$$$ - It is easy to sell your photos on Internet - $$$
Thanks to new digital cameras, it is now possible and simple to sell your own photos on Internet. Do not think you need to be a talented and well-equipped photographer to gain money with your pics. This website explains several methods to sell your photographs. Each of them is dedicated to a particular kind of photographer. Your income will depend on the number and kind of your photos and on the method you choose, but whatever you do, you will quickly have a good extra-income.
On a microstock, you upload your photos with associated keywords on a website. They need to pass a validation process, before being incorporated in the microstock search engine and being visible for potential buyers. Therefore, you must focus on two important points :
Each time someone download one of your photos, you receive an income, which differs between microstocks. All sites have a public price grid. The price depends on the license and on the size chosen by the buyer. In fact, you will not receive a lot of money for each sale, but you will sale a lot. For this reason, you have better to choose quantity instead of quality. Moreover, focus more on the content than on the way you take your photo : a pic of Eiffel Tower is worthy, even with a common composition whereas a picture of your cat not, even if it is perfect.
Can I sell all pictures ?
You can sell any photo that matches with the basics rules of photography. Nevertheless if we look at the most popular keywords and images sections, some subjects have more potential than the others.
However, the most important is to take photos of subjects you like. You can also gain money with landscapes, nature. My portfolio (approximately 130 images) mainly contains beautiful natural places and I win 80 $ per month.
Do I lose my rights on the pictures I sell ?
Most photos are sold with "Royalty free" licenses. You can sell a photo as many times as you want, without losing rights on them. You only allow the buyer to use your photo in a particular context (website, ad, calendar, ...). Therefore, you do not give these images free. For more details, look at the support of each microstock.
What about exclusivity programs ?
Many sites offers an exclusivity program which prevents you selling the photos on other sites, but increase the per photo sale income. It unfortunately reduces the total number of sales, because your work is less visible on the web. You have better selling at many places to have better income.
About the best microstocks
Even if there are hundreds microstocks on the web, only few ones are lucrative. With the microstocks keeping the average user's income secret, it is difficult for the beginner to estimate how much money a site can bring. I have put bellow the link to the best sites and a comparative description grid of the service they provide.
| Description | Number of sales | Criteria of validation | Delay of validation | Kind of photos | Pieces of advice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istockphoto | the best of microstocks, where you have better to send only your best images | High | Harsh | <1 week | Artistic and perfect photos | Be careful of noise and jpeg artifact. Reducing the images is often the only way to clear all problems. |
| Shutterstock | Just behind Istockphoto. The validation of the first ten photos is easier than it pretends to be. |
Very High | Average | < 2 days | Various kind of technically correct photos | Be careful of the10 first pics you send. Otherwise, you will have a 1-month delay before uploading again. Setting proper exposure, frame, and avoiding noise, harsh is often enough to validate a photo. |
| Fotolia | Simple but complete interface. Not as lucrative as Istockphoto or Shutterstock. | Average | Random. It is easier to validate objects or people pictures. | <3 days | Better validating and selling rates with objects or acting people. Most of photos look too much commercial. | If a photo is refused, try again. Validation team is unpredictable. |
I think it is a loss of time to send your images on other microstocks in comparison with the money earned.
I sell an hundred photos on each of the three websites above site. I am a pure amateur who mainly sells landscapes (not a lucrative kind of photos). I approximately earn :
If you think you are a good photographer who works a lot on each photo, you might sell them with a higher price on your own website. Of course, you portfolio must be better than those we find on microstocks. Avoid publishing a same photo on a microstock and on your site at the same time (buyers will opt for the cheapest). If you do not know how to create a website, there are now websites which host your pics and automatically create a gallery. Al contrary to microstocks, you take all the benefits of the sales but you must pay a subscription.
Attracting many people on your site might be a problem. Try to be indexed by all famous search engines (Google, Yahoo, Lycos...) and by some directories (about photography if possible). Why not contacting your potential customers (magazines, web designers, ...). However, you must be patient and talented to have a positive result.
Work for a press or photo agency :
Finally, you can send your portfolio to a press or photo agency. These firms regularly hire new photographers. However, I cannot help you because it means you level and experience in photography and in the way to promote your work are greater than mine.