I'm pretty sure you asked yourself many times, "How can I make additional money from my photography?" So let me share with you some great ways to make money from your photos.
Stock photography sites
First, let me explain what stock images are. These are the photos you already captured, and edited, and they are available for purchase. There are two types of stock images: photos that require you to pay a licensing fee and images that are free to use (aka. royalty-free images). These days there are loads of different stock image sites, from ShutterStock to iStock, where you can submit your images. I've listed the best stock sites below:
The most popular stock photography sites to submit your images to:
It's a collection of photos, illustrations, vectors, videos, and music ready to download. Photographers submit their images to Shutterstock so buyers can download them directly without any contact with the owner. As a contributing artist, you will earn a percentage of the price you pay for the license.
Dreamstime is the world's largest community in stock photography and a reliable supplier of high-quality digital images at affordable prices. Photographers can request payment as soon as their earnings balance is $100 or more.
Getty Images offers the most exclusive and unique editorial content. Their own over 415 million assets including award-winning imagery, video, music, multimedia and premium digital content. For content licensed through Getty Images, rates are 20% for royalty-free still images and 25% for royalty-free video clips.
iStock is an online royalty-free, international microstock photography provider. The base rate for non-exclusive is 15%. With photos selling for $12, that earns you a hefty $1.80 per image.
Stocksy United is a cooperative platform that accepts and provides royalty-free stock photography and stock video. The content on Stocksy is sold with a royalty-free license to buyers. Artists earn 50% Royalty on Standard Licenses and 75% on Extended Licenses.
Millions f high-quality photos & vectors created by the world's most talented creative community. All the vectors, clipart graphics, icons, stock photos, stock videos, backgrounds, patterns, banners, and designs are royalty-free.
sell prints
Sometimes, the best way is the most obvious. You can make money by selling them. Selling prints is a great way of monetising your photos, and if you do really well, which I wish you from the bottom of my heart, you can end up turning your photography into a career. To start selling your photos you should register with print selling sites first. Each of the sites has different requirements so make sure to read T&Cs carefully.
I've listed some of the print sites below:
The other way is to set up an online shop. Check if your website provider has an option to add a shop, if not check Squerspace or Blupark.
wix.com
woo commerce by blue host
The market for photo prints it's not so popular, so you have to market your prints correctly. There are plenty of willing buyers for your work, I'm sure about that. Of course, you could think local. Why not sell them around to your local bars or restaurants? Plenty of places would be more than happy to have a beautiful photo of juicy fruits or a mouthwatering bowl of salad on the walls in their places.
EXHIBIT
This is another level, I know, but why not? If you’re really confident in your photography skills, it might be time to take the next step up.
Why not start by building up an online portfolio of your very best photos? You can find a following on Instagram or Twitter, or by submitting your photos to web-based competitions. Once you’ve got enough of a following to make an exhibition worthwhile, it’s time to set up the show! Don't forget to invite me ;)
If you have any other ideas on how to make money from your photos feel free to let me know, I will share them on my Instagram stories.
If you have any questions or you struggle with any subject, send me a DM on my Instagram or email me. I will do my best to answer and help.
Comments