How to Earn Money from Your Photoshop Skills as a Student

Managing finances while you are in college is not an easy task. There is rent, bills, living expenses, not to mention parties and traveling; saying you can barely make the ends meet would be an understatement. So, since your parents can’t make all your wishes come true, you will have to earn some extra money on the side.

Luckily, if you are skillful in Photoshop or any other photo-editing tool, you can make that extra cash, provided you know how to get a job. In this article, we will go over some tips to help you out with earning money and getting a job using your Photoshop skills. 

Work with what you have

You can start by working with some photos you already have or that you can download for free. In case you have your own camera it would be great to create some original shots as well. Since the whole point of this is to help you earn money, there won’t be any additional purchases.

In other words, do not invest in the additional equipment for photography; focus on what you have and on Photoshop. You can create some great shots of nature and street photography using only a decent camera and good natural lighting.

Create a portfolio

You should do some work on honing and polishing your Photoshop skills, considering how you will use them more frequently at some point, and knowing all of the shortcuts and tool locations will increase your efficiency. So, go through tutorials or other tips-and-tricks videos for Photoshop and start working on the photos you have. This will help you improve a bit and also create a solid and extensive portfolio that you can put online. Furthermore, you can outsource some of the edits to professionals, and put them in your portfolio, to impress potential clients, and also to see how it’s done.

You will use this portfolio on different websites and your social networks. The idea is to become a member on any online platform that is about photography and has a large community. Your portfolio should consist of lots of different images, both with heavy and light editing, and also make sure you show how well you can use the healing brush to improve facial features.

Make sure you are noticed

Your portfolio and your products will not do you much good unless you get enough exposure and visibility. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can do this, and none of them are really complicated. The first thing you can do is start sharing all of your images on social networks and make sure you check which hashtag you need to use to keep up with the latest trends.

Another way is to give some of your work away for free and allow people to use it and modify it, as long as they remember to give you attribution. If you have some more quality work that you want to give for free, opt for a license that allows use but without modification.

As far as the images that you regard as your best work are concerned, you should not give them for free. You should create profiles on sites that sell images, and put them on for sale. 

Volunteer

Another place you can get noticed is your college. Since you are a student, there are bound to be some ongoing projects where you can volunteer, and contribute. In fact, it does not have to be your college; you can see if they are taking volunteers to other colleges that are related to photography and art.

If you can do that, there are bound to be people there who are more relevant and who will notice your work. Moreover, volunteering will look good on your portfolio, and you will be able to find future jobs easier. 

Freelancer platforms 

Lastly, you should definitely create profiles on online platforms for freelancers. Here, you can work solo and negotiate the prices with clients who are offering jobs. Be selective when it comes to jobs you apply for, and remember to complete your profile and leave as much information as possible.

By completing the profile, you increase your chances of getting a job because people will take you more seriously. You might have to open an account on PayPal so that people will have a way of paying you for your services. Upload your samples here as well and leave the links to all of your social networks.

These were some of the tips you can use to earn extra money while living as a student. Of course, do not get too caught up in this, because you still need to study pass your midterms and your finals. However, do not take this too lightly either; because you are not only enjoying your hobby, you are also building a career for yourself.