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16 Best Places to Sell Photos Online in 2022

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Making money from photography allows us to pursue our passion and turn it into a career.

But what’s the simplest way to earn money from photography? The answer lies in stock photography websites and online platforms.

Photo by Format from Pexels

How Can You Earn Money From Photographs?

Starting a business taking portraits of people or doing weddings can be fun. But what if you don’t feel confident doing that? Then the answer is right in front of your screen: sell your photos online!

There are plenty of options out there. The most popular ones are stock photo agencies. There are also a few websites where you can sell your pictures directly to clients or even as artwork.

Stock Photography Websites

Stock photography sites are significant in two ways. First, they sell your work for you. Once you upload the photos, all you have to do is sit back and watch your profits grow.

But apart from helping you sell photos online, stock photo agencies also provide information on current trends. In other words, they give you ideas and hints on what images have a higher chance of making you money.

The problem with these sites is that they provide a lot of content, which grows every minute. That means your photos will be competing with millions of other options on the internet.

Another downside is that it can take a long time to edit and work on images to upload. Stock photo websites have strict guidelines when selling photos online. You need to follow plenty of rules around the quality and information needed for every image.

Alamy

Alamy is a British stock photography website, started in 1999. To date, it has over 60 million photos and videos. There is a reason for this tremendous amount of content. And it’s partly because of the 50% royalty payment on each photograph it sells.

Despite the large commissions, it also doesn’t require you to sell photos to them exclusively. That’s why, in my opinion, this is one of the first choices to sell photos online.

iStock Photo

iStock photo is Getty Images’ microstock branch. It’s a great place to sell stock photos if you are just starting because it’s a well-known site.

iStock also includes popular forums and resources that help you understand how to sell photos online. It’s quite useful if you feel clueless about where to begin.

The royalty payment starts at 15% per download. It can increase to 45%, depending on your photos’ popularity. If a customer purchases an image using their subscription credits, you only receive the 15%.

If you are into exclusivity, iStock photo will give you between 22-45%. This rate works on a contract with a 30-day notice period.

Shutterstock

Shutterstock houses 184 million images and 91 million videos. They have been enjoying steady growth in sales since its founding in 2003. In 2017, people downloaded 172,000,000 images from their website.

The best thing is, you get to keep the copyright and still sell the images in other places.

Dreamstime

Like iStock and Shutterstock, this agency is a perfect starting point if you want to sell online photos. It’s user-friendly, and the requirements are not as stringent as its rivals.

What makes Dreamstime different is that you get to create and curate your galleries. That way, you have more control selling photos online. You can think of this agency more as a hosting site in that respect.

But of course, that doesn’t mean you can post just about anything. Your submissions will still go through a screening process to make sure you don’t violate the site rules. For instance, you can’t upload violent or copyrighted content. But if you follow all the guidelines, you can expect to make money once your images are online.

Your commissions start at 25% for a non-exclusive image, and 27% for an exclusive option. But as you sell more photos, that can go up to 45% and 49.5% respectively.

BigStock

For the most part, BigStock has all the features you can expect from microstock sites. On the surface, it’s just like Shutterstock, Dreamstime, or iStock. But what makes it a bit different is its credit system. And that’s why selling photos online using this platform is also unique.

People can buy stock photos with regular payment options. But as they do, they also earn credits that they can use to purchase even more content from the site. So that means you have two ways of making money.

If users buy photos online using credit, you get a certain amount. For instance, you earn 50 cents for a small picture and 3USD for an extra-large option. Meanwhile, your commission generally stays at 30% for each Bigstock partner sale.

As your content gets more downloads online, its price gets higher, and so does your commission. For instance, your photos will earn up 25 cents if people download them up to 199 times. But you can get 38 cents if people buy any one of your images more than 50,000 times.

CanStock Photo

When you upload your money pictures to microstock agencies, you’ll see that the process isn’t quite efficient. Creating keywords for photos can take a lot of time. And it gets even more frustrating if you need to attach model releases every time you add files.

Thankfully, you can avoid all that mess with Canstock Photo. With its SpeedSubmit system, you can attach releases immediately to a batch of photos. You can even upload a text file with all your pictures, so you don’t have to add keywords manually. This process is perfect because the less time you spend preparing your photographs, the quicker you can make money.

For instant downloads (one time purchases), you earn 1USD for a small JPEG file and 2.50USD for extra-large. For credit downloads, you get 50 cents and 2.50USD, respectively.

Fotolia/Adobe Stock

Fotolia (now Adobe Stock) is another microstock photography website. It represents over 57 million images. Adobe repurchased this site in 2014, integrating it into its creative cloud service. Here, you can receive royalties of between 20 and 46%.

The best part about this site is that your royalties come immediately. Other sites wait until you reach a financial threshold, or after 30 days.

Four million buyers use this site, so it is in your best interest to show them your images.

Getty Images

This company is perhaps the most prestigious on the list. Since it was founded in 1995, it has become one of the premier stock and editorial photography websites in the world.

As mentioned earlier, iStock is Getty Image’s microstock photography branch. But they sell high-end content through GettyImages that often sell thousands of dollars.

People pay a few dollars for a photo of iStock since its loyalty-free. But for Getty Images, they’ll need to buy a Rights Managed license. That means you don’t pay for the pictures themselves, but the right to use them on specific platforms such as web or print.

Due to its exclusive status, it can be challenging to get into Getty Images. To apply, you need to submit six images. Getty then determines if your material is appropriate for either iStock or Getty.

If you get in, you have the chance to earn up to 20% in commission. Photos on the site sell for hundreds of dollars, so that percentage can make you quite some profit.

Stocksy

Stocksy isn’t the largest stock photography website, but it certainly isn’t the smallest. It has a reputation for being the artsiest stock agency online. That’s why it’s undoubtedly the site that publishers love to look at when searching for new images.

You will find that this site has very high standards. It might take longer to find your best images and make sure they are spic-and-span for this page.

They also require exclusivity to your work, meaning you can’t sell them elsewhere. In the end, it is all worth it, as you receive between 50% and 75% of the total purchase.

Photocase

This German company is not nearly as big as most other stock photo agencies on this list. But in my opinion, it offers quality equal to Stocksy for a more affordable price.

Photocase images don’t look like stock photos. Instead, they feel more authentic and organic. So if you don’t want your images to end up with a pile of low-quality work, then this is an excellent option for you. And since it’s a small company, you have less competition from other photographers.

Despite not being as popular as the other stock sites, plenty of people use Photocase regularly. Why? Because it provides options for those who don’t like cookie-cutter photos but can’t afford Stocksy.

Photocase also has a unique payment system. You start with a 20% share and have to potential to earn up to 50% commission as more people upload your photos.

You can look at their point system to have a better idea of how you can earn commissions.

Don’t be discouraged by the fact that Photocase is a small company. Unlike their rivals, they value their photographers. So give it a try, and you just might earn decent money from it.

Alternatives to Stock Photography Platforms

You don’t need to rely on stock agencies to sell your photos. There are tons of other options out there that you can try as well.

The sites on our list greatly vary in the services they offer. So feel free to go through them and figure out which one works best for you.

Wirestock

Wirestock is a handy tool to help you sell your photos on multiple platforms. You can choose to upload the images to Shutterstock, Depositphotos, and more… All at the same time, with just a few clicks of a button.

Another benefit of using Wirestock is that the platform takes care of captioning and keywording. Your future sales and commissions depend on how easy it is to find your images. And how well the keywords capture their essence. Wirestock taking care of this tedious process is a real time-saver!

Wirestock allows creators to focus on creating – instead of juggling multiple platforms.

Photoshelter

Placing images on a stock photography website doesn’t interest you?

Then Photoshelter is an excellent option. This service offers a photography-orientated e-commerce platform that integrates into your website.

There are many benefits to this service. First, it gives you cloud storage for your images. But apart from that, it also has an intuitive interface, social media integrations, and a decent SEO service.

