How to Sell for a Royalty Free Stock Photography Site

In reality it might be best to sell for all of them. Most of them allow you to upload your photos to multiple sites. Below are a few sites that offer different programs and will give you the best chances at making the most money. Many amateur photographers actually make a living selling royalty free stock photos online. Some sites have very strict guidelines for the quality. Be sure the check out the resources section below for an article titled, “Format Stock Photos for Online Sales” in order to ensure your best chances of making it in this industry.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. BigStockPhoto.com
   This is the best one to start with. They pay fifty cents per download, but don’t let that discourage you. The royalty free stock photography market has become so huge that even at this rate you can bring in a substantial supplemental income or even a full time income.

2. DreamsTime.com
   This site pretty much works the same as BigStockPhoto.com, but they also offer an ftp upload service to make the process of submitting photographs much easier.

3. FeaturePics.com
   This site lets you set the price of you photos and then they take thirty percent commission on it. This makes it much more profitable for download as you can earn ten or fifteen dollars per download, however they do not sell as fast on this site. Still has the potential to be a top producer.

4. iStockPhoto.com
   Owned by Getty Images, this is one of the biggest, highest quality sites. Strictly by volume of quality content, you are all but guaranteed success by this site. Like Shutterstock.com, make sure the content is top notch otherwise it is likely to be rejected.

5. Shutterstock.com
   This site probably pays the best, but they have the strictest criteria. Wait until you have a solid understanding of the online stock photo industry before submitting to this one so that you will know what photos will or will not be accepted. This site also will pay more per download once you have proved yourself to them with a minimum download payout of five hundred dollars.

6. Here are some other royalty free stock photography sites to consider marketing too. Each has their own niche and their own marketing strategy so trying out all or just multiple programs will prove beneficial.
   
   
   123rf.com (123 Royalty Free)
   Alamy.com
   CanStockPhoto.com
   CreStock.com
   FeaturePix.com
   Fotolia.com
   Fotomind.com
   JB-Pix.com
   MostPhotos.com
   PantherMedia.net
   PixMac.com
   Quickpixels.com
   SnapVillage.com
   StockXpert.com
   YayMicro.com

Resources

• Format Stock Photos for Online Sales
• Sell Your Photos on BigStockPhoto.com

[Desula]

on 10/15/2008 Thanks for this information on selling photos online.

[patti80]

on 10/15/2008 Great info. Thanks!

[patti80]

on 10/15/2008 Great info. Thanks!