• Tips & Tricks
• Jul 21, 2023

Top 14 Online Marketplaces for Selling Your Photography

So you’ve got an eye for photography, huh?

Whether you’re an amateur photographer looking to turn your hobby into some extra cash or a pro looking to expand your reach, selling your photos online is a great way to generate revenue from your work.

The tricky part is finding the right places to sell your photos, especially if you’re just getting started. There are dozens of stock photo sites and marketplaces out there, but some are better suited for selling photos than others.

We’ve done the research and narrowed it down to the top 14 online marketplaces for selling your photography.

These sites make it easy to upload your photos, set your own prices, and start making money from your photography.

Read on to discover the best places to sell your photos online and turn your camera into a cash machine.

Shutterstock

Shutterstock is one of the largest stock photo and video agencies, with over 300 million images and video clips to choose from. As a contributor, you can make money from selling licenses of your photos and clips. They accept all kinds of photography, so whether you shoot lifestyle, landscape, portraits, or macro images, Shutterstock likely has a place for your work.

To get started, create an account and submit 3-10 of your best shots.

If approved, your images are added to the collection and you earn a commission whenever one is downloaded. The more downloads you get, the higher your commission rate goes. Shutterstock pays out monthly to contributors and has a low payout threshold, so you’ll start earning quickly.

The key is submitting eye-catching, high-quality photos that fill a need.

Do some research on Shutterstock to see what’s trending and missing from their current library. Then, get shooting, edit your best work, and upload. With the huge audience Shutterstock provides, even casual photographers have the potential to turn their hobby into a money-making side gig.

Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock is one of the leading stock photo agencies, with over 90 million curated photos, vectors, illustrations, and videos. As an Adobe Creative Cloud member, you get a free starter collection of assets to use in your creative projects.

To sell your photography on Adobe Stock, you’ll need to apply and meet their quality standards.

If accepted, you’ll earn 33% royalties on all photos or footage sold. Adobe provides helpful tips and resources for creating marketable photos.

Adobe has a huge customer base, so your work has major exposure potential. They make it easy to upload and tag your images so people can find them. And with your Creative Cloud membership, it’s simple to use your own photos in Photoshop or Illustrator.

For maximum success, focus on lifestyle, business, tech, healthcare, and other commercial genres.

Adobe is very selective, so bring your A-game!

Getty Images

Getty Images is the leading stock photo agency, with over 135 million creative, editorial, archival, and video clips in its collection.

As an independent photographer, becoming a contributor to Getty Images is very lucrative and can provide a steady income from your work.

To get started, you’ll need to apply and be accepted into their contributor program. Once accepted, you’ll upload your best photos to their site where customers can license them for a variety of commercial and editorial uses.

Getty Images offers several licensing options for customers at varying price points, and as the creator, you earn a percentage of each sale.

You’ll make the largest percentage from Rights-Managed images, as customers are paying a premium for exclusive use. Royalty-Free images typically earn a smaller commission since the images can be used multiple times.

The key is to provide a diverse, high-quality portfolio so you have images that appeal to every customer and usage need.

The more you contribute and the higher the quality, the more you can earn. Some top photographers are making over $100,000 a year through Getty Images. They handle all the marketing, distribution, and licensing details so you can focus on your craft.

Alamy

If you’re looking to sell your stock photography, Alamy is one of the largest independent stock photo agencies. With over 200 million images and footage clips in their collection, they have a huge range of content that is constantly in demand. As a contributor, you can make money through royalties every time someone licenses your images.

Alamy has a simple and fast upload process to get your photos in their collection. Once uploaded, your images are made available to customers across the globe.

They handle all the administration, marketing, and sales of your work so you can focus on your photography. The royalties you earn will vary depending on the type of license and image, but you can expect to make between 20-60% of each sale. Payments are made monthly once your account balance reaches $50.

If you have a quality catalog of lifestyle, business, landscape, or travel photos, Alamy is a great option to generate passive income from your work. The huge range of content they offer also means your work has a better chance of standing out. Give Alamy a try.

