Where to post photos. How to make money online by selling photos. Upload everything you've taken

02.03.2011 35566 reference Information 0

In this article, we will talk about how to make money on the Internet by selling copyright photos in photobanks, or as they are also called photostocks, microstocks and making decent money on it.

I will say right away that if you are fond of photography or drawing vector drawings, then this is a great hobby that can not only give you pleasure as a hobby, but also bring you really good money for it.

What is a photobank, photostock, microstock?

Photobank (photostock, microstock) is an image bank that acts as an intermediary between the buyer of photos and the photographer himself. A photobank (photostock, microstock) takes on the task of attracting buyers and accepting payments from them, which greatly simplifies the work of photographers who can only take beautiful photos, put them in photobanks and get paid for it.

For many Western photographers, working on the Internet with photobanks has become not just a part-time job and additional income, but is the main highly profitable profession that brings thousands of dollars every month and this is not a joke!

To dispel all your doubts, let's look at a small real example of making money on photo stocks.

On one of the Western photobanks, a certain Andrey Tokarsky posted a photo of “Summer Landscape”, and so, in just over three years, it brought a total income of more than $90,000!

In the picture you can see this same photo. For all the time, the photo "Summer Landscape" was downloaded more than 5100 times, the cost of one download is 12 credits, converting it into a currency it is $18, the commission of the photobank is 50%, we consider: $18 * 5100 downloads = $91800 * 50% = $45900

40 months have passed since the photo was uploaded to the photo stock, this photo brings the author 45900$ per month / 40 months = 1147.5$

Agree, very, very not bad. And the most interesting thing is that this photo is still on autopilot brings a good profit, and will make money for the owner for more than one day! This is probably the coolest thing in photobanks (photostocks), you upload a photo and get money from it, and on an ongoing basis, the income depends on the number of downloads, the more downloads, the more you earn, respectively.

To start making really good money by selling photos, you must first take them and take photos not just anyhow, but always high resolution, in no case do not take pictures from your phone, even if it has a high resolution. Take better photos with a camera, for work you can take a digital camera with a resolution of 5 megapixels, it will be enough.

The most popular topics for photobanks are: business, cars, people, health, sports, subject photography. Before you start working, be sure to decide on the subject, analyze its demand and price in the photobank market.

Now let's define the photobanks themselves (photostocks). Let's make a reservation right away that in Europe and the USA a lot of photos are more willing to buy every day and the bourgeoisie pay good money for photos and vector images, you can earn from $ 3-5 and more for one photo download, and the main feature is that the download can be an unlimited number, up to several thousand, and maybe tens of thousands. Therefore, they should be given preference.

Photo bank №1

Shutterstock is the most popular photo bank in the west, it is considered the leader in terms of profitability and sales of photographs. In order to start working in it, you must pass an entrance exam, i. posting 10 photos of yourself, 7 of them must be approved, only then you can upload photos for sale. In case of failure, the exam can be retaken no earlier than one month later. You can retake an unlimited number of times.

A great feature of Shutterstock photo bank is that this service has a subscription for buyers, which costs $249 per month, it gives buyers the ability to upload up to 25 of any photos daily, which gives a huge incentive to buyers to regularly upload a lot of photos, thereby providing high profits for photographers .

By the way, if you know how to make video clips, then the Shutterstock photostock accepts authors without exams and pays them up to $ 200 for one clip, the author's fee is 30% - 50%. This is a note to you!

Photo bank №2

Istockphoto is a photo bank with an entrance exam of three photos, the Istockphoto photo bank has the highest requirements for photos, namely, quality and subject matter, so be careful, do not post anything. Photo moderation takes place within a week. If you fail the exam, you can retake it at least immediately after failing and without restrictions.

Photo bank №3

Fotolia is a slightly less popular photo bank without exams, you only need to pass a small test, Fotolia photo bank will not bring you a lot of income, but additional income is provided, information about each download will be sent to your email.

When you upload your photos to photo stocks, be sure to add 10-30 relevant key phrases to them, because only these tags are used by buyers to search for photos in photo banks!