Photoshelter allows you to decide how to showcase your images. It’s quite ideal as it doesn’t display competitors’ photos next to your own.

500px

500px has become one of the most popular photography websites in the last few years. It’s filling the void that Flickr left as it began losing members. I can say it’s the best place to find collections of the most professional photos online.

Apart from photo storage, 500px is also a market place for people to purchase your work. Furthermore, it has a ‘like’ and ‘photo view’ area that show you the ranking and views of your images.

Using this platform, you receive detailed data on where these interactions are coming from. All the stats you see can be helpful when it comes to selling your work.

You can upload as many images as you want. You can even run photography workshops through it too.

There are four plans to join, ranging from Free to Pro and Adobe. It’s best to become a paying member so you can take advantage of all the platform’s features.

Canva

This website is one of the most user-friendly graphic design editing platforms out there. It has drag-and-drop features that allow just about anyone to create posters to Instagram Story animations.

A lot of the graphics and photos that Canva offers are free. But they also sell other services, including stock photography.

Unlike traditional stock photography agencies, Canva makes it easy for people to buy pictures. Users simply have to drag and drop the photos. Then all they have to do is click to purchase to remove the watermark.

Canva’s ease of use means that there’s a lot of potential for you to earn money. There are tons of people who don’t usually use stock agencies but buy photos from the platform regularly.

With millions of users, they’re continually expanding and looking for new stock photos to sell. You can apply and post your stock photos on the website. But they also regularly ask their contributors to photograph custom projects for them.

EyeEm

If you are a photographer who wants to focus on commercial work, then EyeEm is a great way to make money.

You get a 50% commission on each image you sell on the website. And that’s a high rate considering that most stock agencies only pay 20 to 30%.

You can also join EyeEm Magazine to help you gain exposure within the industry. Submitting your work to the publication may land you a few major clients!

Etsy is the biggest marketplace on the internet for handmade products. For photography, the items you can sell can be physical prints or digital downloads. Most of the products are unique, and a lot are one-off items that the creators won’t make again.

With more than 30 million users, Etsy is a great platform to sell your photos.

You can also recreate your brand on Etsy. You set the price for your images and even design a page that displays your photos the best.

Etsy keeps 20 cents on each product you upload as well as 3.5% of the sale price. Selling items here can be a challenge. However, they offer a helpful handbook to teach you all about branding, marketing. The information they share include how to price your items, how to sell your photos, and how to succeed.

SmugMug

SmugMug is an excellent site for those photographers with an entrepreneurial mindset. They let you choose how much to charge for your photos, and they let you keep 85% in commissions.

Instaproofs

Instaproofs is an online photo storefront. The ‘Insta’ part of their name comes from the ease of taking images from your Instagram account to the website.

You define the print sizes and the price tags that come alongside them. The free account lets you create 15 galleries with a 3 GB storage capacity. If you’re not a paying member, the site will also take a 12% commission from your sales.

Snapped4u

If you want to make money doing event photography, then consider looking into this website.

You can think of Snapped4u as an online gallery. All you have to do is upload your event images on the website. Your clients can then pick the photos they like and pay you.

What’s terrific about Snapped4u is that it’s straightforward to use. For instance, your clients don’t have to log in to view your photos. If you want your gallery to be private, you can assign a password that they can use to access the files. It’s so simple that it feels like buying postcards at a souvenir shop!

GuruShots

GuruShots isn’t exactly a place where you can sell photos online, but you can use this platform to make money.

According to their site, “GuruShots uses special proprietary algorithms to make sure each submitted photo gains equal exposure regardless of when it was submitted during the challenge, giving each entrant an equal opportunity to win through ‘statistically-based objectivity.’”

We have a full GuruShots review to check out too!

Fine Art America

Fine Art America is a Print on Demand site. It means they print and ship your images only when a buyer buys one. Their focus is on fine arts, such as photography and digital images of painting, etc.

But it isn’t bad at all since you get to control how much you want to earn per image. Not to mention that you don’t need to print the photos yourself.

Fotomoto

Fotomoto isn’t a place to sell your photos. Instead, it allows your website to sell images through its widget. After signing up and installation, it will sell them for you.

Doing so gives you more time to focus on your image capturing and post-production.

If you’re looking for versatility, this site offers it! There is even a ‘free’ plan, where you give out more commission than you would with other plans. All it takes is five minutes to sign-up.

Build Your Own Website to Avoid Fees and Commission

There is nothing like selling your work on your own site. If you are tech-savvy, you can find a way to do this ‘free’ (not counting domain and hosting fees).

If you aren’t proficient in web design or programming, you can join Wix or Square Space. They do all the background work for you.

Once you set up your website, you can offer as many photos as you want! There are no fees or commission to pay third-party sites after each sale.

A quick Google search can help you find the best system for your website. Then you can start selling your own high-quality photos.

It’s a great option if you get a lot of traffic to your site.

Conclusion

Stock photography websites are perfect because they take off the workload from you. You can make money just by sharing your portfolio.

You can try all the websites we mentioned in this article. Most of them are non-exclusive. That means you can add the same image to different platforms and widen your audience.

Non-stock websites will make you more money per image but may need more work. For instance, Etsy requires that you print and ship the photos yourself. That process takes time, effort, and energy. But if you stay patient, the payout can be better than stock photography.

Looking for another alternative to stock photo sites for selling your photos? Check out our Picfair review!

Want to learn how to earn a serious income from your photography business? Then read our eBook – Profit from Portraits!

The world of photography is undergoing a sea change over the last five years. Two main contributors towards this revolution are smart phones and affordably priced digital cameras. Smart-phone manufactures lay great emphasis on incorporating very high resolution cameras on their latest handsets to attract selfie aficionados.

Digital cameras- both expensive and economically priced- are the mainstay of avid travelers and hobby photographers. Additionally, there is a small army worldwide of photographers who prefer manual cameras that work with film.

The second contributor are Internet-based websites that allow facilitate people to sell photos online. With the boom in web-based media, blogs and heavy emphasis laid by digital marketers, there exists a great demand for excellent pictures of almost everything. You can cash-in on these trends and make money by selling photos online.

How to Sell Your Photos Online

Photos that Sell Online

There are no clear parameters about type of photos that are saleable on the Internet. Generally, pictures that have command the highest prices and greatest demand include but are not restricted to:

NOTE: There is a huge market for pictures of babies, toddlers and children. However, you need to exercise extra caution in selling such pictures since they can be exploited by pedophiles.

Buyers for Online Photos

There is no dearth of buyers for excellent pictures, if you sell online. Generally, customers for your pictures would also include:

However, this list is not comprehensive by any means. There are several categories of buyers who are willing to pay fairly attractive amounts of money for good pictures for various other purposes.

Things you Need to Sell your Photos

If you intend to make money selling photos online, there is some basic stuff you would require. Understandably, this will depend upon your budget. The good news is, you can do it using a smart-phone equipped with a high definition digital camera too.

Should finances or budget permit, you can invest on

Skills Required

Anyone can make money selling photos online. You do not require any special skills to enter this small business. Yet, a few skills will ensure your pictures are in great demand.

Stock Photo Sites to Sell Your Photos Online

The next step is finding suitable platforms to sell your pictures online. There are scores of small and large websites where you can post your pictures for sale. The website will display these pictures under genres you select. A preview of the photo will be displayed online but with a digital watermark and copyright. This means, nobody can download and use the photos without paying you, through the website.

Generally, every website allows you to register free. They will display your picture and when sold, charge you a fee for utilizing their services. Below are some top websites where you can make money by selling photos online.

1. ShutterStock

Shutterstock is perhaps the world’s largest website for selling photos online. Depending upon exclusivity you can earn minimum US$100 to US$ 120 per photo. There are various pricing plans offered by Shutterstock. You can opt for the one best suited for selling pictures. The company’s website claims, it paid over US$ 500 million to contributors in 2017. An advantage with Shutterstock is, you get updates about themes for photos that are in high demand during any particular time of the year.

