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A stock photo site is a great tool for monetising and selling photos you already have, but it can also motivate you to improve your photography skills. Photography can also become a source of passive side income, over time even in the thousands, and for the most successful it becomes their main income. The advantage is that if you take photos with a wide range of uses, they can generate passive income for several years.
Photography is a very popular hobby across generations. Boys and girls both enjoy it. It is simply fun for everyone. But when someone has talent and invests tens of thousands in a camera and equipment, it is worth considering whether to monetise the hobby somehow. Selling photos on stock photo sites is a simple and low-pressure way to do it. You will also find out which photos the market wants and which are popular. If you give photos away for free, you can see how popular they are from the number of downloads. Another option is a great Instagram gallery, which can help you find paying clients.
Both approaches are tried and tested, they work and they combine very well. If your Instagram account happens to be stolen, you still have a second source of income. The same is true the other way round. It is not true that stock photo sites are only for amateurs and beginners. Many popular photographers also have their work on stock photo sites, and it brings them some passive income, although compared with their usual earnings it is no longer that significant.
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Selling photos, how do you make money from selling photos?
“Wait, I have to take a photo of it first!” Does this sound familiar? Do you say it several times a day? Then you may well have thousands of photos that could bring you online income with almost no work. That is an exaggeration, of course. So how can you make money from photos?
To sell your own photos, especially at the beginning, the easiest option is to use various stock photo sites and microstock sites. You need to meet a few basic requirements and invest a little time.
Photos must meet both the technical requirements set by the site itself (quality, size and so on) and the obvious ones you can work out for yourself. Hardly anyone will pay for a photo that is not attractive. The photos that earn the most will be those that capture a trend and are in high demand. They will cover a more general, frequently searched topic and will be neutral in their own way. Stock site customers can use them and make them their own.
The best stock photo sites on the market
How do you sell photos to a stock photo site? First of all: what actually is a stock photo site? Imagine you sell a service, such as a massage studio or a travel agency. You want to create an attractive offer, a leaflet or a website, but you do not have good, high-quality photos.
You have two options. You can pay for an expensive private photo shoot, which will cost you not only money but also time. The second option is to turn to a stock photo site and buy ready-made photos online. You will have hundreds of beautiful images to choose from for a few crowns, and within a minute.
Stock photo sites are online repositories where professional and amateur photographers upload their photos, videos and graphics, and customers from all over the world then buy them for their own use. Photo prices vary, and on microstock sites they start at around 50 cents each. Photographers who focus on creating stock photos therefore shoot themed series of several photos. A client can then buy a series of photos and use them in several sections of a website.
The most popular stock photo sites include:
- Shutterstock,
- Adobe Stock,
- iStock,
- Canstockphoto,
- Dreamstime and
- 123RF.
Free stock photo sites can be tempting for end users because they pay nothing for the photos. However, they have no guarantee of who actually took the photo. Examples include Pixabay and Unsplash. They often serve as advertising for paid versions, but they do not earn contributors any money.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock regularly ranks among the most popular stock photo sites in the Czech Republic and worldwide. It is the highest-earning stock photo site, has a pleasant user interface, and you earn at least 25 cents per photo, but you can get as much as around 3 dollars.
So how do you sell photos on Shutterstock? You simply register and upload your first 10 photos. Your profile will be assessed based on them, and if the photos are of good enough quality, an administrator will approve your profile and you can happily keep uploading.
Choose your first 10 photos carefully and pick the very best you have. You can, however, apply for approval several times. You only get paid once your earnings reach 35 dollars a month. If they are lower, the money carries over to the next month until you pass the threshold.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock has an advantage if you want to upload photos straight away: you do not have to wait for your profile to be approved. For photos and illustrations you get 33% of the sale price, and for videos 35%.
You upload photos in JPEG format, they must have a resolution between 4 and 100 MP and a size of up to 45 MB. You can upload them either from the contributor portal or directly from Lightroom. Each photo then waits for approval.
