If I went to a big city and just took lots of photos what level of income can I expect ?

Question

It might be a good idea to try

Answer 1

When one considers the thousands, if not the hundreds of thousands of visitors to most big cities, I don't think most people who, simply, "took lots of photos" can expect much of an income.

Part of an image's value is based on the rarity of the subject and the number of photographs of it available. I can get a postcard of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge for a quarter at one of many souvenier stands. But a quality 16 by 20 inch print of the structure, taken from a unique angle, with just the right amount of fog and taken in the best light would fetch a much better price, perhaps in the hundred's of dollars.

A photo of the train station in Cleveland has little value to me, out here on the West Coast, but could be of great interest to someone from Ohio. So, the MARKET for your images may be limited to a specific, geographic area.

If you are serious about giving this a try, I suggest you research your potential market. Look into the formats in which the images would be distributed. (postcards, fine art prints, book publishers, magazines) Contact commercial printers to learn about the various kinds of print techlologies and media, and in what format would the printers like to receive the images. If you intend to distribute and publish them yourself, you'd need to know the costs associated.

HOW would you distribute them? Who would buy them? What rights to the images would you be willing to sell? What protections would you have in place to retain some of those rights?

Who would be your competition, and how would you market your images in a way that stands out from the others?

Answer 2

zip

making money off pictures is more than simply going to a big city and shooting lots of pictures... Consider how many tourist go to a place like New York shooting hundreds of pictures... and none of them are making money off the pictures.

Answer 3

Depending on what you took and where probably 10 years for sedition and conspiring with terrorists.