2. Alamy Stock Photo

Another popular website where you can make money selling photos online is Alamy. This website reaches over 100,000 customers worldwide, ranging from individual collectors to news majors and multi-national firms. Customers buy licenses from Alamy to access your photos. You get 50 percent of the amount for which your photo sells. Registering as subscriber and uploading your pictures is fairly simple on Alamy.

3. 500px Prime

This website boasts of having over half a million contributors around the world. Again, you have to sign up as contributor in 500px Prime to sell your pictures. The company claims it pays 70 percent of the sale price of photos to contributors. Using 500px Prime as registered contributor is fairly easy.

4. iStock

All registered contributors get a minimum 15 percent of the amount for which their photos are sold. However, giving exclusive usage rights to the customers means you can earn as high as 45 percent of the price for which they are sold. This website is run by Getty Images. The company has a fair policy for pricing your images and the share you receive for their sales. You can select from the various royalty policies offered by iStock to price your pictures.

5. SmugMug

To make money selling photos online, also try SmugMug Pro. The only flipside with SmugMug Pro is, you need to buy contributor subscription at US$ 12.50 per month. In exchange, the company gives you 85 percent of the sale price of your photos. The system is rather simple. For every photo you post on SmugMug Pro, you can select your price and add a mark-up profit for the website. You get the price minus the mark-up profit and service fees.

6. Getty Images

Another leading website for selling photos to make money is Getty Images, based in the US but with operations worldwide. Getty Images has some of the biggest customers in form of news networks, large corporations and advertizing majors as well as government departments as part of its buyer portfolio. However, joining Getty Images as contributor can prove a bit difficult for some photographers. The website requires excellent and unique photos to provide its high profile clientele. Hence, you need to have exceptional photography skills for contributing to this website.

7. 123RF

With an impressive portfolio of companies including Apple, American Express, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Deloitte and many more, 123RF is indeed a website where you can make money selling photos online. Other than photos, you can also sell high quality videos and related stories through 123RF. Payments are very lucrative and usually made through your PayPal account. Other payment options are available for contributors from different countries. Signing up as contributor is simple and you and you can begin earning almost instantly.

8. Adobe Stock

Formerly called Fotolia, the website now operates under new brand identity, Adobe Stock. Indeed, it is operated by the same company that makes popular software Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Photoshop among others. Thanks to excellent reputation, Adobe Stock has myriad clients that require very creative photos and sometimes, related content. The company pays 33 percent of the sale price of your photos. Additionally, you can also sell videos. Anyone above the age of 18 years can register as contributor on Adobe Stock. You can request payment once you have accumulated US$ 50 or Euros 50 in your account, through PayPal or Skrill.

9. Adult Stock Photo

10. BentBox

More Websites

In addition to these, you can sell photos at several other websites in the USA and around the world.

Registering on these websites to sell photos online is free. However, we advise you read terms and conditions carefully to ensure you make maximum money selling photos online.

Stock Photos Explained

You will come across the term ‘stock photos’ several times while registering on any website where you can sell pictures. Here, we explain the term. The term ‘stock photos’ simply means a database of pictures contributed by amateur and professional photographers, that are up for sale through websites we mention earlier. Stock photos are generally sold by these websites in two categories:

To earn more money by selling photos online, we elaborate a bit more on these jargon.

Royalty Free Photos

This is one of the categories under which you can sell photos online. Here, a customer pays a fee to the website where you have registered of selling photos online. Royalty Free gives rights to customers to use a particular photo for a fixed number of times only. Here, you do not give exclusive rights to any customer for use of the photo. The same photo can be sold to multiple customers. A customer however reserves the option of using it when desired. They can also be used for various purposes, since there are no exclusive rights involved.

Rights Managed Photos

Rights Managed Photos are generally common in the news and advertizing companies. Here, you need to specify the industry that can use your photos. Further, you have to assure customers the photo would be exclusive for them. You also reserve the options of specifying the duration for which the photo will be used, set demographic and geographic limitations. Additionally, you can define the purposes for which your photo will be used.

NOTE: There is another segment of photos that are offered by photo stock companies to promote a photographer or the website. These are called free photos. Here, you are not entitled to any payments. There are also no limitations of any sorts. These are given free to display your skills and attract prospective buyers for your other photos. They serve only as teasers and advertisements for your skills.

In Conclusion

You can make a lot of money selling photos online. Indeed, a lot of people worldwide have made small fortunes through this trade. Other than pecuniary gains, amateur and professional photographers also get opportunities to hone skills. With mobile apps that are common nowadays, you can do this small business from anywhere in the world, without having to rely on a computer. Various picture editing software are now available for smart-phones as well and allow you to enhance photo quality before posting them on a website.

20 Best Websites to Sell Your Photos Online in 2022

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How much money can you make selling photos online?

Whether you’re a professional photographer or just getting started with photography, we’ve all asked ourselves the same question.

Thankfully, here in 2022, there are plenty of options to help you sell your photos online.

Whether you want to sell stock photos, integrate e-commerce into your photo portfolio, sell prints, sell NFT pictures, products or photo books… we’re here to help.

It’s the ultimate guide to making money with your camera!

We’ll reveal the 20 best places to sell your photos online and answer all the most common questions about getting paid to take pictures.

So let’s dive right in!

Table of Contents

20 Best Websites to Sell Photos Online in 2022

Here are the top 20 photo selling websites to make a bit of side income with your photography.

We’ve included a mix of image hosting sites, blog sites and stock photo sites too.

1. Shootproof

Shootproof is one of the most popular websites to sell photos online.

With a simple platform to build gorgeous online image galleries, you can showcase your public and client galleries. People can view your works and order a range of print products, including larger canvases and prints for art.

Customers can download the images from their special events and order photo books directly from your site, with everything shipped directly to them.

Shootproof also provides all the tools necessary to set up and run your photography business online. You build your brand, price lists and client contracts within the site.

Another great feature is the ability to create automated sales emails, helping you sell photos online while you sleep!

Shootproof offers a free trial version with the ability to upgrade to any of the four paid plans – depending on your needs. The best bit about Shootproof is that the sale of your prints is commission-free – the client pays the total cost.

Read more about Shootproof in our review.

2. Pixieset

Pixieset is among the best websites to sell photos online, offering a range of free and paid solutions.

You build online galleries for public display and private client use – client galleries are password protected.

Pixieset is user-friendly and allows customers to select favourite images or download a whole gallery. What’s more, it’ll send you a notification to your email address when this happens.

Another great feature of Pixieset is the available plans to help you get online and make money.

They offer a comprehensive free plan with up to 3GB of storage. Rather than a trial, it’s a complete website builder that’s perfect for those starting on a budget.

There are also four additional paid plans for photographers that need more capacity and features.

One of the most valuable features of the website is the ability to use the Adobe Lightroom plugin. It allows you to link and send your edited images directly to your Pixieset galleries with minimal fuss.

3. Instaproofs

Instaproofs is a user-friendly platform to build an online photography business complete with a website, galleries, marketing tools and the ability to sell photos to clients.

The website promises a streamlined experience to upload, promote, sell and provide digital or physical prints to customers. Instaproofs also allows you to opt for the self-fulfilment of prints or to use their print services to take care of it all for you.

Instaproofs offers no less than five plans, with the first being a free plan that provides 3GB of storage and up to 15 galleries to store 1,000 plus photos.

Images sold through the free plan attracts a 12% commission to Instaproofs. The remaining paid plans all vary in photo storage limits and services with no commission paid to the website.

4. SmugMug

Regardless of being a professional or enthusiast photography, SmugMug is a brilliant website to set up galleries and sell your photos online.

Rather than use a commission system, SmugMug Pro provides a range of paid plans which include both a hosting gallery and e-commerce platform.

