How to Turn Any Hobby Into a Saleable Photograph

During his time off from grad school, Danny Warren takes trips with his wife and friends to hike, camp, and climb in the woods and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. It’s one of his favorite things to do.

Plus, it pays for his camera gear.

While he’s hiking and camping, Danny takes photos along the way and sells them on the stock photo website iStock.com. By doing this, he makes a nice side income… and helps fund his next adventure.

Like Danny, indulging in your favorite hobbies can really pay off – literally.

Here’s a tip for getting started:

Don’t just photograph your hobby. Photograph everything surrounding it.

For example, if you love keeping a flower garden, don’t just take pictures of flowers. Flowers are an overdone subject. And to take saleable flower photos, you’ve got to be one of the best.

But you can easily take marketable shots of flower gardening by focusing on everything AROUND the flowers, or by photographing them in a unique way.

For example:

A close-up of hands planting a seedling…

Flowers during a spring rain…

Gardening tools like gloves, flowerpots, and trowels…

Or maybe golf is your favorite hobby. Take photos of every aspect of the sport, including close- ups of shoes, balls, clubs, and tees. Look for action shots of golfers swinging… riding on golf carts… walking to the next hole… preparing for a final putt. The list of possibilities goes on and on.

Get creative. Use your expertise and knowledge of your hobby to come up with unique and interesting ways to get new and different photos. And have fun. This is what you love to do… let that shine through in your photos.

[Ed. Note: If you’re ready to start photographing the hobbies and activities you love (and make a nice side income while doing it), grab a copy of AWAI’s flagship photography program, “Turn Your Pictures Into Cash.”

It’ll not only show you how to improve your photographs, but also how to sell them in a variety of markets – as editorial in magazines and newspapers, fine art in galleries and coffee shops, and to online stock agencies, among others.

There’s no reason you shouldn’t start profiting from your hobbies right away. Whatever your passion may be, there’s a market for your photographs.]