I have done some freelance photography jobs, but not enough for a living. How can I market myself better?

Question

I am graduating from UCI with an electrical engineering degree, but my passion is photography. You can see my portfolio at www.patkgallery.com.

I want to make photography my career, but just don't know how to market myself.

Answer 1

Join freelance sites and fill profile, join freelance forums and post some, join photography groups.

Answer 2

I notice that your avatar is a picture of someone taking a picture with what looks like a camera phone. I hope this is not how you are doing photography. If it is, then that may be the reason why your dreams of being a photographer are going nowhere (that is not a good camera to use). If I am mistaken, and you are using a real camera, then disregard what I wrote above. Most people don't like having their picture taken. This includes family, friends, and strangers on the street. It is what it is. If you want to become a REAL freelance photographer then you need to take it more seriously and start learning about photography (read books, take classes, etc.). Taking snapshots does not make you a professional (or even an amateur) photographer. You need to become good at what you do (anyone can just snap pictures - if that was all that was required, then we would all be famous freelance photographers).

Answer 3

Have you determined what kind of photography you want to do? Portraits, commercial, landscape, wedding, fashion?

For portraits you might want to check professional organizations whose members often need head shots for work. For commercial I'd try checking the small business registries for your state and looking for new companies, find their websites, and then send them an email introducing your services. With landscape you could try selling your work on eBay. Weddings are great because a lot of couples look for photographers just starting out because they're usually cheaper. As for fashion, I'd post on craiglists or myspace - they're are tons of people trying to break into the modeling industry who need comp cards and pictures for their portfolios, but can't afford a pro.

Answer 4

Try your hand at networking.
Join groups of simular interest on google , yahoo and myspace.
Showcase ad ad on free sites such as craig'slist
Join networking sites ie: adlandpro and directmatches
Hope this helps. Let me know if this works out for you
To your success!