How to Sell Photos Online for Free

Both amateurs and professional photographers can sell photos online.

Few things are more exciting than taking photos and selling them online for a nice profit. Selling photos online is a popular, growing trend that allows both amateurs and professional photographers the ability to earn a viable income online. Learning how to use stock photography websites is a must if you want to sell your photos online without any upfront costs.

Things You'll Need

• Digital camera
• USB cable
• Photoshop

Instructions

1. Transfer photos from your digital camera to your computer. Attach one end of the USB cable into your digital camera and plug the other end into a USB outlet on your computer. The USB cable should come included with your digital camera. Save the transferred photos to your computer.

2. Visit a reputable stock photo website, like IStockphoto.com, and sign up for a free account. Microstock photography sites allow both amateurs and professional photographers the chance to list and sell photos for free. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, stock-photo agencies sell magazines and other customers the right to use photographs and pay the photographer a commission.

3. Read the stock photo websites' photo submission manuals or guidelines thoroughly. These will describe in detail what type of photo is acceptable to submit, how to submit the photo for review and how much you'll be paid for the photo once it's downloaded or purchased by a customer.

4. Edit your photos to meet the stock photo websites' required standards. You can edit your photos with online tools, like Photoshop, free of charge.

5. Upload your best photos to the stock photo website and submit them to be reviewed.

6. Continuously upload as many high-quality photos as you possibly can after you're approved. Adding more photos will help build your portfolio.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't submit an incorrectly sized or poor quality photo for review. Each website's guidelines will inform you about the acceptable sizes and pixel count for your photos.

• Stock photo websites are strict about what they accept, so only submit your best photos to be reviewed.

References

• DOL: Photographers