Travel that pays

Making money from travel photography is often considered a dream job. Jordan Banks takes us through the process on how to start making this dream a reality

Jordan Banks

A travel and lifestyle photographer from London, Jordan shoots for National Geographic, Lonely Planet and other travel brands. He is the co-founder of photographic training company That Wild Idea and the founding editor of JRNY, a travel magazine supporting freelance writers and photographers.

www.jordanbanksphoto.com, www.thatwildidea.co.uk, jrnymag.com, Insta @jordanbanksphoto, Twitter @J_BanksPhoto

Travelling around the world taking pictures of remote tribes, barren deserts and rugged mountains has become the norm for me. With a career spanning over 20 years I have seen and documented some of the most incredible locations and managed to build a successful career from travel photography that, today, is busier than ever. I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to make a living from travelling the world whilst undertaking my true passion in life, and now I'd like to share some of my top tips and tricks as to how you too could make money from your travel photos.

Assignments/commissions

This is the dream and it's not as hard as some people may think. The first and most important aspect is to work out which publications and clients will appreciate the style of work you produce. Once you have your target market worked out, it’s time to look for unique ways in which you can offer something different. For editorial, the most success came from looking for locations and stories that hadn’t been covered, have a specialist interest and a tight narrative. A trip through the Amalfi coast or Iceland’s ring road has been done before. In terms of commercial shoots, I would look for ways in which my work will add value to my client’s product or service.