0:01

How's it going everybody welcome

0:04

back to the Travel and Adventure Photography School

0:06

podcast, where we explore the world

0:08

of adventure and travel photography to help you elevate

0:11

the work you create in the great

0:13

outdoors. As always I'm your

0:15

host, Robert Massey. And in today's episode, we're

0:17

diving into the exciting topic of monetizing

0:19

your travel photography. Many of us

0:22

dream of turning our passion for photography

0:24

into a sustainable source of income, whether

0:26

you're a seasoned professional, looking to expand your revenue

0:28

streams, or just a budding enthusiastic, eager

0:31

to explore those possibilities. This

0:33

is the episode for you. So we

0:35

are going to be exploring the ways you can make money while

0:37

you are on the road. Or from work

0:40

you've already produced while traveling and

0:42

to try and get jobs that will allow you to go

0:44

to destinations that you've always wanted to visit.

0:47

All right. Let's get right into this. Our

0:50

first stop on the journey to monetizing your travel

0:52

photography is an oldie, but

0:54

a classic and still good today. Stock

0:57

photography platforms. These platforms

0:59

like Shutterstock, Adobe stock and Getty images,

1:01

offer a convenient way to sell your images

1:03

to global audiences. To

1:06

get started. Simply create an account, upload your best

1:08

travel photos and add relevant keywords to make them discoverable.

1:11

That sounds a lot simpler

1:13

than it actually is. That's

1:16

because the key to success in stock photography is

1:18

quantity and diversity. You need to aim

1:20

to build a diverse portfolio, covering various themes,

1:23

destinations, locations, places,

1:25

people, everything to attract a wide

1:28

range of buyers. Because buyers,

1:30

aren't going to typically be coming back to you over

1:32

and over again, to buy the same work from you.

1:34

They're just looking for the best image to represent

1:37

what they're looking for. Now

1:39

stock photography is getting more difficult to make

1:41

money from. With AI image generators,

1:43

more free options, and just that over-saturation

1:46

of the market of people doing this, it's

1:48

a lot more difficult, but it honestly still is possible.

1:51

But to be very clear, it's not

1:53

as simple as just pulling old images off your hard

1:55

drive and uploading them unless they are. World

1:58

shattering. That may be a good

2:00

way to make a tiny bit of extra money,

2:02

like an extra coffee or two a month. But

2:05

with some learnings and understandings of what people need

2:07

from their stock travel photography, you can make

2:09

income from this. To do that. You're going

2:12

to have to learn a lot about what people are

2:14

looking for right now from their stock photography

2:16

in the travel world, what they need more

2:18

of and what isn't already being oversaturated.

2:21

A great example from Banff is it's really

2:23

easy to find a really nice stock

2:25

photo of Moraine Lake. You

2:28

adding another one? It's probably

2:30

not going to stand out to people. It's not something that people really

2:33

need right now, unless that is super unique.

2:36

You need to go find those niches and those places

2:38

for what people are really looking for and what isn't

2:40

already oversaturated in the stock photography

2:42

market. Now. To really

2:44

get to a point where you could be making a few hundred

2:46

dollars a month. You'll need about

2:48

6,000 high quality images uploaded

2:50

to your chosen stock platforms like

2:53

Adobe stock, Getty images. I stock

2:55

Shutterstock, et cetera. And that's just

2:57

according to some estimates on the market.

3:01

Now go check out one of those stock photography agencies.

3:03

They can give you a lot more information on how

3:05

to get going and what they're looking for right now. All

3:07

right on to number two. Another

3:10

oldie, but a goodie selling prints

3:12

of your travel photography. Whether that's through an

3:14

online marketplace like Etsy, print on demand

3:16

services, your own online store, selling

3:18

prints can be a lucrative avenue for showcasing

3:21

your work and connecting with art enthusiasts.

3:24

Now when selling prints presentation is

3:26

key. You want to invest in high quality

3:29

printing materials and offer a variety of print size

3:31

and finishes to cater to different preferences.

3:33

And to the audience that you are targeting. Additionally,

3:36

don't forget to promote your prints through

3:38

social media, your website, local art fairs, to

3:41

reach a wider audience than just people

3:43

who might stumble across your website or stumble

3:45

across it on Etsy. One of

3:47

the best ways to sell prints is through

3:49

your own website. That's

3:51

because you control that platform. You control

3:54

how those images are shown and you control everything

3:56

about how people get that print.

