How to Make Money Online from Selling Pictures

8 years ago

The most common and best way is to sell them on stock photography website like shutterstock.com, istockphoto.com, 500px.com, 123rf.com and etc.
Most of them first check the quality, size, and category. Once you get approved you can start earning and it is all depends on how much downloads you get for your images.

The other way is to create your website and start promoting yourself do custom shoots for weddings or events. Which is more lucrative and much easier to get good work in your local area.

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Michael Meaney

8 years ago

canstockphoto.com

smugmug.com

xmsolution.com

alamy.com

fotolia.com

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prodigyjulian

8 years ago

Selling pictures online is a bonus. But setting up a business doing photography on weddings, events will be a gd start up. As you are selling your forte, i believe if business is gd, you should be able to leverage the cost easily

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Tom Addams

8 years ago

Selling your photographs on stock image platforms (Shutterstock, iStockPhoto, etc.) is a strong, viable option, but the best model for this type of business has yet to be touched on here. On the one hand, yes, you can simply upload your images to a platform like iStockPhoto. The photographers and marketers doing that, though, work in bulk. You target a niche. You hammer the niche. And you optimize every image page in order to rank for various relevant terms. And, while the model is quite a nice one, quite a nice passive income model, it does require those mentioned ingredients - bulk, niche, rank - before you'll see decent returns. The far better option is to build an audience and direct that audience to your listings whilst also running the aforementioned model. In a nutshell: you grow yourself on socials - FB, Instagram, Twitter, etc - and, having made a stock image platform your exclusive home, you direct them to your listings. And if you do go with this second route, you'll want to go niche.

There are other worlds than these, though, as Jake once said to Roland. Or, as Tom says to you: you can use your photographs to run other types of business model. The obvious one, used by the majority of professional photographers in 2016, is affiliate marketing. You have a decided edge on the typical marketer, you see. You bring original media to the table. And, doing so, you can leverage that into various types of affiliate business.

In your shoes, or indeed slippers, I'd look into both types of model. Best of luck, either way!

- Tom

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ForumGuru

Banned 8 years ago

Originally Posted by Tom Addams

The obvious one, used by the majority of professional photographers in 2016, is affiliate marketing.

That statement is basically just hogwash as most professional photogs license their images through the major microstock sites like shutterstock and dreamstime, giant macrostock agencies like getty and alamy, large community sites like smugmug, and personal websites (ie: wedding photographers, event photographers etc.).

Affiliate marketing probably does not even make a tiniest dent in the total number of stock licences sold every year.

8 out of 10 image packages I have seen from affiliate marketers were filled with FREE PUBLIC DOMAIN images (or stolen images) that they had collected off of the net and sold. No documentation, no sourcing, no real licenses, no releases, no proof of anything. Just a bunch of supposedly free images they collected and packaged up to sell you that they LIED about telling you they were stock photos. They even go so far as to compare pricing tables from the pro stock sites etc...what an f'ing joke.

Some affiliates are selling packages of free CC BY images which is against the CC license terms...affiliate marketers are doing damage to the industry and to their clients.

Most legit advertisers, marketers, content buyers etc. would never purchase an image license from an internet marketer...

If the seller can't identify the source, the license terms, give you information on releases, etc. etc, and/or can't point you to the info, you should avoid them like the plague.

A model that was not touched on and that is used by many is building an ad based photo site where you are making your money on clicks or display ads and not image sales. Depending on the niche or subject....you may be able to pick up some sort of revenue stream. The problem with this is, tens of thousands of internet marketers and other scumbags (social media pirates) have basically trashed this model by stealing images and building wallpaper sites. facebook groups etc.

One last point, and I could be wrong....but if she has been taking images as a hobby I doubt she has a ton of of the types of images an internet marketer is looking for...and we know other internet marketers are the majority of the customers of internet marketers.

Exceptions to almost every rule exist, but your notion that photogs are using WF level internet marketers to push a substantial number of legit sales of legit stock images is just not true.

Most of the guys making some cabbage around here on photo launches are reselling the same old packs of supposedly free images they collected off of the internet. Yes, even many of the big super-affiliates are selling you packages of free images that were collected off of the net while wrongly telling you they were/are stock photos on their sales pages.

One last thing.... Many of the legit stock photo sites have legit affiliate programs and you see very few internet marketers pitching those programs and their is a reason why. Photos are not shiny objects and they are not bogus info products telling you how you are going to get rich tomorrow.

