Selling Thomas Kinkade Pictures

If you believe photography is a costly hobby, you are right, it can be. But that does not mean you need pro-quality equipment to generate money from your photos! Selling Thomas Kinkade Pictures

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

However you get your clicks, you will find an increasing number of opportunities to monetise photos you have already taken. And if photography’s already your luggage, you will find heaps more ways to develop your skills, and income; from selling your Insta inventory 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 for a steal), you’ll have more options for selling pics to stock libraries, to websites for prints, or for print-on-demand products. This is because cameras will usually produce larger file photographs (although some camera phones are trumping digi cams nowadays so this isn’t necessarily the case).

Got a camera phone? A growing number of inventory libraries are catering for cellular snaps, plus you still have a shot at the other biz ideas below. Keep reading!

It helps to have…

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

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

FastStone Image Viewer can open RAW files directly from your digital camera and save them as JPG, TIFF or PNGs. OK for basic edits such as colour correction, straightening, cropping and contrast.
Raw Therapee is a Lightroom-like editor with loads of resources for tweaking colours, curves and more.
PIXLR is a persuasive alternative to Photoshop, and even simplifies the very same shortcuts directly out the bag. You can run it directly from a browser / through the app at no cost.
GIMP can do a lot of what Photoshop excels at, though some users guess it’s a more demanding learning curve.
There are loads of phone editing programs to be obtained for free or a couple of pence, but Snapseed (iPhone, Android, free) always makes the best-of lists.
Don’t overlook the bloatware image software bundled into your’puter, telephone or laptop. Most can make light work of the basics.

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Selling Through Stock Libraries

Stock libraries buy’n’ sell digital photos to use on websites, in books, on products as well as in advertisements, 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 photograph once and sell it over and over again, pretty much forever!

You might need to submit a selection of pics (and be accepted) before you can become a stock library contributor. After that, some sites will keep on reviewing all your submissions, and will gladly bounce any they don’t think meet criteria.

What that means is you’ll always have to be on the ball about choosing your best shots. Don’t get too hung up about rejections, however; combine a number of sites and post pics to them to get the best possible policy.

Which Websites Pay Most?

Swing by Alamy first. Their pupil contributor scheme gives you 100% of the sales price of your pictures for two years. Total win! Your uni will need to be part of the scheme, but loads of UK and US institutions are already on the books. Selling Thomas Kinkade Pictures

Alamy reckons images typically sell for $90 (USD) each, but you could get anywhere from $20 to $500 depending what it’s used for. If you’re not a student, or your uni isn’t enrolled, 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 to what extent your pictures sell for. Picfair then add 20 percent 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’enjoys’, you could also pimp your images through the marketplace. EyeEm divide every sale with you 50/50, with photos selling from $20-$250. EyeEm Bonus: regular how-to articles, themed missions run by large brands, plus you’ll be able to upload pics via the web or phone.
Foap is built around telephone photographers, with everything handled through the app (Android, iTunes, free). Foap sells pictures for $10 each and splits it 50/50, so you’ll earn $5 a pic. They also run monthly Missions, where you can submit photographs on a theme to be in with a chance of winning extra cash and perks.

Big Name Websites

Dreamstime provide up to 60 percent for exclusives. How much your photo sells for also goes up the longer it is downloaded: newbie images start at between $0.34 and $2.38 (USD). If you are shooting a phone, start with the free Dreamstime app (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 website. Photos typically sell for #7 or #20 a go, but the sort of license or subscription plan the customer purchases determines how your slice is calculated.

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

Playing the Stock (photo) Market

Earning money with stock photographs can involve a substantial cash-in, but there are a couple of things worth bearing in mind…

Stock photography is a numbers game: if you want sales, you’ll need to upload lots of quality pics to a number of sites.
Photos of individuals are constantly in demand, but anyone you pap might want to sign a model release form to say they’re OK with you using it (your inventory library will have template forms you can print, sign and publish ).
Check the accounts terms! When will you 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 in case you don’t need your selfies turning up in ads for STDs or hemorrhoid ointment, don’t upload’em!
Sign-up for contributor newsletters, as they could clue you in on what sells, what to snap next, as well as how to enhance your camera or editing skills.
Add loads of keywords when you upload your pictures. It helps people find (and hopefully purchase!) your pics.

