A photobank is a great tool for monetizing and selling the photos you already made, but it can also be a motivation to improve your photography skills. Also, photography can be a passive income, eventually in the thousands, and for the most successful, a photo bank also becomes a main income. The advantage is that if you create photos with a wide range of uses, they can generate passive income for you for years.
Photography is a very popular hobby across generations. Both boys and girls enjoy photography. It’s just fun for everyone. But when someone has the talent and invests tens of thousands in a camera and equipment, it’s a good idea to consider whether to monetise this hobby. Selling photos in photo banks is a simple and easy way. Plus, you’ll find out what photos the market demands and are popular. If you give away photos for free, you can see their popularity by downloads. The other way can be a great gallery on Instagram, which will get you paid clients.
Both ways are proven, they work and they can also be great to combine. If you accidentally get your Instagram account stolen, you also have a second leg of your earnings. And vice versa as well. It’s not true that photo banks are just for amateurs and aspiring photographers. Many popular photographers also have their work in photo banks and it generates some passive income for them, but it’s not that interesting considering their normal earnings.
Sale of photos: How to make money selling photos?
“Wait, I have to take a picture first!” Does this phrase sound familiar to you? Do you use it yourself several times a day? Then you may have thousands of photos in your inventory that can provide you with an online income with almost no work. That’s an exaggeration, of course. So how do you make money from photos?
For selling your own photos, especially in the beginning, the easiest way is to use various photo banks and microstock sites. You need to meet a few basic prerequisites and invest a little time.
The photos must meet the parameters set by the server itself (quality, size, etc.) and then the logical ones that you can think of yourself. It’s probably hard for someone to pay you for a photo that isn’t pretty. Photos that catch the trend and are in high demand will be the best earners. They will be on a more general search topic and will be neutral in some way. The photo bank’s customers can use them and take them as their own.
The best photo banks on the market
How to sell photos to a photo bank? First of all – what is a photo bank? Imagine a situation where you sell some services, for example, a massage studio or a travel agency. You want to create an interesting offer, a flyer or a website, but you don’t have nice, high-quality photos.
You have two options: you pay for an expensive private photo shoot, which will cost you not only money but also time. The second option is to reach for a photo agency and buy ready-made photos online. You will have hundreds of beautiful pictures to choose from for just a few crowns, and in a minute.
Photo banks are online repositories where photographers and amateurs upload their photos, videos and graphics, and customers from all over the world then purchase them for their own use. Prices for photos vary and start at around 50 cents each at a microstock bank. Photographers who specialize in creating photos for photo banks do so in themed series, creating several photos. The client can then buy a series of photos and use them for multiple sections of the website.
The most popular photo banks include:
- Shutterstock,
- Adobe Stock,
- iStock,
- Canstockphoto
- Dreamstime or
- 123RF.
Free photo banks can be tempting for the end user because they don’t pay anything for the photos. But there is no guarantee of authorship of the photo. Examples include Pixabay or Unsplash. They often serve as advertisements for paid versions, but are not profitable for the contributor.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock routinely ranks at the top of the most popular photo banks in the Czech Republic and worldwide. It’s the most profitable photo bank, has a user-friendly interface, and you’ll earn at least 25 cents per photo, but you can get up to around $3.
And how to sell photos on Shutterstock? You simply sign up and upload your first 10 photos. Your profile will be judged on these and if the photos are of a high enough quality, the admin will approve the profile and you can continue uploading.
Choose your first 10 photos carefully, and go for the best ones you have. But you can apply for approval in several attempts. You’ll only get paid when your earnings reach $35 per month. If it’s less than that, the money will roll over to the next month until you break the threshold.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock has an advantage when you want to upload photos right away – you don’t have to wait for profile approval. You get 33% of the sale price for photos and illustrations and 35% for video.
Photos are uploaded in jpeg format, must be between 4 and 100 MP resolution and up to 45 MB in size. You can upload them either from the contributor interface or directly from Lightroom. Each photo then awaits approval.
