertise while exploring incredible marine environments. These trips combine travel, education, and community-building, all of which are valuable experiences that participants are willing to invest in.
Begin locally by offering workshops in your city or region and focus on specialized topics like portrait techniques, landscape shooting, or editing skills. Promote your workshops via social media, email, or your online store to simplify registration and payments.
When hosting workshops or tours, you create a unique, memorable experience that builds your reputation and generates income beyond just selling digital products or photo prints online. It’s a powerful way to expand your brand and earn both active and passive revenue.
19. Enter photo contests
Entering photography contests is a smart way to get your work noticed, build credibility, and sometimes earn cash prizes or gear. Many contests are open to photographers of all levels, with categories ranging from nature and portraits to abstract and commercial photography. Winning (or even placing) can boost your portfolio, help attract clients, and open doors to new opportunities.
Many contests showcase winners online, in magazines, or through exhibitions, which means more eyes on your work and more chances to attract clients or followers. Plus, entry fees are usually pretty low, so it’s an easy way to put yourself out there.
Look for contests that match your style or niche, whether that’s travel, underwater, real estate, or commercial photography. Just be sure to check the contest rules carefully, especially around how your photos will be used. Once you’ve got your contest shots, you can sell them (or related products like prints or presets) on your online store to keep the momentum going. Winning contests not only builds credibility but can help you make money with photography by attracting clients or sales opportunities.
20. Explore new platforms and trends
Photography and creative work change fast, and staying open to new tools and platforms can help you discover new ways to earn. Early adopters often get ahead, be that through a fresh revenue stream or being the first to tap into a growing audience.
Take NFTs, for example. Some photographers were able to sell digital art during the crypto boom, turning their work into valuable collectibles. While the hype has slowed, it has shown how exploring something new before it goes mainstream can open unexpected doors.
Social media is another space to watch. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest regularly add features like Reels, product tagging, or digital storefronts. You can use these tools to promote your work, run exclusive offers, or drive traffic to your store.
It’s also worth testing out new marketplaces, bundling your work in different ways, or repurposing content into templates, presets, or mobile wallpapers. On Sellfy, you have the flexibility to experiment, launch products quickly, and respond to what’s working in real time.
The key is to stay curious. Don’t wait for trends to go mainstream; explore, test, and adapt as you go. The photographers who innovate consistently are the ones who stay ahead.
Over to you
There’s no one-size-fits-all path to making money with photography — and that’s the good news. You can shoot weddings, sell presets, teach online, or turn your photos into merch. The key is staying consistent, testing what works, and leaning into what makes your style stand out.
You don’t need to do everything. Just pick a lane, show up regularly, and make it easy for people to support your work. And when you’re ready to sell on your own terms, a platform like Sellfy gives you the tools to keep it simple and keep it yours.
