Photo Opportunity

March 11, 2008 11:35 AM

Where can I get $1200? (quickly)

I know there was a similar question a while back, but my situation is a little different from the other OP. I want to switch from a film SLR to a digital SLR camera. The camera (and lens) I want is around $1200 total.

What are some ways I can make (or find) quick money? A "normal" job is kinda out the question. I'm a full time grad student with an internship. And I have to watch after my elderly grandma on some of my free time.

Now, I am tempted to just get a credit card, buy the camera, and pay the bill with photo gigs or taking stock photos. I know almost nothing about credit cards. Will my bill be around 25$ a month? Lower or higher? Do I have to be employed in order to recieve a credit card?

I'm also looking around my house for things to sell. But I think most of my stuff is junk. I don't think my folks would be happy if I sold their stuff, lol. There IS a gumball machine that I think is around 25-40 years old. It's in pretty good condition. Where I should I go if I want to sell this? Is it worth selling?

posted by sixcolors to work & money (58 comments total)

This sounds like an impulse buy with no regard for your current situation. Wait until the holidays, or maybe when your internship is done.
posted by rhizome at 11:37 AM on March 11, 2008

No, don't get a credit card to purchase something that right now you can't afford to buy with cash. I would consider mowing lawns, tutoring, or doing odd jobs to save the money and then buying it within a few months.
posted by Asherah at 11:40 AM on March 11, 2008

Whatever you do, don't pay for it on a credit card. I am hard-pressed to think of worse money management than buying an expensive item you don't need on a credit card, planning to carry a balance. You will pay huge interest charges, and you will pay interest on the full principal until it is fully paid off. You already have a camera. Make now the time that you start behaving as you will for the rest of your life, and save your money until you can afford it. If you spend like this now, one day you're going to lose your house or your marriage over your credit card bills. Seriously. Don't do it.
posted by Dasein at 11:49 AM on March 11, 2008

Do not pay by credit card if you can't afford it. Like Asherah said, start a camera piggy bank and save up for it. By the time you can purchase it in the summer, the price will have probably dropped as well (saving you a hundred bucks or so). And if you're not making money of stock/photo gigs already, don't bank on it.

Also, do you really need this top-of-the-line model versus yesteryear's? I've been shooting with a four-year old digital and think I've done pretty well with it. What are you trying to get, the 40D? If you're not shooting action or lots of candids, you rarely need the newest model (yet I still see fools buying the D300 just to shoot flowers and still lifes..).
posted by hobbes at 11:53 AM on March 11, 2008

Sell your camera, and buy a much cheaper but still excellent DSLR. Perhaps you can get one compatible with your current kit.
posted by grobstein at 11:55 AM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow, just wow.


How much could you get selling your current film camera?
posted by ShootTheMoon at 11:55 AM on March 11, 2008

I've been thinking about this since the beginning of the year. I don't think this is an impulse buy.

I am looking into some odd jobs. I once overheard someone saying that they make money by passing out flyers for clubs and other businesses. Is this legitimate? If so, how do I find these jobs? Just walk in random places and ask to hand out flyers?
posted by sixcolors at 11:57 AM on March 11, 2008

What film SLR do you have? Is it not possible for you to reuse the lenses?
posted by AaRdVarK at 11:57 AM on March 11, 2008

Check Craigslist for short-term or project jobs in your area. You should be able to find something you'd be more competent than most at.

I agree with everyone else, though: don't do it if it's at all a stretch. Cameras are a luxury, and the newest product is overrated anyway. If you must have DSLR, get a Canon 10D or a Nikon D50. No, you don't need more than six megapixels. What you do with the pixels is much much more important than how many there are.
posted by echo target at 11:59 AM on March 11, 2008

Starbucks, or waiting tables.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:01 PM on March 11, 2008

One way to earn some extra money on the side is to participate in marketing focus groups. Some of these pay as much as $100+ for an hour or two of work. You can decide whether you have time for a particular test or not, so it shouldn't conflict with school or taking care of your grandmother. It would probably take you a couple of months before you did enough of them to earn $1200, but you wouldn't end up in debt from buying the camera. Just doing a Google search on focus groups found this site. I cannot vouch for the site, but it shouldn't cost you anything to check it out for yourself.