4:00

So look for a website that

4:02

allows customers to see your images in their best

4:04

format, whatever way you think that

4:06

looks like. And it gives them options for

4:08

ordering different kinds of prints or reaching out to you if they're

4:10

looking for something really specific.

4:13

Some websites also allow people to see what a print would

4:15

look like above standard household items like couches

4:17

and tables, which helps them envision different sizes

4:20

and might actually convince them that that eight

4:22

by 10, they were thinking would look really big up above

4:24

their couch. Is going to look super

4:26

tiny and they actually want. The

4:29

36 by 24, because

4:31

that's going to look better in their space. People

4:34

don't tend to understand sizing the same

4:36

way that we do, who are really involved in

4:39

photography and printing and thinking about those aspect

4:41

ratios and dimensions all the time. And

4:43

so making it really easy for people to see. What

4:45

those sizes actually mean, means

4:48

that you are more likely to sell a print and you're

4:50

honestly more likely to sell the bigger

4:52

print. Now there's also some

4:54

other platforms that allow people to upload their own

4:56

images of their living rooms, their kitchen,

4:59

wherever they want to put this print and superimpose

5:01

your print above the spot where they are thinking

5:03

of placing that artwork. And

5:06

that can be huge because again, people can

5:08

actually see your artwork in the space with

5:11

the color of their walls, the color of their cabinets,

5:13

all those kinds of pieces. And it's those little

5:15

touches like this that can honestly help you sell

5:18

way more artwork, especially when

5:20

you are getting into that high end art world

5:22

where you're selling prints for a thousand,

5:24

$2,000, $3,000 dollars. Now

5:27

for selling prints, there are a variety of monetization styles

5:29

that you could look into, including entering the luxury art

5:31

world, where you make limited copies

5:33

of your print. Even 10 20,

5:35

I've seen some photographers go as high as 250

5:37

These are typically priced higher because you're limiting

5:40

that print run. And once that print one is done, you

5:42

are making basically a legal obligation

5:44

to not sell that print anymore. And

5:47

you need to offer these kinds of prints on more luxury

5:49

services like archival and textured

5:52

papers, mounting them in really high-end

5:54

frames and using things like glare free

5:56

glass. Now, all

5:58

of these are expensive upgrades that separate

6:01

your artwork from others. And they're pieces that show.

6:03

That you want that artwork to not just

6:05

become something they have up in their home

6:08

for, you know, a year or two years, like a

6:10

poster. You want them to hand

6:12

it down to their kids and their grandkids. And this becomes

6:14

an heirloom piece that people want

6:17

to have up on their walls for generations.

6:20

Now you could also actually go with the mass selling

6:22

route, which is the total opposite

6:24

of what we were just talking about and sell as many prints

6:26

at volume as you can of a single

6:29

image, don't put a limit on it, just sell it as

6:31

many times as you possibly can. Now

6:34

you want to keep your costs low here. And for

6:36

example, use things like lower quality papers, frames,

6:38

and printing methods, because you are wanting to

6:40

turn over those prints really quickly. Keep

6:42

your margin a lot smaller.

6:45

So you're not aiming to cover off like a

6:47

thousand dollars in one print. You're aiming

6:49

to sell a print for. $50,

6:52

$60, something like that, where your margin is a lot

6:54

lower. But you're wanting to turn them over

6:56

really quickly. And finally,

6:58

you could also do drop shipping prints. This is actually

7:01

where you don't have a website that people

7:03

buy your work through. This isn't my favorite, but it does actually

7:06

reduce your costs a little bit. It

7:08

doesn't mean you have to manage a website or

7:10

sales or customers, or if there's anything wrong with the prints

7:12

or anything like that. But it takes

7:14

control of your artwork out of your hands. So,

7:16

you don't host your own

7:19

artwork, but you send it off to a service like Red Bubble

7:21

and they take care of hosting it. They take care of selling

7:23

it, they ship it, they print it. They do

7:26

everything. All you do is you provide that artwork

7:28

file and they deal with everything else. And

7:31

to do that, they typically take a percentage

7:33

of your earnings to do so. It's super variable

7:35

depending on the website. I've seen that number

7:38

go as high as 25 to 30% from

7:40

some of those places, but that could be well worth

7:42

it. If it means that you don't have to do

7:44

any other work whatsoever. Selling

7:47

prints is becoming increasingly popular

7:49

as well. I'm seeing a lot of photographers popping up

7:51

at farmer's markets and craft

7:53

fairs. And. Just honestly

7:55

having galleries pop up around town and

7:57

a few other places. But that shouldn't

7:59

scare you off from doing this because a few standout

8:02

prints targeted at the right audience can become

8:04

massive sales. For example,

8:06

there's a local Banff photographer here who has started focusing

8:08

on nighttime photography of popular locations.