The paid plans provide a range of options to build an appropriate website with galleries for your art, commercial or event work. You set the pricing and print options – you can also use the recommended print labs for physical print order fulfilment.

5. Pic-Time

Pic-Time is an online gallery and image hosting website ideal for selling photos.

Event and wedding photographers needing a user-friendly online platform should definitely pay notice – the platform allows you to build an elegant and modern gallery website to house client event photos.

Clients can access their galleries and share images via linked social media platforms, download digital copies or order physical prints.

Pic-Time is also well suited to fine-art photographers wanting to showcase their art prints to the public with the hope of selling them.

As a result of the two core genres, the pricing plans split so that event photographers get high-volume storage access and fine-art photographers get high-quality print fulfilment.

It’s worth noting that the basic fine art plan incurs a 15% commission versus the higher plan that is commission-free.

6. Zenfolio

Zenfolio is another hugely popular choice for those looking to build a creative website to sell photos online.

Zenfolio provides photographers with a one-stop-shop to upload, display, promote and sell photos online. If you shoot client work, Zenfolio allows you to build private galleries and offer your clients custom packages.

While it’s ideally suited to pro photographers selling images for big jobs like school and sporting club annuals, it’s just as good at supporting the little guy.

One of the best things about Zenfolio is the vast range of physical print products you can offer to your clients.

7. PhotoShelter

If you’re looking to build your website to display, promote and sell your images, PhotoShelter is one of the best options out there.

The platform provides a range of smart and modern templates to build your online presence, including galleries and business information.

If you’re a photographer on the move, PhotoShelter provides mobile apps to help you manage your galleries and sales from anywhere in the world.

Users can take advantage of a free trial version, plus three additional paid plans with an extensive range of features.

I especially like that PhotoShelter provides a client proofing tool to review their entire private gallery and mark the images that they like best.

8. WordPress

WordPress is one of the most popular photography hosting or online gallery sites around – it’s certainly the one that most people know.

WordPress offers affordable plans and the ability to use a range of themes to build your photography website. You can create public galleries and include a blog, an About Us or Contact page and a bio page.

While you can build as many online galleries as you want (even password-protected ones), you can’t use WordPress as an e-commerce website as it is.

However, if you already have WordPress as your leading photography site, there’s a range of plugins available to update your website to allow for the sale of your photos.

By far, the best and most popular e-commerce plugin for photographers is WooCommerce. It’s free to add the WooCommerce plugin to your existing WordPress website – you just need to pay for hosting as well as store transaction fees.

9. Squarespace

Squarespace is just as popular as WordPress for those wanting to build online galleries for their photos.

The big difference between the two is that Squarespace already offers a limited set of e-commerce tools ready to use – no need for plugins.

Squarespace provides the tools to build your online website with galleries. It also includes the ability to set the selling price for digital downloads and physical prints from your store.

However, the options are a bit limited, and you have to organise the print-pack-post process yourself with a local printer.

As a result, Squarespace is a perfect solution for those new to photo sales and who want to build an online store.

Also, those that want to sell printed photos but take care of the printing and associated tasks themselves have greater control.

10. Alamy

Alamy is a popular British stock photography website that’s been around almost as long as digital photography. As a result, it’s a great starting point for any photographer to sell photos online.

As a result of their tenure, they have over 255-million stock photos, videos and vectors spread across 50 categories and genres.

For those wanting to sell their photos online, Alamy is an excellent choice as they offer high volume traffic and analytics tools to help you know what sells best.

Alamy also provides the Stockimo app for iOS so that you can capture and sell iPhone images while on the go.

The website pays 50% of each direct sale for exclusive images and 40% for non-exclusive images – these are great rates. The biggest issue with a website of this scale is getting your images seen by the right buyers.

11. Shutterstock

Shutterstock is one of the best-known stock photography sites, offering hundreds of millions of images and videos for sale.

As a result, Shutterstock is one of the first places people and business head if they need stock photos. Plus, they sell music, 3D models and provide a range of tools to manage your images on the site.

The commission rate for Shutterstock is 30% per sale, and they offer additional financial reward for referring other photographers and customers to the site.

Shutterstock even has a Contributor app so that you can upload your images on the go and monitor the progress of your sales.

An excellent feature of the Shutterstock website is The Shot List. It’s a page dedicated to the latest and upcoming trends in photos that clients will be seeking.

Shutterstock offers high-quality content for customers to use in their creative pursuits. Plus, it’s one of the best places to sell photos and boost your earning potential.

12. Dreamstime

Dreamstime is a stock photography, video and illustration website that’s ideal for those new to selling their photos online.

The stock images website is one of the best places to sell your photos as it provides a user-friendly platform that’s far easier to access than some other high-profile stock sites.

A significant difference with this website is that you can still create a personal gallery – more like SmugMug or Pic-Time.

A feature like this makes it far easier for potential clients to find your images and for you to promote them via social media.

You can expect to take home 25% for each image sold for non-exclusive images and 27% for exclusive – not a huge incentive to go exclusive.

However, as you sell more and gain popularity, the commission can increase to almost 50%.

13. CanStock Photo

One of the most significant issues with using stock photography sites is the upload process.

You need to prepare your image for upload and then spend time entering keywords for each image. The keywords are your gateway to getting noticed on crowded stock photo sites.

However, the folks at CanStock Photo have made themselves stand out by creating a streamlined upload system for adding text documents to each photo.

These can include legally required contracts and model releases, as well as a list of keywords.

You make money from someone else selling their photographs via the platform – it’s a hassle-free income stream that boosts your earning potential!

14. Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock may just be the stock photography website for you if you use Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop for your post-processing software.

Adobe acquired the website Fotolia and now include Adobe Stock in their suite of Adobe Creative Cloud products.

As a result, with the single Adobe ID, you can edit your images and then upload them directly to your Adobe Stock account.

Adobe Stock works in much the same way as a website like Shutterstock.

As an Adobe Stock photographer, you have free access to Adobe Portfolio to build your own custom online photo gallery and site.

The Adobe Stock website pays a 33% commission for any stock photo sold, and payment is instant. It’s definitely proving to be one of the popular places to sell photos online and make extra money.

15. Getty Images

Getty Images is considered a premier stock photography website but is worth checking out if you want to sell your photos.

If you’re a fine art photographer looking to elevate your exposure and sale of your photos, it’s the website to be on. Clients buy images from the website for thousands of dollars, especially if they want exclusive use of the image.

To get your work on Getty Images, you have to be accepted after a rigorous approval process that looks closely at the quality and consistency of your work.

Getty has some pretty strict terms and conditions for a photographer wanting to sell photos online.

However, it’s interesting to point out that Getty Images only accepts applications via their Contributor mobile app.

In terms of payment structure for content licensed with Getty Images, rates are 20% for royalty-free images – Getty Images set the price for your content.

16. iStock Photo

If you feel that Getty Images is a little out of your reach, fortunately, they have an alternative.

iStock Photo is a microstock website created by Getty Images that’s suited to less experienced photographers and contributors selling photos online.

It’s worth pointing out that a lot of stock sites refer to photographers as contributors.

I’d highly recommend iStock for those new to selling photos online and don’t know where or how to get started.

The website features a range of helpful user forums to support those new to the process – it’s a great website to sell photos online and make some extra money.

iStock pays you a rate of 15% per sale, and if your photo proves popular, this can increase up to 45%. If you opt for exclusive rights to your photo, the rate increase to 22% as a starting point.

17. Stocksy

If you’re looking for a less crowded stock photography site to display your images for sale, it’s worth considering Stocksy.

The website provides a minimal and modern platform to host images with the content search function is the first thing you see when you load the site.

Stocksy is a co-op owned by photographers, contributors and artists from across the globe. To become a part of the co-op and sell photos online, you first must submit a sample of ten photos for review.

If they love your stuff, you’ll receive an invite to upload and start selling on your own gallery. Plus, as a co-op member, you get a say in the running of Stocksy.