I don't think you should get a credit card.
posted by EatenByAGrue at 12:02 PM on March 11, 2008

If there was a quick, reliable, no-strings way to get $1200, I'd be in Vegas snorting Kobe steak out of my new Louboutins and not here answering your question.

I can hear my mother speaking when I say this, and I hate hearing it myself, but: save your money. If you want the camera quicker, write up a budget and see where you can trim your existing expenses. And find a weekend job if you can.
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:03 PM on March 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

I have a Canon Rebel XSn 3000N. I got it in early 2002. I doubt it would sell for anything more than $100.
posted by sixcolors at 12:04 PM on March 11, 2008

You said you're a grad student, so why not go to your university's medical school (or another hiospital) and volunteer for medical research. For a few days of clinical testing, you might net $500-$1000.

Then again, as this article tells us, it's not necessarily the most fun or safe of activities. And I don't know what you'd do with your grandmother.
posted by j1950 at 12:06 PM on March 11, 2008

Re-reading this question, the poster's limited history, and the in-thread, I wonder if we're being trolled here.

What's offensive about my post? Making quick and large sums of money is not impossible. I have some family and friends who do it. I'd rather not do it their way though (gambling, selling food w/out licenses, eggs/sperm/plasma, most of their valuables, etc.).

I don't want to do anything that is:
Illegal
Unethical
Painful

Doing something slightly tacky, maybe yes.
posted by sixcolors at 12:13 PM on March 11, 2008

Depending on the interest rate, the way the monthly minimum is calculated, etc., putting $1200 on a credit card and paying it back at $25/month could take anywhere from 6 to 15 years, and you could pay anywhere from hundreds to thousands in interest.

I think it's an excellent idea, if you're interested in learning how credit cards really work and why going into debt for luxury consumer goods is one of the worst things you can do for your financial well-being.
posted by scody at 12:19 PM on March 11, 2008 [4 favorites]

This is what credit cards were made for: buying something now and paying for it later.
posted by OmieWise at 12:19 PM on March 11, 2008

Nthing the piggy bank rather than the credit card. The latter would be incredibly irresponsible. Also nthing the idea of doing proper research, because you'll probably find a camera with many of the same features for significantly cheaper. Also, ask yourself this meaningfully: do you really need this new camera? Is it something that can't wait? This sounds to me like a pretty irresponsible idea/conception of money for a graduate student, but I understand if the wording of the question betrays your actual motivations. All of this said, here are some fast money ideas: donating bodily fluids to places that pay for them; tutoring (most major cities have tutoring gigs for high schoolers listed on craigslist); selling on craigslist anything you have and don't need- this stuff does add up; itemizing your budget and trying to cut it by twenty percent; odd jobs through craigslist or through your university. You say that you are a full time grad student, implying that there is little time to work, but you plan to make money with photo gigs. Is this realistic? Perhaps that chunk of time would be better spent waiting tables. Don't underestimate how much you can make (as a waiter I made between 12 and 15 dollars an hour cash, and on good days I could walk home with $150 after a seven hour shift). Try and be responsible about this...
posted by farishta at 12:20 PM on March 11, 2008

Credit cards bad.

Are you a good photographer? I'm assuming yes, given that you're interested in upgrading your equipment. Why not try taking the best shots you can with what you've got, and hire yourself out as a low-end portrait/event photographer? If your school (you're a grad student, yes?) has a theatre department, you may even be able to broker a deal to use some of their space and lighting gear as a studio for a cut of the proceeds. If you've got a good eye and a creative spirit, people will soon be knocking on your door for a $50 portrait shot. Three dozen customers (taking expenses into account), and you've got your new camera.

If you're more a landscape/still-life/found object kind of shutterbug, take the best possible shots you can, have them developed, and put on a fundraising art show in your apartment.

