Melody Lynn, a former teacher, wanted to contribute financially to her family but didn’t want to work outside the home. She took photos as a hobby for a few years, but decided that starting a home-based photography business was the solution. Read on to find out how she became a professional food photographer and started earning a living from home.
What made you decide to become a professional food photographer?
Before my sons were born, I was a second grade teacher. However, after my first son was born, I decided to stay home with him. During that time, I started doing seasonal photo shoots. By the end of 2015, I was ready to expand my business and do photo shoots year-round.
At the time, I had a friend who was a food blogger and she asked me to help her take photos of recipes for her blog. Since I love cooking and had written a food blog myself, I asked if I could help her. She gave me some recipes to photograph and I was hooked.
I had so much fun photographing recipes for her blog that I wished I could do it as a job. That’s when she introduced me to the world of bloggers hiring photographers for their blogs. I started connecting with bloggers and have worked with over 40 bloggers on food shoots for their blogs.
Then a friend reached out to me asking if I could help out, so I started sending her short practice videos of myself taking food photos, and from those videos Pretty Focused was born.
Does this business require specialized knowledge or equipment?
No experience is necessary, Pretty Focused will teach you everything you need to know.
No, cell phones are not allowed. How satisfied would you be if you hired a wedding photographer and they showed up with only their cell phone? For the same reason, you need access to a real camera. Having a camera will greatly increase the quality of work you can deliver. If you want to be well paid for your work, you need quality equipment. We have an investment guide detailing everything you need to get started with free training.
How much money can you make selling food pictures?
Over the past three years, 69% of our graduates reported earning more than $50,000 per year, and according to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for a food photographer in the U.S. is $62,338.
What kind of personality is best suited for this business?
Firstly, you need to love cooking and photography – if you’re not good at cooking or baking then this job isn’t for you.
Secondly, the best personality type for this business is someone who is flexible, open to feedback and willing to learn.
Tell us about your Food Blog Photography Course.
Pretty Focused is an online course and community that teaches food bloggers how to become food photographers. What sets us apart is that we not only offer a curriculum, but also coaching and a support community, something you won’t find in many other photography courses.
How long will it take to complete the course?
Our program has three phases: Training, Practical, and Portfolio. Training has 6 modules, 40+ lessons, and bonus content. It takes about 8 hours in total to complete. In Practical, students will complete at least 20 recipes with their coach, where the focus is on putting into practice what they learned in the training. Once you have acquired new skills, you will begin to build your portfolio. The average student graduates in 4-8 months from the date of enrollment.
What will you learn in the free training?
In our free training, you’ll learn why bloggers are hired, what their work entails, what equipment they need, and how to connect with potential clients.
Do you help students find clients?
At Pretty Focused, we help connect clients directly with our graduates. We have an established and growing network of bloggers who come to Pretty Focused to hire our graduates. We want to grow this network. Buyers ClubOnce they graduate, access is available to all students. We invite new grads to join our Buyers Club, where bloggers can review their portfolios and start connecting right away. You won’t find an opportunity like this anywhere else.
What does the work look like?
Bloggers have two main needs when it comes to photography and recipe development. The first is what’s called a “re-enactment,” where a blogger hires a photographer to update old content on their blog. The second is what’s called an “exclusive,” where a photographer develops and shoots a new recipe for the blogger. If you’re not confident in recipe development, that’s okay – you can focus entirely on re-enactment. You don’t have to do both.
If you want to become a food photographer and make money from home, check out Melody’s free training here.
