25+ Ways To Make Money As A Photographer In Nigeria Or Africa

Every day, new innovative ways of expressing creativity continue to grace the global scene. At the beginning, sketches and images were the core components of art across ages, cultures and societies. But thanks to technological advancement, the world has evolved from sketching images to capturing actual moments in still photos, using a simple camera.

Today, photography is an indispensable domain of human life, as it is not just a hobby but is now a lucrative business in itself and a significant aspect of every business activity. Brands, firms, governments, public figures, SMEs and private individuals all need photography for any advertisement, fashion, campaigning, entertainment and marketing purposes, amongst others.

With a global worth of over $44 billion as of Q1 2021, the photography industry is not only lucrative but has a wide range of multiple business opportunities for young and veteran photographers. If you’re looking to venture into photography as a business, here are 25+ ways to make money as a photographer in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world.

1). Photoshoot Services:

Offering photoshoot services are one of the most basic ways to make money as a photographer. Individuals, couples, families, groups, associations, firms, public figures, and much more, need photoshoot sessions on different occasions, from portraits to birthdays to events, etcs.

Each of the sessions listed above requires a different level of professionalism and creativity as the case may be. Your ability to fuse both skills to produce quality beautiful photos that will create long-lasting memories for the clients puts you at a good advantage in the industry.

2). Model Photography:

Model photography is a unique type of photography service that involves taking great pictures of beautiful and handsome photo models who represent different cultures, groups, concepts or ideas as the case may be.

Such images may be valued and sold on digital platforms or compiled on a website for public view or sold as wallpapers for homes and offices.

3). Wedding Coverage:

One of the importance of photography as a craft lies in the fact that it is an avenue to capture milestones and significant life moments. Among such occasions, weddings are held in high esteem because they happen rarely in a person’s life or mostly once in a person’s lifetime.

Wedding photography is a highly lucrative way to make money as a photographer. People hire professional photographers to cover their wedding events as a way to keep the memories of the day with them always. With a great portfolio and the right network, you’re likely to get wedding gigs regularly.

4). Editing Photos:

Editing is as important as the photography act itself. Quality images are part products of great photoshoots and professional editing, among other factors. More so, editing requires the use of adequate devices and software tools which are lacking in mobile phones.

As a result, people sometimes take photos of moments in their lives and send them to professional photographers for editing. Photo editing is a great way to make money as a photographer. You can as well combine editing services with other photography sessions and earn big from it. Similarly, you can edit for other photographers and get paid.

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5). Start Online Photography Tutorials:

As the photography industry continues to expand, more individuals develop an interest in the art and are willing to pay to learn how to take great photographs. You can start a photography tutorial session on social media through video conferencing, group chats, podcasts, and much more.

The success of this business idea lies in your ability to convince members of the public that you are experienced in both practising and teaching photography with great results.

6). Create A Travel Guide:

A travel guide is a fun way to share your travel experiences with tourists and travellers while showing them the right guide to a certain destination and the likely fun spots along the way. To become a travel guide photographer, you must first be a travel enthusiast with resources to travel to popular tourist attractions.

Your job is to create a photo guide to different destinations so that potential travellers to the same place can know what hurdles or fun activities to expect on their journey.

7). Start A Photography Blog:

A photoblog is simply a web blog that features images rather than focusing on text. Pictures speak volumes and are a great way to tell stories, share insights and communicate ideas. Starting a photography blog implies doing all of these and more.

Pictures or art lovers are your prime audience. As soon as you create a steady base of viewers, you will attract sponsorship deals, ad placements and contracts.

8). Start An Instructional YouTube Channel:

A YouTube channel is similar to an online instructional platform. Your role as a photographer is to create great images and put them up for viewers’ pleasure. You can also create fun videos of you setting up the props for your images or the process involved in getting your shots right.

9). Sell your Images Online:

Platforms such as Getty and Shutterstock are some of the trusted places to get cash for your images. People visiting them buy images with great appeal and value, depending on the concept and quality of the images in question.

10). Sell Printed Creative Images:

Selling images online is one aspect of the photography business. You can as well print your images and put them up for sale. Such images could be pictures of beautiful models, landscapes, nature, animals, trees, birds, and much more. Lovers of art make up your prime market.

Such people buy lovely images and hang them on their walls at home or work as part of their home and office interior decorations.

11). Magazine Photographer:

Another way to make money as a photographer in Nigeria and other parts of the world is to work with a magazine. Magazines need quality images to communicate messages in different columns and sections.

Ranging from the magazine cover to the final page, pictures make up an essential part of magazines. Working with a magazine could be a contractual agreement for a short period or on a full-time long-term basis. Either way, being a magazine photographer is a way to make money in the photography industry.

12). Photo Magazine:

Photo magazines are specific collections of the memories of a group of people who have spent some time together in an institution. College graduates, high school leavers, colleagues at work or families love to compile great memories in pictures in the form of a magazine.

Creating photo memoirs is an interesting business that chronicles major events and happenings in the lives of people. Besides creating memories, you also get to earn a lot of income from this business.