I'm not photo-savvy enough to know what kind of quality you can drag out of a Canon Rebel etc. etc., but if you can't take good enough shots to make SOME money on a six-year-old camera, maybe a brand-spankin'-new camera isn't what you need most right now.
posted by Shepherd at 12:20 PM on March 11, 2008

question: have you ever made any money from the photographs that you have already taken?
posted by Stynxno at 12:21 PM on March 11, 2008

Your film camera is most likely worthless.

Dude photography jobs don't fall off trees. Don't think that you are going to be selling "stock". That's hard. Every idiot with a digital camera is selling stock. To make any money at it you need to be good, to know your camera really well, and to have tons of ideas. When I got my DSLR it was a good year before I really knew what I was doing, and now I'm still learning and my pictures are looking pretty professional but it's a lot of work.

I don't see why you need to spend $1200 either. I'd get a Pentax DSLR to start, and a bunch of manual lenses.

You have no money, so you can't buy anything. I know where you are at, but it's not a good place.
posted by sully75 at 12:23 PM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

These threads, these flipping threads.

Six, you don't leave us with a lot of options...

1) You've got nothing to sell.
2) You've got no time for a job.
3) You've been thinking about this for a long time, yet you need the money right now.

Okay, here's the plan...

1) Tell your family that you need to earn some money and cannot continue taking care of your grandmother in your spare time.
2) If you have any sort of credit history whatsoever, go down to your bank (YOUR bank, the one I'm presuming you have.) and talk to them about a 120-day note for $1200.
3) Get a job in the service industry. They're easy to find and many places will take anyone with a pulse.
4) Work job, pay off note.

The sticky part is #2 as the bank may not have enough faith in your to loan you $1200. Local banks and credit unions are often a good bellweather for these sorts of things. If they reject you, take a good look at your life and see what you can change. These sort of transactions are the basic bellweathers on becoming an adult.
posted by unixrat at 12:24 PM on March 11, 2008

Also: Bellweather. I have no idea why I closed that answer like that. Eeeccch.
posted by unixrat at 12:25 PM on March 11, 2008

You sound like you could use a lesson - go and impulse buy on a credit card. Worry about paying it off later as the interest mounts. When the bills come in there won't be time for worrying about ethical concerns or trying to find fantasy jobs that give you easy money, you'll have to work hard and pay it off as the camera gathers dust. Go out and make some money with your SLR instead of lusting after stuff you can't afford.
posted by fire&wings at 12:25 PM on March 11, 2008

if you're able-bodied, moving furniture and doing various jobs that involve heavy lifting (fish/produce markets, etc) can make some money pretty fast.
posted by matteo at 12:26 PM on March 11, 2008

i don't think it would incredibly irresponsible. cmon. that's ridiculous. using credit is incredibly common, and this isn't really for something frivolous (in my view) but for something this person has really thought about and is investigating all options.
Its also not apparent to me that this is an impulse by, or how "necessary" it is.
I guess I would look at it this way: if you got a cc and paid back some amount per week, what would the new purchase price be after it was all paid back? versus if you saved and saved when would you be able to buy it? is it worth the difference in cost to get it that much sooner?
Are any of your circumstances likely to change in the next year? Maybe you could afford it in a year?

Also, you could sell your semen. i am thinking you're a guy.
posted by alkupe at 12:27 PM on March 11, 2008

By the way, I have done both focus groups and medical studies... more accurately, one of each. They'll get you a bit of change once in a while, but in both cases they're looking for someone very specific and it's unlikely you'll qualify for too many. When I was on the market research group's call list, I was screened as a potential focus group participant a couple dozen times, and qualified for only a few. Throw scheduling into the mix (many are during the day when you're at work/school) and I ended up going to only one.

If you do go that route, sign up at a number of research companies, and be prepared to lie about stuff like your consumption of Zima and the number of shampoo brands you've used in the past six months.
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:28 PM on March 11, 2008

Alkupe,

I'm guessing a lot of people are answering from the perspective that I am. In that, I've done this. Not sure about cameras, but I've definitely done this. And then been totally stressed out for months afterwards trying to pay off the balance.

