Top 10 Websites to Sell Photos Online on 2024

Sell Photos Online: Best Websites for Selling Photos Online + Profit Tips

Selling images is one of the finest methods to generate money online for individuals interested about photography.

Businesses and marketers constantly search to obtain photographs they can use in their marketing materials. As a consequence, there are several websites linking these companies with photographers.

From stock photography websites to developing your own online shop, we have selected the top 10 best alternatives to assist you find the best location to sell your images online. We evaluated numerous aspects, including the commission rate and distinctive features.

On top of that, we’ll give important ideas on how to optimize earnings while establishing your internet company selling photographs.

The following are 10 of the greatest locations to sell images online: This list includes of multiple platforms, including microstock and stock photo sites, online marketplaces, a photo-sharing platform, and an eCommerce widget.

1. Your Own Website

The greatest location to sell images online is your own site. This strategy allows you complete control over your internet photography company, including its price, appearance, and terms and conditions. Most importantly, you earn 100% of the proceeds from your sales.

There are two major approaches to design your own photography website — utilizing a content management system (CMS) or a website builder for photographers. A CMS has a higher learning curve than a website builder, but it allows you greater control over your site.

With a CMS, you will also have to acquire a web hosting package and a domain name. On the other hand, most website builder plans often already contain components like hosting, maintenance, and support.

Go with a CMS like WordPress if you prefer a more hands-on strategy, or construct your own website using a website builder like Hostinger for a fast and hassle-free approach.

2. Alamy

Alamy is a British stock photography website providing countless photos, graphics, and videos. It pays nearly $1 million per month to its donors.

The stock agency provides several methods to monitor consumer wants and sales. It also doesn’t edit submissions, so authors have complete ownership over their products. Alamy’s contributor contract contains a 45-day notice period, and you may start selling photographs online within 24 hours after submitting them.

There are three commission models: Alamy Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Alamy Silver contributors receive a 17-20% commission, Alamy Gold contributors get 34-40% from a sale, and Alamy Platinum contributors acquire 40-50%.

In addition, this stock photography site is a terrific way to sell your photographs online if you’re a student contributor, since you will earn a 100% commission for two years.

3. Getty Images

There are three separate stock photography sites operating under Getty Images Holdings, Inc.: Getty Images, iStock, and Unsplash.

Getty Images is a stock photography service, whereas iStock is a microstock photography source. Even though both are wonderful locations to sell your images online, they vary in the amount of sales and the price scheme.

Stock picture websites permit fewer transactions compared to microstock websites, but they also offer larger pricing. iStock contributors may earn roughly 15-45% commission, while Getty pictures contributors receive 20% for still pictures and 25% for video clips.

Acquired by Getty Images Holdings, Inc. in 2021, Unsplash is a formerly free stock photography website. This stock site now offers Unsplash+, a subscription tier that enables consumers access to handpicked material that may be utilized for commercial reasons. Those who sell stock pictures on Unsplash+ earn a one-time compensation of $5–$30 per image.

4. Dreamstime

Dreamstime is a royalty-free microstock media service with over 40 million users and a massive collection of over 200 million stock media files. In addition to stock images, it provides graphics, video clips, and audio files.

The stock picture site provides authors a 25-50% income split, with unique photographs earning an extra 10% incentive. Furthermore, exclusive contributors earn a 60% income share for all sales and an extra $0.20 for each accepted submission.

It also offers a referral program providing affiliates 10% of the gross value of their referee’s purchases. This agreement lasts three years after registration per reference and applies to contributors and consumers recommended to Dreamstime. To support affiliates, the platform includes features such as links, badges, banners, and a WordPress plugin.

5. Shutterstock

Shutterstock is a source of stock media including pictures, vectors, video, and audio. Over the previous 15 years, it has paid out over $1 billion to its donors. The site enables consumers upload work, build and share a customized portfolio page, and monitor revenues.

A contributor’s income rate improves as more of their material gets licensed. There are six compensation tiers for stock photographs and movies, enabling contributors earn 15-40% commission.

In addition, users may earn money by recommending individuals to Shutterstock. When an artist joins up using your link, you earn $0.04 on photos and 10% on videos when their work is downloaded. When a customer joins up with your link, you may earn up to $200 on their first payment.

6. Adobe Stock

Integrated inside the Adobe Creative Cloud platform, Adobe Stock is a microstock media source providing a large selection of high-quality materials. These contain royalty-free pictures, drawings, vector graphics, templates, music, and movies.

The stock picture website provides contributors various perks. People may upload, keyword, and sell stock photographs using Adobe’s machine-learning expertise and import albums straight from Adobe Lightroom. Moreover, Adobe Stock artists now have free access to Adobe Portfolio, a platform that helps users construct a portfolio website fast and simply.

