If you are a digital photography hobbyist, the chances are good that you already have the equipment you need to get started. You will need a digital camera, ideally with features equivalent to an SLR film camera, a tripod or two for certain picture-taking occasions and a printer capable of printing excellent quality photographs, or a printing service.

You will also need good digital photo editing software. The best known applications include Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Corel Paint Shop Pro X.

Investing a few hundred dollars in marketing materials will get you off to a good start.

Before we move on, this is a good time to clear up one misconception. Many people believe it?s impossible to make money at photography these days. They point out that almost everyone has a digital camera or at least a camera phone. I can hear you saying, "Why would people pay for pictures when they can take their own?"

It's this way. Sure, almost everybody has a digital camera or film camera of one kind or another. But how competent are they at using it?

Take a look at the pictures many people take. Let's be honest. They're horrible. Motion blur from holding the camera incorrectly. Poor color. Awkwardly posed subjects. No composition skills. Dark shadows obscuring a subject's face. Even if these people understood how to use digital photo editing software properly, many of their pictures are beyond help. There is only so much you can do to correct a poor photograph.

And what do you suppose happens when these people try to print their photos? Undoubtedly, you?ve seen some of these images. The prints have poor resolution. The person taking the photograph had no understanding of the camera settings that ensure pictures suitable for printing.

This is good news for you. With your excellent digital photography skills, you can easily show prospective customers a few samples that will get them signing on the dotted line.

Don't think this is likely? Let me tell you about a birthday party I attended recently. The hostess engaged the services of an experienced amateur photographer who was hoping to start her own business - just like you.

Almost everyone at the party brought their own digital cameras - but once the party got rolling, who remembered to take pictures? Those of us who did take snapshots were poorly positioned and usually couldn't get a good view of the scene.

The photographer received payment for her services. Two days later, she uploaded her photographs to a web site. Party-goers received the link by email. We downloaded the photos we wanted and printed them or saved them to our computer.

The photographer didn't even have the expense and work of printing and delivering photos - but was paid generously for her services.

How cool is that?

You can do this too. Develop your photography skills, get a marketing plan and say Cheese!

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