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Tom Addams

8 years ago

Originally Posted by ForumGuru

That statement is complete hogwash as most professional photogs license their images through the major microstock sites like shutterstock and dreamstime, giant macrostock agencies like getty and alamy, large community sites like smugmug, and personal websites (ie: wedding photographers, event photographers etc.).

Affiliate marketing probably does not even make a tiny dent in the total number of stock licences sold every year.

8 out of 10 image packages I have seen from affiliate marketers were filled with FREE PUBLIC DOMAIN images (or stolen images) that they had collected off of the net and sold. No documentation, no sourcing, no real licenses, no releases, no proof of anything. Just a bunch of supposedly free images they collected and packaged up to sell you.

Some affiliates are selling packages of free CC BY images which is against the CC license terms.

Most legit advertisers, marketers, content buyers etc. would never purchase an image license from an internet marketer...

If the seller can't identify the source, the license terms, give you information on releases, etc. etc, and/or can't point you to the info, you should avoid them like the plague.

You misunderstand my mention of affiliate marketing. It wasn't a suggestion to promote stock images as an affiliate, or to encourage affiliates to promote your images, but instead a suggestion to avoid selling them altogether and use them for the purposes of affiliate marketing, which is more and more becoming the norm for photographers. As you point out, quick rightly (that point, at least), the profit margins are down for selling images, the market is saturated, and the game is not only a hard one for veterans within the industry but decidedly more so for any photographers wishing to enter the stock image business. The fact is, photographers are leaving stock image sites in droves, heading to greener pastures: affiliate marketing; or, specifically, social media marketing in order to drive affiliate promotions (Instagram being a prime location). You appear to be struggling yourself, even avoiding the stock image sites, so I'd suggest the same route for yourself. Might make you a happier chap.

- Tom

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ForumGuru

Banned 8 years ago

Originally Posted by Tom Addams

You misunderstand my mention of affiliate marketing. It wasn't a suggestion to promote stock images as an affiliate, or to encourage affiliates to promote your images, but instead a suggestion to avoid selling them altogether and use them for the purposes of affiliate marketing, which is more and more becoming the norm for photographers.

Thanks for clarifying but I'm thinking you can't produce many stats that show us affiliate marketing is where it's at for pro photographers as you have claimed.

As you point out, quick rightly (that point, at least), the profit margins are down for selling images, the market is saturated, and the game is not only a hard one for veterans within the industry but decidedly more so for any photographers wishing to enter the stock image business. The fact is, photographers are leaving stock image sites in droves, heading to greener pastures: affiliate marketing; or, specifically, social media marketing in order to drive affiliate promotions (Instagram being a prime location).

The problem is affiliate marketing is not what the majority of pro photographers use as their business model in 2016 as you have claimed. It's nowhere close. In-fact it's probably so low on the board it barely registers, if it registers at all.

You appear to be struggling yourself, even avoiding the stock image sites, so I'd suggest the same route for yourself. Might make you a happier chap.

- Tom

LMAO ---> I already had 8,000,000 page views on a single social media site by the time Facebook was created. I received so much traffic that my albums were delisted from the local public index in 2006 because I kept wrecking the servers with traffic. I basically quit uploading and participating there after I was delisted...yes, I still keep my account open.

Back in 2005 that social media site got me published in the international Parrorts Magazine, displayed in the Butler Museum of Art, in major worldwide educational publications etc, helped me make major print sales to art directors etc, and it gave me the ability to acquire massive contacts etc. etc.

Been there, done that.

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Tom Addams

8 years ago

Originally Posted by ForumGuru

Thanks for clarifying but I'm thinking you can't produce many stats that show us affiliate marketing is where it's at for pro photographers as you have claimed.

The problem is affiliate marketing is not what the majority of pro photographers use as their business model in 2016 as you have claimed. It's nowhere close. In-fact it's probably so low on the board it barely registers, if it registers at all.

LMAO ---> I already had 8,000,000 page views on a single social media site by the time Facebook was created. I received so much traffic that my albums were delisted from the local public index in 2006 because I kept wrecking the servers with traffic. I basically quit uploading and participating there after I was delisted...yes, I still keep my account open.

Back in 2005 that social media site got me published in the international Parrorts Magazine, displayed in the Butler Museum of Art, in major worldwide educational publications etc, helped me make major print sales to art directors etc, and it gave me the ability to acquire massive contacts etc. etc.

Been there, done that.

