15 Best Places To Sell Your Photos Online.
Before the Internet, if you wanted to sell your photographs, you would probably go to several newspapers or magazines or enter photography contests and hope to win cash prizes for your photographs.
However, the Internet is a great source of income today if you have a knack for the camera, because you can sell photos online. It’s not so much about your credentials, but how good your job is.
It also gives you the freedom to work at a convenient time from the comfort of your home, and allows you to make money on your terms.
- Shutterstock
- Adobe Stock
- 123RF
- iStock
- SmugMug
- Etsy
- Can Stock Photo
- Alamy
- Dreamstime
- Photo Shelter
- 500px
- Snapped4U
- Stocksy
- EyeEm
- Your own photography site
Where to Sell Photos Online
Shutterstock
Shutterstock is a large photo library with hundreds of millions of images and videos. It attracts thousands of members who make money by uploading their photos to the market.
Its pricing structure is quite complex, with payouts ranging from $ 0.25 to $ 28 per photo based on income over time (“lifetime incomeâ€Â), but you retain the copyright so you can sell elsewhere.
You can also earn as an affiliate by referring other photographers or clients to the site and earn every time they sell or buy images.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock (formerly Fotolia) is a microstock photography site that lists millions of photos on its Creative Cloud service using Adobe desktop applications such as InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and more.
Royalties ranging from 20 to 46 percent are paid immediately, unlike other sites that wait until your account balance reaches a certain threshold or after a certain period.
123RF
This is another good place to sell photos online and earn 30 to 60 percent per upload depending on how many are purchased. You can earn more when 123RF customers purchase your high resolution photos and receive payment via PayPal, Payoneer or Skrill.
iStock
iStock by Getty Images is a popular photography library that sells photos to over 1.5 million customers worldwide.
Once you complete your application, the iStock photo team will review and once approved, you can submit your photos and receive royalties ranging from 15 percent or up to 45 percent on a sale as an exclusive member.
SmugMug
This site is a little different from other stock photography sites as it is subscription based and the profit potential is much higher than the payouts for other sites.
You save 85% of the markup on your photos, but there is a catch – you have to buy a Pro subscription to get high royalties.
Etsy
You probably know Etsy as a handmade and collectible marketplace, but you can also sell your photos on the platform. With an audience of over 30 million users, you are sure to make good money from your unique photos.
You can set prices for your images and control how they are displayed to customers. A helpful guide is available where you can learn how to build your brand, market, price and sell your images, as well as how to be successful on the platform.
Can store images
Can Stock Photo is a stock photography exchange that attracts the conscious buyer as its prices are slightly lower than other sites. To get started, you will submit three photos for review, and after approval, you can upload them and start earning.
Payouts range from $ 0.25 to $ 75 and you will be paid via PayPal once you earn $ 50. You can earn an extra $ 5 for every photographer you invite to sell their photos on the site.
Scientific
Alamy has millions of images available for sale and good commissions. Members receive a commission of 50 percent per month on each sale if the cleared funds are $ 50 or more. You are free to sell your photos elsewhere online, making them one of the best options for people looking to sell their photos online.
Alamy also works with media agencies, which means you can get paid for live images of news as well.
Dreamstime
Image: Sell-Photos-Online-Dreams
Dreamstime allows you to sell photos on the site and receive a 25 to 50 percent royalty fee per upload, plus 20 cents per photo upload allowed. If you sell exclusively through Dreamstime, you will receive 60% royalty on all your photos.
Their verification process is stricter than other platforms, so only upload your best and highest quality work. There are also photography and design contests, so you have additional incentives to win prizes for your work.
Shelter images
PhotoShelter is an e-commerce platform that integrates with your website and various social media platforms so you can sell your photos. It is subscription-based, which allows you not only to maintain full control over the display of your photos, but also to save 92% of the sale price.
500px
It’s a community-based photography platform where you can post your photos and earn 30 to 60 percent commissions for non-exclusive and exclusive photos, respectively.
You can also take part in Photo Quest contests and win prizes.
Snapped4U
This site is exclusively for portrait and light photography, so if you are into travel, still life, landscapes and stock photography this is not for you.
You can create galleries for events or fundraisers, and a portion of your sales will go to charity. Its payment thresholds are lower than other sites and are sent 1 st and 15 th each month after earning at least $ 20.
Stocksy
Stocksy is a darling of publishers looking for new images for their content. It requires very high photography standards and requires exclusivity so that you can’t sell your photos anywhere else online or offline.
Payouts range from 50 to 75 percent of the total purchases made, which is quite generous compared to other sites.
EyeEm
This site is focused on promotional stock photography. If your work involves commercial or advertising photography, you can communicate your name and brand through EyeEm
They provide three licenses for which you can sell images: Social, Web, and Full, at $ 20, $ 50, and $ 250 per image, respectively. A 50 percent commission is charged for the image sold. Plus, you can participate in assignments and earn more money.
Your own photography site
Nothing beats selling your photos on your own ecommerce platform. If you have the technical know-how to do this, you can save on costs and get 100 percent profit on every image you sell.
If you’re not tech savvy, you can use a free website builder to do all the inner work for you and start selling your own stock photos. Add plugins for shoppers to download purchased items and payment gateways to streamline transactions.
How to Sell Photos Online
Define the market. If you know how to take great photos, you can sell them online for money.
Bloggers, website owners, stock photography sites, marketing agencies, or people looking for unique, high-quality photography to include in their content are some of the biggest consumers of online photography.
This means you have the ability to sell photos in whatever space these groups create content for.
Select your platform
When you’re done editing your images and you’re ready to sell them, you’ll need a list of the best places to sell your stock photos. There are dozens of stock photography websites where you can upload your photos or illustrations and get paid for each upload.
Each site offers different payouts and member benefits. Before entering into a legal contract with any of them, research how they handle images, copyright issues, exclusivity and other terms so you know what you are getting into.
There are also pros and cons of selling photos online that you need to be aware of. For example, one drawback is the number of images on stock photography sites.
If your work is not unique or of high quality, it will not generate any interest. Plus, you’ll have to sell a lot as you don’t make a lot of money from every photo.
The advantage is that your images will be seen by many buyers who decide to buy them.
Sell photos on your website
Plus, if you’re tech-savvy, you can sell your own photos online by opening a photo store where customers come and buy your images.
If you choose this route, you can add tags and keywords so shoppers can easily find your photos, or use social media to tell people about your photography business.
But that’s not all; You can work with sites that allow customers to print your images on physical items such as personalized mugs, T-shirts, and canvases.
You can also sign up to become an Image Reviewer and view images posted by other photographers, or list your photo as a service.
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