8:11

So he is bringing people a print of a location

8:13

they've likely fell in love with while they're here

8:16

at a time of day, where they likely would never

8:18

actually see it. We're talking like 3:00

8:21

AM with the Milky way. And

8:23

that mesmerizing beauty, along

8:25

with the fact that they fell in love

8:27

with that location makes it easier

8:29

for him to sell that print to people and to stand

8:31

out from people because he's doing a lot of work

8:33

and he's putting a lot more effort in than a lot of other

8:36

photographers are, especially those ones who are just

8:38

going at the same time of day as that

8:40

person who showed up with their cell phone and snapped

8:42

a photo off on their cell phone. They're like, Hey, I got

8:44

a photo that looks kind of like that. I don't really need to

8:46

spend. 50 a hundred

8:48

thousand dollars on a print. Whereas he's going

8:51

at a time of day where they never would have seen it. And

8:53

that can just be mind blowing for people. So that helps

8:55

him stand out as well. All

8:58

right. Let's jump into

9:00

the world of freelance assignments for travel

9:03

photographers. Freelance assignments with

9:05

travel magazines, websites, and brands. Offer

9:07

an exciting opportunity to showcase your

9:09

photography skills and earn income

9:11

while exploring a destination.

9:13

To land freelance assignments, you're going to start by building

9:15

a strong portfolio, showing your best travel

9:17

photography work, network with editors

9:20

and brands. Get to know what they're looking for,

9:22

the type of work that they're looking for right now. What

9:25

means that you're going to separate yourself from

9:27

other photographers and other creatives? And

9:29

then pitch them unique story ideas and especially

9:31

unique photo story ideas. Really

9:33

that's what you're bringing to the table versus somebody with just

9:36

an iPhone. Who's just wandering around. You're

9:38

helping them tell a story of the

9:40

destination. Bring that unique story

9:42

idea and then be persistent. And

9:45

showcasing your value as a photographer to them. Now

9:48

remember building relationships and delivering quality

9:50

work here are key to securing ongoing

9:52

freelancing gigs. If you want to continuously

9:55

work with the same. Resources

9:57

and the same people they've got to like that first

9:59

round you did. And that second round you get in that third

10:01

round, you did, and you have to build up that trust

10:03

and expectation that you will deliver

10:05

when you pitch. Now, if you can

10:07

also pitch additional written content, you are

10:09

going to double your chances of getting hired for these

10:12

typical kind of media pieces and that's because

10:14

they're almost always looking for written content

10:17

to be included as well, especially if you want

10:19

to be working for some of those bigger travel

10:21

brands and we're talking like Conde Nast.

10:23

Travel and leisure, those kinds of places. Now

10:26

the really great thing about this is that you don't actually

10:28

need a large social media following. As

10:31

you aren't advertising a destination to an audience

10:33

that you've built up. You're not using your

10:35

clout to advertise a place. Instead

10:39

the work is going out on that media companies, socials

10:41

magazine, website, whatever they want to put

10:43

it out in. And they're using their audience

10:45

that they have built up. You are just

10:48

the one creating that work and then handing

10:50

it off to them. All right. Onto number four, our

10:52

next avenue for monetizing your travel photography

10:54

is licensing your images for commercial and

10:57

editorial use. So licensing

10:59

your images for commercial purposes, such as advertising

11:01

campaigns and marketing materials and editorial

11:03

content like magazines and

11:06

travel websites. Can provide a steady

11:08

stream of income while allowing your work to reach

11:10

a wider audience. When licensing

11:12

your images, it's important to understand

11:14

licensing agreements, pricing models,

11:17

and usage rights, as well as model

11:19

releases, location releases, and

11:21

a few other things that need to come into when you are selling

11:23

commercial work. Consider

11:26

partnering with agencies or platforms specializing

11:29

in commercial licensing to streamline this

11:31

process and maximize your earning potential.