You're literally the only photographer I know who isn't disenchanted by the online stock photography industry. The combination of subscription models, the massive growth of stock delivered by amateur photographers, the rise of Creative Commons and Creative Commons Zero license platforms, such as Unsplash, such as Flickr, the increased ease of entry to the industry, the influx of online marketers (non-photographers) flooding the market to run passive income models, the growth of image-embedding, the blogging and social culture of free image usage, and the advent and subsequent explosion of image-sharing (Instagram, prime example) has systematically driven down the licensing price of images and driven up saturation and competition levels to such an extent that the majority of original image creators are unable to make a living. In 2016, we live in a culture where almost everyone online is encouraged to become an internet marketer: platforms encourage partnerships, companies and marketers seek endorsements, and, in general, we notice a culture of simplified marketing mechanisms (such as Tee Spring), intended to make entry accessible to everyone from high school students to 64 year-old grammies. Kids are making 5 and 6-figure incomes by uploading Skyrim, Fallout, and GTA 5 videos on Youtube. Daughters are selling single image product endorsements for 4 figures on Instagram. Affiliate programs are growing. Likewise, so are market entrants to online marketing. The truth is, there is more money to be earned by purchasing or using free images, than by selling your own images, and the kicker - it's a lot easier to make that higher income. I find it interesting that you mention your success in 2005 and 2006. A lot has changed in the last decade. If you honestly believe a photographer should enter the industry described by myself above, as opposed to other avenues of online marketing, such as affiliate marketing, then I must mirror your earlier sentiments: hogwash.

- Tom

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ForumGuru

Banned 8 years ago

Originally Posted by Tom Addams

You're literally the only photographer I know who isn't disenchanted by the online stock photography industry.

#1 You don't know me.

#2 The main thing related to the image industry that I am disenchanted with is the amount of piracy that is allowed almost everywhere.The devaluing of the industry by the mass number of folks that pirate images truly is a shame. The DMCA does not protect photographers well enough by allowing safe harbor protection to sites like Pinterest and others that allow users to build massive accounts of swiped photos even though it is "against their terms".

Likewise, so are market entrants to online marketing. The truth is, there is more money to be earned by purchasing or using free images, than by selling your own images, and the kicker - it's a lot easier to make that higher income. I find it interesting that you mention your success in 2005 and 2006. A lot has changed in the last decade. If you honestly believe a photographer should enter the industry described by myself above, as opposed to other avenues of online marketing, such as affiliate marketing, then I must mirror your earlier sentiments: hogwash.

#3 The problem is you stated affiliate marketing is the number one avenue for pro photographers in 2016 which is simply untrue.

#4 In 2016, 99% of revenue in the pro photography industry is not generated by affiliate marketers (discounting revenue generated by the big stock sites own affiliate programs). It is generated through traditional outlets and means...photo buyers purchasing licenses and prints via traditional outlets.

#5 Peeps uploading skrym videos is basically the same thing I was already doing years ago by selling ads on photo and blog posts.

#6 I mentioned 2005 and showed the screenshot because you implied I should be using social media in 2016. I promptly showed you I was on Social Media years prior to Facebook being available to the public.

#7 You are basically insisting pro photographers and new pros entering the profession should quit photography and take up internet marketing. Of course you are, you have a giant internet marketing university ad in your sig.

#8 Let's look at a few facts. The info in the quote boxes is credit: Technavio.

#9 I've been doing things like this for years...some for more than a decade. Selling ads on blog posts and images and selling focused collections etc.

#15 Ads: Hotels in beach galleries, casinos in sports galleries, major print companies in floral galleries. The cool thing is, in all of the above categories, and others, advertisers have found me via Google and purchased ads. Low dollar offers are usually about $15, the highest I have collected on a single ad on a single photo post or page was $1000.

Cheers

-don

NOTE: Sorry for my blurry text on #10-14.

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maxsi

8 years ago

Agree => you can use your photographs to run other types of business model.

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PeterComeau

8 years ago

What type of photographs?

This matters:

landscapes, human interest, artistic pictures sell on 500px. Main buyers are art directors, companies looking for local interest images. 500px is also like an online photo club where members pick their fave pics. So it pays to spend some time interacting with other photographers online here.

stock photography/marketing images sell on iStockPhoto, Canstockphoto and so on. You'll only make money selling in bulk if your images become popular on a lot of these platforms.

