I don't know if this has been asked before here or not, but was wondering how one goes about making money doing street photography? Who do you sell your work too? How do you find clients for street photography?
I don't know if this has been asked before here or not, but was wondering how one goes about making money doing street photography? Who do you sell your work too? How do you find clients for street photography?
I've never made any money myself doing street photo however my understanding is that publishing is pretty much the only way. I mean nobody is exactly contacting street photographers with request for certain street photography images. It is not the way how things work for this particular genre.
Also street photo does not fall far from photojournalism in many cases so I would expect some photographers doing both. Furthermore, some photojournalists convert to wedding photographers and they claim their experience helps them a lot.
I have sold a few prints. One is hanging on an office wall in the Hong Kong Judicial Institute. I also know a Street/Documentary photographer who sells prints of her work. Of course neither of us have sold anything like as many prints as well known street shooters like Fan Ho, Vivian Maier, Cartier Bresson etc....
Just like anything else, people need to know you exist before they will buy from you. That means you need to advertise/promote your work/get published in magazines or otherwise written about in places where potential customers are likely to read. You also need to be producing images that resonate with the potential buyer. They need a message that appeals (or possibly confronts) - something the customer thinks is worth buying/hanging on the wall.
Then there is the tutorial option. Some people earn money by doing tutorial/tours, teaching others to do Street Photography.
Having said all that I think that for the vast majority Street Photography is a hobby/love that will never generate any meaningful revenue.
I've been paid for shots I took after I passed on my contact info to the subject. I always go to the subject of a shot and let them know if I was able to get a good shot and offer them a free copy. In a few cases they were so happy they asked me to send them the shots and sent me $ in return.