Last Updated on September 16, 2022 by HR Editorial Team
Introduction
The prospect of selling your photos online might seem intimidating. After all, hasn’t the digital age created expectations that images should come free? Or that pretty much anyone can take a shot and, with a little software assistance, turn it into a masterpiece?
Despite such assumptions, there are still plenty of avenues for keen photographers who want to turn their passion into a living. It’s just a matter of working out which online marketplaces will serve you best and then taking steps to draw attention to your work.
Where would be best place to sell photos online?
You should sell your photos online where you can get the most money for them. You should also sell your photos online where your audience is, and you should sell your photos online where you have access to the most people.
If you’re going to be selling a lot of stock images, it might be worth it to go with one of the larger companies. These sites will have more traffic and be able to pay more per image because they can afford to do so since they have such high traffic numbers. This means that even though they might not pay as much per sale as other sites, they will make up for it by having many sales over time since there are so many people browsing their shops at once!
Getty Images
You may have heard of Getty Images. It’s one of the biggest stock photo agencies in the world and a good place to start selling your photos. Getty Images has a good reputation, pays well and has lots of customers, so it’s easy to work with them.
iStock
iStock is a stock photo agency that offers a variety of pricing options, licenses, delivery options and payment methods. You can choose whether you want to sell your photos individually or as part of a collection. You can also set your own price for each picture in the collection or let iStock decide how much it’s willing to pay for the entire pack.
iStock offers free membership with limited access to its library of images, but if you want to make money from your photos then you’ll need to upgrade to one of its paid plans. The company has several different subscription levels so you can choose based on what type of photographer you are: hobbyist or professional? For content licensed through iStock, royalty rates start at 15% for photos and 20% for videos and illustrations. Exclusive contributors can earn between 25% and 45%.
Shutterstock
A stock photo agency is a place where photographers can sell their images to be used in commercial projects. Shutterstock, one of the largest stock photo agencies in the world, has over 100 million images, 90 million video clips and 10 million files in its music library. Earn up to 40% commission each time our customers download your images or videos. Earn $0.04 on images and 10% on videos when an artist signs up with your link and their work is downloaded.
500px
500px is a photo-sharing site that is owned by SmugMug, a company that also operates Flickr and Shutterfly. The website was launched in 2008 and has since become one of the most popular photo-sharing communities for photographers. It’s also a good place to start selling your images online because it has a large number of users, as well as an established reputation as an online community for photographers. You earn 60% of net sales on images you’ve submitted exclusively for licensing.
Stocksy
Stocksy is a stock photography marketplace that was founded in 2013 by the former Adobe employee, Stuart Ferguson. The company’s mission is to provide photographers with an alternative revenue stream for their work and give buyers access to high-quality images at low prices.
Stocksy is based in Montreal, Canada, where it has access to some of the world’s greatest photographers as well as some of its best talent for creating marketing campaigns. Stocksy pays contributors a 50% commission on standard license sales and 75% on extended license sales.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is a good place to start selling your photos online if you’re new to the world of photography and stock photography. You can upload your images through the Adobe website, and they’ll be available for sale within minutes.
Adobe Stock has four different licenses: Extended, Standard, Web and Editorial. If you’re not sure which license is best for your image, consult their help page on licenses before uploading it! All licenses allow users to use the images commercially (for profit), but only Extended License allows for personal use as well. Adobe Stock pays 33% commission for images (photos, vectors, and illustrations) and 35% for videos. This equates to $0.33 to $26.40 per image download and $2.80 to $70.00 per video download.
Dreamstime
Dreamstime is a good site to sell your photos. It has more than 2 million photographers, with over 700,000 images being added daily. The site has a wide range of categories and subcategories, so you can find the right place for your photographs.
It also has an excellent search engine that allows you to narrow down your searches by image type and size, among other things.
Fotolia
Fotolia is a stock photo site that offers both microstock and subscription plans, with more than 1 million images available. The site has a wide range of pricing options for its microstock and subscription plans, which can be accessed through their respective tabs on the main page.
Start with stock photography
If you’re just starting out, you may want to start with stock photography. Stock photo sites make it easy to get your feet wet by allowing you to upload your photos and sell them for a small fee. Many sites are free to join, and they can be a great way for photography beginners to make money from their work.
You can also use stock photography as a way of testing the market before pursuing more personal projects that require more time investment but may pay off at higher rates. Even if some of your photos don’t sell well on these sites, it’s still worth putting up select shots that align with what buyers are looking for (and keep in mind that it might take weeks or months before this type of selling starts making money).
Selling photography as artwork
When you are thinking about selling your photography as artwork, consider the following questions:
- What is your audience? Are they collectors or do they just want something cool to hang on their wall? Do they have a specific taste in art or do they like it all? You need to know their needs so that you can give them exactly what they’re looking for.