It’s important to note that the stock photo site demands every photographer to adhere to exclusivity with images so you can’t sell them to another stock photography site.

18. 500px

500px is a site that serves a dual purpose – to provide hosting for your images and enable e-commerce functions to sell photos online.

Much like a social media platform, likes and views result in an image ranking. It can significantly help your work to be pushed to the front so buyers can grab your images and cash you up!

500px offers a Free, Awesome and Pro plan, with the latter two providing unlimited uploads of images to your galleries.

You can also pay for Luminar Photo Editing software as an add-on to any of the plans – in terms of photograph editing software; it’s one among the best.

500px offers photo licensing so you can sell your images as stock photos. Licensing options include royalty-free, exclusive and unexclusive options for contributors.

What more, as it’s primarily a website for hosting photographs, there’s no cumbersome approval process or strict terms – other than some basic community standards.

Depending on the quality of work submitted by the photographer, the site pays 60% on exclusive images and a 30% commission for non-exclusive images.

19. Fine Art America

Fine Art America is a website dedicated to the sale of wall art, including photography prints in various sizes.

By far, the site is one of the most popular ways to sell photos online – especially for those that shoot fine art, landscapes, and works that look great in a lounge room or corporate office.

Fine Art America is one of the largest online marketplaces for the sale of photos. As a result, it can be tough to get your work seen amongst the thousands of galleries.

With the help of the included marketing and promotion tools, you can set up a gallery, and Fine Art America takes care of order fulfilment.

You can sell your photos as prints, greeting cards and tech accessories such as phone covers.

All you have to do is upload your images and offer customers these products plus a vast range of print styles, including framed, canvas and even wood prints.

Fine Art America offers a comprehensive free plan and a paid plan. Either way, you set the price and keep 100% of the profit – FAA adds a 30% charge on top of the set price.

20. Etsy

Etsy is one of the best marketplace sites to sell arts and crafts – including photos.

Etsy is a well-established platform with the necessary e-commerce tools to showcase your images and offer a range of print options.

When selling physical prints and canvases, you have to take care of the printing, packing and postage – it’s how Etsy keep their fees so low.

The best way to manage this is by setting up a dropshipping relationship with a printing company. Many larger printing companies will offer to drop ship – they receive the file, print, pack and post all for a fixed cost.

Etsy attracts a lot of traffic, and their pricing includes a small fee to post a sale item online along with a transaction fee after the sale.

9 Tips for Selling your Photos Online

1. Sell What’s Hot

If you’re looking to sell your photos online, one of the questions you’ve probably asked yourself is, “What type of photos sell best?”

To answer this, take some time to review the styles of images already available on the sites you want to sell your work on. Take the time to learn about the approval process and the terms of selling your photographs to a website.

If you’re selling images to a local newspaper, become familiar with and attend local events. Seasonal weather changes are also a popular photo style, especially if you’re in an area with dramatic seasons such as Autumn or Spring.

If selling images of people to a stock gallery, images with a sole person sell better than group shots. In addition, candid photos sell better than posed shots and having a person looking away is better than facing the lens.

Finally, a person in a wide-angle shot is currently preferred over close-up face-shots if selling photos of people. Again, it all depends on what the stock photo website is looking for.

Some stock photo websites are open to any style or image category, while others will provide a clear brief on the sort of stock photo they’re after.

2. Sell Your Work As A Product

If you take interesting images of landscapes, city scenes or exotic destinations, there’s definitely a market for your work to be made into products.

While these shots will be popular on a stock photo website, the other option is to sell them as products.

You can use websites like Printful and CafePress to create prints, mugs, canvases and clothing and then sell them online. Sites such as these offer professional printing and merchandising service that customers love.

With Printful, you can create custom merchandise for public sale or a specific event. If you were to hold a gallery exhibition of your framed photos, you could set up a gift store with your photos on mugs, tea towels and magnets.

3. Create and Sell Wall Art

There’s a range of ways to showcase your images using online galleries such as Shootproof and Pixieset. But there are other ways to showcase your creative photos and market them as wall art suited to larger prints.

There are art sites that allow you to sell your work online as exclusive, limited-run or on-demand prints.

By far, one of the most popular is Fine Art America – a site dedicated to the sale of quality art photos.

The downside of a big popular website is that it has a massive selection of photographers and prints – your humble entry may get lost in the crowd.

In addition to Fine Art America, consider selling your photos as wall art via Etsy, Great Big Canvas, Redbubble and Society6 who can turn your images into framed prints, phone cases and tote bags.

4. Make Your Own Coffee Table Book

There’s a growing demand for unique and bespoke coffee-table books, and you can create your own for sale.

There are countless sites and even downloadable software to make book development easy. But selling these is a lot more challenging.

Fortunately, you can create and sell your photo books on demand through sites such as Blurb. I’ve used Blurb several times to develop themed books of my photography travels throughout Japan.

The platform is easy to navigate, and book creation is straightforward thanks to the downloaded software.

While you can simply have these books printed and posted to you for personal use, Blurb offers sales alternatives. You can have an ISBN assigned to your book and post it for sale on the Blurb Bookstore – an online store that overflows with creative photo books.

Blurb charges no commission and will print in volume or on-demand – they also offer the sale of e-books.

5. Optimise Your Existing Online Gallery

If you already have a site dedicated to your photography work with stunning galleries, consider optimising it with an e-commerce extension.

Sites such as WordPress offer the ability to build public and private galleries to display your photos. By adding an e-commerce plugin to your existing WordPress site, you can make money on the sale of your images.

There’s an extensive range of plugins available, with some of the best being WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Shopify.

Our favourite plugin for photography sites is WooCommerce, as it supports the sale of physical (prints, books) and digital products.

WooCommerce also provides countless themes and add-ons, as well as a range of popular payment and shipping options. Plus, a robust community of contributors provide online support along with paid support from the platform.

6. Build An Online Gallery From Scratch

One of the simplest ways to sell your photos online is to build your gallery website from scratch. An online gallery is an excellent backup for storing your photographs instead of investing in another hard drive.

While sites like WordPress make it simple to build a gallery and add a blog, they’re not set up for e-commerce “out of the box”.

As discussed above, you need to invest in and set up an e-commerce plugin to sell photos. Fortunately, there’s a range of well-established photography hosting sites with e-commerce functions built in.

These websites offer various plans with varying levels of storage and features, making them ideal for professional event photographers. But, many provide a basic and affordable product ideal for those that wish to sell their photos online.

There are many benefits for a photographer building their site to promote their content and sell photographs to make money. They have more control over the site’s design without having to go through an image approval or submission process just to get their content online.

Sites such as Shootproof, Pixieset and SmugMug made the top of the list in our Best Online Galleries article.

7. Be Critical Of Your Photos

If you’ve gone to the trouble to build an online gallery to sell your work, be critical of what you showcase.

One of the best tips for your photo e-commerce store is not posting every photo you have ever taken – especially not all at once!

Be critically selective of your best work and get a second opinion from a respected peer about what works and what will be popular when creating a photo portfolio.

We often become so absorbed in our work that we don’t see the woods for the trees. We fail to be critical of our work – especially after spending hours taking the images and then hours editing them.

Flooding your site with below-average images will impact the sales of your better photos. However, filling your website with only your best work will make all the difference.

8. Marketing Is King

The internet overflows with people showcasing their images in countless ways and on every medium possible.

As a result, making your photos stand out in a sea of images may seem impossible.

Regardless of how you choose to showcase your images, marketing is the key to your sales success. As with any product sale, getting people to notice it in the first place is 99% of the battle.

If you have an online gallery, e-commerce site or are selling photo books on Blurb, use every avenue possible to market them.

With the help of social media platforms, you can promote your photos for sale online and gain significant reach and engagement. What’s more, many online photo gallery and e-commerce sites include marketing and promotion tools within the paid plans.

9. Kill It With Keywords

Some stock sites feature tens of thousands of photographers hosting millions of photos.

