TimeLapse is a fun hobby which combines technical photography and videography with creativity. You can spend many hours of (sometimes quite difficult and frustrating) work setting up and capturing a timelapse recording, but it’s so satisfying when you see the final result. But can you turn this passion into an actual source of revenue or even a full-time job?
Can you make money shooting timelapse?
The short answer to this question is yes. Ultimately, a high-quality timelapse video has value as they can sometimes be used by video production companies and creative agencies in their videos. Shooting a timelapse video from scratch can take weeks of preparation, hours to shoot and even more hours in post-production. The equipment can come into the thousands easily. This barrier to entry is why video producers will often just find a suitable clip and purchase the rights to use it for their specific purpose.
Where can I sell my timelapse footage?
The easiest way to sell your timelapse videos is to sign up to a stock video website such as Shutterstock or Bigstock. Stock video websites typically have a place to sign up to list your own photos and videos, which is separate from the main website. Click here to check out Shutterstock’s contributor section.
Some photographers and videographers complain about the sometimes excessive commissions charges by the stock websites. For this reason, many prefer to sell their digital products via their own websites instead. This way, you get to keep 100% of the revenue, although you won’t benefit from the exposure that stock websites can generate. You will have to do all of your own promotion, which can be challenging to say the least.
Commissioned projects
Another way to make money from timelapse photography is to produce custom videos for clients. This involves finding a client that wants to have a timelapse video produced, agreeing the details of the project, then filming and editing the video to their exact specification. Finally, you would deliver the video to the client along with maybe the source photos.
Some examples of commissioned projects might include:
- Building construction videos
- Music/Outdoor event videos
- Local landmark/tourism promotional videos
The best thing about commissioned projects are that they generally pay the best. However, they are also the most difficult to obtain and will likely take a lot of actively reaching out to companies to promote your services.
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