A STRUGGLING photographer made more than $100,000 after abandoning traditional art forms to take the plunge into the NFT world.

Brittany Pierre, 36, discovered success after adapting her work to make the most of the potential offered by the digital market.

She had difficultly in affording rent, groceries and transport costs before taking the career changing move.

It was a “touch and go” situation the artist admitted.

But once she started to look into nonfungible tokens her fortunes changed.

“It was real hard to do $50 photoshoots, trying to peddle $30 prints.

“I’d have bookings here and there, but it wasn’t sustainable,” she said.

“That first couple of $200, $300 NFT sales was a lot for me.

“That’s exactly what I needed to pay rent.”

The NFT market growing from strength to strength, with sales hitting a value of $23billion in total trading volume over the course of 2021.

Last month alone $15billion of trades were done – almost triple the total of December 2021.

Initially, Pierre faced barriers to joining the growing world of NFT artists.

Most platforms require creators to apply or be invited to get their artwork listed.

They must also pay fees of as much as $250 to mint their NFTs.

“I probably had like 10 bucks in my bank account,” Pierre told CNBC.

But after help from friends and other creators, she found herself flourishing.

She said: “At first, it started with me paying rent on time and in full without having to make payments.

“Then, I was able to get groceries — I was living on ramen, ground beef, tuna cans and water for a very long time.

“I was able to fill my fridge, which I’ve never been able to do on my own.”

Her NFT portraiture style photography became so popular she was even able to quit her day job to focus full time on her part.

She said: “Last year has been the first year that I could live completely abundantly, more with my heart, than I ever have been able to.

“I’ve never had a job over $15 an hour, and last year, I was able to make a little over $100,000.”