Selling Photos Through Squarespace

If you believe photography is a costly hobby, you’re right, it can be. But that doesn’t mean that you need pro-quality equipment to make money from your own photos! Selling Photos Through Squarespace

In fact, if you’ve got a decent phone camera along with a steady hand, you’re already in with a shot.

But you get your clicks, there are a growing number of opportunities to monetise photos you’ve already taken. And when photography’s already your luggage, you will find heaps more ways to develop your abilities, and income; from selling your Insta stock to pulling a Brooklyn Beckham (famous parents optional).

You know the drill: read, learn, and give it a celebration for yourself!

If you have got a digital camera (or fancy picking up one to get a sneak ), you will have more options for selling pics to stock libraries, to sites for prints, or for print-on-demand products. This is because cameras will generally produce larger file photos (although some camera phones are trumping digi cams nowadays so this is not always the case).

Got a camera phone? A growing amount of stock libraries are catering for mobile snaps, and you still have a shot at the other biz thoughts below. Keep reading!

It helps to have…

Some type of editing software will help buff your pics for best results, so it is well worth sniffing out a decent package (and learning how to use it!) So you can make more money with your photos.

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are industry standards for picture editing. But they cost dollars! Do not crack open your wallet until you’ve checked out the freebies:

FastStone Image Viewer can open RAW files straight out of your digital camera and save them as JPG, TIFF or PNGs. OK for basic edits such as color correction, straightening, cropping and contrast.
Raw Therapee is a Lightroom-like editor with loads of resources for tweaking colors, curves and more.
PIXLR is a convincing alternative to Photoshop, and even recognises the very same shortcuts right out the bag. You can run it directly from a browser through the program for free.
GIMP can do much of what Photoshop excels at, though some users reckon it’s a more demanding learning curve.
There are loads of phone editing programs to be had for free or a few pence, but Snapseed (iPhone, Android, free) always makes the best-of lists.
Don’t overlook the bloatware picture software bundled into your’puter, telephone or laptop. Most can make light work of the fundamentals.

>>TAKE A LOOK AT HOW I LEARNED TO SELL PHOTOS FOR MONEY<<

Selling Through Stock Libraries

Stock libraries buy’n’ sell digital photographs to use on websites, in books, on products as well as in ads, together with the photographer getting a cut of the sale every time.

Selling photographs through a stock site is a top way to browse passive income streams: you can upload a photo once and sell it over and over again, pretty much forever!

You might need to submit a choice of pics (and be accepted) until you may become a stock library contributor. After that, some websites will keep on reviewing all your submissions, and will gladly bounce any they do not think meet criteria.

What that means is you will always have to be on the ball about picking your best shots. Don’t get too hung up about rejections, though; combine a number of sites and post pics to all of them to find the best possible coverage.

Which Websites Pay Most?

Swing by Alamy first. Their pupil contributor scheme gives you 100% of the sales price of your pictures for 2 years. Total win! Your uni will have to be part of this scheme, but loads of UK and US institutions are already on the books. Selling Photos Through Squarespace

Alamy reckons images typically sell for $90 (USD) each, but you might get anywhere from $20 to $500 depending what it is used for. If you are not a student, or your uni is not registered, the pay-out’s still a fairly decent 50%. Selling phone pics through their Stockimo program (iStore only) earns you a 20% reduction.

Other Websites to Check Out:

Picfair comes with a twist: you decide how much your images sell for. Picfair then add 20% on top for their cut, but the sales price you set is what you get if your image sells.
EyeEm: if Instagram and Alamy had a love child, this is what it would look like. EyeEm is a photo sharing website but, if you wish to earn more than’likes’, you can also pimp your pictures through the marketplace. EyeEm divide every sale with you 50/50, with photographs selling from $20-$250. EyeEm Bonus: regular how-to articles, themed missions run by big brands, plus you can upload pics via the net or phone.
Foap is built around phone photographers, with everything managed through the program (Android, iTunes, free). Foap sells photos for $10 each and splits it 50/50, so you will make $5 per pic. They also run monthly Missions, where you are able to submit photos on a theme to be in with a chance of winning extra money and perks.