I've got landscapes on 500px but I've never managed to sell anything. Most visitors are photographers themselves. However you can set up a portfolio on 500px as a paid member and link that to your blog. That might grab the attention of some photo editors and art directors - think of it like an authority backlink!

Here's a blog post I found that discusses more about it:
Flickr is getting better. 500px is getting worse.

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Hemantkumar

8 years ago

Hey,
I think you can sell pics to online free stock photos websites which allows us to submit our photo on their website.

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ForumGuru

Banned 8 years ago

Originally Posted by strategic seo services

Hey fellow warriors,

I love photography, and I've decided to turn my hobby into a business (if possible). Can anyone recommend a site where you can get paid good money for selling rights to your photos?

Please also share your experiences.... has anyone made any good money doing this?

Microstock photo sites may be your best bet.

Source: Microstock Insider

The top nine on this list might be where I would start if I were you. Many of the successful microstock sellers will upload their libraries to a good number of those top nine listed.

Unless your stuff is truly unique and outstanding, sites like Alamy, Getty, and some of the others major stock houses may be out of reach.

You won't make a lot of money at microstock selling unless you upload and have approved many thousands of photos.

Generally speaking, I have prefered to sell images from my own sites and in my own packages and have been doing so professionally since 2002.

The stock image market is so fierce these days, and the prices are so low, it can be difficult to break into and be successful at. Making 50 cents or a dollar one photo at a time is not my idea of fun. FWIW....the first image I ever licensed made me a grand back in the early 2000's.

I put together a package and sold it here and made a couple hundred sales on my first WSO effort without any major affiliates. You will need decent affiliates if you try to sell a bundle of images if you want to realize a decent degree of success.

Another option would be to use a site like the aforementioned smugmug or one of the other community based ecom enabled auto-fulfillment photo sites. Sites like those are where many hobby photographers started out on and/or remain.

Good Luck

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amaziff

8 years ago

I like that idea and while I'm not personally selling pictures I have lot of friends with passion for photography. I spent lot of time with them discussing how they could make their pretty popular Instagram profiles profitable. Will send them also this topic. Great tips

.

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samuelbreezey

8 years ago

Hey

So stock photos is a good one to sell your images.

However if I was you I would focus more on your brand and set up a website, promote your own images and services. Sell your photos on there

That's where the money is IMO

I hope this helps.

If you need help on setting up a website feel free to hit me up
Samuel

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ForumGuru

Banned 8 years ago

Originally Posted by strategic seo services

Hey fellow warriors,I love photography, and I've decided to turn my hobby into a business (if possible). Can anyone recommend a site where you can get paid good money for selling rights to your photos?

Please also share your experiences.... has anyone made any good money doing this.

It's possible.

Considering the fact that you are web veteran with SEO experience, and a photography enthusiast, I am going to add this additional input beyond my initial microstock recommendation. I'm sorry if I repeat myself on a couple things.

I started on photography forums as a hobbiest digital newb in the mid 90's and by the early/mid 2000's I was selling photos and prints for some decent money. I built a popular set of galleries on a social media site back in 2003 and started building my own photo sites later that year. I used open source scripts to build a few dozen paypal ecom sites that focused on specific niches of photo subjects which generated revenue by selling image licenses.

For years I allowed almost no advertising, but sometime after 2011 I finally submitted, and on a few of my sites I sold links, blog posts, ad space, and even at times the photo domain. Eventually, I added Adsense into the mix, but was not impressed with the revenue generated in my niches at the time. Prior to 2011 I had used Adsense back 2005 on a couple of sites but did not see great returns so I reclaimed the space.

For almost a decade I owned Google on thousands of great search words and terms by simply uploading a good photo with a decent title and a good description.

Times change...google changed.

With your personal experience you may want to build out your own little stock site or two and seo it, or put together a package as an offer, or try the microstock route. Or all three at your own pace if you have the time and ambition.

You may want to give SmugMug a look if you want a quick and easy done for you solution that allows more pricing flexibility and personality, and does not require you to have each image approved. That site may require more promotion to generate revenue....but the chance for more big pops may be greater depending on what you have...and you can use your galleries to sell prints from. For years I used the same printing company as they do...good stuff!

For someone that does not want to mess with building, maintaining, and marketing photo sites, the microstock route can be a better way to go as long as you have a decent sized library, don't mind a relatively laborious keywording and/or tagging process, and don't mind dealing with approvals and massive competition in most categories.

I hope that helps.

Best of luck!

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