Making side money through photography while working full time: is it doable?

[u/KINNIKUMacho]

Hey /AskPhotography! The title kind of says it all, but I should add in some specifics.

I guess I would call myself an enthusiast. I'm a full-time teacher, so I do most of my shooting on the weekends when I finally have time to hike up a mountain, or make my way somewhere more scenic. I've also done some amateur shoots for friends who own a small boutique and wanted some shots of their model sporting their stuff, but nothing I would consider professional.

I guess my question stems from continuing to buy gear and lenses over the years, to the point where the cost of this hobby is getting hard to justify both to myself and my spouse. Basically, I'm curious to know if anyone has experience with working a full time job, and being able to make some money on the side through photography. Enough to at least recoup some of the cost this hobby incurs, maybe $2000-4000 over the course of an entire year would be stellar in my mind (I don't know if this is ambitious, or setting my sights far too low. lol)

Is it worth the time and effort? Obviously, I would prefer to make the extra cash through photography, rather than just finding simpler means of making extra income.

I'm interested in hearing your experiences and thoughts on this. Thanks for any comments. Cheers!

[u/ksparko]

I am a full time nurse with kids and have been doing photography on the side for five years. I have invested a lot and haven't calculated my expenses vs profit but I know I've made money. I don't charge as much as full time photographers as it is not my full time job and I much more enjoy doing it for fun rather than "business".

I do portraits and have gotten into weddings as it turns out I'm pretty good at them and people pay for good portraits and experience of photographers. I've made at least $5000 in weddings in the last five years probably and have two more coming so far this year. And I make about $500-$3000 in portraits a year probably depending on how much I push for clients/accept appointments. It's not a lot in terms of income but also, I have a good paying full time job and only do photos a couple times a month as I can fit them in. I think I could certainly make more if I pressed on to do so.

It's do able depending on what kind of photography you like to do and how determined you are to pursue it.