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I'm not a digital nomad (anchored by wife and three kids) but I branched out from web development into tourism photography/videography in the last few years. Th
by prawn 5y ago
I'm not a digital nomad (anchored by wife and three kids) but I branched out from web development into tourism photography/videography in the last few years. The period since COVID hit has probably been my most successful because I've been confined more around home where I have most connections to sell my content, rather than going overseas where I don't.
Web development had increasingly felt like a treadmill, but with added bonuses of decreasing budgets and growing competition. I love travelling, and the photography aspect has been great complement to that. Good excuse to get away from a desk as well.
So far this year I've been paid well to go on two $15k pp cruises, and paid to go on Australia's most famous train trip. My wife is a photographer and has joined me on two of these. I had a job for all of last week filming whales with a drone. If I don't have work lined up, I usually plan a trip camping with my kids and then sell the content afterwards to the state tourism authority, regional tourism authorities, local operators (accommodation, tours, etc), etc. I can't recall a trip in the last couple of years that hasn't paid for itself.
It's funny, but I realised at some point that I was doing things in this enterprise which are always pushed in the startup community - do things that don't scale, talk to your customers, etc. I don't do those things with my other side hustles, but I have done them with this and they've worked. Must be that they come naturally when you have a strong interest/passion for something.
- gregorymichael 5y agoThis is so inspiring to read!! Congrats! I'm a hobbyist photographer. I don't want to go pro, but feel like I should be able to squeeze some (tangible) value out of this skillset.
- prawn 5y agoYou should go for it. I've really enjoyed diversifying where I earn my money. I have always been one of those people who have a million side hustles and used to castigate myself for never focusing. At some point I decided to just embrace it, do everything, and see what worked. A few things have: https://www.isaacforman.com.au/ https://www.isaacforman.com.au/ I think my tips would be to think of what content people will buy. Lots of people near me focus on beaches or random public places which have limited commercial opportunities. One of my focal points has been wineries[1]. You can sell the content to the winery, to the local wine association, to tourism authorities, to wine trade, wine tours, and so on. And there are ways to do it where you come across like a helper rather than a salesperson. Then you persist until people are approaching you to commission shoots. [1] https://serio.com.au/wineries/ https://serio.com.au/wineries/