The minimum earnings are 33 euro cents per photo and you get a payout when you reach 25 euro.
iStock
iStock used to be a great portal for earning from photos. Especially for high-end photos and illustrations you could get really nice amounts. Today, the percentages are probably the smallest on the market and iStock has a lengthy registration process.
Canstockphoto
Canstockphoto is an agency that cites as a plus that it treats contributors fairly and the earnings are clear and fair upfront.
Once you register, you need to fill out a simple application to contribute to the photo bank along with 3 images. Photos are approved quickly and if there is no problem, you can start uploading.
You can earn from 25 cents to $2.50 per photo. The payout will take place after reaching $50 or $100 depending on the payment method.
Dreamstime
Selling photos on Dreamstime is simple and profitable. Again, you don’t have to wait for profile approval, plus you have the possibility of really high percentages on sales. In case you contribute exclusively to this photo bank, you will get 60% of the sale price. If you also contribute to other banks, you will get 25%.
123RF
123RF has a similar registration system to Shutterstock. Earnings are 30-60% of the price of a single photo. The amount depends on the number of photos you have already uploaded. The more the better.
Other photo libraries
There are many other photo banks you can upload to. You can choose which one suits you. For example:
- Depositphotos
- Colourbox
- Stocksy
- Cavan Images
- Westend61
- Offset
Which photos earn the most?
It can be slow going at first and the key is to post lots of photos of sufficient quality. The more photos, the more likely searchers are to come across them.
Remember that the photo must catch the eye and be straight ready to use. Above all, the photos must be well taken and should have undergone at least basic editing in an editor.
When uploading, focus on the right keywords. List everything you see in the photo and also what it might convey. Even abstract concepts such as relaxation or healthy lifestyle.
Some photos sell more, others less. Would you think original, artistic photos would sell best? Wrong! Photos depicting themes such as:
- offices, people at work,
- meetings, coworking,
- children and families,
- real events,
- seasons and
- current trends.
But be careful with photos of people, you can only publish images that have the consent of the person in them! For photos of children, you will need parental consent.
How and what to shoot with?
You don’t need high-end equipment costing thousands of crowns right away. For certain types of photos, you can get by with a good quality camera on your phone. You can also use a compact that you already have at home. If you find that photography is right for you, you can add to and improve your equipment over time. A good middle ground is a mirrorless camera.
But it’s important not to underestimate post-processing. Some photo editors are free, the most popular ones are usually paid. Paid editors do have a free trial though. For example, you can try Lightroom for free for a month right away.
How to start selling photos in a photobank?
And how to get started? Simple:
- Choose a platform,
- sign up,
- select your photos,
- edit them, and
- Upload.
The more the better. Photos that are taken under the same lighting conditions will be easy to edit even in larger quantities. This will give you a straight set of photos that can earn you no work in minutes. If your portfolio is broad and interesting enough, with minimal maintenance you can make a nice passive income.
Upload the photos you have. Are you an avid traveler or even a digital nomad with thousands of vacation photos on your hard drive? Do you enjoy cooking and serving beautiful food? Do you take pictures of nature or cities?
Whatever the topic might be, the advantage is that you already have the photos. Half the work is done, now you just need to edit and upload the pictures. You will see for yourself if the theme is profitable or not. You will find out what your customers want and you can create accordingly.
Making money online
The current era offers more opportunities than any before. You can already make money online in almost every field. IT, software development, blogging, online marketing and social media are just the beginning. When it comes to photography, you don’t have to stick with a photo agency. You can also make money on Instagram, by taking custom photos or selling printed photos. As we wrote in the introduction, selling photos in photo banks often has a slow start, but can generate you a decent passive income afterwards.
You can get a part-time job from home or as a side job in no time. You can stick to your field or learn something new. In some industries, you don’t even need special skills.