P.S. If your photo is really good, it can become a bestseller that will bring real profit day by day, and moreover, on an ongoing basis, in order to make good money on the Internet on photobanks, upload as many high-quality and interesting photos as possible.

Do you want to make money doing what you love? Easy! We talk about how to make money selling photos online.

This article is intended for persons over 18 years of age.

Are you over 18 already?

Everyone can sell photos on the Internet, but some people are unaware of the existence of such a business. If you make an effort and show perseverance, you will be able to make an excellent source of income. It will be profitable even when the owner is looking for new places to shoot.

How to start selling photos online?

In order to sell your photos expensively, you must first register in one or several photobanks at once. It is through them that the largest flow of photographs goes. Designers and editors from all over the world often look into such photo banks in search of the right pictures and inspiration.

It is also important to decide on the material that will be uploaded to the site. As practice shows, those photos that are distinguished by the originality of the plot are in great demand. Landscapes are popular. There is also a demand for food. It can be both ready meals and products. If you decide to capture the sky, then it should be processed with high quality so that it can be bought at a photo stock.

If you don’t know how to make inscriptions for images in English, then you can use special translators. But still, for the successful promotion of photos, it is recommended to speak English at least at an intermediate level. If you make the description correctly, you can increase the saleability of the photo.

To take beautiful photos, you need to have a professional camera. The 4 MP camera will allow you to take high-quality images. In addition, they will need to be processed in Photoshop to make them even better.

Many people are wondering if you can sell your photos multiple times. It's possible. As evidenced by the practice of successful photo stockers, some images are sold dozens of times, while half or even more of those uploaded in the portfolio have never been bought.

There are several sites that offer this type of earnings. The most famous:

• Shutterstock ;
• iStockphoto ;
• Fotolia;
• dream time;
• Bigstock.

If you are interested in stock images in Russia, then it is recommended to go to Lori. The biggest earnings will be on the global US site Shutterstock. The French Fotolia and the Canadian iStockphoto rank slightly behind him.

To make money selling photos, you have to be very diligent. This job requires a lot of patience. Most novice photo stockers abandon this lesson even during the period of registration on the resource or after their images did not pass the exam. An exam is an optional procedure, but it is present on most resources. For each resource, you need to make a summary with a specific set of images. The inspector checks them.

To start making money in this business on your own, it is not necessary to travel the world and take pictures. You can start with filming the environment. It is not recommended to photograph people at the initial stage of their professional development. In order for such images to be placed in the portfolio on the resource, there must be a written permission from those people who are captured.

Stock photos that are popular are the photo sections:

• people;
• animals;
• plants;
• sport;
• health;
• nature.

Where to sell your photos online?

The photographs taken can be sold online. This is the fastest way to get money. Most resources offer to withdraw money to electronic wallets, and then transfer to bank cards.

Photos are needed all over the world. Even more acute is the problem of video clips. They are often accepted without examinations. Photos are needed in magazines, newspapers, on Internet resources. Screensaver pictures are very popular. A beginner photo stocker can start by shooting the texture of the walls, a fallen yellow leaf or dew on the grass. The captured surface of a lake or river will also bring income. These pictures are in demand, they are used for screensavers.

If you don’t know the answer to the question of where pictures are needed, then there is only one answer - images are needed everywhere. They serve as an addition to the printed material, allowing you to expand on the topic and supplement it.

How to sell photos on a photobank

On the Shutterstock photo stock, you need to take a special exam, which we wrote about above. How it happens: you need to add 10 photos to the photostock, if less than 7 pictures are selected from them, then the exam is considered not passed. You can only try again in a month, but the plus is that there can be an unlimited number of such attempts.

Designers, editors and photographers come to Shutterstock in search of new pictures, as it is the most popular and most profitable resource worldwide.

If you are interested not in selling, but in buying images, then you will need to buy a subscription here. It allows you to download 25 photos daily. The fee for this is just under $200. Here you can sell video clips. The system on this resource is built in such a way as to stimulate buyers and bring even more income.