The minimum earning is 33 euro cents per photo, and you get paid once you reach 25 euros.
iStock
iStock used to be a great platform for earning money from photos. Especially with top-quality photos and illustrations, you could earn really good amounts. Today its percentages are probably the lowest on the market, and iStock also has a lengthy registration process.
Canstockphoto
Canstockphoto is an agency that says its strengths are that it treats contributors fairly and that earnings are clear in advance and fair.
After registering, you need to fill in a simple application to become a contributor, along with 3 images. Photos are approved quickly, and if there are no problems, you can start uploading.
You earn from 25 cents up to 2.50 dollars per photo. Payment is made once you reach 50 or 100 dollars, depending on the payment method.
Dreamstime
On Dreamstime selling photos is simple and worthwhile. Again, you do not have to wait for your profile to be approved, and you can also get a really high percentage of sales. If you contribute exclusively to this site, you get 60% of the sale price. If you also contribute to other sites, you get 25%.
123RF
123RF has a registration system similar to Shutterstock’s. You earn 30 to 60% of the price of each photo. The amount depends on how many photos you have already uploaded. The more, the better.
Other stock photo sites
There are many other stock photo sites you can upload to. Choose the one that suits you. Examples include:
- Depositphotos,
- Colourbox,
- Stocksy,
- Cavan Images,
- Westend61 and
- Offset.
Which photos earn the most?
It can be slow at first, and the key is to upload lots of photos of good enough quality. The more photos you have, the more likely people searching will come across them.
Remember that a photo must catch the eye and be ready to use straight away. Above all, photos must be well taken and should have at least basic editing in an editor.
When uploading, focus on the right keywords. List everything you can see in the photo as well as what it could express. Include abstract concepts too, such as relaxation or a healthy lifestyle.
Some photos sell better than others. Would you think original, artistic photos sell best? Wrong! The best-selling photos show topics such as:
- offices, people at work,
- meetings, coworking,
- children and families,
- real events,
- the seasons and
- current trends.
With photos of people, however, be careful: you can only publish images for which you have the consent of the person shown in them! For photos of children, you need their parents’ consent.
How and what to shoot with?
You do not need top-of-the-range equipment costing thousands of crowns straight away. For certain types of photos, a good smartphone camera will do. You can also use a compact camera you already have at home. If you find that photography is right for you, you can add to and upgrade your equipment over time. A mirrorless camera is a good middle ground.
However, it is important not to underestimate post-processing. Some photo editors are free, but the most popular ones are usually paid. Paid editors, however, often have a free trial version. For example, you can try Lightroom free for a whole month.
How do you start selling photos on a stock photo site?
So how do you start? Simply:
- Choose a platform,
- register,
- choose your photos,
- edit them and
- upload them.
The more, the better. Photos taken in the same lighting conditions will be easy to edit, even in larger numbers. This gives you a ready-made set of photos that can earn you money effortlessly within a few minutes. If your portfolio is broad and interesting enough, you can secure a pleasant passive income with minimal upkeep.
Upload the photos you already have. Are you a keen traveller or even a digital nomad with thousands of holiday photos on your hard drive? Do you love cooking and serving food beautifully? Do you photograph nature or cities?
Whatever the subject, the advantage is that you already have the photos. Half the work is done, and now you just need to edit and upload the images. You will see for yourself whether the subject is profitable or not. You will find out what customers want and can keep creating accordingly.
Earning money online
Today offers more opportunities than any time before. You can now earn money online in almost any field. IT, software development, blogging, online marketing and social media are just the beginning. When it comes to photography, you do not have to stick to stock photo sites. You can also earn money on Instagram, by doing commissioned shoots or by selling printed photos. As we mentioned in the introduction, selling photos on stock photo sites often has a slow start, but it can then generate a decent passive income for you.
You can find work from home part-time or as a side income in no time. You can stick to your own field or learn something new. In some sectors, you do not even need any special knowledge. And if a side income is not enough for you, take a look at our tips: What business to start in 2022 and how. If, on the other hand, you are thinking about how to reinvest the money you have earned, be sure to check out our guide to investing.