He thinks he's going to be ok with a $25 monthly charge. I think, probably for $25 a month on a $1200 bill you are going to be paying it off forever. Literally.

I can tell you here the lesson about CC's. They suck. If you absolutely have to use them for something, use them. But they will suck the life out of you, and you have to make it your only goal to pay them back. If you don't have money coming in, don't use them. Get them out of your head.

And this is not what credit cards are for. Credit Cards are for destroying the financial security of naive people.
posted by sully75 at 12:38 PM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

What kind of film SLR do you currently have?

At least with Nikons you can re-use your lenses on new cameras.... Why do you need to get a camera that costs so much? Save on the camera, but spend your savings on good glass.. I get excellent pics with my Nikon D40 (I got it for $460 with a kit lens.. I also use my lenses from my film Nikon and my 10+ year old flash)

There really isn't _too_ much you can do to make that money other than getting a job..

Your film camera probably isn't worth much ... But, depending on the brand, the lenses might be worth some..
posted by majikstreet at 12:42 PM on March 11, 2008

This sounds to me like a pretty irresponsible idea/conception of money for a graduate student, but I understand if the wording of the question betrays your actual motivations.

I will totally admit this. I am horrible with money, and very ignorant about money issues. So are my parents, and my grandma. It's a HUGE blessing that I'm not worse off than I already am. My grandpa is good/responsible with money, but he is in another state and he doesn't like discussing money issues for some reason. I'm somewhat of an impulsive person, but my impulsive decisons usually pay off, either by luck or taking risks that others are scared to take. I don't really trust myself with credit cards, that's why I don't have one yet despite my age.

All of this said, here are some fast money ideas: donating bodily fluids to places that pay for them; tutoring (most major cities have tutoring gigs for high schoolers listed on
craigslist); selling on craigslist anything you have and don't need- this stuff does add up; itemizing your budget and trying to cut it by twenty percent; odd jobs through craigslist or through your university.

I will look into some those gigs, thanks.

You say that you are a full time grad student, implying that there is little time to work, but you plan to make money with photo gigs. Is this realistic? Perhaps that chunk of time would be better spent waiting tables.

I wouldn't say that I have little time to work, it's more about having an irregular schedule, that I don't think most employers would like. I don't think I would be a good server, but who knows.

Are you a good photographer? I'm assuming yes, given that you're interested in upgrading your equipment. Why not try taking the best shots you can with what you've got, and hire yourself out as a low-end portrait/event photographer? If your school (you're a grad student, yes?) has a theatre department, you may even be able to broker a deal to use some of their space and lighting gear as a studio for a cut of the proceeds. If you've got a good eye and a creative spirit, people will soon be knocking on your door for a $50 portrait shot. Three dozen customers (taking expenses into account), and you've got your new camera.

I'm not photo-savvy enough to know what kind of quality you can drag out of a Canon Rebel etc. etc., but if you can't take good enough shots to make SOME money on a six-year-old camera, maybe a brand-spankin'-new camera isn't what you need most right now.

I have taken this into consideration. I think I am an average photographer. What I find really attractive about digital is that I get IMMEDIATE feed back on the quality of my photos, therefore I can get in more practice. I have an irrational fear that some day I will charge people money for their pictues, and they would turn out horrible.

And I just recently learned that, if I want to convert film to digital, it will take a week for me to get my photos back from the store. I think it cost almost 20$ for the service and CD. That can really add up!
posted by sixcolors at 12:42 PM on March 11, 2008

If you do decide to get a credit card, this is a good place to find one. Try for one of the student cards; they don't expect you to be currently employed.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:43 PM on March 11, 2008

Sperm, blood, hair. All sell well.
D40 is $500.00 with lens. is a great 6mp dslr.
Credit card isn't a bad idea IF you pay it off within 1 year ($50.00/month). You won't pay too much interest, and you will be building a credit history. The best way to do this is to buy the camera and then destroy the card so you will not be tempted to use it again.
posted by Gungho at 12:44 PM on March 11, 2008

well. um.

if you live in a big college town, take a walk around campus. you'll see all sorts of signs asking for people to hand out flyers to {local event} that will pay you a little bit.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 12:56 PM on March 11, 2008