SmugMug

If you’re looking to sell your photos online, SmugMug is also a great option. This platform was created specifically for photographers to share and sell their work. You can create your own portfolio website to showcase your best shots, then make them available for purchase.

SmugMug offers customizable gallery templates so you can make a site that reflects your unique style. They provide unlimited photo storage and bandwidth, so you can upload high-resolution images without worrying about extra fees.

You set your own prices for digital downloads and prints. SmugMug takes a small commission on sales to keep their service running, but you keep most of the profit.

This marketplace also has a large community of photographers. You can connect with others, get feedback on your work, and even participate in photo contests. SmugMug makes it easy to spread the word about your photos on social media too, with built-in sharing options for platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Showcase your work, make sales, build your audience, and connect with fellow photographers, all in one place.

iStock

So you want to make some money selling your photos online? Check out iStock, one of the largest stock photo agencies. They provide millions of high-quality stock photos, illustrations, footage, and audio to businesses around the world.

As a contributor, you can upload your photos for review and if approved, iStock will market and sell your images.

You earn a royalty every time one of your photos is downloaded. The more your photos are downloaded, the higher your royalty rate goes. Top contributors can make thousands per month.

The types of photos iStock is looking for include lifestyle shots, nature, business, healthcare, travel, and more. Your photos should be high resolution, have great composition, and showcase real emotions and moments. iStock provides helpful tips and video tutorials to ensure your photos meet their standards.

500px

500px is one of the top photography communities and marketplaces. With over 15 million members, it’s a great place to get your work in front of a large audience. 500px focuses on high-quality, artistic photography, so it appeals to serious hobbyists and pros.

To sell your photos on 500px, you’ll need to apply and be approved as a Marketplace seller. Photos are priced between $10 to $500, and you keep 60% of sales if you are a free member, and paid members take 100% of the sales. 500px handles all the printing and shipping for you. They also do an excellent job of promoting sellers and driving traffic to your portfolio.

Once approved, you can start uploading photos to your Marketplace portfolio right away. Focus on your best work that shows your unique style. Buyers here tend to prefer dramatic landscape, cityscape, portrait, and fine art photography. Make sure to tag your photos thoroughly so people can find them.

While 500px is very selective, if your application is accepted, it’s a fantastic platform for selling photos.

Etsy

Etsy is one of the largest marketplaces for handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies. As a photographer, Etsy is a great place to sell your work. Over 60 million buyers shop on Etsy each month looking for unique items.

To get started, create an Etsy seller account and set up your shop. Build your product listings by uploading photos of your work, setting prices, and writing engaging descriptions. Etsy allows you to sell prints of your photos, framed prints, canvas prints, greeting cards featuring your images, and more. You have full control and keep 80% of the sales.

Etsy does charge listing fees and a transaction fee when an item sells. However, many photographers find the large volume of shoppers and potential for repeat customers make the fees worthwhile. The key is building a cohesive brand, and posting new products regularly. Leverage Etsy’s social features to increase visibility, gain followers, and promote your latest listings.

Dreamstime

The sign-up process is simple. Just create an account, upload your photos, set the prices and your images are ready to be sold. Dreamstime allows you to keep up to 60% of the sale price and pays monthly through PayPal.

They accept all types of photography including landscapes, portraits, wildlife, travel, and macro. The key is to upload eye-catching, high-quality, and unique images that stand out. The more you upload, the higher the chance of making sales.

Foap

Foap is a free stock photo agency that allows you to upload and sell your images. They have a large community of photographers and a wide selection of photos to choose from.

Foap makes it easy to get started selling your photos. Simply sign up for a free account, upload your best shots, add titles and keywords, and your images are ready to be discovered and purchased.

Foap allows you to keep 50% of the profit from each sale. Payments are made monthly through PayPal once your account reaches $50. Foap has a large customer base, including big companies like Yahoo, BuzzFeed, and Microsoft. By uploading to Foap, you have a chance to gain major exposure and sell your photos to large commercial clients.

Foap is ideal for amateur and professional photographers alike. If you’re just getting started selling stock photography, Foap is an easy place to begin building your portfolio and making some extra cash from your photos.