Regarding revenue split, Adobe Stock provides authors 33% royalties for pictures, vectors, and drawings and 35% for videos. You may also join up for the Adobe Affiliate Program for additional revenue. If you promote Adobe Stock on your platform using its marketing banners or text links, you may earn $72 for a monthly payment, or 8.33% of every si8.le transaction.

7. 500px

500px is a photo-sharing network allowing photographers to sell photographs online, communicate with one another, provide or get comments, and discover business possibilities.

It comes with various important features. For example, its Pulse algorithm regularly presents fresh photographs and photographers, while its Statistics tool provides photographers insights into their photos’ success. The site also provides Quests, which are weekly creative picture contests anyone may engage in to win rewards.

There are three 500px membership levels: free, fantastic at $3.99/month, and pro at $7.99/month. 500px provides members of all levels the chance to become contributors. Free users may make 60% of net sales when they license photographs solely on the site, while Awesome and Pro members receive 100% profit.

8. Etsy

Catering to consumers interested in creative products, Etsy is an online marketplace specializing on handmade or antique items and arts & crafts supplies. Many also utilize the site to sell pictures online, both in the form of digital images and real copies.

Etsy sellers are subject to three distinct fees — listing, transaction, and payment processing costs. It costs $0.20 to list an item. If it sells, Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee on the selling price, including delivery. If you utilize Etsy Payments to collect money, it additionally charges a 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee.

Signing up and creating a store is free, but you may pay $10/month for Etsy Plus to obtain more features. In addition, merchants may join up for Etsy’s Offsite Ads program to have the platform market their wares throughout the web. All sales from the program are subject to a 15% charge.

9. Snapped4U

Snapped4U is an online marketplace particularly developed for selling portrait and event images. Photographers may build a gallery, set their own rates, and submit photographs in the.jpeg format. Then, they may send the images via email after receiving payment from customers.

Each account owner gets a personal page featuring all of their current galleries. The user may also add a photograph and brief bio, as well as customize their URL. Moreover, you may also opt to make a gallery private using a password.

Photographers may submit images for free, but there is a $10 registration charge. Snapped4U also collects a commission for each sale.

US accounts are subject to a $0.50 commission charge for images priced at $5 or less and 10% for photos over $5. On the other hand, non-US accounts are subject to a $0.60 commission charge for images priced at $5 or less and 12% for the remainder.

10. Fotomoto

Fotomoto is an eCommerce widget delivering print-on-demand services for selling digital items or picture prints. It connects effortlessly with your website and supports multiple systems, including WordPress and Joomla. Its simple interface offers customers with handy customization and tracking features.

simply utilize the widget, customers need simply join up, connect their payment method to the Fotomoto account, and set up their online shop. Once the Fotomoto buying widget is implemented, purchase buttons will display next to photographs on the user’s site. After accepting orders, site owners may let Fotomoto’s network perform all the work or complete the order themselves.

The site provides three subscription tiers. The free plan doesn’t need the customer to pay, but it costs a 22% transaction fee. The Pro plan is offered for $10/month with a 12% transaction charge. Finally, the Pro Plus plan costs $25/month and levies 10% for a transaction.

Tips for Selling Photos Online for the Most Profit

Check out some of the most essential ideas and tactics to keep in mind when you sell images online to maximize earnings.

Choose your topics wisely.

Figure out your target market and pick your topics appropriately. Ideally, you want to choose a picture kind with high demand and wide appeal.

A fantastic strategy to understand about current market demand is to undertake research on popular stock photography trends. For example, you may undertake keyword research to figure out the search volume associated to particular photographic styles.

Some examples of topics to shoot pictures of include people, cuisine, architecture, and wildlife. Think about the sort of audience your images appeal to. For example, stock photographs of individuals in office environments are popular since they are commonly used on commercial or corporate websites.

Pay attention to lighting and composition.

Learn fundamental photography methods to generate clean, clear, and visually pleasant photos. Consider the style of lighting and composition that would compliment your topic best.

For example, analyze the light’s intensity, direction, and quality. Intensity is the brightness of the light, while direction relates to where the light is coming from and the sort of shadows it forms. The quality of light relates to how soft or harsh the light is.

In terms of composition, remove away extraneous features to accentuate what your shot speaks to. This is accomplished in several means, such getting closer to the subject or taking use of the depth of field. Try utilizing the rule of thirds to figure out the subject’s best position.

Use relevant keywords and descriptions.

The technique of employing relevant keywords and descriptions is part of search engine optimization (SEO). Optimizing photos for search engines will make them readily searchable and recognized. The photographs will rank higher in search results and display under relevant categories or niches.

Use a basic yet descriptive title. Describe what is going in the snapshot, but avoid overexplaining. Include the necessary keywords in both the title and description. Take use of all the capabilities the photo-selling site gives for you to describe and classify the photograph. These may include tags, placement, size, and orientation.