Big Name Websites

Dreamstime provide up to 60 percent for exclusives. How much your photograph sells for also goes up the longer it is downloaded: newbie images begin at between $0.34 and $2.38 (USD). If you are shooting a phone, start with the free Dreamstime program (Android, iPhone).

IStock hands over 15 percent of an image’s sales price, but promise a bigger cut if you make the pic exclusive to the site. Photos typically sell for #7 or #20 a go, but the sort of licence or subscription plan the customer buys determines how your slice is calculated.

Shutterstock coughs up $0.25 (USD) per sale on the most frequent subscription programs, but say you’ll get a bigger cut as your lifetime earnings pass different levels. To put that into context, as soon as you’ve earned $10,000, you’ll be bumped up to the heady heights of 38 cents a picture…

Playing the Stock (photo) Market

Making money with stock photos can involve a significant cash-in, but there are a couple of things worth bearing in mind…

Stock photography is a numbers game: if you want sales, you will need to upload a great deal of quality pics to several sites.
Photos of individuals are constantly in demand, but anyone you pap may want to sign a model release form to say they’re OK with you using it (your stock library will have template forms you can print, sign and publish ).
Check the accounts terms! When are you going to get paid, and in what currency? What happens to your photos if you want to cancel your account in the future?
You often won’t get a state in how customers use your photos, so if you don’t want your selfies turning up in advertisements for STDs or benzoyl peroxide, do not upload’em!
Sign-up for contributor newsletters, as they could clue you in on what sells, what to snap next, and even how to improve your camera or editing skills.
Add plenty of keywords when you upload your pictures. It helps folk find (and hopefully purchase!) your pics.

Selling Your Prints

There is loads of freedom in selling prints (i.e., printed copies of your photos). You decide what to take, who to sell to, and for how much and, like selling through stock libraries, it can be a nice little passive revenue earner.

Now, before you leg it down to Boots to batch publish your holiday snaps, there’s a bit more to it. While you can run off photos on your home printer or at a high-street lab, better quality means greater profits! Selling Photos Through Squarespace

That means using a proper printing laboratory (one which excels in art or framed prints), opting for expert paper, or even selling restricted or signed editions. Sounds like a drag? Not necessarily; there is inspiration below to get you started.

Use a Photo Host

Photographer-friendly website hosts provide you with a safe place to store your digital pics, a portfolio (so you can show’em away ) and shopping tools (so you can sell prints, downloads and wall art).

They even take care of the printing and any postage every time you make a sale. Hashtag hallelujah, right?

But the big catch is, not only do they charge for hosting your site, they also take a cheeky cut from each sale — and that’s not everyone’s cup of cocoa! If you want to give it a whirl, be aware of free 14-day trials before you pony up the cash: try Zenfolio or Smugmug.

Get Your Own Photo Shop

Alternatively, you can always get your own site or Etsy store and hang onto more of your profit!

Getting prints or gifts to sell is also super easy; go for print-on-demand and you won’t need to store any stock (or be out of pocket if you can not shift it!) .

Sell on Social Media Platforms

Eventually the social networking giants will wise-up and start letting us market photos and other content directly from our profiles.

But until then, have a tip from street photographer Daniel Arnold: he provided Instagram followers the opportunity to order prints from his feed and made $15k in one day. Obviously it helps if you’ve already got a strong fanbase, but if you have talent (and the ideal hashtags) it’s worth a shot!

The best thing about selling on social media is that you don’t even need a website: your feed is the portfolio, and you’ve got a enormous potential audience!

>>LEARN HOW TO SELL YOUR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ONLINE HERE<<

Go print-on-demand

Print-on-demand is a brilliantly simple way to generate moolah from mouse mats, keyrings, t-shirts, bags, books and more — often with zero setup costs.

The real beauty of print-on-demand is that while you can advertise tons of products, none of them actually exist until someone buys’em — so there is no inventory to store, lose, or fall over. Better still, there are websites out there that do all of the producing, printing and submitting for you, so all you have to do is take the photos!

Photo books

First stop: Blurb, the self-publishing publishing platform (learn how that all works here!) .

