Attention shutterbugs: Do you bring your camera everywhere you go, snapping perfect shot after perfect shot? Online Shop
You can turn that hobby into a side hustle and learn how to sell photos online and make money.
Cash in on your love for photography by selling photos online. Stock photography sites and other online marketplaces and tools offer a great way to turn files sitting untouched on your hard drive into extra cash, without much extra effort once you’ve edited and uploaded them.Best Sites to Sell Photos Online
Here are our favorite sites to sell photographs. There are more details about each site below the summary chart.1. 500px Prime
More than 1 million customers purchase stock images with 500px, according to the site. You’ll receive up to 60% net for every license sold (standard licenses are $250), and your images may appear in big-name ad campaigns if you submit them for commercial licensing.
To give 500px Prime a try, first sign up for a free account with 500px. Then submit your photos, enable your store and complete the required forms for each image (including model releases, liability releases, etc.).
You’ll also have the option of selecting an exclusive or non-exclusive license for the images. You’ll earn more for an exclusive license, but that means you can’t license or sell the photo to anyone else.2. SmugMug
With a SmugMug Pro subscription plan for $42 per month, you can create galleries to sell your photos through a custom domain for your photography business.
The service includes automatic watermark protection, a personalized website, client management and sales tools.
Once you sign up, you’ll upload photos, select the products you want to sell and pick prices.
This is a good site for someone with a true entrepreneurial mindset, since you get to work with clients and decide how much to charge for your images.3. Shutterstock
Earn up to 40% commission per image download on Shutterstock. Commissions on the site are based on how many image licenses you sell each year:Up to 100: 15%101 to 250: 20%251 to 500: 25%501 to 2,500: 30%2,501 to 25,000: 35%More than 25,000: 40%
You can also refer other photographers and make a small profit, typically around 4 cents, each time they sell an image. If you refer a customer who purchases images, you can earn 20% of their first purchase, up to $200.
Need a banking service that's built for gig workers and freelancers, helping you save for taxes and keep track of your expenses? Check out Lili. (It's free!)4. iStock by Getty Images
iStock (formerly iStockphoto) has been selling stock images since 2001 and is now owned by another stock site, Getty. Because it’s been around for a while, it has an extensive network of contributors and thoroughly vets new applicants to make sure they’re a good fit.
To apply, just download the iStock app (it’s free). If you want to contribute editorial photos or footage for use in news stories, you’ll have to fill out an application. The Getty/iStock photo team will review your qualifications, and you’ll have to take a short quiz to assess them. The final step is to upload a few samples of your work to make sure it’s top-notch.
You only have to apply once to be considered for both iStock and Getty Images, and photos you upload may be listed on either site.
Non-exclusive sellers (those who sell images on iStock as well as other stock photo sites) get a commission of 15%. Exclusive sellers get a tiered commission rate depending on how many licenses you sell each year:Default: 25%960: 30%10,200: 35%41,400: 40%617,760: 45%5. Adobe Stock
Make your stock photos available directly to users through Adobe products, like Illustrator and Photoshop, as an Adobe Stock contributor. If you use Adobe Lightroom, you can import photos directly from there into the stock library.
Adobe users get access to stock images through a monthly or annual subscription. The royalty rate you get paid for photos depends on the terms of the buyer’s subscription and range from $0.66 to $3.30 per photo license sold.6. Stocksy
Stocksy is an online cooperative of artists committed to high royalties.
As a co-op member, you can sell your work and have a say in how the business is run. Any photos you upload and sell through Stocksy have to be exclusive; you can’t list it anywhere else.
Payouts are simpler than with most stock sites:Standard license: A buyer purchases a standard license for between $15 and $125, depending on the image size. You keep 50%.Extended license: A buyer purchases an extended license to get unlimited users, unlimited printing or a retail license, for $100 to $500, and you keep 75%.7. Dreamstime
Dreamstime is a site for stock photography and royalty free photos. You don’t have to be approved to sell on the site. Just create a free account and upload your photos.
Dreamstime pays on a complex schedule based on “content level” — how many times a particular image has been downloaded, plus the license level, dictates how much a buyer pays and what percentage you’ll earn for it.
Once an image has been downloaded at least 25 times (content level 5), you’ll earn between 45% and 60% royalties, depending on the license details. A brand-new image with no previous downloads (content level 1) earns you between 25% and 60% royalties.8. Foap
Turn your simple smartphone photos into cash with Foap. The app sells stock photos from amateur photographers, so it’s a great place to get started selling photos online when you’re a brand-new photographer!
Just upload your photos or videos directly from your phone. Brands can purchase your photos unlimited times, and you’ll split the profits with Foap 50/50.9. Twenty20
Customers subscribe to Twenty20 monthly for unlimited access to photos and other digital assets from contributor galleries. You can upload photos through the free iPhone app or on the web.
You get paid commissions based on what Twenty20 calls Subscriber Share: Photographers get a share of subscription revenue, and the amount you receive is based on the percentage of a subscriber’s downloads that were your photos. The calculations are a little opaque, but, basically, the more people who download your photos, the more money you earn.10. Etsy
Etsy isn’t just for selling wedding decorations, custom Halloween costumes and quirky cat-themed gifts. You can also sell your photos!
Etsy charges a fee of $0.20 for every listing, which lasts for four months. If your item hasn’t sold after four months, the listing automatically renews for the same fee. When an item sells, you’ll pay a 5% transaction fee to Etsy.
The fee structure is beneficial to a photographer compared to other sites, but, in return, you have to put in extra work to make those sales.
While people browsing stock photo websites and art marketplaces are specifically looking to purchase images, not everyone browsing Etsy will necessarily be looking for photos. And people looking for photos may not think to look on Etsy.
That’s why, if you choose to sell your images on this site, you’ll need to invest time and energy into marketing. But Etsy takes such a small cut of each sale it may be worth your while.
The upside? When you set up your own Etsy store, you set the prices, so your earning potential is virtually unlimited.
If you're earning serious cash as a stock photographer you’ll have to claim the income for taxes, but you may also racking up deductions. Work with your accountant to square away the details!11. Society6
Society6 lets artists upload designs to print on everything from duvet covers to coffee tables to stickers. You set up your account and choose what to sell, and Society6 prints or produces items with your designs when they sell.
Society6 sets the base price and a 10% markup for the artist share on most items. For prints, you can set your markup wherever you want it — a higher markup means more royalties for you but also a higher price for the customer.12. Fine Art America
Fine Art America is an online marketplace for — you guessed it — fine art. It sells print-on-demand prints, home decor and clothing.
You can sell photos as canvas, framed, wood or metal prints or posters, or get them printed on tote bags, shirts, pillows, notebooks, shower curtains and more. FAA even stocks retail stores around the U.S. and Canada with art from its online marketplace, and it helps artists license their art to be used on sets for ABC television shows.
You can sell photos online through Fine Art America with a free account, and you can upgrade to a $30 per year membership to access premium features to promote your products.