To stand out from the crowd can be challenging, especially if the website relies on a social ranking system to push images to the front.

One of the simplest ways to combat a crowded space is to really focus on getting the right keywords.

Keywords are a lot like tags applied to a social media post. You attach keywords to images to show up at the top of the list in a search outcome.

Getting your keywords right in the first place will mean that when customers search for a particular style of photo, yours appear at the top.

Spend some time seeing what top-ranking stock photographers are doing with keywords and replicate that to build your keyword database.

Legal Terms to Know When Selling Photos Online

If you intend to sell photos online, we highly recommend knowing and understanding your rights and legal requirements first.

Get to know the legal terms to prevent any legal issues down the track when you find one of your images used in a way you didn’t agree to.

How to Sell Photos Online FAQs

How much money can you make selling photos online?

Selling stock images online will earn you between 25 and 45 cents per image per month. The price will vary depending on how interesting and unique your photos are, how well you use keywords and the kinds of agencies you sell to them to.

What app pays you to take pictures?

If you’ve ever asked yourself: Can I sell photos taken on my phone? Yes, you absolutely can. Here’s a list of free iOS and Android apps that allow you to do just that:

How do I sell my photos to newspapers?

We can’t always be in the right place at the right time with a bag full of gear to photograph breaking news.

But you can still sell your photos to a newspaper or magazine. Check the newspaper’s website as they often invite photo submissions, especially if it’s for a local publication.

Alternatively, if you have a photo that you think is newsworthy, contact the newspaper directly and ask to speak to the news editor.

Where can I sell photos of myself?

There are several smartphone apps and company sites that pay for selfie photos.

Selfies feature in published articles, promotions and advertisements. Some apps will provide direction on the kinds of things they want you to be doing in your photos.

What size prints sell best?

The size of prints that sell the best will vary from region to region. Companies that make ready-made frames work to these sizes and also makes them very popular in the consumer market.

How do professional photographers give photos to clients?

Professional photographers use a website to showcase client photos in a public or private gallery that only the client can access.

Shootproof is a site that provides photo hosting websites ideal for pro photographers. The client can download digital files or order prints directly from the site.

Final Words

As you can see, selling photos online is not as scary as it sounds.

There’s a huge range of online sites purpose-built to host and sell your photos. These range from stock photography sites, hosting galleries, a portfolio page and even a humble blog site with plugins.

Regardless of your starting budget, there’s no reason why you can’t sell your photos online and make money now!

The best bit about selling photos online is that you’re making money while you sleep – or while you’re out taking more amazing photos fit for sale.

I especially like the sites that provide you with a shot list or brief explaining the current stock photo trends. That way, you can head out with your camera knowing what sells the best.

What are your thoughts on selling your photos online via a site like these?

Do you already use a gallery site to sell work, or have you sold work via a stock site in the past?

What was your experience like, and did you make any money selling your photographs for cash?

Join the conversation by commenting on your experience, share your ideas and ask questions. Happy shooting.

22 Ways to Sell Photos Online – How to Sell Photos in 2021?

Spread This Knowledge

It takes skills, talent, and, most importantly, the right place to sell photos online and make money.

But first, you need to go through some prerequisites to understand how to sell photos online successfully.

If you are a professional photographer, then feel free to skip that part and jump on the list.

For all newbie photographers who think that they have a flair of photography and want to start making money online by selling thier content, here is one tip that you need.

FIND YOUR NICHE!

You cannot take pictures of anything and put it on the sale. You need to find a niche and stick to it.

There two most effective ways to find your niche.

i. Follow your passion – If you are passionate about something such as sports, travel, wedding, etc. then you will produce the most quality work in that area.

ii. Go with the trends (profits) – Research the market and pick up the niche that is most profitable, trending, and has the most extensive customer base.

For your ease, I have mentioned the list of profitable photography niche at the end of this post.

So, without further ado, let’s check out the places where you can sell your photos and make money.

Here, I have mentioned 22 places to sell photos online.

Sell Photos Online on Microstock Sites/ Stock Photo

1. Shutterstock

Shutterstock is one of the most popular stock photograph platform. Where you could earn up to 30% ($120) per image sold. However, this platform is quite competitive, where you need to upload maximum photos to boost the image downloads.

The pricing structure is a bit complexed. The amount and percentage increases with the increase in lifetime earnings.

2. Getty Images

Getty Images is one of the pioneers of stock photos that start licensing images. It is always the first option of every professional photographer to sell photos online.

The commission seems to be lower compare to other platforms, which is 20%, but the traffic it gets makes it much easier to get your images sell faster and in large quantities.

Images that show emotions and engagement are preferred here and more likely to sell faster. Many major brands and agencies visit this site to get some quality photos for their usage, so you must upload your premium quality work to get your content published.

3. Alamy

Alamy is the stock photo platform that has more than 190 million stock images, vectors, and videos. The photographers can earn 50% of their image’s selling price – Payments are made monthly.

The process of selling is quite straightforward. Upload an image to Alamy, add tags to describe the image, and within 24 hours, the image will publish for sale.

Almost any image could be sold on this as Alamy wants to broaden their customer base; however, they are cautious about the image quality and prefer the image taken from DSLR or equal quality.

4. iStockphoto

iStockphoto has been active for almost 20 years as it is a part of one of the pioneers of stock photographs platform, Getty Images.

The sell on this platform, you first need to submit 3 to 6 samples of your works for review on the Getty image app. After the inspection, your images will be published for the customers.

You will earn a royalty for every purchase. The commission is not fixed; it is somewhere in the range of 15% to 45% for exclusive and non-exclusive photos.

5. Photodune

Photodune is associated with Envato Market is another great place to sell your photos and make money online. The price of the image is based on the size or megapixels that make the commission rate varied.

You can also earn a referral commission of 30% on the first cash deposit of a new user.

6. Bigstock Photos

Bigstock is a microstock site that gives up to 30% commission to its contributor whenever a photo is sold.

To sell photos on Bigstock, you need to sign up as a contributor and upload the images. After a review, the photos will be added to the Bigstock collection for the customers to purchase.

7. 500px

500px is a 15+ million photographer’s community, as well as a stock photo website. You can easily sign up to its site photo manager, list your photos for licensing to earn a royalty.

You can list your photos in the community where you can get likes and photo views that can help you to know how much people like your shots.

For contribution, you can earn a royalty up to 60% of net sales for exclusive photos and 30% for non-exclusive.

8. 123RF

123RF is another stock photograph that sells royalty-free images since 2005. This platform has over 5+ million buyers who are hunting for the best portfolio.

The process is similar to other stock photo sites as the contributor lists the images in the marketplace and earns between 30% to 60% commission on every download.

9. CanStock Photo

CanStock Photo is one of the largest and oldest microstock sites that have over 86000+ professional contributors and more than 19000+ new photos uploads each day.

You can earn either a commission or a percentage for your photos.

10. Dreams Time

Dreamtime is another stock photo site with 123+ million stock images and 28+ million buyers.

You can earn a commission of 25% to 50% of the revenue generated after photos sold. There is a 10% extra commission for the exclusive users that takes the commission rate up to 60% of total revenue.

11. Stocksy

Stocksy is very famous for publishers to hunt high standard images for their use. This microstock site has some elite standards that require complete exclusivity that does not allow you to sell anywhere else. However, these standards and restrictions worth it as they offer one of the highest commission rates ranging from 50% to 75%.

12. Foap

Foap is a great option to turns your photos into cash. You just need to upload a photo or video on this platform and earn a 50% commission when someone purchases your content.

You will need to download the Foap app on your phone to become a contributor.

13. Adobe Stock/Fotolia

Fotolia is a stock photo site of Adobe, now known as Adobe stock.

If you are a user of Adobe Lightroom, Bridge, or Premiere, then you can directly upload the photos with your Adobe ID.