Promote your photos using social media.

Social networking is a terrific tool for establishing your following and recruiting new consumers. Create a social media presence to promote your greatest work, utilize hashtags to boost exposure, and connect with followers to build engagement.

Set up profiles on numerous social channels to extend your reach and target different groups. This includes photographic networking tools like VSCO and Flickr, which help you connect with other photographers and gather inspiration.

Additionally, try selling your images via sponsored posts, since they may allow you target certain groups and monitor data. Examples of such programs are Instagram Ads and Pinterest Ads.

Diversify your portfolio.

Focusing on one area or style may be a smart option for those just starting out. Down the road, however, expanding your photographic portfolio might boost the possibilities of people finding and buying your pictures. Diving into multiple areas and studying new types and genres of photography not only help you maximize profits but also enhance your skill sets.

Creating works in multiple niches, genres, and styles implies exposing your work to a larger variety of target viewers. You may also sell images across various channels and adapt photos to each platform’s need. In addition, expanding out into video creation is another smart strategy for diversifying material.

Upload new photos regularly.

Uploading new photographs often while keeping a high quality helps to keep your portfolio current and enhance your abilities.

Constantly delivering fresh material also draws more prospective clients. This is because people will observe the consistency in your picture output and quality via your frequent uploads. People may even come to identify your style and consciously seek it out.

Enhance Your Pictures

Stock picture consumers anticipate a quality greater than photographs they can shoot themselves. Therefore, it is a terrific idea to improve images utilizing different photo-editing applications.

Various modifications might be required to generate clear and high-quality images. For instance, you may need to erase an image’s backdrop, lessen its sharpness, or perform some color correction.

There is a large choice of free or paid image-editing software. Examples of free choices are GIMP and Pixlr. If you have the funds, however, we suggest utilizing professional software like Affinity Photo or the industry-standard Adobe Photoshop.

Understand Your Legal Rights and Obligations

Before you sell your images online, be sure to educate yourself with your legal rights and duties in the stock photo market.

Double-check if your images are legal before selling them. For example, your work must not involve copyright violation. If your picture reveals identifiable individuals and properties, you must get the required release paperwork before selling the photograph. You also may not have complete copyright ownership if you took the picture as an employee or was compensated by a third party to shoot the shot.

When you post photographs on stock photography websites, you’re not selling anyone the copyright. Instead, you are licensing the right to utilize your work in multiple ways. Some kinds of permissions you might grant are exclusive rights, non-exclusive rights, and managed rights.

Also, verify whether you need a business license to sell images online. Photographers may need to have creative and artistic rights to develop and market their abilities.

Conclusion

Selling images online is a wonderful side income for a professional photographer or an amateur. There are various websites to sell images online, each providing different commission rates and services.

If you still have difficulties picking which platform to use, have a look at our final choices of the best sites to sell images online:

Your own website iss perfect for individuals searching for complete control and freedom.
Shutterstock iss excellent for selling huge and high-quality stock pictures for billboards and print media.
Getty Images is excellent for creative and editorial stock pictures.
Etsy - excellent for selling photographic prints.
Alamy – great for student photographers.

There are several recommended practices to keep in mind to optimize profit when you sell images for money. Choose themes carefully and think about lighting and composition. Increase visibility by employing relevant keywords and descriptions and marketing your work via social media.

In addition to posting new photographs often, vary the sorts of photos you shoot and improve them using photo-editing tools. Whichever platform you choose to sell stock photographs online, don’t forget to educate yourself with your legal rights and duties. Good luck.

Sell Photos Online FAQ

This section contains the answers to regularly asked issues about how to sell images online.

What types of photos sell the best online?

Earning money as a photographer will be simpler if you sell images of nature, gadgets, and business-related things.

In addition, research suggests that most best-selling images are taken at dawn or twilight — snapshots without harsh lighting. Photos with unidentified persons and photographs displaying configurable blank signs are likewise immensely popular.

Is a professional camera necessary to sell photos online?

Not necessarily. The primary criterion is you need to generate images that are crisp and of good quality. Technically, you can generate high-quality photographs with a very decent smartphone camera, but we strongly suggest having a camera.

How much money can I make selling photos online?

How much money you earn when you sell photographs online relies on numerous things, such the platforms you sell on and their commission rates, contributor exclusivity, and your geographical location.

Most picture-selling websites or stock photo organizations normally provide contributors anything from 15-60% of income split.

Do I keep ownership of my photos if I sell them online?

Yes, in most circumstances. You maintain complete copyright ownership of your images if you sell them online. When you sell photographs online, you are not selling the copyright to those images.

Instead, you are providing the permission to use your photographs under the terms and circumstances that have been agreed upon.