I’m thinking of some business routes I can take with my photography. I’ve heard of travel photographers for wedding elopements, so I was thinking about maybe I could market as a personal photographer for influencers of whatever? I would appreciate any thoughts even if you think this is a bound to fail idea.
It’s a tough area to get into, as others have pointed out.
A friend of a friend was very successful wedding photographer, as in costing thousands for wedding shoot.
She had a price list on her website. At the bottom she had the “Dream” package. $20K + all travel expenses. ie: She was dreaming anyone would go for it.
You had her 24/7 for a week, coverage of every pre-wedding event, wedding prep, the wedding, the reception, and any post reception events.
She sold one in her career. But was under such a NDA, she couldn’t even talk about where she went or show any the pictures, let alone who the couple was.
If Kim Kardashian wants professional photos of herself on her Greek holiday, I am sure her PA has a guy to call to fly out there. Or they will find a local photographer.
For video, eg Best Damn Food Review, they have a full video crew they bring with the host and a dozen people in back office editing.
Others, eh Nate Kara, are making BANK. But they still film everything themselves and have someone else edit.
I can’t think of an equivalent example for stills work. But again, I would expect it would be a full time job permanently attached to the organization. Not a two week job you can pick up between a few different clients.
I would think its less about your photo skills and more about connections with rich families / influencers and being known for Press / PR / fashion links with syndication knowledge that can provide maximum coverage. I’m sure some want a different arrangement- very discreet service where confidentially is key. I think this is going to be a difficult market to crack, as any positions are going to be word of mouth through press / pr channels.
Travel photographers is becoming a thing but not in the way you think judging by your post. People are not going to fly out a photographer with them (unless they’re super rich, and even then it’s quite intrusive).
Instead what is happening is people are looking for local photographers in the destinations they visit more than used to happen. They’ll fly out to their destination and then find a local photographer. I did this myself this summer and absolutely loved it. It was so lovely and refreshing to hire someone else for a few hours to take photos of the whole family including me in a much more relaxed and different setting to what we’d get at home. The results were amazing, as it was a local who knew the area really well.
If you’re serious about doing this I’d suggest focussing on getting to know your local area, and what the best spots are in the eyes of a tourist, and become an expert at taking good photos there. You’re never going to get better results than a local pro just rocking up and taking photos. And the supply of people willing to fly you out will be tiny
I think you’d have to be a fairly accomplished/famous photographer for someone to give you a free, all-expenses paid vacation on top of several days of whatever your fee is. I’m not saying this doesn’t happen, but I suspect it’s more of an occasional perk for already successful photographers.
Travelphotgraphy was dead 20 years ago. This is the thing no agency needs and wants. One of the first things they tell you if you are becoming a member of a real agency.
I can fly anywhere in the US for free at a moments notice and I still haven’t figured out a way to do this. So no
I do some work for an importing company and have done a few trips abroad on their buying trips but would not rely on it to make a living. It’s mostly lots of work and little time to enjoy the travel time.
You can take pictures for social media influencers or rich families on vacation. It’s possible, but you need good photos, meet people, and make them happy with your work.
It’s been dead for a long time. If you want to make (good) money with photography you’ll need to focus on weddings/events/corporate stuff. Most other markets are dead or there’s just pennies left to earn.
I live in Hawaii and take pics of people on vacation (beach portraits)
Some music bands do that. You do the whole tour with them and take lots of photographs.
However you need to know the few select bands who actually put a photographer on the payroll, and you need to have good contacts to make several of the photos appear on music magazine covers.
You need to be (or bring yourself) in a very unique position for this to work. Think Annie Leibowitz and Rolling Stones. “Normal” bands barely have enough money for gas and food while they tour.