Make Money with Your Digital Camera

Hi Squids,

 Wanted to share with you guys a resource I've been using over the last few months to make my some side cash.  I picked up a new digital camera the day after Thanksgiving (aka insane shopping day) because my old camera was starting to misbehave.  When I say misbehave, I mean turn off randomly and the picture quality was getting worse and worse.  I've always enjoyed taking photographs and sharing them with others and seeing the quality of the pictures diminish spurned me to action.  I looked through the Thanksgiving Ads and decided to take advantage of a sale and get a new camera.  Since I wasn't into freelance photography yet, I decided to get a nice midlevel camera for around $200 or so.  I had a couple of options in mind and went to the store to try them out. 

 After I waded through the herds of people going for TVs and Computers, I managed to make it over to the digital cameras.  I consulted with one of the store employees about which camera to purchase.  My previous experience with these employees and their knowledge haven't been too good.  Most of the time, they have very little knowledge about the actual piece of technology you are looking at.  Much to my surprise, this employee knew a lot about the cameras and gave me great advice on which camera I should get.  When I asked if there was anything else I need to know, he told me about some sites online that will allow you to upload pictures and sell them.  I was curious about how he knew about them and he told me it was because he was using them to supplement the salary he was making at the store! Not only was I getting great advice on the camera, but I was finding out how to use the camera to become a freelance photographer! The thought of making a little extra money on the side doing something I loved was exciting. 

 He wrote down the name of a few websites (list is below) and told me to check them out.  He also mentioned The Camera Dollars System.  He said he had made some good money so far and that if his income from the freelance photography sites kept growing that eventually he would be able to quit his job at the store and do it fulltime.  He kept talking about how the Camera Dollars System was a great resource and it allowed him to make back the purchase price ($40) in a couple of days with pictures he had already taken.  Needless to say, I was impressed.

 Fast forward ahead three months.  I've been using the freelance photography websites he suggested and have started to see a consistent return from it each month.  I'm not ready to quit my day job yet and be a freelance photographer fulltime, but the money that is coming in helps pay the bills and allows me to knock down my debt a little faster.  It's amazing what an extra few hundred dollars a month does for your confidence.

Here are the websites I'm using as a freelance photographer.  Some of these sites have membership or handling fees, but it's real easy to make the money back.  I think in the time since I first joined, I've easily made back the fees 5 or 6 times over.  The Camera Dollars System is fantastic as well.  Loads of resources (some I haven't even used yet) that will pay for pictures.  I paid for the Camera Dollars System on a Saturday and by the next Saturday, I had already made back the purchase price ($40) and then some from selling my pictures.

 Good luck in your Freelance Photography career.  I'm sure there are many people who will use the links below to begin making a nice bit of money on the side from selling photos online.

Oh, the store employee who sold me the camera and told me about these websites is now working fulltime as a freelance photgrapher.  He quit the store about a month ago because of the money he was able to make online from freelance photography.  I'm not to that point yet, but it's a dream of mine.  With the websites listed below and the Camera Dollars System, I'm hoping to turn that dream into a reality.

 Good luck to all Freelance Photographers,

Mark