How I Made $125,359.36 in 2 months, as a Photographer (Income Report)

In my photography income report, I report my revenue and expenses as well as insights into the changes that I will be making with this site. 

This is what I will be covering in my photography income report (feel free to click and skip to what you would like to see)

Why I Publish Income Reports

It’s a little weird publishing what I earn to all my friends, family, and loved ones, but that’s the trade-off I accept for the transparency that I provide to my audience.

I never publish to brag, only to show my readers just what is possible as a photographer with some hard work and determination.

I (Aaron) own two six-figure photography businesses and it’s from my successes and failures that I teach on this site.

I am teaching business strategies that work in a completely different niche (ie: Dance Photography), and I am hoping this will make it a little more applicable to you.

There are a lot of “experts” out there teaching how to be a portrait or wedding photographer.

While many of them are VERY successful (and good at what they do), it makes their strategies a little less relatable and harder to apply sometimes, if you’re in a completely different niche.

I want to make note that I ONLY photograph dance portraits 2 months out of the year. The rest of the year I travel for fun, spend time with family, and run a commercial photography business.

This is not an ALL year-round kind of business, which is exactly what I wanted and has never been my passion.

You can read my story on why I changed my focus and how I became a dance photographer.

I hustle for only a few weekends, 2 months out of the year, so I can create a lifestyle that allows me to do what I want the rest of the year.

But…

If you’re serious in being a dance photographer, there are a few things you have to do throughout the year if wanting to grow.

I hope the transparency and honesty that I provide through my successes and failures will help you on your photography journey.

Start Photographing Dance Portraits TODAY!

If you’re interested in being a dance photographer yourself, check out my article on 4 ways to make money as a Dance Photographer.

I also have a FREE 5-day Bootcamp – Dance Recital Portraits to get you started in my step-by-step guide.

Show me the MONEY!

Proof of Income

Here is a screenshot of my square account where I generated $125,359.36 in revenue from April 5th to June 10th (2019). This was only photographing Spring Dance Recital Portraits and is not quite 2 months, was off by just 5 days.

You will notice the spikes in sales at the beginning of April and a few in May / June.

Spring dance portraits weren’t photographed for the entire two months, but only a few days each month.

This year I worked with 18 dance schools with revenue for each ranging from $3000 all the way up to $10,000+.

Some of the smaller dance schools I would only photograph for a few hours and with the larger schools, all day.

The square report doesn’t reflect cash and check payments and all the additional revenue I make with dance schoolks (photographing recital action pictures, custom outdoor dance portraits)

The numbers above don’t reflect business expenses. Some of the expenses I incur are the following.

• Taxes
• Photo Lab and Prints
• Sales Staff
• Travel Expenses (fuel, hotel, food)

Income RECAP Sense I Focused on Dance Photography

The chart below contains the revenue since I started photographing just dance recital portraits.

It took me awhile at the beginning to grow, but I was learning and fine-tuning my process. 2017 was the year that everything came together and now have a consistent six-figure revenue model.

It’s these successes and failures along the way, that I teach on this site.

In 2013 I only helped photograph ONE dance school and had no clue what I was doing.

The following year I picked up a few more studios and made $37,294.02 in revenue. The beauty of this service is I didn’t have to constantly reinvent the wheel. I maintained the current dance schools I worked with and added more, doing the same thing, over and over.

Upcoming Changes

Well, I have a lot of ambition for 2020 in providing as much awesome content for my readers and followers, who want to take control of there photography business and grow.

I’ve created a FREE 5-day eCourse on Photographing Dance Recital Portraits

Also, my mentor Doug and I will also be working on some courses on Posing Dance Portraits, Dance Recital Portrait Biz, Six Figure Dance Photographer, along with a possible course on Outdoor Dance Portrait Sessions.

Keep an eye out for them and we will be launching each course throughout the year.

This is a big undertaking, sharing all the knowledge and experience we have, but our main focus is to see YOU succeed.

New to Dance Photography?

I have a mess of resources for you to get you started.

What are Dance Recital Portraits?
5 Reasons You Should Photograph Dance Recital Portraits?
Best Dance Poses that Parents Want?

Along with all the latest Blog Articles that I have written

If you have any questions about my photography income report or about photography in general, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below!