The stocks sell original photographs that you will not find anywhere else. It is recommended to look there for everyone who is interested in art.

Creativemarketcom also requires you to take an exam. This is a site that sells vector animation. On this platform, you need to create a store where you can place products. When registering, be sure to write why you want to sell here.

On IStockphoto you need to take 3 photos, but they must be of very high quality and exactly match the declared category. You can retake the exam at any time at any time.

For Depositphoto you need to prepare 5 test photos. This is a high growth platform so it is recommended to sign up here for future earnings.

If you are interested in an artistic photo, then you can sell it at 500px. This exchange is not like the previous ones: there is no exam. It is important that the name of the photographer is known, and his work has already appeared on Internet resources. You can start promoting your work through Instagram, LiveJournal, VKontakte or Facebook.

How to sell photos for money?

If you don’t know how much you can sell photos for, then the symbolic price in photo stocks is 1-6 dollars. At first glance, this seems like a very small amount, but profit is achieved by selling the same product multiple times.

If you are the owner of old family photos, they will also help generate income. All that is required is to make copies of old images and send them to the resource. They are in demand, so they will become a profitable business.

Family pre-revolutionary photographs must be in good condition. They are needed by collectors and can be redeemed for a lot of money. In order not to sell too cheap, it is necessary to consult with professionals to evaluate the image, and then make a deal.

How to sell photos to a newbie on the Internet?

Best selling photos on photo stocks

The most expensive photographs sold at auction cost several million dollars for each copy. There is something to strive for a novice photographer. Andreas Gursky took a picture of the Rhine River in rainy weather that sold for $4,338,500. The stage worker Cindy Sherman has taken some of the most expensive pictures in human history. Among them is Untitled #96 (1981), which was sold for $3,890,500.

You can take pictures of everything that comes in head and will fall for eyes:

• nature;
• celebrities;
• body parts;
• objects.

But, probably, one of the more profitable and popular are nude photos. Street art is gaining popularity in photography. Such pictures will also be profitable. If you are interested in how much a wedding photo can be sold for, then it is recommended to look at their prices on the Web. You can sell pictures from a corporate party. If there is no professional equipment, then you can take pictures using your phone. The Photolia application allows you to sell pictures from your phone by downloading and installing it.

Agree, people quite often post their personal (and even too personal) photos on the Internet, without thinking about any possible consequences of such frivolous behavior.

Of course, it is unlikely that one small photo can cause colossal harm to your reputation, but you probably don’t even suspect for what illegal purposes your photos can be used. So, what do you need to know before you decide to put your photos on the Internet and publish some of your successful pictures online.

1. A photo posted on the Internet can reveal both your identity and your location.

Your photographs contain much more information than you think. Pictures taken with your phone may be tagged with GPS coordinates (geotags) that give away your location.

And a photo against the background of your own home, school, university or office will openly indicate where you can be found. No, this does not mean that you should be paranoid about posting anything online. Just make sure that your photos have a minimum of any data.

2. Photos can be stolen

There are a great many online dating sites that create fake profiles to attract new members.

If you're not careful about posting your pictures online, you may very well find your picture on one of these sites someday.

By the way, this is a huge market, where there is always a huge demand for inviting and attractive photos.

3. Be careful about accepting friend requests

Be selective and look carefully who you accept as friends in. Promiscuity in friends (friends) is not a good idea.

Go through your entire list of friends and drastically remove those you don't know at all or just don't want to communicate. This will help you maintain the relative privacy of all your information, including photos.

4. Privacy settings

Most social networks provide users with options that allow them to control how other people see their personal information and photos. offers "Public", "Friends" and "Friends of Friends" options with which you can restrict access to your data.

Don't forget that if another person tagged you on a photo, now it will be fully viewable by the friends of the person who tagged you, as well as by the friends of those people who are also tagged in this photo. It is best to turn off this feature, and then your face in the picture will not be connected in any way with your name and your profile page.

5. Don't upload photos of dubious value

If you have ambiguous or explicit photos, do not upload them online. If you have even the slightest doubt, it is better not to put them on display even for a minimum number of people.