Okay, since no one is really answering your question very well:

Where can I get $1200? (quickly)

Bass fishing tournament. Are you good at bass fishing?
posted by found missing at 12:57 PM on March 11, 2008 [14 favorites]

And I just recently learned that, if I want to convert film to digital, it will take a week for me to get my photos back from the store. I think it cost almost 20$ for the service and CD. That can really add up!
You _could_ buy a used film scanner and it'd be free minus the cost of the scanner...
posted by majikstreet at 1:04 PM on March 11, 2008

You can try to look on Craigslist for short-term jobs, but if you REALLY want $1200, your best bet is a medical study at a local hospital. Go to the closest couple of hospitals and ask the person at the information desk if they have a board where such studies are posted. For example, my friend Miles made $3000 in a month lying completely prone in the hospital testing blood-pressure medication for astronauts. Downside: Could not sit up for 30 days, had to crap into a bowl with a nurse present, could not leave hospital. YMMV.

I don't know where you are located, but for example in Dallas if you work the door at a nightclub it's like $40-$60 for a six-hour gig.

To sell blood you're going to get $40-50, tops, after they give you a full physical and you are declared STD and other disease-free.

In other words, it's going to take you at least 3 months doing pissant jobs every single free second you have to get your money. At that rate, yeah, you could be doing tutoring, working as a waiter, or walking someone's dog twice a day, every day.

If you are serious about this, ask for gift cards to the store you're looking at from friends/family for your birthday and Christmas or whatever this year.

If money were plentiful and easy to find in increments larger than what I've mentioned above, drug addicts would not resort to identity theft. They'd just go ahead and get money "quickly" and easily as you've asked us about.

Having promoted like crazy for parties and events for roughly 12 years, I can tell you you'll get about $20-30 a pop to do that. As in, PER NIGHT. Unless you're in NYC or someplace else where the pay might be higher based on the fact that it's a major metropolitan area, or you live in Vegas and are handing out hooker cards on the Strip, where you will make a rate based on the number of cards you hand out per day.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 1:19 PM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you put your $1200 camera on a credit card at 18% interest, and pay the minimum payment every month (starting at $30), the camera will cost $2,615.61.

On the plus side, maybe you'll get lucky and there'll be a lot of inflation over the course of the fourteen years you'll spend paying for it.
posted by ook at 1:23 PM on March 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

Getting a credit card when you have absolutely no clue how credit cards work is the part that is incredibly irresponsible.
Credit cards won't give a $25/month bill; they don't work by giving you an installment plan. (And an incredibly generous/lenient installment plan at at that.)

If you make $25.00 payments per month, it will take you 86 months to pay off your initial balance of 1200 plus the $937.53 in interest you will have to pay at the same time. (Assuming an 18% interest rate.) Is spending $2137 on $1200 camera so important that you can't wait till you've saved more money? Or until you're earning more money?
posted by Kololo at 1:46 PM on March 11, 2008

I don't want to do anything that is:
Illegal
Unethical
Painful

Sex sells (if you have certain attributes/talents).

Prostitution is illegal (in most places), but there may be other sex-related services you can offer that aren't (again, depending on where you live). Whether or not such services are unethical depends on your personal ethics. Personally, I'm a big believer in the "consenting adults" thing. Painful? That depends on the services you offer.
posted by grumblebee at 1:48 PM on March 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

Credit cards are fine. If you have income. But you don't have income, and don't have a viable plan to get any.

Being self-employed requires a significant amount of organizational skills and pragmatism. It's also very time-consuming. If you can't find time in your schedule for a job, you probably don't have enough time to pursue freelance photography for profit, either. Maybe you think that if you just take a lot of pictures, someone will find some of them valuable...but you to make connections, you need a body of work, you need to have what someone wants or be able to produce it on a tight schedule...

(Also nthing that you don't need a brand-new camera.)
posted by desuetude at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2008

It's also possible to make money on eBay, even if you don't have anything to sell. You'll need a bit of cash and some knowledge. You scout around retail outlets and the like for good deals. For instance, you see some good-looking but cheap designer clothing (or good knockoffs), buy a bunch of them, sell them on eBay and make a profit.

