During the pandemic, there is a wide array of jobs students have flocked to in order to make an extra income. Many students need extra money due to losing their jobs or not making as much. Some job descriptions require students to take their socks off and pull out a camera.

Dani Flores, a sophomore majoring in graphic design, works for The Hype, but on the side, she edits pictures of her friend’s feet. 

“My roommate introduced this to me,” Flores said. “When the whole feet-selling business started, my friends and I would always joke around how we were going to make an account [on a website] to start selling the photos.” 

One day, Flores and her roommates were stressing about school and money during the pandemic. One of her roommates made an account on an adult entertainment website and realized the pictures were actually selling successfully. 

Her roommate consulted her and asked if Flores could try to make the images look more appealing to those purchasing the photos. 

Flores came up with the idea to draw doodles around the feet to make them look cuter and edited them to make them brighter and more of the focal point in the image. 

“This isn’t the first time I am doing this job either,” Flores said. “I could make $80-100 a week, so that’s why I’m doing it.”

Flores said she wanted to do this because she loves to edit photos and make images look more “alive.” She said she probably won’t continue to edit the photos after the pandemic, but if the images continue to generate reasonable income, she might continue to help her roommate out. 

Other students are using their talents for more traditional jobs, like photography. 

Zahn Shultz, a senior film production major, does freelance photography and videography. He is currently using his talents to take graduation photos for seniors. 

“Since I’m a senior, I want to continue my freelance work while also getting a real job,” Shultz said. “I don’t plan on slowing down with my freelance work, because I want to pick up more jobs after I finish school.” 

Shultz said he wants to utilize what he has been learning in school to make money off his work. 

“I am tailoring my services to what is in demand right now, such as graduation photos, as well as offering content in niche markets such as automotive [photography],” Shultz said. 

Shultz said his freelance work makes him decent money and he tries to keep his rates competitive.