RCS – Business Default

earn some money? Wondering which websites allow you to sell photos?

As a photographer, you can easily make some extra money (or even start a new career) if you know the right place to sell your photos online. Photographers of all skill levels are in demand now more than ever. Everyone from large corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, bloggers, graphic designers, retailers, and publishers regularly buy and use photos from the web.

The days of image theft are becoming a thing of the past thanks to tools that can easily match images and their originals. For most legitimate businesses, the potential lawsuit isn’t worth it. This is great news for photographers looking for recurring income while maintaining their work.

If you have a large portfolio of photos, consider selling them online. I will introduce you to the platforms collect millions of images and videos and sell them to companies, marketing agencies and media. In return, photographers receive a commission every time their work is uploaded. The amount per photo download depends on the platform, type of license and many other factors. In all cases, the price is still low, so if you want to make money, you need to bet on volume and upload fresh photos regularly.

Websites require you to log in first. Make sure you read the guidelines carefully, as some platforms prohibit you from submitting the same photos to competitors. Once you are registered, you can start topping up your account. Every photo you send will be evaluated before publication – after a few days you will easily master the whole process. iStock, ShutterStock and BigStock are the most famous names of platforms that deal with the sale of photos. Don’t overlook image hosting sites as they allow you to host your photos for free and some of them also allow you to market them.

Money, money, money:

What makes a winning photo? The quality of the clip, the file uploaded in high resolution (because it can be used in many different formats), and the item is generally useful. Check out the top photo sellers on different websites to see what’s working right now. But what may be even more important than the photo itself is how you sell it. This market is saturated – around 150,000 new photos are added to Shutterstock every day!

Even if you managed to capture the perfect photo, with a poor description, it is unlikely that anyone will notice it. To optimize your chances, add more keywords to your description (try to describe everything in the image). The best advice is to think about the possible queries that someone would type into the search bar for a photo like yours.

What types of photos do people want to buy?

Currently, bloggers and owners of online news portals are among the biggest consumers of online photos. Every piece of content created for publication on a website needs an attractive photo. Here are some categories that are in demand.

Photos of people
 Photos of working conditions (in the office, with the carpenter, the manager, etc.)
 Travel photos
 Photos of cities
 Photos of things (screws, medicine, signs, books, computers, tools, bags, cables, etc.)
 Photos of nature
 Photos of animals
 I also suggest you look at the most popular images in each category on the sites you plan to add your photos to. This will give you a good idea of ​​what is currently being searched for.

Selling photos online

There are several websites that sell stock photos to webmasters and business owners. These photos can be resold and provide long-term passive income.

Fotolia – Earn 20-63%. Exclusivity is not required, although some rules apply to pricing. Payment is made via Moneybookers or PayPal.

Alamy – This site offers a 50% royalty and no exclusivity clause. Nice!

Shutterstock – Associates earn 20-30%. Payments are made monthly with a minimum of $75. Shutterstock does not insist on exclusivity. You can sell the same photos elsewhere.

Dreamstime – Earn 20-60% of every sale.

iStockphoto -15% off every download. Earn 22-45% for exclusive photos. They use PayPal, Moneybookers or Payoneer Mastercard for transfers. Payments are made up to twice a week with a minimum amount of 100 euros.

FreeDigitalPhotos.net – Get 70% of sales revenue. Payments are made via PayPal with a minimum of $10.

Bigstock – Earn 30% from individual downloads and up to $0.38 royalty per subscription sale. Payments are processed once a week on request with a minimum amount of 30 euros. Payment via PayPal or Moneybookers.

Snapped4u is a marketplace for photographers covering events like weddings, parties and more. Makes it easy to upload photos.

PhotoShelter is an online store for selling and delivering photos to customers. They allow you to set a template for sharing photos.

BlueMelon is a simple photo uploading, sharing and selling website for photographers. The platform is safe for uploading images. They are used more as a portfolio for your images than a marketplace.

Crestock is a place to sell photos and make easy money. You need to create a free account on this website and upload photos. They will rate and approve photos to add to your Crestock portfolio.

500px is an online marketplace for creating portfolios of your photos. This is the best place to sell photos online.

TourPhotos is a hub of travel photos from a variety of photographers and travelers. Most travel agencies and tour companies use them to upload photos of their adventure travel for visitors and the general public.

Fotomoto is not an online marketplace, but an intermediary that connects to your website for selling photos online. It manages the entire process for you after you add it to your site.

Be sure to read each site’s guidelines, and especially pay attention to the fine print when it comes to requirements like exclusivity (you can’t sell your photos on multiple marketplaces) and ownership rights.

Sell ​​your photos on tangible items

There are also a number of websites that will allow customers to have their photos printed on everything from coffee mugs to canvas.

CafePress offers several options for selling. Post your masterpieces on their website or set up your own store. Regular ads earn you 8%. Payments are made monthly via PayPal with a minimum of $25.

Redbubble is similar to CafePress. You can set your price and when you sell it will be your profit too. Payments are made monthly, via PayPal with a minimum amount of $20.

Shutterfly-Pro Gallery can bring you $99 to $199 per year, plus a 15% commission on each sale. Shutterfly takes care of any customer service issues. Payments are made monthly by direct deposit to your transaction account.

eBay and Etsy are also options for selling photos online. Etsy allows even minors to sell on the site as long as they have permission from a parent or legal guardian to manage their account.

Marketing and sales

Don’t forget to market your available photos. Use optimal keywords. Social networks, posting on photo forums can help sell your photos.

You probably won’t get rich selling photos online, but you can make some extra passive income. Analyzes show that photo sellers earn an average of 1 euro per month for each published photo. This means that if you have 100 photos available for sale, you can earn about 100 euros per month. More photos = more money.

I hope this article will help you find the best places to sell photos online and make some money.