If you are a parent, never post on the Internet those photos for which you will be embarrassed in front of your own after some time. Save spicy shots exclusively for home viewing.

Also, employers sometimes study information about their employees posted on social networks, blogs, websites, considering this information to be public and reliable. I think that you would not want to show every photo to your personnel department or your immediate supervisor.

6. Protect your privacy

If one of your friends or relatives posted a photo with you on the Internet, and you are not at all happy with this, immediately ask to remove them, clearly arguing your request.

You don't know who else might see these photos, so it's only natural that you protect yourself and your privacy.

7. Be careful with microblogs

There are a number of microblogs (such as Tumblr) that differ from social networking sites in that they are designed for a simplified blogging format for a particular person, rather than posting messages from social network users.

Always be careful with the information you provide to readers. And try not to reveal your personal information (including photos) publicly. It is not known by whom and how this information will subsequently be used.

The information posted on the network can be viewed not only by those to whom you address it, but also by those to whom you would not like to show such information at all.

Please vote!

You can choose 1, 2, 3, ... and even all 10 answers.

Users of one of the most popular sites for photographers, art lovers, and design ambiguously evaluate the redesign, moreover, for many, it has become an occasion to start looking for a new platform for publishing their work.

Look At Me explored alternative photo sharing platforms for personal and professional use and the communities that have developed around them.

Exposure, unlike Stampsy, was created as a platform for photographers with an emphasis on narratives, series of photographs united by one thought. In general, for photographers who want to tell stories, and not just upload photos as they come. This description includes not only sequentially arranged photographs, but also the actual description of what is happening on them. Of several such photo stories, in principle, it’s more than realistic to put together a kind of portfolio (even without buying a pro account - a free one allows you to publish three photo stories), if you don’t get around to making your own website. Although the latter, in general, in 2014 is a rather pointless undertaking.

Main plus

The ability to tell stories that are easy to read thanks to the illustrative series, and not just upload photos.

Also a kind of online photo storage, something like Tumblr, but for author's photos; the main difference from its predecessors is the ability to sell photos directly through the site. To do this, you need to select the For Professionals option, and then set the price of the photo, etc. The service promises to take care of all legal aspects, take care of protecting your copyrights and provide round-the-clock support if, for example, selling photos is a new business for you.

Main plus

Ability to sell photos directly through the site.

A platform for creating your own portfolio website for mobile and web versions, with a separate focus on iPhone and iPad. On the basis of the Viewbook, in fact, your own site is created, within the framework of the given design variations. Viewbook has 3 types of memberships, the cheapest one starts at $4 per month.

Main plus

Create a website with your own url.

The French-based site is arguably the most popular among those who fled Flickr because they didn't want to control how their page looked. Ipernity, indeed, is very similar in appearance and functionality to Flickr and, most importantly for the established community, the presence of groups (where any user can add their photos) and discussions - in general, it is the exchange of experience within the forum, supported by the visual part, and Flickr was strong the most.

Main plus

A photography community where many former Flickr users migrated to.

The VSCO app is remarkable not only for its filters (and tutorials on how to use them) and the purpose of reminding you that photos can still be beautiful, even if no one needs cameras anymore, but also for its attempts (quite successful) to develop a photo community. To do this, the team maintains VSCO Journal, where they share the best photos selected over the past week or weekend, and also created a special social network and at the same time a photo platform - VSCO Grid, in which each user of the application can post their photos, and the most beautiful of them can get into in Editor's Choice.

Main plus

VSCO does not just provide a platform for photos, but constantly publishes tutorials and interviews with professionals, that is, it tries to give users new knowledge.

Simply put, it's Learn from photography. Website slogan: a photo a day. The photos are sorted by the date you posted them and are side by side on a calendar. That is, it’s rather not even a platform, but a photo diary, which, with its functionality, reminds you that it’s time to update a couple of photos already. Well, the feedback system works according to the same principle: subscribers write comments by analogy with the same Livejournal.