Gia Hung, 19 from Lao Cai Province is earning nearly VND30 million (USD1,440) per month from his unique cheap photo service for Hanoian teenagers.
Gia Hung
When Hung went to Hanoi to study information technology last year, he never dreamed he'd become a photographer. However, Hung has made an impressive income and he only learned how to take photos just five months ago.
The idea came when he was looking at a photo album. Although the photos are pretty, the prices of the album were always around VND300-500,000 per capital so Hung wanted to offer an outdoor photoshoot for only VND50,000 per 10 photos.
Hung shared his idea with friends and was encouraged. He also raised VND15 million to buy a camera.
At first, he encountered numerous difficulties, especially when he was an amateur, but he quickly gained experience.
His business wasn't smooth either. His fanpage on Facebook for cheap photo services received mixed comments, some outright said the photos were ugly and not worth even VND5,000.
However, now Hung has many customers, from individual portraits to various kinds of celebrations. He usually earns VND28-30 million per month, but he still has some idle days because of bad weather.
"I can't say that I'm success, but this is a motivation to try harder. Passion, practice and luck are my secrets." Hung said after he was invited by designer Tran Dung to organise a photo shoot for the teen couple Andrea and Baggio.
Though he already has many customers, Hung still wants to take proper photography lessons. In the near future, he intends to study photography at university and expand the cheap photo services to other kinds of themes and styles.
"Don't be afraid to create new things. If you know what the customers need, you'll succeed." Hung said.
Gia Hung and teen model Andrea