14. CreStock

CreStock is a great way to earn some extra income from your photograph. You just need to sign up on this platform and upload your content. After the review, your photos will be listed for customers to purchase.

You can earn up to 20% to 40% commission on your photos. Also, you can earn commission by referring to other photographer’s work.

15. Snapped4u

Snapped4u is a fantastic platform for the professional photographer to sell event photos such as weddings and parties.

You can create two types of the gallery,

Fundraising Gallery – Images for a charitable cause, where you can ask for a donation per photo sold.

16. EyeEm

EyeEm is another stock photo platform where the photographer can quickly earn some good bucks.

For every photo, you get 50% of the net sale price of your photo. It is partnered with Getty images that mean you can put your pictures there for sale also.

Sell Photos Online with Your Website

17. PhotoShelter

PhotoShleter provides an opportunity to sell photos from your online store. You can start your ecommerce store for your pictures without any coding skills.

The cloud storage for your photos, social media integrations to display your photos on other platforms and SEO tools are also included in its features.

Check out the pricing plans here.

18. FotoMoto

Fotomoto is print on demand ecommerce widget that allows you to sell photos by integrating your website with its widget.

You just need to sign-up, and Fotomoto will process the rest of the selling works.

It allows you to sell canvases, digital photos, and prints. Also, you can customize your branding, such as add your logo so that customers can recognize your brand.

So, if you have an existing wordpress site, just integrate it with Fotomoto widget and start selling without any hassle.

Check out the pricing plans here.

Sell Photos Online on Ecommerce Marketplace

19. Etsy

Etsy is one of the most popular online marketplaces for content creators. A massive number of photographers and graphic designers are making a fortune by selling on Etsy with thier digital design, prints, canvas, and photos.

There is only one requirement to make your content Etsy’s bestselling item – It has to be unique.

Sell Photos Online on Free Stock Photos Site

Free stock photos do not give any money on selling the image. However, there is a way you can still earn from these platforms.

These websites encourage buyers to donate money when they download any image. Many photographers explore these places for experimentation and successfully make money from these platforms.

So, you can try these platforms as well to make some extra money from your photos.

Here are some free stock photo sites that you can start from,

20. Pexels

Pexels is a free stock photo website where users uploaded high-quality images so that the members of the Pexels community can use it. All the pictures are licensed under the Pexels license.

This platform was started with the motto of “Empowering Creator,” where designers, bloggers, and other content creators can have access to exquisite photos. Whenever a pictured is used, Pexels encourages the user to give credit to the photographers.

21. Pixabay

Pixabay is a community for creators to share royalty-free photos and videos under the Pixabay license. All the images are checked manually by Pixabay members and ensured that the content is fulfilling thier quality guidelines.

Over 30,000 active members frequently upload thier phots and videos on this platform that have been downloaded millions of times.

The photographers can create thier profile on Pixabay and get likes from the people on their images. It is a great platform to display the work and build a cutting-edge photographer portfolio.

22. Unsplash

Unsplash is another free stock image site with over a million images under its license. In 2019, It achieved the feat of having 1 million images uploaded by photographers from all over the world.

According to Mikael Kho (Founder of Unsplash), Every second 2083 Unsplash are viewed on the web, and over 5.4 billion images are viewed and shared on Unsplash that makes it the leading platform in its league.

The large community makes Unsplash a great platform for photographers to share the content and create thier audience.

10 Profitable Photography Niches

These are some of the best online photography niches recommended by professional photographers.

Wrapping Up

Earning from photography is one of the best ways to turn your hobby into a money-making side hustle. I tried to mention every possible way to help you in making money with your photography talent.

Now, it is your turn to explore these places and start earning from your photos. Do tell us about your experience with these sites in the comments below.

If you need any other queries about online selling, then join our 5000+ Facebook community of aspiring ecommerce entrepreneurs.

Bilal is a passionate content creator and digital marketing enthusiast who loves to find hacks and creative ways to produce prolific outcomes in strategizing content. Bilal is also an avid reader who loves to read mysteries in his free time.

4 Responses to 22 Ways to Sell Photos Online – How to Sell Photos in 2021?

Let’s say that prices may be rising and falling from both perspectives in photography industry. It is all about latest tech improvement and gadgets that can take shots far better and has increased prices. On the other hand, the gadgets and tech of previous model will cost you less. Besides that, it is also about the skill and talent of photographer.

I wanna learn too

I appreciate your ideas and efforts in this post but can’t agree with the point that is selling photos on your own website. Because, if nobody can recognize my website how will be it possible. I would say if you want to sell something you’ve got to advertise your product by paying digital marketing otherwise you have to be compelled to increase your organic traffic by doing SEO. So as a beginner, both ways are difficult to implement. I vote for Shutterstock, they need a lot of clients so if you register there so your earning chance will increase double or triple, and after getting some regular client you’ll sell our images directly by photo-sharing platform.

Zubida, I appreciate your concern and I know it should not be anyone’s first priority to sell photos on thier website, but it still is an option. This option is for those who have already running thier own websites so that mean they have already created some market for themselves.

And in print on demand marketplaces, you do not need to market your products. You just need to provide your photo/art and make the product available for sale on these marketplaces.

How To Sell More Photos

Are you trying to sell your photos? Get ready to boost your sales! We share the best places to sell photos online and IRL, and tell you the secrets to success.

If you can get paid for doing what you love, you’ve got it made. But, as you probably know, it can be tough to figure out how to sell photos online and make money. There’s plenty of competition, and, with the dizzying number of options where you can sell photos, it’s hard to know where to focus your efforts.

This guide will help—we’ll share the best places to sell photos online, as well as IRL, and explain how to make the most of them. First up, however, we need to get your work ready for sale!

How to Make Your Photos Look More Professional

The first step of how to sell your photos is to make sure your work is the best it can be. If you can improve the quality of your photography, you’ll have a better chance at competing with the many other photographers out there. Once you have an online photography portfolio filled with attention-grabbing work, you’ll have an easier time attracting customers and selling images.

Know the Fundamentals

If you’ve been through some formal photography training, you probably remember the fundamental rules of photo composition. You know: the rule of thirds, leading lines, perspective—all that jazz. But, along the way, you may have left some of that behind to develop your own style.

That’s great, since having a unique style can help you stand out from the pack and sell pictures online. However, when it comes to expanding your skills, it’s good to get back to the basics once in a while.

And if you’ve never been exposed to these rules, they are absolutely worth learning. It’s one of the easiest ways to make your photos look more professional, and will undoubtedly improve your chances of selling photography. For more tips, take a peek at our guide, 8 Essential Photo Composition Rules.

Upgrade your Equipment

Not having the right equipment can hold your photography back and make it harder to sell your pictures. First off, if you don’t yet own a tripod, it’s time that you invest in one. They offer many benefits, making it easier to compose your shots and enabling you to experiment with longer exposures. They’re also very simple to use, and it’s easy to find inexpensive options.

The next type of equipment you should look into is lighting. That includes things like lens filters, off-camera flashes, and light reflectors.Proper lighting is essential to making your photos look professional, and upgrading your lighting equipment is an easy way to make dramatic improvements.

If you need help deciding if it’s time to upgrade your camera, lenses, or other equipment, these will help you get started:

Develop your Editing Skills

An important part of how to sell photography is making sure you have great photo editing skills. Almost every photo can be improved by some slight touch-ups. Photo editing software—whether it’s Photoshop and Lightroom, or Photoshop alternatives allows you to create some stunning effects that you can use to grab people’s attention and draw them to your online portfolio website.

Best of all, it’s easy to get started. There are lots of free online tutorials and resources to help you learn all that’s possible with Photoshop.

How to Sell Photos Online

Now that you’re all caught up on how to make your photos look as professional as possible, it’s time to delve into how to make money with your photography and learn about the best places to sell photos online.

