These days, pretty much everyone has heard about Photoshop. It’s the go-to photo editing software used around the world. But did you know you can make money with Photoshop? If you’re curious to find out more, keep reading.
Everyone from the top experts to the humble hobbyists are using it, but did you know you can make money from your skills? If you’re already proficient with it, you could make some good money.
There are many ways your Photoshop skills can pay off, so let’s see how you can use them.
Table of Contents
What is Photoshop?
Firstly, what is Photoshop? It’s a piece of editing software that allows you to tweak existing pictures or create all-new images.
Many have learned to use the tool because images are incredibly powerful online. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words.
That’s why many of the experts out there have learned to use Photoshop so that they can create their own images.
Photoshop does require some proficiency and time to master. If you’re just starting, making money off Photoshop may not be for you.
However, if you’re already a whizz with the program, then you can start putting those skills to use. There are hundreds of ways you can make money with it.
You may have the skills, but do you have access to the program itself? Photoshop is known for being very expensive, and so it may be out of your price range.
That’s not a problem, though, as there are a lot of affordable alternatives out there. Remember, it’s not the program you use that’s important; it’s the skill you have with it.
Here are some alternatives that you may want to look into:
GIMP
This is the most well-known alternative to Photoshop out there. It’s the closest when it comes to functionality, too.
There are plenty of experts out there that are using GIMP as an alternative already. If you have the skills, then you can use them too.
Photoworks
Photoworks is another excellent alternative to Photoshop, and you’ll be able to create amazing images in this program too.
The only thing to keep in mind is that this is a PC-only program. If you use a Mac, it won’t be for you.
Canva
Canva is a little bit different, as it’s a web-based program. There are free and paid versions, and you’ll be able to get a surprisingly robust editing program for little cost.
This is the best option if money is tight, and you want to make images for small businesses and similar customers.
Once you have the right photo editing software, you can start considering how you’ll sell your skills.
How Can You Make Money With Photoshop?
There are so many different ways you can make money with Photoshop. Here are some suggestions on how you can set up a side hustle, or even a small business, using the program.
Become a photo doctor
In this day and age, you can do quite a lot with photo editing programs built into your phone. They can allow you to remove red-eye, reduce glare, and so on.
Even with these tools, though, there are some things you can’t do with them. That’s where you would come in, as a photo doctor.
If you’re talented at fixing up less than ideal pictures, then you can sell your services here. You can remove objects from images, improve the color hues and saturation, and adjust sizing for your customers.
There are lots of different people who will need their photos edited. Whether they’re a newly married couple who need their pictures to be polished up, or a business that needs images for their websites corrected, you can help them out.
Create custom fonts
There are so many businesses and individuals looking for custom fonts to use. When you want to stand out online, they’re a great way of doing so.
If you have excellent handwriting, then you can make money by creating your own font with it. It’s easy to do with Photoshop, and then you can sell it to anyone who wants to use it.
There are a few different places you can sell your custom fonts. MyFonts and Fontspring are two good places to get started.
Each site will ask for a different commission rate, so look around and see what’s available to you.
You also have the option of creating your own website and selling your fonts through that. The benefit of this is you’ll be able to keep 100% of the profits, while font foundries will keep a cut for themselves.
This is a good way to create a passive income for yourself. You create the font once, and you’ll keep money coming in.
Create unique graphics
Website owners are always looking for new graphics to use on their sites. The joy of Photoshop is that you can create them from scratch and sell them to these owners.
There are so many different kinds of graphics that are always popular in the market. For example, people want icons, desktop, and mobile wallpapers, shapes, textures, stamps, logos, decorative images, stock illustrations, and more.
Again, this is another good way to create a passive income. Create a range of graphics, and put them up for licensing on a graphics site.
Create a print on demand business
Yes, this really is something you can do with Photoshop. Are you able to create really cool images that would look great on a t-shirt?
If so, you can make money out of it. There are sites like RedBubble, that allow you to sell your images on a huge variety of merchandise.
That can be t-shirts, mouse mats, mugs, keyrings, stickers, and all kinds of other things. All you have to do is create the account, upload the images, and then wait for sales to come in.
