Free Lance Photography-Review
I'm about to introduce you to an industry that's virtually unknown to most people. If you are tired of all the "get-rich-quick" scams and schemes out there, and would like to earn an honest, full or part-time income doing simple digital photography jobs in your local area, this may be for you. This is a book writen by John Carrol called "Earn money taking
photos for national companies"
Before I introduce this information to you let me say that from first hand experience that this works.
I retired in June 2005 after 30+ years working as a multi-line insurance adjuster. This means that I was qualified to handle ALL types of insurance claims.Believe me in 30 years I handled a little bit of everything. After I retired I got VERY bored. While searching the internet for nothing in particular I came across an opportunety like this one I'm about to share with you. Only mine cost a lot more.
The information I bought was basically the same as that presented by John Carroll. After getting my booklet I contacted many of the companies listed. After completing an application for each company (yes there is some leg work involved) I waited a few days and the companies started getting back in touch with me. Maybe it's the area I'm located in (South Carolina) but I received a lot of interest from a lot of companies. With most companies you get to select the counties in your state that you want to work. I figured that if I chose a lot of counties I had a better chance of getting more business. Boy was I right. I started receiving assignments from about 10 companies. However I didn't take into consideration the distance involved in covering all of those counties. Sometimes I would get an assignment in one county and then another assignment in a county in the complete opposite direction. Fortunatly the companies give you several days to complete an assignment and usually I could wait and I would receive another assignment in the same county. But It got to the point where I was just getting to much work.
I was retired and I was not looking for FULL TIME WORK. Finally I decided that I had to cut back so I started doing work for only my two best companies, but I was still handling 5 counties which was still to much. After a year of running all over these 5 counties I started only accepting assignments in the one county where I lived. That proved to be the winning combination. I'm no longer stressed out and still able to make a decent income.
Some of the equipment you will need is a DIGITAL camera, I have a HP Photosmart M525 6.0 megapixels and it works great.I bought it at Wal-Mart for about $120 several years ago. They're probably less expensive now.
Most companies want you to take photos of the front,rear and both sides of the dwelling (building/home.) Depending on the kind of work you agree to do for these companies you might need a measuring wheel. Some companies will want you to measure the exterior of the building/home and a measuring wheel makes this very easy to do. You can buy one at any Home Depot or Lowes, I believe I paid about $50 for mine. Remember all of this equipment is TAX DEDUCTIBLE, as you will be considered
an Independent Contractor (self employed.) Believe me this equipment will more then pay for itself. You will also need maps for the various cities that you go to. It's a good idea to pick one up when ever you go to a new town. For some very
small towns you can go to their City hall and pick one up. I know MapQuest is used by most people but you will find out
that it is not always accurate. If you get to a city and can't find the street you're looking for go to the nearest fire
department and they will be glad to give you directions.
For the great majority of your assignments you will not if to go into the dwelling, you don't even if to call to set up an appointment. you just go to the location take your photos/measurements and leave. I usually knock on the door to see if anyone is home and if they are I identify myself ( most companies will send you an ID tag) and tell them I was sent by their insurance company (or whom ever) and that I need to take some photos of their house.
You are usually paid an agreed price for your work which includes 2-4 photos, some companies will only want you to take two photos of the dwelling, the left front and the right rear. The companies ALWAYS want you to check the property, including the surrounding area for hazzards. If you spot a hazzard, say a pile of ashes near the dwelling or a burnt out house next door you need to take photos of these hazzards and you will be paid extra for these photos, usually $2 per photo.
You will receive all of your assignments via your computer (I forgot to mention you will also need a computer), and you will send your photos and report back to the company via your computer. You will log onto their web site and complete a form and upload your photos. It is all very simple and easy to do. If you run into any problems the company will have a toll free number for you to call.
In his book John Carrol states he has a list of 100+ lending, leasing and insurance companies that are looking for people to do this kind of work. Out of that 100 or so companies you will not have any trouble getting business from 10 or more. But remember what I said above about biting off more then you can chew. if I were you I would accept work in 3-5 counties where you live. Do that until you find out which are your best companies and then cut back to 1-2 counties just for the companies that are giving you the most work, and paying the best.
This is really a great way to make some extra money while working out of the comfort of your own home, and your own schedule.
To get all of the information on how to "Earn Money taking local photos for National Companies" you can check out the resource box below.
At the present time he is also giving a bonus manual which includes 10 additional ways to make money with your camera.
In this article I have tried to explain all the tools you will need and what will be required of you to do this type work. If it sounds like something you would like to do then you need to check it out.
Best of luck to you!
