1.   Offer to photograph (stills and/or video) people’s possessions for insurance purposes. Every professional insurance agent will tell you that one of the best ways for homeowner’s insurance to be more effective is to make a visual recording of all your possessions. These agents will also tell you too many people and families don’t have such a record.

You can use your camera to record your possessions first, as a practice run. Then, you can offer this service to your neighbors for a nominal fee. You may even be able to provide this service through an insurance agent; such as the one you are paying a premium every year.

This project doesn’t typically require much time, as a short video segment of each room of the house is often sufficient. It’s a good idea to shoot individual photos of the most valuable possessions, and even more than one from different angles. These could include jewelry, electronics, camera equipment, heirlooms, antiques, expensive sports equipment, etc. Photos and/or video of cars, boats, motorcycles, RVs and similar vehicles should also be recorded.

You could expand this service to include local small businesses, especially those with expensive equipment, such as machine shops, contractors, etc.

2.   According to the American Humane Association, one-third of all pets will be lost at some point during his or her lifetime. Of those that roam from home, less than 17% of the dogs and only 2% of the cats ever return to their owners. This is an opportunity to offer your photography services to photograph people’s pets, so they can be easily identified and the photos can be used on flyers, Web sites and other posting methods for lost pets.

People may have pictures of their pets, but they also need specific photos that show a unique coloring or pattern on the pet, which could make it easier to find. Pet owners also need a series of pictures of their pets from different angles, not just the face shots they may have taken.

3.   Look for neighbors or homeowners in your community with significant renovation projects. Explain that it is important to have a series of photos showing the various steps in the project, so they can be used when the house is sold to show prospective buyers the quality of the renovation.

4.   Not only do small businesses need your insurance photography services, but also your general photography services to shoot images for their Web sites, company events, to accompany press releases, etc.

5.   Contact local garden clubs that might want individual photos of entries in their contests, or pictures of members’ gardens at their homes.

6.   You can also approach landscape contractors to take a series of photos of a project, which can then be used on their Web sites or shown to prospective clients in presentation form. Suggest that you help the contractor create a few quick “how-to” tips on camera that can be viewed on their Web sites.

7.   Contact the owners of the local martial arts, gymnastics and cheerleading schools and offer to photograph each student with their parents and instructor when the student graduates from the program. Most of these academies host formal graduation ceremonies, making it a special occasion. Students and parents will be happy you were there to photograph them.

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Photo by PhotographyTalk Member Arthur Jacoby