11:34

You can also get hired to shoot images specifically

11:36

for commercial use in campaigns, but

11:38

that is harder to land jobs in places where you want

11:40

to be going. So selling images for

11:42

commercial or editorial use one-off

11:45

through especially agency work who are pitching

11:47

your work to people and pitching your image galleries.

11:50

Is a great way to add an

11:52

additional potential revenue stream. All

11:55

right on to number five, where we have talked a lot

11:57

about this on here already. Thanks to my

11:59

role in working with freelancers and creatives

12:01

here in Banff. And that's collaborating

12:03

with tourism boards, hotels, resorts, and travel

12:06

brands to create content for their campaigns,

12:08

marketing efforts, social media, or basically

12:11

any other delivery channels. So

12:13

when you're pitching collaboration ideas to tourism

12:15

boards and brands, you really want to focus on

12:17

highlighting your unique storytelling abilities

12:20

and the value you can bring through authentic

12:22

and engaging content. This

12:25

is really key to remember here. When you are approaching

12:27

these kinds of organizations, you need to approach

12:29

them with solid ideas of what you

12:31

bring to the table for them. This

12:34

pitch is not about you wanting to see

12:37

the destination, although do say how beautiful

12:39

it is or how you've always wanted to travel there. Or your favorite

12:41

part about it your favorite memory if you've been there before.

12:43

But point out what you can do for them.

12:46

Make sure your pitch is entirely focused

12:48

on that potential client.

12:51

And what you are bringing to the table for

12:53

them, not what they can bring to the table for

12:55

you. Keep it entirely client-focused.

12:59

And honestly be prepared for lots of ghosting.

13:01

Lots of no responses to your reach-outs

13:04

and honestly direct nos. You

13:06

are going to seeing a lot of direct rejection

13:09

with this path. But it can lead to some great

13:11

connections and great potential for work in

13:13

the future. So stay positive,

13:16

keep reaching out, keep coming up with new ideas for

13:18

places you want to go. And. Try

13:20

reaching out to different types of companies that you

13:22

see a connection with. If

13:24

you are a huge snowboarder.

13:27

Let's say just reaching out to snowboard companies

13:29

that are in the area. Is a great

13:31

idea, but you could also be reaching out to the ski

13:33

hills. You could also be reaching out to outdoor

13:35

companies. You could also be reaching out to companies that focus

13:37

on apres. And seeing if

13:40

there's any option for you to get involved there

13:42

as well. Think not just

13:44

about the thing that you do and the thing that you're

13:46

interested in, but think about. Where

13:48

you can diversify out in the other pieces

13:50

that are tangentially related to what you love

13:52

to talk about. All right, moving

13:54

on to our second from last suggestion

13:57

here. Let's discuss the power

13:59

of social media and influencer marketing in monetizing

14:01

your travel photography. So platforms

14:03

like Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, all

14:05

offer opportunities to grow your own audience,

14:08

collaborate with brands and earn income through sponsored

14:10

posts and affiliate marketing. So

14:13

to monetize your social media presence effectively

14:15

focused on creating, engaging content that resonates

14:17

with your audience and aligns with your brand. Build

14:20

relationships with brands that share your values

14:22

and authenticity and explore opportunities for sponsored

14:24

content that adds value to your

14:26

audience well generating income for

14:28

you. This is when the key things to

14:30

remember for you. You don't want to go out and just partner

14:32

with a company because they're throwing tons of money at

14:34

you. You want to make sure that that company is

14:36

bringing real value to your

14:39

audience. This is the people who trust you. This

14:41

is the people who trust your voice. And

14:43

you need to make sure that what you are

14:46

showing to them and the things that you are advertising

14:48

to them. Actually resonate with them and

14:50

won't break their trust with you. Now

14:53

influencer marketing ranges across the board from offering

14:55

photos and videos to doing stories,

14:57

channel takeovers, collab, sponsored content,

14:59

pretty much anything you can think of doing on social,

15:02

you can pitch doing as part of a influencer

15:05

marketing campaign with an organization.