13). Event Coverage:

Most photographers understand that covering events is a stable source of income in Nigeria every week. There are a lot of events and ceremonies that happen every other week in Nigeria, including matriculations, graduation ceremonies, wedding events, parties, funerals, birthdays, festivals, NYSC activities, rallies, conferences, and much more.

The likelihood to get gigs every week depends on your ability to publicize your services and build a large clientele through networking.

14). Photojournalism Business:

The expression, “pictures speak louder than words”, is true of this photography business. Just like a journalist covers events and makes timely reports to inform and update members of the public, a photojournalist does the same using photos.

To be a professional photojournalist, you need to be properly trained in the ethics of the job and work with a recognized news outlet.

15). Greeting Cards:

Greeting cards are not just cards and text. Greeting cards also use images as a way of communicating effectively to the receivers. You can therefore start a greeting card production business. Print lovely images alongside text bearing different messages on cards and put them up for sale.

Remember to vary the text and images to suit different purposes, including birthdays, weddings, get-well-soon and congratulatory messages, and so on.

16). Shirt Designs:

As a photographer, you can also delve into the clothing line business. This lucrative photography business idea fuses fashion with creative photography. It simply involves taking great pictures that resonate with people and printing them on t-shirts.

After creating images with a great sense of appeal, you can print them on t-shirts for sale to members of the public. Irrespective of the distance, as long as a large number of people love and connect with the images on the shirts, they will make purchases online.

17). Posters And Wallpapers Retail Business:

Just like selling printed images, you can take great photos and print them on small posters and wallpapers of various sizes for people to use as elements of interior decoration in their homes, cars and offices.

Although having a studio is a great bonus for this business, success lies in your ability to market your images. You can create a digital platform to display your art and receive orders. Similarly, you can distribute them to art shops, supermarkets, and much more.

18). Cinematography:

Cinematography involves making motion pictures but it is a business within the purview of photographers. As a professional photographer with the right skill and tools, you can create quality videos for movie producers, internet skit makers, fitness enthusiasts, and so on, in return for great pay.

You can equally create video ads for brands and SMEs as well as video instructions for teachers. The opportunities are endless in the cinematography industry.

19). Brand Photography:

Brands require the services of professional photographers in several ways, one of which is the creation of pictures for ads. SMEs and companies all need images to publicize their products.

Similarly, different products use images as product identity, to make it easy for the consumers to identify the products in question among its competitors. In essence, images are not just memoirs but also have significant business value.

20). Open A Photo Gallery:

Just like selling pictures online or opening a photography blog where you post creative images for viewers’ pleasure, the same applies to the offline setting when you open a photo gallery. Photo galleries are basically for display and appreciation.

However, on an occasional basis, photographers and art gallery owners put up certain images for auction. These are avenues to make money for your images. You can organize auctions regularly where the highest bidders get your prized images.

21). Photography Training:

Another common way to make money as a photographer in Nigeria is to start an apprenticeship or training program. This involves training young and potential photographers on the basics of photography.

These students could pay handsomely to acquire good photography skills. To start the apprenticeship training, you need to open a standard photo studio and equip it with the right equipment both for training and practising.

22). Real Estate Photography:

Images play a significant role in the real estate industry as well. As a photographer, you could focus on working with real estate managers or agents. Your service includes taking great pictures of housing units and related property.

Such images should be good enough to convince the client of the suitability of the property. The good part is, you can also combine real estate photography with other businesses in the photography industry and work on a contract basis.

23). Photo Contests:

Not many photographers are aware of platforms and organizations that organize photo contests, but it is a great way to earn some side income from photography. Digital brands, ministries and private individuals in the photography sector sometimes organize contests.

All you need to do is, stay in touch with other photography enthusiasts. It also helps to join photography communities and societies as a way of building networks and clientele.

24). Pet Photography:

Lovers of pets also want to keep memories of their cute little friends with them forever. Thus, you can also delve into pet photography and create beautiful images of people and families and their pets. Like every other section of photography, pet photography is highly lucrative and remains one of the most viable ways to make money as a photographer in Nigeria or Africa.

25). Investigative Photography:

Investigative photography is a special form of photography with more significance than just making money. It involves investigating crimes and resolving related cases by taking vital pictures of people who may be syndicates, criminals, accomplices, and much more. Investigative photographers are often internalized into the crime investigation department of the police force in any country.

26). Personal Photographer:

You could be the personal photographer of a private or government official and take pictures of them while you follow them everywhere they go. By doing this you can earn significant income depending on your reputation and financial status of your client.

To Sum It Up

Photography remains a great money-making hobby or career in existence. If you’re a photography enthusiast, you could decide today to start making money from doing what you love. The ideas are endless, but if you want to make money from photography, you can start with any of the 25+ ways to make money as a photographer in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world listed above.

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What are your thoughts on these 25+ lucrative photography business ideas you can start anywhere in Nigeria, Africa or anywhere around the world? Let me know by leaving a comment below.