A Million Dollar Day for Gen Z as a... Phone Photographer

Phone photography profession

At 10am, Nguyen Thuy Hang (born 2005, Vinh Phuc ) arrived at the coffee shop where she had made an appointment with a client. For today's photoshoot, the client requested to wear 2 outfits, one ao dai, one yếm dress, and makeup.

She started packing her things, checking and walking around the shop to check the shooting angles before today's guests arrived.

Makeup and accessories Hang used during the photo shoot.

Hang's job is called photophone, which means taking pictures with a phone. As a "photographer", but besides her makeup bag (a small suitcase for makeup), she doesn't carry any bulky cameras or lenses.

All the tools for the job are packed into a crossbody bag, just a phone, a charger, a small compact camera (only used when requested by the customer) and a reflector.

Hang does makeup for customers.

"My phone and charger are my inseparable items. Every time I prepare to go to work, my phone must be 100% charged before I can go out with peace of mind," she said as she began the first steps of applying makeup to her customers.

After about 2 hours of makeup, hair, and costume change, the photoshoot began. Having chosen the shooting angle, Hang and the client began today's photoshoot. Assisting her was a student who helped hold the reflector, and helped adjust the client's hair and posture when needed.

The two people in the group worked together throughout the shoot.

Today's shooting location is a coffee shop with a decoration style geared towards April 30, which is being sought out by many young people to take photos in Hanoi .

"Straighten your back. Then…2…3, continue. 2…3, then, very nice. Please change your pose", Hang took pictures and interacted with the customer.

In just 10 minutes of shooting, she had taken more than 100 photos. Hang showed the customers the photos, discussed with them whether they were satisfied with the photos from this angle, before moving to another area to continue taking photos.

"Whenever a customer has trouble posing, I stand in the corner to guide them where to put their hands, which direction to look... I also create a fun atmosphere to make them feel comfortable. At this time, their smiles, eyes, and poses will be natural and they will have more beautiful photos," she happily told the story.

Hang let the customer see the product before changing the shooting angle.

"I charge by the hour for each photo session, so customers can take as many photos as they want until they are satisfied," Hang said as she counted all the photos taken during the session today. According to Hang, it is normal for customers to take thousands of photos.

Not only taking pictures of individual customers, Hang can also take pictures of groups of 3-4 people in many photo sessions.

According to Hang, it is normal for customers to take thousands of photos.

Although we took 2 different concepts (styles), one in ancient costume with ao yem, one in ao dai to celebrate April 30, today's photoshoot ended earlier than expected.

"Before, I only hired photographers with professional cameras. This is the first time I've experienced taking photos with a photophone and the results are beyond my expectations," the female customer excitedly shared after checking all the photos from the shoot.

Hang and customers review the photos taken.

If the customer has a request, Hang will edit the photo based on the customer's wishes. She has more than a dozen photo editing applications on her phone, from color correction, photoshop, to portrait beautification.

While waiting for the customer to change clothes, Hang took the opportunity to edit a few photos. She skillfully adjusted the composition, lighting, and color selection of the photos...

For this morning photoshoot, the cost the customer needs to pay is about 400,000 VND (including makeup costs).

After finishing her work, Hang took the opportunity to post photos of a former client on her Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook to promote her work. All tasks took place on a phone less than 7 inches in her hand.

"Many times when I take photos for clients, I don't need makeup. I just carry a handbag with my phone, charger, and reflector. Yet I can take photos all three morning, afternoon, and evening in one day," Hang said as she pressed the post button.

Make money from the need to "live virtually"

Like many other Gen Z, when they have free time, Hang and her friends often go to coffee shops together to chat and take pictures.

"As they say online, a successful outing is one with beautiful photos to bring back, and I'm often the one my friends 'trust' to take the photos," she began her story.

Realizing that her skills were trusted by her friends, and understanding the changing trend of photography among women, she started thinking about making money from taking photos on demand at cafes like this.

The photophone profession helps bring Hang a "dream" source of income for many students.

"I remember clearly that I started posting my first PR article on the fanpage on December 29, 2024. Just the next day - December 30 - I had my first customer," she excitedly said.

As time went on, the number of customers grew. To serve her work, she invested in a small camera to take pictures when customers needed it - this is also the trend at the present time.

"Many people are not willing to spend millions of dong for a photo shoot with a professional photographer, taken with a camera at a studio. Sometimes just wearing pretty clothes and makeup, going to a coffee shop and having beautiful photos is enough to satisfy, and the cost is sometimes only 1/5, or even 1/10 compared to going to a studio," she said.

"In just the first month before Tet, I was so busy with shooting schedules that I couldn't keep up. Even on the 29th of Tet, I still had shooting schedules. So in that month alone, after deducting all expenses, the amount I earned was over 9 million VND," she said.

There are days when Hang has a full schedule of 3 photo sessions.

Thanks to the steady frequency of bookings, Hang quickly recouped her investment. With the increasing number of customers, she expanded her staff, all of whom were students who shared the same photography hobby as her.

There was a time when Hang and her friends took photos up to 30 days a month, almost every day was full, but she set rules to balance between studying and taking photos.

"After calculating the time of the school sessions and balancing the shooting schedules of other staff, I then finalize the schedule and photographer with the client to ensure that no one in the group is affected in their studies," she shared.

Unlike traditional part-time jobs for students such as serving and selling goods, which require fixed and strenuous hours, photophone work has shorter working hours and is easier to arrange. There are days when many customers book photoshoots, so the income will also be higher.

All work is done entirely on the phone.

After finishing the afternoon photo session at 5:00 p.m., Hang quickly packed up her things to prepare to take photos of guests in the evening.

"Almost every day I have customers, there are even days when I go to take photos in the suburbs or out of town, it's normal," Hang closed her makeup bag and moved.

Photo: Hung Anh

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/mot-ngay-kiem-tien-trieu-cua-gen-z-lam-nghe-chup-anh-bang-dien-thoai-20250420220854473.htm