How to Make Money as a Photographer on Instagram

These days it seems like everyone is on Instagram.

With over 600 million active users monthly, this social media giant has become a force to be reckoned with. As such, Instagram offers a great opportunity for photographers to build a dedicated fan base to whom they can market and sell their work.

As a photographer, it is possible that you already have an Instagram account and have been sharing amazing pictures on your timeline. You probably are now wondering whether it is possible to make money from your account as you share your pictures. In case you didn’t know, you can make money as a photographer on Instagram.

Below we are going to highlight a few fool-proof ways in which you can use your Instagram to make money as a photographer.

Product Photography

At first, Instagram was just another photo-sharing app but it later transformed into a business platform with thousands of entrepreneurs taking advantage of its wide reach.

Today, any business that is trying to sell products on Instagram should ensure that they post high quality and attractive photos of their products. Therefore, as a photographer, you can search for businesses that would require your skills and pitch your services.

If given the job, the companies will be sending you products to photograph and once you are done with the job, you are going to send them the pictures for them to upload and you get paid.

Become an Influencer

This is whereby you use your Instagram to advertise all sorts of items from all kinds of brands. This is only if you can attain the much sought-after influencer status. You probably already know a bunch of people working as influencers on Instagram.

Influencers have taken their time to build trust and connections with their followers, therefore, they can convert their following into sales. While brands might take the first step to approach you and you might find it exciting. It is also important that you majorly work with brands that match your personality and are in your line of work, that is, photography.

Setup Instagram Shopping and Sell Items Directly

You can sell your products directly on Instagram by integrating your product catalog into your account. This is probably the easiest way of making money on Instagram as a photographer. By tagging your products, it enables viewers to read the product description without having to leave Instagram. You can also use stories, reels and IGTV videos to promote your products.

To get started with selling products on Instagram, all you have to do is to set up a business account and connect it to a Facebook page. Afterward, you will then connect your Instagram profile to the Facebook page and you will be good to go.

Sell Instagram Posts as Stock Photos

You already know there are several sites and apps where you can sell your photos as stock images (how to make money selling photos of yourself). However, did you know that you can sell your photos via Instagram for stock use?

Businesses today need images that they can use for their marketing. You can either decide to sell the photos individually or in bundles categorized in themes.

You can either sell the photos directly via your Instagram posts or you can have a link to your eCommerce website where interested buyers can visit to purchase the photos.

Affiliate Links and Sponsored Ads

This is whereby you use your platform to advertise a product or service, an endorsement. This is a great option for making money as freelance photographers who have a huge following on their Instagram accounts. If you look carefully into posts made by well-known photographers, you will realize that almost all of them put up sponsored posts and promote their affiliate links.

Affiliate links work by leading buyers to a site through a link and for every purchase made through your link, you get paid a certain amount in commission. On the other hand, a sponsored post is when a company or brand pays you to make a post of their product.

To help you remain relevant, you should seek to work with companies or businesses that fit in with your photography brand. Least, you are going to lose relevance and you might also lose your followers in the process. You also need to inform your clients of every sponsored ad. This can be done by adding a relevant hashtag such as #sponsoredad or tagging your sponsors.

Sell Prints

Selling prints is as simple as posting a print that is on sale and on the caption you can include the product description. The product description includes; the available sizes and the prices for each. Interested buyers can send you a direct message on Instagram or they can simply leave a comment asking its availability. Then you can set up a variety of payment methods to allow buyers to easily make payments.

Prints can be used for a variety of purposes such as; printing on merchandise such as bags, mugs, calendars and clothing items or they can be downloaded and framed then used as wall decor.

Tips to ensure Instagram Photography Success

• Always share your best work: although it is good to sometimes show some behind the scenes. This makes your content more relatable.
• Find your niche and perfect your skills at it.
• Take the editing process very seriously.
• Get the right equipment (what do I need to start a photography business)
• Be strategic about your use of hashtags; only use relevant hashtags.
• Ensure your posts are engaging; engagements help to make your posts more discoverable.

In Conclusion

There are a variety of opportunities available for making money as a photographer (how to make money as a freelance photographer) and Instagram is just one of the many. Therefore, you should take advantage of the addictive and fun nature of Instagram to help you push your products to your followers to be able to make money.  

As a photographer, putting your work out for public view is mandatory, however, this can either bring rise to a lot of criticism but it can also open up great opportunities for you. Therefore, you need to build confidence in your work and develop a tough skin for anything negative that may be thrown your way.