You will have to research your product (or just happen to know a lot about about it already), find it and have the means to pay for it.
posted by grumblebee at 1:51 PM on March 11, 2008

I have an irrational fear that some day I will charge people money for their pictues, and they would turn out horrible.

I don't think you understand how this works: You won't be able to charge people money for pictures until you can prove that you can do it well. Nobody's going to pay you for pictures just because your camera's digital - everyone's camera is ditigal, it isn't actually a professional advantage, it's simply the 'cost of entry'. If you can take good pictures, you can take good pictures with any camera. It's more about composing or framing or spotting the shot than it is about what camera you have.

Oak, great minds think alike. But why did we get such different numbers? (Especially strange that i used a lower payment and the same interest rate as you, and yet got a lower total payment.) I used this calculator: http://www.controlcreditcarddebt.com/interest-calculator.html
posted by Kololo at 1:52 PM on March 11, 2008

"I am tempted to just get a credit card, buy the camera, and pay the bill with photo gigs or taking stock photos. I know almost nothing about credit cards. Will my bill be around 25$ a month? Lower or higher?"

Wow.

There is no such thing as a "bill" on a credit card. A credit card is really a bank that gives you a loan any time you want by swiping their card. You then have to pay that loan - but you can pay over time. If you don't pay the full amount immediately, the credit card company tacks on interest. Let's say you buy the $1200 camera/lens on a credit card and pay the minimum $25 monthly payment. It would take FOUR YEARS to pay off the bill, and you get interest added to whatever you haven't paid yet. Thus, the amount you owe grows. And if you make a single mistake - let's say you pay late one month... they will increase the amount of interest they charge you, meaning that the amount you owe grows faster. This is why so many people never find a way to pay off their credit card debts. They just send in a few hundred each month to try to work down the debt.
posted by 2oh1 at 2:06 PM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Kololo: the calculator I used assumed you make the minimum monthly payment every month, which gradually declines from $30 to $10. Yours assumed a steady $25 payment every month.

(also, if the little "link" button doesn't show up in your browser, you can make your links clickable by using <a href="http://whatever">this</a>. Sorry, that's a pet peeve of mine; I hate it when people don't bother linking up their urls.)

I am horrible with money, and very ignorant about money issues.

I have no patience for this attitude. It's just not that complicated. Spend less money than you have, or go into debt and wind up spending even more. That's all there is to it. If you've got math skills at least on par with the average seven year old kid, you've got no excuse to be "horrible with money."

If you're an average photographer, you don't need a $1200 digital camera. Get a cheap one and do your learning with it; if you get better, then you can upgrade.
posted by ook at 2:25 PM on March 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yes, a credit card would be the quickest way for you get the money you need. That is provided you qualify and don't get stuck with a card with 24% interest. If you suck with money, yes, this may come back to bite you but thats a risk you'll have to decide if its worth taking.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:43 PM on March 11, 2008

Some of us are just not money savvy. Your family could be mine. Saying ... It's just not that complicated... is not an answer we can work with. It IS complicated to us.

I love 2oh1's explanation--it all made sense to me after reading that, and I'm old, did the credit card thing for awhile (hey, it must be ok, everyone does it!), and regretted it. Thank you, 2oh1.
posted by wafaa at 2:45 PM on March 11, 2008

Have a Credit Union at your school? Have an account? Get a credit card from them. Save up more than 50% or so that you'll need and cut everything else out of your "fun" budget until you pay it off. And pay it off quick.

Why?

It's increasingly hard to do some stuff with cash or debit/"fake credit card". I've gone without one for 10 years now... but try to rent a car, or book a 5 day hotel stay on a debit card. PITA. Credit Cards provide them insurance in case anything bad happens. They can also provide you insurance.

But yeah, you at least need a job of some sort. And plan wisely.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:09 PM on March 11, 2008

The one scenario under which I would consider buying it on credit would be if it was certain that you'd make substantially more money with it now than you currently do with your film camera, and the opportunity to make that money would be come and gone if you waited too long. It doesn't sound like that's the case, here.

