The Retirement Newsletter: Photography in retirement — hobby or side-hustle?

Issue Number: -39 — Eight ways you can make money from photography

Photo by Author — skiing in Austria

Welcome

Welcome the issue -39 — photography in retirement — side-hustle or hobby?

I have written about this in issue -84 — YouTube and Photos — hobby or side-hustle? and I thought I would revisit the photography side, as I hadn’t covered everything last time.

Photography — hobby or side-hustle?

As I said in issue -84, I am a photoholic. I love photos. I like looking at photos and taking (or, as is now said, ‘making’) photographs.

My interest in photography started at school, where I studied the subject for two years and sat and passed an exam. It wasn’t an easy course.

My exams in photography covered physics (it’s all about light and lenses), chemistry (this was back when you developed your photos, and you had to understand the chemical process), history (we studied the history of photography and had to be able to identify different photographic styles) and art (composition and developing an eye for the shot). I enjoyed the subject. I was great at all the theory but useless at the art.

I enjoyed the subject so much that I got a Saturday job working in a photographic shop.

My photographic skills also proved helpful in my early career as we did everything on film. Now, it is all digital, which offers the advantage of making things quicker and easier.

Plus, we now have modern camera phones, and most of us are wandering around with fantastic cameras instead of big bulky camera bags slung over our shoulders.

Taking photographs has got a lot easier.

Thanks to digital photography, I take countless photos. You have seen some of my work in these newsletters, and if you visit my travel blog on Medium — Nick’s Wanderings — you can see many more of my photos. And I hate to think how much all these shots would cost if I still had to pay for processing.

So, is there any way I can convert my love of photography and taking photos, and my large collection of over 70,000 photos, into cash? I have thought about it and here are eight ways it might be possible:

1. Sell my photos as stock images

I could try selling my photos through stock photo sites such as 500px, Alamy, EyeEm, Getty Images, iStock Photo, Shutterstock, SmugMug, Stocksy, and Twenty20. I have tried this and found it took a lot of time and effort for very little income.

2. Sell my photos online

I could sell prints of my photos on websites like Etsy. I could sell my photos on mugs, t-shirts, or phone cases.

I could also use sites like Redbubble or Society6 to sell photos using print-on-demand.

3. Photography services for events

I could offer this service, but I would avoid doing this as it is straying into the “professional photographer” area and all the stress that comes with that role. Doing portrait shots may be OK as the client can return if it all goes wrong, but the stress of photographing a wedding? Yikes!

4. Sell my photos to magazines

From what I have read, this is a tough one that is unlikely to happen unless I get a "news scoop" photograph.

5. Photo editing services

If I had built up expertise in using tools such as Photoshop to edit my photos, I could offer editing services on sites such as Fiverr. However, I have never got into the editing side. If you have, you might want to give this a try.

6. Online photography courses

I could set up an online course to help people with some aspects of photography. For example, I could run classes on composition, getting the most from your camera, different photographic styles or how to use specific editing software. Possible places I could host such courses are Udemy and Skillshare.

7. Photography walks

This may seem odd, but I have been on one.

A few years ago, I was in Singapore and came across a walking and photography tour of part of the city. I thought it was worth a try. It was surprisingly cheap for Singapore and turned out to be a good experience. We walked as a group around central Singapore; the guide told us about the area’s history and pointed out interesting things to photograph. He also gave some tips and advice about composition. It was educational and good fun.

Maybe I could do something near where I live? I have lovely countryside walks nearby and could take people to my favourite photographic spots.

8. Run a photography blog/newsletter

Yes, I know, a blog/newsletter again.

I mention blogs and newsletters with all of these ‘side-hustle’ newsletters, but they are a great way to bring in a little extra money.

With photography, I could use my photographic skills to document my experiences in a blog or newsletter. And I already do this at Medium — Nick’s Wanderings.

I could write about how I took the photographs and why, or I could write about the equipment I use.

I could also use the blog or newsletter to promote any other activities I do in one to seven above.

Summary

OK, that is eight ways I could convert my photography hobby into a side-hustle to make money in retirement.

Are you going to give any of them a go?

Useful links

Useful sites for making money from your photos:

• 500px — stock photo site

• Alamy — stock photo site

• Etsy — sell prints and photo merchandise

• EyeEm — stock photo site

• Fiverr — freelance website — sell your skills

• Getty Images — stock photo site

• iStock Photo — stock photo site

• Redbubble — print-on-demand service

• Shutterstock — stock photo site

• Skillshare — online course/training website

• SmugMug — stock photo site

• Society6 — print-on-demand service

• Stocksy — stock photo site

• Twenty20 — stock photo site

• Udemy — online course/training website

Travel

Following on from last week, here are five travel blog posts on a spontaneous ski trip I took back in 2015:

• A spontaneous ski trip in — where was I going? — not planned. At the time, I was living and working in Malaysia and back in Europe for Christmas. I had the urge to see snow and ski.

• Niederau, Austria — first impressions — Hotel Sonnschein, Volkl rocker tips and Crystal Ski Reps — Settling into my hotel, getting my skis and being disappointed with the ski reps.

• Day 1: Skiing Niederau, Austria — first impressions — skiing and local nightlife.

• Day 2: Skiing Niederau, Austria — Day 2 of skiing Niederau — time to move on? — By day two, I was getting bored skiing Niederau.

• Day 3: Skiing the Auffach Ski Area and seeing Elvis at The Cave — A new ski area and seeing Elvis in a local bar.

One of the things I am looking forward to when I am retired is taking more trips with little or no planning.

Next week

Next week in issue -38 — Should I launch a subscription version of the newsletter? And the conclusion to my ski trip to Austria.

Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to read this newsletter, and please don't hesitate to share it with your friends or on social media using the buttons below.

If you want to say 'thanks' for the newsletter, why not buy me a cup of tea?

Until next time,

Nick

PS, If you want to contribute something to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.