Nobody wants to be left behind in the AI revolution. Some people tap into the power of ChatGPT to help them with the odd task here and there in daily life, while others have much grander plans.

Those in the latter camp are constantly looking for ways to level-up their business or day job with artificial intelligence, and the payoff is very lucrative if they ever manage to crack the code.

If you are a photographer, you are well placed for leveraging AI to open up new income streams, and I’m going to show you how.

Original images give you an SEO boost

By mentioning SEO, you probably have an inkling as to where this conversation is headed.

For the uninitiated, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it’s all about making a website rank higher in Google so that you receive more traffic which can then be monetized.

You probably already have an online presence if you’re a photographer by trade, which puts you in an even better position for niche blogging. Don’t worry – this strategy will work just as well if you start from scratch!

So, the idea is to launch a blog (or add a blog section to an existing website) and scale it up quickly with articles written by ChatGPT. And it’s going to generate a lot of traction because, being a photographer, you have a competitive edge.

Google rewards websites that offer original content, both in text and image form. Google also has a preference for websites with a large foundation of content, and publish fresh content frequently.

Let’s summarize what search engines love:

1. Original text
2. Original images
3. High content output

Here’s the thing: ChatGPT can take care of 1 & 3 with ease, but it can’t make images that rank well on Google, which means that articles with AI images suffer in the rankings.

Obviously there are some impressive creations out there, but they don’t quite possess that all-important photorealistic quality.

What’s more, AI images have developed a bad reputation because many people make them for nefarious purposes, as celebrities like Taylor Swift have found out.

The final nail on the coffin came when social media giant Meta announced it will label images that are made by AI, which is further proof that real-life photos reign supreme.

Photographers and ChatGPT: The Perfect Partnership

Everyone else in the AI blogging game is endlessly scrambling to find original photos for their articles, often resorting to free stock images that offer zero SEO benefits.

But as a photographer, you have the opposite problem (and it’s a good problem to have): you need text to go with your images.

And that’s where ChatGPT comes in.

Before we explore the key strategies for making high-ranking articles with your photos, it’s important to understand the concept of a niche.

A niche is a specific topic, and you must not depart from your topic otherwise Google will be confused about what your website is about.

The type of photography you specialize in is your niche. A wedding photographer will blog about weddings, an interior design photographer will blog about interior design etc.

Now that you know this, you will be quick to steer ChatGPT in the right direction if it goes off-topic.

Using your photos as ChatGPT prompts

It’s time to dig out your portfolio, create a ChatGPT account, and put those unused photos to good use!

We strongly recommend signing up for the Plus version as this gives you the option to upload images and take advantage of the tool’s full capabitilites.

Let’s say you are an interior design photographer and you’re using ChatGPT to rapidly scale up an interior design blog. You would upload the image below along with the prompt “Give me content ideas from this photo”.

ChatGPT will obey your command, process the image, and respond with suggestions:

• Home Staging Strategies: If you’re into real estate, use this image to discuss effective home staging techniques that can help sell a property faster.
• The Art of Flower Arrangement: Teach your audience how to create a striking centerpiece like the one in the image.
• Product Reviews: Review the furniture and decor pieces featured in the room for your blog or YouTube channel.
• Color Palette Exploration: Analyze the color scheme of the room and offer advice on selecting a harmonious palette for interior spaces.
• Eco-Friendly Home Decor: Discuss the benefits of choosing sustainable and eco-friendly furniture and decor.

Then it’s just a case of selecting one of the suggestions and asking ChatGPT to write an article or a guide: “Write an article about the art of flower arrangement on a living room coffee table”.

The image used for the prompt is the one that you’ll set as the Featured Image for the article, and ideally you will have one or two additional photos taken from different angles, which can be inserted into the main body of the article.

You can even skip the suggestions part altogether and ask ChatGPT something like this: “Write an interior design article using this image”.

It’s a very efficient workflow for combining original images with original text and ranking your blog on Google.

Over time you will probably develop a knack for looking at a photo and knowing what to write about, at which point you can downgrade to the free version of ChatGPT.

Also keep in mind that ChatGPT has a tendency to use the same phrases in the introduction of an article. Try to edit them out if you notice them, as this will ensure each article is as unique as possible.

Monetizing an AI-written blog

The volume of content output from this method will eventually translate into a nice stream of traffic to your blog, which in turn translates into money.

How much money you make from blogging very much depends on your niche. So if you’re reading this as somebody who isn’t a photographer, but plan to become one, my advice is to gravitate towards a service or a product.

This is why I’ve been talking about wedding and interior design photographers. Wedding blogs can earn very high ad revenue, while an interior design blog sets you up nicely for earning affiliate income by linking to home decor products.

And those are your two main monetization options: ads and affiliate programs. But first you have to put in the hard graft and pump out as much content as you can.

Conclusion

So many bloggers are leveraging AI to rank higher and make more money. But photographers are in the enviable position of being able to outrank everyone else thanks to their supply of original images.

The best way for a photographer to take advantage of ChatGPT is to let their images dictate their content by using them as prompts.

This strategy allows photographers to scale up their blogs quickly and cheaply until the time comes when they can add new income streams in the form of ad revenue and affiliate programs.