This is all academic, though, because you can't get a credit card without income.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 3:36 PM on March 11, 2008

You really don't need a $1200 camera as your first digital camera. Really.

Pentax just updated their lineup by releasing the K200D and K20D, so you can find pretty good deals on their old models like the K100D. A K100D would be plenty to start off with and if you shop around on ebay you can find one with a lens for $500 easily. $500 is a lot easier to come up with than $1200.

Six megapixels is more than enough for printing 11x17 and smaller. Heck, I've even used mine for 16x20 prints, though the resolution does start to show on those. If you really, really want more resolution you could look at a K200D or K10D which are both ten megapixels, but I highly doubt you need that much right now. Those will run you closer to $700 or $800 once you get a lens.

Once you come up with the smaller amount of money, get the camera and get some experience taking headshots. Once you're comfortable taking simple headshots post some flyers at local music colleges. Musicians always need headshots and if you're willing to do them fairly cheaply you'll get a lot of business.

It might take a little while but you'll be able to make back the $500 before too long, and then after a while you'll have the $1200 for the fancy camera (though you might decide you don't even want it by then).
posted by sjl7678 at 3:36 PM on March 11, 2008

If you have Canon lenses, stick with a Canon DSLR. You can even stay with the Rebel line...Rebel/Rebel XT/Rebel XTi are all good cameras. I think the original digital Rebels are getting super cheap, and you can have a really terrible camera as long as you have good glass. You should either keep your current camera and upgrade your lens catalog or get a cheap digital Rebel and upgrade your lens. I've carried a small amount of credit card balance over the last couple of years (on and off) and even a few hundred dollars is shitty. Beware.
posted by whiskey point at 4:47 PM on March 11, 2008

I'll have to agree that you can find a camera to suit your needs for half of your "budget." And if you already have some nice lenses for your Rebel you can save some more if you get a camera that is compatible with your current lenses.

Now, as for your question, I would think the best option for you would be a tutor at your college. You'd be dealing with students that also have irregular schedules and usually pay cash. I would think you should easily be able to make at least $1000 a semester.

If you are still interested in graphic design, there are sites like rentacoder.com that have small graphic design jobs occasionally. These usually don't pay very much, but $50 or $100 here or there will help you.

Another option you might want to look at is volunteering at your school's newspaper or graphics design department. At my little school, this usually gave you access to some really nice camera equipment whenever you wanted and gave you a little experience with image editing.

I wouldn't bother selling your 35mm camera. You'd probably only get about $25 for it on ebay and it makes a nice backup.
posted by Yorrick at 5:04 PM on March 11, 2008

Ok, I think I'm going to sell my stuff, and anything my parents would let me sell. I think I can get around 300-500$ selling things, hopefully. I'll get a used canon DSLR, and keep my lens. I agree that's way more within my league. I didn't know that I could use the same lens with both film and digital SLRs. There's some camera stores with a shitload of used cameras.

I forgot to mention that I also have a compact digital camera, any money making potential besides citizen photojournalism? I can't really think of anything.
posted by sixcolors at 5:15 PM on March 11, 2008

Um, if you're in grad school, and you never have had a credit card, get one. Get one with a very, very low limit (like $200), and LEARN how to use it. Learn how to manage money before even doing this. If you can get into graduate school, you can at least learn how to manage money.

But getting a credit card, and spending it on a $1200 item when you

a) don't really need a camera like that yet and
b) don't have any way of paying the item off

is pretty ridiculous. If you want to learn, get a cheap, old SLR and learn from there.
posted by waylaid at 5:38 PM on March 11, 2008

Previously.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:50 PM on March 11, 2008

Also previously (I linked to it in the thread above, but my link is dead).
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:51 PM on March 11, 2008

If you live in a metropolitan area, you should have no problems finding a used Rebel XT for $350.