- What are you trying to sell? If it’s an image that’s been shot specifically as a work of art, then think about how much effort was put into creating it and what materials were used in its creation. For example, if someone took hours planning out a photo shoot using high-end lighting equipment and models who had been trained professionally, then there’s no way that piece could be considered just “a great photograph.” It should be sold as fine art because all those things add value to what was created.
Create your own Website to sell your Photos
Posting your photos on your own website or blog is an excellent way to make money from them. You’ll need to create a portfolio website and a blog, but the benefits are worth it:
- Your portfolio will be a permanent online presence for yourself as an artist.
- Visitors can view your best work at any time.
- The site will also provide information about you, including contact information and links to social media accounts (which may be helpful if someone wants to contact you directly).
- Shopify is a highly recommended e-commence platform to host your own photos for sale without splitting commissions with large stock photos company. A great way where you can market your photos directly on facebook and other social media platforms.
Post on social media
To get the most out of your photos, you’ll want to share them on social media.
To post photos on Instagram, simply:
- Upload a photo from your phone or camera roll by tapping the + sign in the lower-left corner of your screen.
- Select from one of several filters that automatically adjust color and lighting for an optimal image.
- Add a caption or hashtag to describe what’s happening in the photo.
In addition to posting photos on Instagram and other sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (allowing others outside your network access), consider joining groups related to professional interests as well as local organizations that might be interested in using images from events or projects you’ve been involved with before sharing them publicly online—this is often called “cross-promotion” because it helps grow both audiences at once!
Do what you know
When you start a business, it’s easy to think about yourself and your expertise. But don’t forget that everyone has something they’re good at—even if it’s not in the same field as you.
When I started my photography business, I had zero experience with formal portraiture or working with models. Yet I knew how much time and effort go into getting those perfect shots for a family photo album. The idea of posing someone who wasn’t my best friend didn’t exactly make me jump for joy (or even just “jump”).
But when a client came along who needed photos taken of his nephews and nieces along with their parents, he hired me on the spot because he loved how natural my photos were—and also because I was willing to work hard even though this wasn’t exactly my area of expertise. That satisfied him enough to come back again when he had another project: taking pictures of himself doing karate moves in front of his neighborhood park!
Consider your audience
The first thing you should consider when deciding on how to sell your photos online is the audience that you are catering to. Is it a group of people who like black and white film photography? Or maybe they prefer digital photography and want to spend only $5 on an image?
The second consideration is what type of photography do they like? What types of subjects attract them? How can you make it easier for them to buy from you, rather than another photographer?
Then figure out what price point they would be willing to pay for an image in which type of photography. Remember though: don’t overcharge! If someone can get the same image somewhere else at half the price, then why would they buy yours? They won’t!
Build yourself a brand
Once you’re ready to start selling your photos online, it’s important to build yourself a brand.
The first step in building your own brand is developing a consistent style and look for all of your images. If you don’t have time for this or don’t know how to do it, then hire someone who does! For example, if all of the photos on your website are black and white with lots of shadows, that will be part of what people associate with you as an artist. If they want more black and white with lots of shadows, they can search through all their favorite artists until they find one whose work suits their needs best.
The next step towards building a successful photography business is making sure that everything from social media presence (including Instagram) goes along with the same visual theme—even down to the branding elements like logos or filters used on images. The goal here is for fans/clients/customers know exactly who created each piece because each one has its own identifiable signature style! This can take some time but once established will make things much easier down the road when trying new things out such as different types of equipment used during shoots etcetera…
Include ecommerce in your portfolio
Include a link to your online store in your portfolio. This can take the form of an embedded shop, or simply a link that takes people to a landing page that has all of the information they need about what you sell and how they can purchase it.
Make sure the link is easy to find. A lot of portfolios will use a navigation bar at the top of their pages, which makes it convenient for visitors, but these bars are often very small or difficult to read if someone isn’t looking closely enough at them. Instead, consider including links above or below each section of your portfolio so that they’re visible without having to scroll down every time someone wants one (and make sure those sections aren’t too long!). You could even include links within each gallery if there isn’t enough room on its own page—it may seem counterintuitive at first glance since galleries are usually used as marketing tools rather than product catalogues…but remember: some people won’t search through all 3 albums just trying find out what else is available!
Selling photography prints and products online
There are many ways to print and sell your photos online. You can use a professional photo processing website, a photo printing service, or even an independent website or app that allows you to upload your own images and sell them directly on their platform. If you want to go the social media route, consider selling your images through Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
The key here is not only finding creative ways to make money with photography but also choosing platforms that are most popular with your target audience. For example, if you’re selling prints of nature shots taken in rural areas with lots of greenery (think wheat fields), then it makes sense for you to reach out specifically via social media channels where these types of images tend to be shared more often than other kinds such as cityscapes or wildlife shots (both of which tend toward more urban settings).