Promoting Your Prints

There’s 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 income earner.

Now, before you leg it down to Boots to batch publish your holiday snaps, there is a bit more to it. While you can run off pictures on your home printer or at a high-street lab, better quality means higher profits! Selling Thomas Kinkade Pictures

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

Use a Photo Host

Photographer-friendly site hosts give you a secure place to store your digital pics, a portfolio (which means you can show’em off) and shopping tools (so you can sell prints, downloads and wall art).

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

But the big catch is, not only do they charge for hosting your website, 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, look out for free 14-day trials until you pony up the cash: try Zenfolio or Smugmug.

Get Your Own Photo Shop

As an alternative, you could always get your own website or Etsy shop and hang onto more of your gain!

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

Sell on Social Media Platforms

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

But until then, have a hint 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 solid fanbase, but if you have talent (and the right hashtags) it is worth a shot!

The best thing about selling on social media is that you don’t even need a website: your feed is your 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 using zero set-up costs.

The actual beauty of print-on-demand is that while you can advertise a great deal of goods, none of them actually exist until someone buys’em — so there’s no inventory to shop, lose, or fall over. Even better, there are sites 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 pictures — and you’ll be able to sell your final novel on Blurb or Amazon.co.uk. You could also advertise books on your website (if you’ve got one), but have Blurb/Amazon manage the payment. Easy! Selling Thomas Kinkade Pictures

Gifts and Goodies

Turns out you can slap a photo on pretty much anything, from shower curtains to pet clothing and PJs; and you don’t even need a glue gun to begin!

Most print-on-demand outfits let you upload your photos (or illustrations), select 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 can choose to have your own online store and add a mark-up to the cost (which you get as your royalty) instead. It’s free to set-up and run a store, but CafePress take 10% of your royalties monthly, up to a $10 max.
Zazzle enables you to set your own royalty rate between 5 percent and 99 percent but, while it’s tempting to dial it up to full whack, remember 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 market, or you can open your own store and grab 20% commission.
Redbubble begins with a product base price and lets you add on a mark-up — the default is 20%, but you can tweak it as much as you’d like.

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

The word from successful sellers is that, to earn proper bucks, you’ll want to put in the hours (so just like a project, sadly). We’re talking uploading plenty 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 is a lot easier to market yourself if your portfolio showcases what you do best.
Take the time to learn your craft. You can get lucky selling stock in case you don’t understand your aperture from your elbow, but you can’t afford to chance it if someone’s paying you for wedding pics!
Work out your rate and make sure it covers your time, your costs and leaves you a little on top for gain. And get insurance for your equipment!
Give to photo events, portraits or parties for family and friends to build up 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 choose 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 cover local events.
You may have more chance of getting adopted by Madonna than obtaining a press pass, but it is like a golden ticket that could get you into sports, fashion and other exclusive events. You will need to apply each time (or become a member of the National Union of Journalists) but, as soon as you’re in, you’ll get plenty of saleable photo opps!

While everyone with an Insta account seems to reckon they’re a pro photographer, the truth is that being a freelancer is probably the toughest route you can 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 start out to get noticed. If you are in it for the career, don’t quit. If you are in it for the money, get your game on with the other ideas on this page in the meantime!

Bonus Tips for Aspiring Photographers

Carry your camera anyplace — and not just when you’re doing something or going somewhere special. Loads of businesses and brands are after photographs of daily life and often it’s the simple things that produce the best pics — think roads, food (street food?) , facial expressions, loved ones, pets, sports… anything!
Back-up your best pics (or some you’d hate to lose): keep copies on an external drive or in cloud storage (Dropbox provides you 2GB of space for free).
Once you start getting sales, get to grips with tax and the freelancing fundamentals. It’ll save you stress in the long run, and could save you money on your tax bill.
You might not have the ability to sell photos if they include trademarked products, brands or perhaps certain buildings. Check out the terms with your stock library, or get the company involved and ask if you need permission to hawk your own snaps.
Do not just do the same-old or what everyone else is doing. Quirky, cute or weird is always in vogue. Amen to that! Selling Thomas Kinkade Pictures

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