Stocksy

Stocksy is a curated collection of high-quality stock photos. As a contributor, you’ll earn a 50% commission on all sales. To become a Stocksy photographer, you must apply and be accepted into their collection. They’re selective, but if your photography has a stylish, authentic feel, you have a good chance of being approved.

Once accepted, you can upload photos to their site and set your own prices. Stocksy handles all the marketing and sales—they just send you a check for your cut of the earnings each month. 

For professional photographers looking to earn passive income from their work, Stocksy is an appealing option. With their high payouts and minimal effort required on your part, you can make decent money over time as your portfolio grows.

FineArtAmerica

FineArtAmerica.com is an excellent online marketplace for photographers. It stands out for its extensive reach, focus on fine art photography and user-friendly interface. 

Photographers can easily upload and customize their photos. FineArtAmerica.com handles printing, packaging and shipping. They offer a competitive commission rate and timely payments. The active community fosters growth and inspiration.

Pond5

Pond5 is one of the largest marketplaces for stock photos, footage, music, and sound effects. On Pond5, you can sell virtually any type of digital media. They have a massive collection of over 30 million assets, so competition is high. However, Pond5 also has a huge audience of buyers.

To get started selling on Pond5, you’ll need to create an account and upload your photos. Pond5 allows you to upload an unlimited number of photos and footage for free. You’ll earn 50% of the sale price each time one of your photos is downloaded. Pond5 makes it easy to tag and categorize your photos to make them searchable. You can also set your own prices for photos.

123RF

If you’re looking to sell your travel, landscape or nature photography, 123RF is a great option. As one of the largest royalty-free stock photo agencies, 123RF offers a wide reach and exposure for your work. They accept photos from both amateur and professional photographers, so you have a good chance of being accepted.

The process to become a contributor is simple. Just sign up for a free account, upload a few samples of your best shots, then wait for 123RF to review and hopefully accept your application. If approved, you can start uploading photos right away and setting your own prices. 123RF allows you to keep up to 60% of the sales from your images, depending on the license type. They handle all the marketing and sales of your photos for you, so you can focus on your photography!

With over 60 million images and growing, 123RF receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each day. If the quality and subject matter of your photos matches their customers’ needs, you have the potential to reach a very wide audience and generate good passive income from your work. 

For any photographer looking to monetize their photos, 123RF is definitely worth considering.

Tips for Selling on these platforms

Selling your photos online has never been easier with so many options to choose from. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of these platforms:

• Promote your work on social media. Build an audience by sharing your photos on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with other photographers and those interested in your style of work. This will drive more traffic to your online stores.
• Optimizing Metadata and Keywords. Choose titles, descriptions, and tags that accurately describe your photos. Use keywords that people would search for. The more relevant your metadata, the more visible your photos will be.
• Analyze Performance and Make Changes. See which photos are getting the most views and favorites. Look for common themes or subjects among your most popular photos. Take more shots like those. Notice which keywords and tags are performing the best. Use them more frequently. Make data-driven decisions to improve your sales.
• Offer discounts and promotions. Run sales on your photos to increase sales. You can offer percentage discounts, coupon codes, bundle deals, and more. Promote sales on social media and in your online stores to take advantage of them.
• Use tools like Slazzer to optimize your images. A background removal tool like Slazzer allows you to remove the background from your photos quickly and easily. This helps the main subject of your photo stand out and gives a more professional appearance. Optimized, high-quality photos tend to sell better.

Selling stock photography is challenging, but following these tips can help set you up for success. Remember, the more you promote your photos, engage with your audience, optimize for search, analyze your performance, and run promotions, the more your sales are likely to increase over time.

Conclusion

You now have all the tools you need to start selling your photography online. With so many options, you’re sure to find marketplaces that are a great fit for your work. Don’t get overwhelmed thinking you have to list on every site right away. 

Start with a few that appeal to you and your photography style. Build up your profiles, get reviews, make sales, and then expand from there if you want to. 

The key is choosing places where you can build a loyal customer base, not just make a quick buck. 

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