How to Make Money on Celebrity Photos

Try to photograph your celebrities doing something out of the ordinary.

Celebrity photos are not only snapped by the paparazzi, but by ordinary people like you and me. Just because you’re not a pro, that doesn’t mean you can’t profit from your celebrity snapshots. There are several ways to go about selling your celebrity photos, and depending on the celebrity and situation in which you’ve caught the celebrity, your photo could result in big money.

Things You'll Need

• Photos of celebrities

Instructions

1. 

   Catch a celebrity shopping.

   Assess your photos for quality, clarity and newsworthiness. Ask yourself if your subject is an “A” list celebrity, one you see on magazine covers regularly? Does your photo illustrate big news to the entertainment world or is it just a celebrity doing her everyday thing? If your photo is big news, try to sell it directly to a magazine or publication. Otherwise, submit it to a photo agency and let them sell it for you.

2. 

   A photo agency will pay you for your photos.

   Contact an international photo agency that specializes in selling celebrity photos. These agencies deal with a variety of publications and sell photos to the highest bidder. If your photos sell, they will take a cut of the profits and pay you the rest. A typical deal will pay you 50 to 60 percent of the profits. Try submitting your photos to The Snitcher Desk or Meet the Famous. Read the guidelines for submitting photos, as each site has different rules.

3. 

   Celebrity weddings are always big news.

   Contact publications directly if you feel your photos are big news. Publications such as Us, OK!, or Star are always looking for these types of photos. If your photo is important enough, you can get the magazine’s attention by emailing the contacts listed on their websites or in the back of the magazines. Your payout will be much higher this way, as you will have cut out the middle man.

4. 

   Mark copies you send to protect ownership of the original.

   Protect your photos during the submission process to agency or publication, by creating an obvious mark on them. Once the photo has been shared, it can be hard to prove you are the owner. Protect your images from being stolen by marking them, making you the only person with the original. You can submit the marked photo to a buyer, then after the agreement to buy has been made, resubmit your original unmarked photo.

Tips & Warnings

• Submit your celebrity photos as soon as you obtain them. They lose value and credibility as time goes on and you risk another photographer submitting similar images before you.

• Be careful not to trespass on private property. Most publications won't print photos that result from trespassing and invading privacy.

References

• The Snitcher Desk
• Meet the Famous:
• Slate: How do the paparazzi sell their pics?

Resources

• Photo.net: Selling Celebrity Photos