In order for any kind of online sales strategy such as this one work effectively though there needs to be some consistency across all platforms so customers know what they’re getting when they click through from one place onto another site/app etcetera . This means having consistent branding elements such as logos colors fonts sizes shapes etcetera .
Selling photos as photo books
The first thing you need to do is create a photo book online. Here are some resources for doing so:
- Shutterfly: https://www.shutterfly.com/publishing/photo-books
- Snapfish: http://snapfish.com/photobooks
- Blurb: https://blurb.com/publish
Selling your photography as a service
A photography service is the sale of your photography to a client. A client could be an individual, a business or organization, or another photographer.
To sell your photos as a service (or “stock”) you will need to find clients and market yourself.
A good place to start looking for clients is with websites that allow people from all around the world to connect with each other. These sites include Craigslist where you can advertise in different cities/countries, Freelancer which has categories for photographers, Fiverr which allows freelancers to offer their services at $5 per job etc…
Basic legal advice for photographers selling photos online
If you’re selling photos online, there are some very basic rules of conduct to keep in mind.
- You cannot use copyrighted images or trademarks without permission from the owner. If you see someone selling an image that is clearly copyrighted, contact them and ask if it’s okay for them to sell it. If it isn’t, politely let them know that they shouldn’t be selling it—and avoid using such images in your own business.
- You must get permission from anyone whose face appears in a photo before selling that image commercially online. This applies even if their faces are part of a crowd scene—you still need written consent from every individual involved before posting an image online for sale or commercial display (and yes, this includes minors).
If someone steals your photos, what should you do?
You should report the theft to the site where you found it. If your complaint is not answered satisfactorily, contact the site owner’s ISP. If this doesn’t work, get in touch with your ISP and let them know that someone is publishing copyrighted material on their network without permission; they may be able to help you take action against the offender (and perhaps even get paid for it).
If these measures don’t work, contact the web host responsible for hosting said material and file an abuse complaint against them. If possible, provide evidence of copyright violation (a link to where your work can be seen on their site).
Here’s what you need to know about taking pictures for stock sites
If you’re a photographer and want to sell your photos online, stock sites are a great resource. You can get inspiration for your own photography by browsing the photos and images available on these sites. They’re also good places to start if you’re just starting out: there’s no need to worry about copyright infringement or other legal issues when uploading your images; all of them offer free membership options that allow users to upload their work without charge.
What type of photos sells best?
Just like with any art, it’s important that your photos to be high quality. If you want to sell your work online, make sure that the image is clear, sharp and in focus. It should also have good lighting and color balance.
The best stock photography is unique—there are lots of pictures on the internet already! And if an image is relevant to a particular niche or category then it will likely do well because people looking for images will be more likely to find them there.
How to set up a photography store on a 3rd party platform
If you’re ready to set up your own photography store, there are a number of platforms available. Each one has its pros and cons, so it’s important to do some research before committing to one. Here are some things to keep in mind when evaluating the different options:
- Easy-to-use interface: The last thing you want is an overly complicated platform that makes it difficult for your clients and buyers to navigate through your site and find what they want. Make sure the platform offers features such as payment processing, automated product delivery (e.g., via email or FTP), custom domain names, etc., but avoid anything that doesn’t actually add value for your business’ needs.
- Terms of service: Read through all of the terms carefully before signing up with any service provider—you don’t want any surprises down the road!
- Security: Find out if there have been recent security breaches on this particular site or similar ones like it. If there hasn’t been a breach yet but other sites have experienced one recently, that’s cause for concern! You don’t want anyone stealing photos from your store because they were able to access private customer information through hacking into another company’s servers while doing so (and vice versa). Make sure each vendor has adequate measures in place against such attacks before signing up with them; otherwise go somewhere else where there might be less risk involved instead.”
Here are some tips on becoming a freelance photographer
If you’re looking to make a living as a freelance photographer, the first thing you need to do is find out if there’s even demand for your services. You can do this by asking friends and acquaintances if they have any photo needs, or by doing some Googling and finding local businesses that might need photographers. Once you’ve identified potential clients, it’s time to start building up your portfolio.
When it comes to marketing yourself as a photographer, your best bet is probably social media: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all allow for easy sharing of photos with friends and acquaintances—who may end up being clients! If you want more professional shots in your portfolio, consider hiring an experienced model who knows how to pose in front of the camera.
Conclusion
Hopefully this post has given you some ideas on how to sell your photos online. If you have any other questions or need help with your own photography business, we’d love to hear from you! Do check out other easy business ideas you can start today.