I'd give up the idea of making any money with your camera(s) for now. There's so many people out there taking photos and just dumping them onto flickr (and superb photos at that) that there's very little opportunity for anyone but pros to be making money.
posted by junesix at 6:34 PM on March 11, 2008

FYI, most credit cards' minimum monthly payments are calculated by taking 2% or 3% of the balance.

I am disappointed that so many people here seem to believe that "credit cards = EVIL". In reality, you need a few credit cards to establish a good credit score to be able to qualify for a low interest rate on a mortgage later in life. For most people, eventually buying a home is a good financial move, and if you avoid credit cards completely your mortgage options will be limited later. Even if you're nowhere near ready to start thinking about buying a house yet, length of credit history is important so what you do (or don't do) now will affect you for the rest of your life.

Also, when you are in college is one of the easiest times in your life to begin establishing your credit history. Credit card companies will often give credit cards to college students with no credit history, whereas it is much more difficult for employed people with no credit history to get them. They do this because expect that you will eventually graduate and have a good job to pay them back with, or that your parents will bail you out if you can't afford your bills.

However, while you should get a credit card ASAP, there is no reason to carry a balance. Your credit score does not distinguish between carrying a balance from month-to-month or paying the balance in full every month. It only reflects the balance reported at the end of your billing cycle and what percentage that is of your available credit. So, using a credit card to buy a $1200 camera and then paying the minimum every month is a bad idea because you are needlessly paying interest charges and $1200 will probably be close to the credit limit you are able to get on your first card.

A great strategy for establishing an excellent credit history is to get a few no annual fee credit cards, set things up so each one has a regular small monthly charge (your insurance premium, cable bill, cell phone, etc.) auto-billing to it, and then the card itself is being auto-paid from your checking account. Then sock drawer the cards. As far as your actual spending is concerned this is the same as having these monthly bills being auto-paid directly from your checking account yet you are building a credit history of on time payments and low utilization, for free. If you have an interest bearing checking account you are even making money off this arrangement because of the float between when something is charged to your card and when the credit card bill is paid from your checking account.

Since your post indicates a lack of knowledge in these areas, I strongly recommend that you read the book Personal Finance for Dummies for general financial literacy and Your Credit Score to learn the importance of and strategies for establishing and maintaining good credit.
posted by Jacqueline at 12:45 AM on March 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

Since you are a grad student, perhaps you would qualify for a student loan that would be easier for you to get than a loan at your local bank or credit union? It may give you a better interest rate, too.

As for the cost of 'converting' film to digital, it's not necessary to spend $20.

Just take your roll of film to a 1-hour place. Don't get any prints, just get the film processed and ask for the photos on a photo CD. I've done this many times and it costs (at Meijer, here in the midwest) $2.99 for the processing and $2 for the photo CD. It may be even cheaper if you can wait the 24 hours it takes for them to send your film to the lab rather than doing it right in the store. Add in the cost of some decent film and you're still well under $20 for the whole shebang.

That doesn't give you the 'instant feedback' you want, but I'm not sure that's really best for a learning photographer, anyway. I suspect people delete lots of images that could be salvaged. Throwing away frames based on an initial and immediate impression of the shot as viewed on the camera screen is not a good practice, in my opinion. I can't count the number of times I've picked a half dozen good shots from a roll of 36 and walked away, only to come back to those same negatives a month or year later to find goodies that I completely missed on first viewing. If those early culls had been deleted instead of filed, I would have missed out on photos in my portfolio that I really like today.

Similarly, it's my impression that earlier generations of photogs who learned about lighting, exposure and composition with film cameras waste far fewer frames than those who learn on digitial. Those of us who cut our teeth on film all worked photo jobs where we *had* to get the shot, but didn't find out what was really on our film till we got back to the darkroom. We've learned to appreciate the benefits of digital without depending on them.

I will admit to a certain self-consciousness if I'm photographing an event today with one of my old film SLR's when surrounded by other people packing the latest digital wonder toy. Much of the photography hobby (and business, even) seems driven by gear envy and equipment whizbangery and that has been the case for years. But, the proof is in the picture, not the equipment.
posted by OilPull at 10:00 AM on March 12, 2008