Shutterstock Sell Photos Review

If you think photography is an expensive hobby, you’re correct, it can be. But that doesn’t mean that you need pro-quality equipment to make money from your own photos! Shutterstock Sell Photos Review

In fact, if you’ve got a decent phone cam and a steady hand, you are already in with a shot.

But you get your clicks, you will find an increasing number of opportunities to monetise photos you have already taken. And when photography’s already your bag, 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 bash for yourself!

If you’ve got a digital camera (or fancy picking one up 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 isn’t necessarily the case).

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

It helps to have…

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

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are industry standards for photo editing. But they cost dollars! Don’t 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 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 straight from a browser / through the app for free.
GIMP can do a lot of what Photoshop excels at, though some users reckon it’s a tougher learning curve.
There are tons of phone editing apps to be had for free or a few pence, but Snapseed (iPhone, Android, free) consistently makes the best-of lists.
Do not overlook the bloatware image software bundled into your’puter, phone or notebook. Many can make light work of the fundamentals.

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Selling Through Stock Libraries

Stock libraries purchase’n’ sell digital photographs to use on websites, in books, on goods and even in advertisements, with the photographer getting a cut of the sale every time.

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

You might have to submit a selection of pics (and be accepted) until you can become a stock library contributor. After that, some sites will keep on reviewing all your submissions, and will happily bounce any they do not think meet standards.

What that means is you’ll always need to be on the ball about choosing your best shots. Do not get too hung up about rejections, though; combine multiple websites and post pics to them to get the best possible coverage.

Which Websites Pay Most?

Swing by Alamy first. Their student contributor scheme provides you 100% of the sales price of your pictures for two 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. Shutterstock Sell Photos Review

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

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 butif you wish to earn more than’enjoys’, you could also pimp your pictures through the marketplace. EyeEm split every sale with you 50/50, with photos selling from $20-$250. EyeEm Bonus: regular how-to content, themed missions run by big brands, plus you can upload pics via the web or phone.
Foap is built around phone photographers, with everything handled through the program (Android, iTunes, free). Foap sells pictures for $10 each and splits it 50/50, so you will earn $5 a 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 cash and perks.

Big Name Websites

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

IStock palms 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 type of license or subscription program the customer purchases determines how your slice is calculated.

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

Playing the Stock (photo) Market

Making money with stock photographs 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’ll need to upload a great deal of quality pics to a number of sites.
Photos of people are constantly in demand, but anyone you pap may need to sign a model release form to say they are OK with you with it (your inventory library will have template forms you can print, sign and submit).
Assess 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 later on?
You often won’t get a state in how clients use your photographs, so in case you don’t want your selfies turning up in ads for STDs or benzoyl peroxide, don’t upload’em!
Sign-up for contributor newsletters, as they can 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 folk find (and hopefully purchase!) your pics.

Selling Your Prints

There’s loads of freedom in selling prints (i.e., printed copies of your photographs ). 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 is a little more to it. While you can run off pictures on your home printer or at a high-street lab, better quality means higher profits! Shutterstock Sell Photos Review

That means using a proper printing lab (one that excels in art or framed prints), opting for expert paper, or even 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 website hosts provide you with a secure place to store your digital pics, a portfolio (so you can show’em away ) and purchasing tools (so you can sell prints, downloads and wall art).

They even handle the printing and any stamp each time you make a purchase. 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 everybody’s cup of cocoa! If you wish to give it a whirl, be aware of 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 site or Etsy shop and hang onto more of your gain!

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 hint from street photographer Daniel Arnold: he provided Instagram followers the chance 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 right 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 have 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 make moolah from mouse mats, keyrings, t-shirts, bags, books and much more — often using zero set-up costs.

The real beauty of print-on-demand is that while you may advertise a great deal of goods, none of them actually exist until someone buys’em — so there is no inventory to store, lose, or fall over. Even better, there are sites out there that do all the producing, printing and posting for you, so all you’ve got to do is take the photographs!

Photo books

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

Blurb enables you to create photo books just by importing your Facebook or Insta images — and you’ll be able to sell your finished novel on Blurb or Amazon.co.uk. You can also advertise books on your website (if you have one), but have Blurb/Amazon manage the payment. Easy! Shutterstock Sell Photos Review

Gifts and Goodies

Turns out you can slap a photograph on pretty much anything, from shower curtains to pet clothing and PJs; and you do not even need a glue gun to begin!

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

CafePress pays you 10% if your products sell in their market, but you may opt to have your very own online shop and add a mark-up to the cost (which you get as your royalty) rather than It is 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% 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 market, or you can start your own store and grab 20% commission.
Redbubble begins with a product base cost 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 store is low-fuss and low-cost — if you are contented with the occasional sale, it can be a nice way to make cash on the side for relatively little work.

The word from successful sellers is that, to earn proper bucks, you will need to put in the hours (so the same as a project, sadly). We’re talking uploading plenty of photos or designs, getting the word out, and generally making an effort!

Go Freelance

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

Know your niche. Whether it’s individuals, pets, food or something totally left-field, it’s easier to market yourself whether your portfolio showcases what you do best.
Take the time to learn your craft. You can get lucky selling stock if 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!
Workout your rate and make sure it covers your time, your prices and leaves you a little on top for profit. And get insurance to your equipment!
Give to photograph events, parties or portraits 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 networking 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 newspapers, magazines or websites and ask if you can submit photos 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 want to apply each time (or become a member of the National Union of Journalists) however, as soon as you’re in, you’ll get loads of saleable photo opps!

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

You’ll need tons of patience, perseverance, good shoes and adequate pics — and you may well have to give away images for free when you first begin to get noticed. If you’re in it for the career, do not give up. 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 just when you’re doing something or going somewhere special. Loads of companies and brands are after photos of daily life and often it is the simple things which produce the best pics — believe streets, food (street food?) , facial expressions, loved ones, pets, sports… anything!
Back-up your best pics (or any you’d 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’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 should they comprise 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 fashion. Amen to that! Shutterstock Sell Photos Review

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