15:08

When you were pitching these stories. Make sure

15:10

to include your audience size demographics,

15:12

engagement numbers, and what types of content

15:14

perform best for you and tailor

15:16

that response to the audience you think

15:18

that organization is targeting or that organization

15:21

should be targeting with a campaign like this. And

15:24

finally, honestly, this isn't actually all about

15:26

social media anymore. This is a new change,

15:28

but in today's world

15:31

marketing teams are actually looking to have

15:33

their influencer dollars spread a little

15:35

bit further. Because a social

15:37

post is great and it's beautiful and might get a little

15:39

bit of engagement. But it'll

15:42

fall down that list of people being able to discover

15:44

it very quickly and it won't come

15:46

back up again without throwing extra money behind

15:48

it or without a little bit of luck. So

15:50

marketing teams are actually looking for people that have an engaged,

15:52

social media following. And some

15:55

form of long-term content platform where

15:57

the content that they create can get engagement

15:59

for weeks, months, or even years down

16:01

the line. So think a blog, YouTube

16:04

or a podcast. This is

16:06

because they want their investment

16:08

to pay off for a lot longer

16:11

than for a couple of minutes or hours that

16:14

a piece on social media really does perform for.

16:16

So if they want that social media influencer, They

16:18

want that chance to have your audience

16:20

and engage with that audience on a short shot. But

16:23

then they also want to engage with that audience. Weeks

16:25

and years down the line as well. So they

16:27

remember that destination that

16:29

they're trying to drive people to, or that product or

16:32

anything like that. All right. Last

16:34

one for today. Let's talk about the importance of

16:36

diversifying income streams and building

16:39

a sustainable career as a travel photographer.

16:42

While monetizing your travel photography offers really

16:44

exciting opportunities. It's honestly. Essential

16:47

to diversify your income streams to ensure long-term

16:50

stability. Consider exploring

16:52

additional revenue streams, like teaching photography,

16:55

workshops, selling photography courses or

16:57

eBooks. Offering photography services,

16:59

like running a studio in the location that

17:01

you live in or monetizing your blog or website

17:03

through things like affiliate marketing and more

17:05

sponsored content. So by diversifying

17:08

your income streams, you can build a resilient photography business

17:10

that thrives in the long run. One of the best

17:12

pieces of advice that I've heard is to really

17:14

ensure that you have diversified income streams is

17:16

to make sure that you are bringing in revenue from seven

17:19

different income streams. And

17:21

that is so that you can ensure that if one, two

17:23

or even three of those drop off, you

17:25

still have some money coming

17:27

in. So you can pay bills. You can get food,

17:30

you can do all the things that you need to do while you rebuild

17:32

those other. Income streams. And

17:35

then while you are diversifying that income stream

17:37

and looking at that long-term sustainability of your business,

17:39

you also need to make sure that you're setting aside some of your income

17:41

for retirement, those quiet time

17:43

savings, because you won't always be finding

17:45

these kinds of gigs. And investing a

17:47

little bit, and that ensures that you're prepared for times

17:50

when you can't be out shooting. And when you just

17:52

can't find the work that you need. And

17:54

there you have it. Those are seven of the

17:56

best ways to monetize your travel photography.

17:59

And this is just the beginning. There's so

18:01

many ways you can find to monetize your travels.

18:04

These are just the ones that don't really require you to

18:06

be set up in a specific location. There

18:08

are also location specific examples, like setting

18:10

up your own adventure, photography studio, running

18:12

a creative team to create marketing collateral for local

18:15

businesses and participating in local galleries,

18:17

art shows and markets. Really the opportunities

18:19

are kind of endless for adventure photographers looking to

18:22

turn their passion into a profit.

18:24

You just have to get a little bit creative and see where

18:27

you can fit in your photography

18:29

and the work that you create. All

18:31

right. And that's it for today. Thank you so

18:33

much for joining me on the episode today. If you found this

18:35

valuable, definitely give it a subscribe

18:37

so you can listen to the other episodes as they come up.

18:40

And I'd love to hear from you. I love talking

18:42

to people about photography. That's why I do this.

18:45

I love hearing from people and I love just

18:48

hearing more ideas about things that I could talk about

18:50

on here, but just what other people do as well,

18:52

because that helps me learn and grow as

18:54

a photographer and as a creative as well. So

18:57

if you've got an idea, reach out to me. If

18:59

you just want to talk to me, reach out to me. You

19:01

can reach out to me on instagram at robertmasseyphotography

19:04

or on my website at robertmasseyphotography.ca.

19:07

All right. Until next time everybody lets

19:09

adventure. Bye for now.