Your Own Website

Before you start selling photos, make sure your online portfolio is in tip-top shape, up-to-date and curated with your best work. It’s the first place potential customers will go when they want to learn more about you or your work, no matter where they stumble across it in the first place. For some pointers on how to build an awesome online portfolio that helps sell your photos online, check out our Ultimate Guide to Building A Photography Website.

Whether you plan on selling photo prints or digital copies, the best website to sell photos on is your own online store. It offers many benefits, including the freedom to set your own prices and keep all of the profits. In addition, it gives you more control over exactly how your work is presented.

If you don’t have your own website yet, it’s easy to build one—as long as you choose the right website builder.

Finding the Right Website Builder

You should use a website builder that has an online store built right in. That makes it as simple as possible for both you and your customers, since you’ll have a single place to showcase your work and sell photos online.

Another thing that you should look for in an online portfolio is a built-in blog. This is useful because a great photography blog can boost your portfolio’s search ranking and help lure customers to your site. Then, you can wow them and potentially create future customers with your great content and fun shots. (Need ideas on what to blog about? Here are a few ideas.)

Built-in client proofing galleries are another useful feature that some website builders offer. This can improve your workflow—and help keep customers happy, allowing you to sell more photos in the future.

If you’re having trouble deciding which website builder is right for you, pick one that offers a free trial. Then you can try it out and decide if it works for your needs before making any commitment.

Boosting your Sales

Once you have your online store set up as part of your portfolio, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances at selling images online.

Include an About Me section in your portfolio. It can help create a connection with customers. It’s also a chance to talk about your experiences or list any photography contest wins that show your expertise.

Take some time in writing your product descriptions. Make sure they provide all the information customers will want, such as printing methods, and dimensions.

Stock Photography Agencies

Using stock photography agencies is an easy way to sell photos online. Once you upload your images, you can start making some side income without any further effort, making it a great side hustle. There are even photo selling apps that make it easy to sell your mobile photography as stock images straight from your phone. The downside of stock agencies is the amount of money you make per sale tends to be low.

For example, Shutterstock, one of the most popular photo selling sites for independent photographers, offers pay rates starting at 20 percent of the sale price.

However, if your photos are popular enough, it can add up. Also, stock agencies typically have licensing terms that allow for multiple customers to purchase the same photos, meaning you get paid for photos again and again. Stock agencies are a good way to get your work out there and start learning which of your photos sell best.

Here are some of the best stock photography agencies to help you sell photography online:

Shutterstock is considered by many as the best site to sell photos on. It can offer consistent earnings, thanks to a high volume of image sales.

This is a well-respected agency that’s been around for many years. It’s known for its high-quality content, so it can be difficult to get your work accepted.

It offers great exposure—1.5 million customers!—since it’s owned by Getty Images. When you submit your work, its editors decide whether iStock or Getty Images is a better fit for you.

There’s potential for relatively high royalties quickly, ranging up to 60 percent. However, it comes with more requirements for image exclusivity than other photo selling websites.

When it comes to improving your stock image sales, an essential part is choosing the right subjects for your photography. Think about current events and trends. Use keyword analytic tools to compare different topics and see what people are searching for. Then, check out what types of photos are already available on the stock agencies and see if there’s an underserved niche you can fill.

For more ways to up your stock photography game, take a look at this guide on How To Create Stock Photography That Sells.

Websites, Magazines, and Other Publications

Another tip for how to sell pictures online is to pitch your work to publications like magazines, websites, and newspapers. While it takes more effort than using stock agencies, it also pays a lot better!

The first step is choosing your target. Of course, that will depend on what type of photography you focus on. One thing to keep in mind is you should seek out niche publications when possible. That’s because these publications usually receive far fewer submissions. For example, if you want to start selling wildlife photography, you’ll probably have more luck pitching to WildFowl magazine than National Geographic. To help you start finding niche publications to work with, check out this huge directory of magazines. Once you have a publication in mind, take the time to get to know it. It’s important that you thoroughly understand the publication’s focus and style, as that will help guide your pitch. When you’re ready, check if the publication’s website gives an email address or any special instructions for submissions. If not, just get in touch with the editor by emailing them a query letter. In your email, you should explain what kind of photos you want to sell them and why they’re a good fit for their publication. Keep it brief, but include all of the info they’ll want to know. Do you already have photos or are you pitching an idea? How many photos did you have in mind? Do you have an idea for an article that would accompany the photos? Then provide a link to either the photos you want to sell or some samples of your work that show off your capabilities. This is where having a stellar online photography portfolio comes in handy once again.

Here are a few more editorial photography tips to get you going.

Craft Sites and Other Online Marketplaces

If you’re wondering how to sell photography prints online, there’s a variety of digital marketplaces available. Many of them offer print-on-demand services, so you don’t have to worry about printing, framing, storage, or shipping. You simply upload your images and start selling.

Two great options include Darkroom and Fine Art America. They are both free to use but offer more options for customizing your store if you sign up for an upgraded plan.

Where they differ is Fine Art America sells a wide variety of products while Darkroom focuses on photo prints. For instance, with Fine Art America, you can sell your photos printed on greeting cards, phone cases, clothing, and more.

There are also print-on-demand services you can use to sell photo books such as Blurb and Lulu Xpress. Lastly, you can also sell photo prints online using craft sites like Etsy.

The benefit offered by these marketplaces is they can expose your work to different types of customers, which can lead to more sales. The major downside is there is lots of competition.

Some of the best ways to stand out include:

Making sure your listing features images that are strong, even when viewed in smaller sizes or on mobile. Since customers will have to click on your images to see a large version, the first thumbnails they see on your store should be easy to make out even when they’re tiny.

Carefully choosing the titles for your photos. Since customers sometimes search for a photo print of a particular subject, your listing should describe what’s in the image instead of just a creative name for the photo.

Check out this guide to learn more about how to sell pictures using these marketplaces.

Selling Photos IRL

While selling your images online offers convenience, if you’re not selling IRL as well, you’re missing out on some opportunities. Here are the best ways to sell more photos IRL.

Local Arts and Crafts Fairs

Arts and crafts fairs are great places to sell photos in your area. To get the most out of it, you should show off some photos that have a local connection. Whether it’s a landscape that features a landmark or a portrait of a local public figure, you’ll be more likely to find customers if they have a connection to the subject.

Another tip for selling photography prints in these venues is to bring lots of smaller prints rather than a few large ones. At craft fairs, most folks are not in the market for a large framed print. Often, they’ll make a purchase on a whim, so it will be an easier sell if the print is not too inconvenient to get home.

If you think your work would be more suited to an art gallery, check out this guide on How to Get Your Work in an Art Gallery.

Visit Small Businesses

Another way to sell photos IRL is by visiting business owners in your area. One place to start is businesses like bars and restaurants that may want a photo from a local photographer to spruce up their dГ©cor. Plus, every business needs an online presence these days; no matter what type of company it is, there are many small businesses in your area that would benefit from an affordable photographer to create great shots for their site!

How to Price your Photography

Deciding how to price your photography so you can sell more photos can be a real challenge. You’ll want to keep your prices low enough that your photos actually sell, but high enough that it’s fair compensation for the amount of effort you put into them.

It’s much easier to set your prices once you do a little market research. There are a lot of resources online for finding out how much photographers get paid for various gigs, and that can give you a benchmark to start with. For more guidance on pricing your photography, this primer on How To Price Artwork So It Actually Sells is an excellent start.

Sell Your Photography Skills

Now that you know where to sell photos, you should remember that selling photos isn’t the only way you can make money from your photography skills. From selling Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions to hosting photography workshops, there are a lot of options out there.

To get the most out of these options, you should work on developing your reputation as an expert. One way to do that is to show off your knowledge through a blog on your online portfolio. Make some tutorial posts, give a behind-the-scenes look into your process, or talk about your past experiences. These are all great ways to demonstrate your knowledge on your portfolio, which makes it more likely for people to shell out cash to get the benefit of your experience.

Now that you know how to sell your pictures, get out there and start earning!