Blurb enables you to create photo books by simply importing your Facebook or Insta images — and you’ll be able to sell your final book on Blurb or Amazon.co.uk. You can even advertise books on your own website (if you’ve got one), but have Blurb/Amazon manage the payment. Easy! Selling Photos Through Squarespace

Gifts and Goodies

Turns out you can slap a photograph on pretty much anything, from shower curtains to pet clothes and PJs; and you don’t even need a glue gun to get started!

Most print-on-demand outfits allow you to upload your photos (or illustrations), choose which products you want to sell them on, and then give you a cut of the profits if they market.

CafePress pays you 10% if your products sell in their marketplace, but you may choose to have your very own online shop and add a mark-up into the price (which you get as your royalty) rather than It’s free to set-up and run a shop, but CafePress take 10% of your royalties each month, up to a $10 max.
Zazzle lets you set your own royalty rate between 5% and 99% but, while it is tempting to dial it up to full whack, keep in mind that your cut is added to the sales price: go OTT and you might find it more difficult to make sales.
With Spreadshirt you may add a mark-up of $1 to $20 on items sold through the marketplace, or you can start your own shop and catch 20% commission.
Redbubble begins with a product base cost and allows you to add on a mark-up — the default is 20%, but you can tweak it as much as you like.

Running a print-on-demand store is low-fuss and cheap — if you are contented with the occasional sale, it can be a nice way to generate money on the side for relatively little work.

The word from successful sellers is that, to make proper bucks, you’ll want to put in the hours (so just like a job, sadly). We’re talking uploading lots of photos or layouts, getting the word out, and generally try!

Go Freelance

Selling photographs anonymously online is simple enough. But if you want to build a rep, get more glory or just have clients of your own, here are some tips to get started as a freelance photographer:

Know your market . When it’s people, pets, food or something totally left-field, it’s easier to market yourself whether your portfolio showcases what you do best.
Take time to learn your craft. You can get lucky selling stock in case you don’t understand your aperture out of your elbow, but you can not afford to chance it if someone’s paying you for wedding pics!
Workout your rate and make sure it covers your time, your costs and leaves you a little on top for gain. And get insurance to your equipment!
Offer to photo events, portraits or parties for friends and family to develop a portfolio, and ask them to spread the word for you. Or search out your favourite bloggers and pitch them your pic ideas!
Batter your social media account with your best pics, let folk know you are available, and tell’em how to get in touch. Get cheeky and take alternative promo shots for brands, then tag them to get noticed.
Get in touch with picture editors at magazines, newspapers or sites and ask if you can submit photographs or pay local events.
You may have more chance of being adopted by Madonna than obtaining a press pass, but it’s like a golden ticket that can get you into sports, fashion and other exclusive events. You’ll need to apply each time (or become a member of the National Union of Journalists) however, once you’re in, you’re going to get plenty of saleable photo opps!

While everybody with an Insta account appears to reckon they’re a pro photographer, the reality is that being a freelancer is probably the toughest route you may take.

You’ll need a great deal of patience, perseverance, good shoes and decent pics — and you may well have to give away images for free when you first begin to get noticed. If you are in it for the career, do not quit. If you’re in it for the money, get your game on with the other thoughts on this page in the meantime!

Bonus Tips for Aspiring Photographers

Carry your camera everywhere — and not only when you are doing something or going somewhere special. Loads of companies and brands are after photos of everyday life and often it is the simple things which produce the best pics — believe streets, food (street food?) , facial expressions, family, pets, sports… anything!
Back-up your best pics (or any you would hate to lose): maintain copies on an external drive or in cloud storage (Dropbox provides you 2GB of space for free).
As soon as you start getting sales, get to grips with tax and the freelancing fundamentals. It will save you stress in the long run, and can save you money on your tax invoice.
You might not be able to sell photos should they include trademarked products, brands or even certain buildings. Check out the terms with your stock library, or contact the company involved and ask if you require permission to hawk your snaps.
Don’t just do the same-old or what everybody else is doing. Quirky, cute or weird is always in fashion. Amen to that! Selling Photos Through Squarespace

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