In these tough economic times, money has been tight around the DeBolt household. My husband, bless his heart, is working so hard and generating so many ideas to come up with ways he can add to our income....his income actually, since I am a stay at home mom.
Being a SAHM, I feel helpless. I want to add to our family's income in a way that doesnt take me away too long from my children. My dear friend Angie sews and creates delectable baby items such as bibs, blankets and burp cloths. Another friend named Stef crafts beautiful hair bows for little darling little girls. Another friend Susan has her own children's photography business.
I have come to find that there are not professional klutz, vice president of worrying, or flakiness representative positions available anywhere. So I decided to take inventory of the things I am both interested in and somewhat good at doing.....the only thing I could come up with is photography.
Photographers need inspiration and mine was (and still is) my son Elijah. Little does he know, he sparked a passion in me. I never really cared too much about taking photos, but when he was born, he unearthed this hidden place in my heart that desired photography! After never really being inspired to do or work at anything in my life as far as hobbies go, photography has changed my life. I am constantly looking for ways to change light on my subjects, ways to edit pictures in different and extraordinary ways, changing perspectives by getting down and dirty under swings, in water from high above. I become like a little girl on Christmas Eve when I snap a good photo. I treasure it, share it and stare at it for so long that it is embarrassing to admit. After all my 32 years on earth, I finally have a passion. And I want to use it for the sake of providing something for my family.
My question is, how? How can I use photography as a means to make money for our family? Here are some thoughts that were swimming around in my head.
-creating a business replicating Anne Geddes-like portraits focusing mainly on photos taken of subjects from birth to 1 year.
-taking photos and selling them online to stock photo places
-frame pictures I take and try to sell them at craft fairs, farmer's markets, etc.
I have not researched any of these ideas yet and am not even sure if they are doable. I do want to learn Photoshop before I start anything, plus Evie needs to get a little bigger as I can't be away from her too long because I am nursing. But I wanted to put these ideas out there in order to show what I am thinking about and hopefully get your imagination going to give me more ideas to use photography as a means to make money.
Any ideas???? Anything at all????? Please post in the comments section or email me!
3 comments:
i really think you have a talent in photography! not that i really know anything :) but it seems that you are quite wonderful!
i think that you have an eye for well styled things too...like maybe shots that are unique and unusual - but really taken from everyday items. not sure what i am trying to say :) but something that a wide variety of people could buy and hang on their wall.
i did a craft show a few months back (the craft show was a really lame one - only 15 crafters!) anyhoo...one lady (who acctually sold things, unlike myself) took pictures of random items that sort of resembled letters...then she framed each of the letters in a long frame so that the "letters" spelled something like LOVE, HOPE, etc. she had a HUGE variety of styles for each letter, and a customer could pick out custom letters and stick them in a frame right at her booth! i think it is a GREAT idea! does that make sense at all??? if not, i can explain in person. :)
lets try the craft fair arena together! clint keeps telling me that i should do some craft fairs! (or at least try one that is a real craft fair).
we could venture together :)
OR you could start out selling a few items on etsy! it's only 20 cents to list each item!!!
I will tell you this...I would take one look at your photos and ask you to take pictures of my little girl and I would pay a pretty penny for your prints. They are always so gorgeous. I know it might be tough now with a little baby, but I think you should definitely think about it for the future...you certainly have the natural talent considering you haven't even taken a class yet!
I am really not one of your creative friends....I am pretty sure I don't have a creative bone in my body....but I know good art when I see it and you create it my dear!
Hey, Denise,
You definitely have an eye for great photos, and a great camera to take awesome pictures!
You could sell your pictures made into note cards at craft shows, local community things (like Swingin' Summer Thursdays in WC), to small knick-knack stores, or even online! Maryann Zawicki could help you check out craft shows, because she does them for her job (or you could possibly even work out a deal with her to sell your cards!)
A note about Photoshop: Do you already own it? It's pretty expensive. Chris uses it all the time at work, but he bought Photoshop Elements for our at home use. While it has limitations, it certainly would work for starting out. If you do have Photoshop, there are some great books on them out there by Scott Kelby and some others. I can ask Chris which ones are best if you want!
Oh, and finally, check out Mpix.com for printing pictures. They have professional quality ones, and you can have anything you can imagine printed at that site. It is the site most professionals use.
Good Luck! :-)
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