There is nothing quite as vulnerable as posting your income from your Photography Business. Still I think we can learn a lot from each other which is why I am posting this. 2018 had its ups and downs in terms of my business. In spite of that, I consider 2018 to be my year or growth and change. Some growth, while not monetary, proved priceless for the direction in which I am taking my business. I hope you find this report insightful and useful. Here is my Income Report for 2018 PLUS my top 10 stock photography sales!
Sources of Photography Income for 2018
Earning income from photography comes from many sources. This year, my primary sources of income came from Stock Photography sales as well as client-based portraiture. The stock agencies that I earned income from in 2018 were: Shutterstock, Adobe (formerly Fotolia), Dreamstime, and iStock/Getty Images.
In addition to earning income from client-based session and stock photography, I also provided web-based design consulting as well as accounting services for another company.
Photography Accounting Services used in 2018
For my 2018 photography business accounting, I once again used Fresh Books and loved it!
Fresh Books allows for invoicing, tracking of expenses (including storage of receipts) as well as easy end of the year tax reports. I finished my business taxes in under an hour this year!
This is just a portion of my 2018 Photography Profit and Loss Report from Fresh Books.
I also used MileIQ to track my mileage to and from my photography locations. This saved me tons in taxes and allowed me to deduct all of my business miles easily. MileIQ runs in the background on an app on my iPhone. Because of this, all I have to do is periodically swipe left or right in the app indicating if my drive was for business or personal use. Every National Park I visit can now be easily deducted for mileage!
Look how much I can deduct on my business drives in 2018!
Total Photography Income for 2018:
- Photography Client-based Portrait Sessions for 2018: $1,521
- Cookbook Sales for 2018: $20.96
- Web-based design consultation services and accounting services for 2018: $1,995.38
- Shutterstock Sales for 2018: $1,485.79
- Adobe Stock/Fotolia Sales for 2018: $355.50
- iStock/Getty Images Sales for 2018: $160.83
- Dreamstime Stock Photography Sales for 2018: $70.87
TOTAL Photography Income for 2018: $5,610.33
Total Photography Expenses for 2018:
- Advertising (Adobe, Website services, Hosting, etc.): $819.10
- Mileage: $3,251.87
- Contractors: $80.00
- Education and Training: $10.22
- Meals and Entertainment: $84.90
- Professional Services: $134.95
- Supplies: $6.41
- Travel: $849.47
- Phone: $480
- Home Office Expenses (Utilities, Mortgage Interest, Repairs & Maintenance): $1,728.35
TOTAL Photography Expenses for 2018: $7,610.27
Bottom Line? Don’t Quit Your Day Job…YET:)
Obviously earning income as a full time photographer takes time. That said, I feel great confidence for the future. Most of my stock photography sales in 2018 were from older photos and resulted from residual income. I fully expect an increase of income in 2019 as I build my brand, my website and blog, and continue expanding my stock photography portfolio and taking things to the next level. The internet is FULL of resources and training on how to earn an income blogging and from stock photography. This makes me feel super excited and optimistic about the future. I hope to at least earn enough money to fully fund my love and passion of photography so that I can continue sharing my photos and knowledge with you.
Finding your “WHY”
Photography is SO much more than income. You need to find your “why” to keep you going when times get tough. I take photos because I LOVE taking photos! It has nothing to do with making money and everything to do with finding joy and fulfillment in life. I also LOVE National Parks and appreciate all the beautiful places on this earth. I truly believe that all things testify of a divine creator. The more I visit these amazing places, the more this truth resonates with my soul. Being out in nature has allowed me to step away from the craziness of daily living and to slow down and fully breathe in life. I created my business and blog so that I can use my talents to bless and inspire you.
Your Photography CAN make a difference!
Your photography really can make a difference. My mission is to help you learn how to take good photographs, discover amazing locations, and to inspire you to share your photographs with the world.
Today I received a beautiful comment from an older friend and photographer on my Facebook page. I received this after doing my very first Facebook Live video showcasing my photography tour plans for 2019. This is what he said:
This comment touched me to my core. Don has been struggling off and on with cancer for a long time. As I read this, I remembered my “why.” There are so many beautiful places on this earth. I know that I will never be able to see all of them. Neither will he. Yet, together we can both appreciate the beauty of this earth as we share our photographs with each other. Again, your photography does make a difference and can bless others!
Top 10 Stock Photography Sales for 2018
As I want to help inspire you and teach you in how to earn an income from your photography, here are my TOP 10 Photography Sales for 2018. Surprisingly, several of these were on the Top 10 Photography Sales for 2017🙂
I used Microstockr Pro to help me analyze my stock photography sales. This has been an insightful tool in helping me know what my audience wants to purchase. Lately, it’s been mostly food. I guess people like to eat! That said, I will be curious to see what my top sales are for 2019!
#10 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Egg, Potato Broccoli Skillet: Income Report: I had 68 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $33.71.
#9 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Milky Way at Glacier Point: Income Report: I had 52 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $34.57.
#8 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Kale: Income Report: I had 41 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $36.39.
#7 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Chicken Avocado Salad: Income Report: I had 6 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $37.30.
#6 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Plain Waffle: Income Report: I had 78 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $37.73.
#5 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Ground Beef: Income Report: I had 18 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $48.14.
#4 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Chicken Strawberry Salad: Income Report: I had 98 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $53.57.
#3 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Waffle with Strawberries: Income Report: I had 131 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $57.30.
#2 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Waffle with Strawberries: Income Report: I had 227 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $124.09.
#1 Top Selling Stock Photograph in 2018
Orange Chicken Salad: Income Report: I had 211 downloads in 2018 of this photograph and earned $134.68.
Well, that’s it! I hope you have enjoyed reading my Income Report for 2018! Thanks for reading and sharing my adventures with me!
Happy travels!
Juventa Vezzani
One of my bucket list items is to visit all 60 National Parks! For detailed posts about my adventures, click here!
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Hi Juventa, I stumbled across your website after seeing the Facebook repost of this article by Microstockr. I love your shooting style, and I love your writing style too 😉
I had a small question about your submission rate for Shutterstock post. You show a screenshot of a list of pictures there, with the amount of money they earned, and the percentage of keywords for which buyers searched. Where do you find that list in shutterstock? It’s pretty good info right 😉
Thank you so much! I appreciate it. If you log in to your Shutterstock contributor account, that view can be found be clicking on “Insights†and then “Top Performers.†Hope that helps!