Smile Please! You Could Make Money Selling Photographs To Evening Revellers!

Wouldn’t it be good if you could make money from selling photographs, while having a night out? Well, if you possess a half-decent digital camera, mixed with a touch of self-confidence, believe it or not, you can. Basically, I saw people going around selling flowers outside night-clubs and it got me thinking they were on to something. The way the guy would always have to buy the flower for the girl when they were asked if they wanted one. I racked my brains for a few days trying to think of something that could yield a profit and at the same time be easy to sell.

I knew very little about buying and selling, but as a photographer I thought maybe I could use these skills to make money. Surely if a couple can be persuaded to buy a cheesy plastic rose, they would far prefer a wonderful picture of the two of them gazing lovingly into each others’ eyes.

I thought about ways to try and give people the actual printed photographs in the bars and night-clubs, as this would potentially attract far more customers. I remembered back to the time when I first started selling photographs. People who bought my pictures hanging up on display far outweighed those who purchased from my website – because they could touch the product and own it instantly.

In the end the only solution I could think of was to bring a printer with me into the night-clubs. This sounded a bit ‘far out’ at first, and I thought there was no way it could work. However, I discovered that they actually make portable, but high quality, printers that run on batteries, and that really sparked the idea into life.

Now, I could have carried this plan out by myself. But, it was easier to get a friend to come along with me. One, for moral support, secondly, to carry and operate the printer, and thirdly to help keep an eye out for prospects.

You need to find a friendly club, or bar, manager, tell them of your plan, and persuade them to let you try it out (you may have to donate a small ‘cut’, but surprisingly, not always). It’s then simply a matter of looking for couples who appear to be having a good time, but who won’t punch you on the nose if you approach them. Admittedly not everyone goes for it, but as long as you can ignore the inevitable rejections, a packed bar on a Friday or Saturday night can get you a more than reasonable amount of punters.

Charge between $10-20 a go, and $150 minimum is not an unreasonable amount to expect for an evening’s work. If you find a bar that lets you do this on a regular basis, and they have a small room you can use, you can even buy some pre-cut mounts and provide a premium service selling photographs to your clients. It sounds weird, I know – but, believe me, it’s worth having a go, and it works!