The best part is that you don’t have to handle the printing. The site will handle printing and distribution and then send you your profit after taking their cut.
It’s a great way to create a little side income, and you don’t have to do anything other than creating the images in the first place.
Create images for other businesses
Even if you don’t want to create your own business, you can help others using Photoshop. They are always looking for people to create excellent images for their social media accounts.
This can be anything from infographics to logos and banners for the company itself. You’ll need to work with the business in question to create something unique to them.
You can easily find clients for this work when you join up with sites like Upwork and Fiverr. You’ll either advertise your services or answer ads for people looking for your skills.
How Much Money Can You Make With Photoshop?
Here’s the big question: How much money can you make with your Photoshop skills?
This is something that depends on what you do and how much time you put into it. Many people like to use Photoshop as their side hustle.
They create some images, and they put them up for sale on the appropriate marketplace. This creates a passive income that isn’t going to replace their job but is a nice side earner.
Many like to use this cash to save up for holidays and other treats, so they don’t have to come out of their main income.
That’s pretty great, but others like to take it a step further. They offer specialized services that they advertise to clients.
That can be offering photo doctoring services or creating custom images. They’ll need to work closely with the client to see what they need.
When they do this, it does take up more time, but they’ll make more money. This can be a side hustle, or you can spin it out into a freelance career.
Then some want to make Photoshop their full-time career. As you’ve seen, there are so many ways you can make money with these skills.
You can easily set yourself up as a graphic artist and start making income this way. You may not be able to quit the day job right away, but you’ll get there with work and perseverance.
How much will you make? Again, this depends on what you do with your skills.
For those looking for passive revenue or a side hustle, they can easily make anywhere from $500 to $3000 a month. You’ll need to put in the work at first, but once you have some images, you can keep licensing them out.
If you want to take it further, though, you can easily make more money. The designer Zlatko Najdenovski made over $5000 just in his first year of operation by selling just one type of graphics.
If you set your mind to it, you can make a good income with your skills.
Get started making money with Photoshop
Does this sound good to you? Here are some tips to help you get started making money.
Create a portfolio
As you’re working with visual designs, a portfolio is a very good call. It will help you show potential clients what else you’ve worked on, and they’ll be able to get a feel for what you do.
There are lots of websites that help you do this, such as Behance. You can use it to put all your images together and then send your portfolio with a link.
Find the right freelancing networks
If you want to sell graphics as a freelance artist, you’ll need to find those clients to sell to. The easiest way of doing this through freelance networks, like the ones linked further up in this guide.
They’re a good place to start as you’ll be able to find clients looking for people just like you. As you grow your client base, you can always create your own website and start selling directly through it.
Spread out your graphics
Are you selling graphic designs? Then you want to have them in as many online stores as possible.
If you have graphics only on one online store, then many potential customers aren’t going to find them. Instead, you can sell them on multiple platforms, so you’ll have more potential sales coming in.
It’s ok to do this, so don’t be afraid to create listings for the same design on different storefronts.
Keep up with your Photoshop training
Photoshop is always being updated and evolving, so you need to do the same. Keep up to date with the program, and keep practicing your skills.
It’s always a good idea to do some courses, especially if you want to get serious about graphic design. Whatever you do, keep up to date and keep honing your skills.
Create some personal branding
You’re creating branding for others, but what about for yourself? It’s not just about the images you design for yourself, but how you put yourself out there.
You can join social media groups and forums that talk about your line of work. If you get yourself out there, you’ll be able to spread the word about what you do.
Ask yourself questions to determine your worth
As you’re looking to sell your graphic design work, you’ll need to think about how much your work is worth. There are some questions you can ask yourself to work this out:
- How much time and effort have you put into developing Photoshop skills?
- Are you flexible in what you can do?
- How well do you communicate?
The better you are at these things, the more you can make.
As you can see, there’s so much you can do when you’re using your Photoshop skills to make money. You can use those skills in several different ways and create passive income or even a main income.
You can get started right away, too, so get creating and see what you can come up with. You’ll have money coming in no time.
