Selling stock photos: Statistics (Top Picks)
- Photographers earn $0.02 per month per uploaded photo on average. ...
- Stock photo agencies pay $0.10 to $2.24 per image for subscription-based purchases and up to $99.50 for on-demand sales. ...
- On average, stock photo agencies pay $0.32 per sale of a royalty-free license.
How much should you charge to sell stock photos?
Apr 04, 2022 · On average, stock photographers make $0.02 per image per month with stock photos, while professionals make $0.05–$0.25/month. Royalty-free sales earn between $0.10 and $99.50, while extended licenses bring up to $500. The data in this post is the result of in-depth research, personal experience, and numbers provided by stock photographers.
Can you make money selling stock photos online?
Sep 16, 2019 · Shutterstock Total Photo Earnings for 2019: $147.20. I should also note how many photos I have available on each site. This is important for estimating what might be realistic in your case. To find an average, I divided my total amount …
How much money do you make selling photos on Shutterstock?
Oct 13, 2017 · A couple times per month, James will sell a shot on stock photography site 500px and receive $5-$50. He also sells the rights to his photos on his own site for $99, but those sales are pretty sparse. Rather, the vast majority of his sales come from microstock sites that dish out $0.25-$5.00 for each sale.
How much do stock photographers make?
Dec 15, 2020 · You should aim for a forty percent commission rate when selling your stock photos on some of the best microstock sites. Most microstock agencies offer a tiered commission rate, which means once you have X quantity of images sold and or hit X percentage of approval rate (for images submitted) you enjoy a higher commission rate.
How much can you make on stock photos?
In general, stock photos earn approximately 25-45 cents per image, per month. This obviously depends on many factors, including how many agencies you upload to, your skill in keywording, and the uniqueness of the images.
Is it worth it to sell stock photos?
Yes, you can earn money from stock photography, BUT it's getting harder each year as more and more photographers are stepping in and the market has become over-saturated. No, stock photography is not dead. You can still do money with it, but you have to focus on images that sell.Sep 15, 2020
Is it hard to sell stock photos?
Selling images through stock photo sites is relatively easy, but there are still important aspects to know, consider, and always keep in mind: Royalty Rates – All serious and reliable agencies set up a royalty rate for the artist (thus cutting a commission for themselves).
How much money can you make selling pics?
However, as you gain more experience and higher-end clientele, you can charge up to $100 per picture. This means, depending on how much time you're willing to devote to the endeavor, you can make anywhere between $20 to $1,000+ a month selling feet photos online.Mar 3, 2022
Can you make a living from stock photography?
Can you Make Money with Stock Photography? You can, but it's definitely not easy. While there are plenty of stock photographers who make a decent living, there are easily as many more who do not. Things have changed dramatically in the 15 or more years microstock has been available.
Are my photos good enough to sell?
At the most basic level, your photos need to look technically sharp and polished. Take them with a professional camera (or at least a very good smartphone camera), and make sure the shots are in focus, correctly exposed, and properly framed. Unappealing or amateurish shots won't sell.Apr 4, 2018
Is selling photos online profitable?
Selling photos from your own site can be very profitable once you build up a large collection. The Sell Media plugin enables you to sell images directly from your own independent WordPress website.Sep 22, 2021
Is it worth selling photos on Shutterstock?
For most stock photographers and illustrators, Shutterstock consistently outperforms all other agencies. If you are thinking of getting started as a microstock photographer, make sure Shutterstock is at the top of your list to join. For many contributors, Shutterstock represents around 40% of their monthly earnings.
How do you make money selling stock photos?
1. Adobe StockAdobe Stock – turn your passion into profit. ... Adobe Stock – Becoming a contributor. ... Make money selling your photos online with Shutterstock. ... Foap gives a 50% royalty on images sold through its platform. ... Foap 3-easy steps to get started. ... Sell your photos online with iStockphoto. ... Selling with Stocksy. ... Getty Images.More items...•Mar 17, 2022
Which stock photo site pays the most?
Alamy1. Alamy. With over 60 million images, Alamy is the largest stock photo website, but they also pay well too. Photographers earn 50% of every sale, and aren't restricted to selling exclusively with Alamy.
What stock photos are in demand?
Images that have strong leading lines will continue to be in demand for stock photography. Photos that capture relaxing scenes like beaches, snow-capped trees and fields of flowers will be the most popular.
Where can I sell stock photos?
10 Places to Sell Your Stock Photography and Videos TodayStock Photography Today. The great news is that the world of stock photography has changed dramatically. ... iStockPhoto. ... Alamy. ... Dreamstime. ... Getty Images. ... Shutterstock. ... EyeEM. ... Pond5.More items...
Residual Income from Stock Photography!
Doing some initial work one time, can enable you to collect monthly payments for many years to come. Residual Income in terms of Stock Photography (or for purposes of this article) is income that you get periodically that does not require any work. This does not include the initial work of taking, and then placing the images online for sale.
Why is Residual Income Better?
The best part of residual income is that you can stop at any time, and the income keeps flowing as normal. The work you do is only to grow that monthly income, and not to keep it coming in (like would in a job). If you stopped working your sales may start to decline a little, but it should be very slowly.
How Much Can I Make?
Keep in mind that you can resell the same images many times, and also on different agencies as long as you don’t mark them as “exclusive” images. The average image can be sold to make you an average of $0.10 to $2.00 per sale depending on the license the buyer chooses, or which stock photo agency its sold on.
Pssst!
Want to dive even deeper? If you’ve read my monthly income reports then you already know that I haven’t added a single clip or photo to my portfolio since January this year, and yet I’m still making hundreds of dollars each and every month from photo and video sales. It’s the easiest money I’ve ever made.
Total Income from Photo Sales (in 2019 so far)
I’ll get right to it. Here’s what I have made so far this year from stock photography sales alone.
Stock Photo Sales in 2019
In case it’s hard to see, here are the total numbers for the year so far from each site:
Strategies to sell more stock photos
The short answer is both! Obviously, the more photos you have available for download, the better your odds are for success. Especially when you consider how many millions of stock photos are already out there. And there are some pretty good ones, I might add.
Best Selling Stock Photos
I thought it could be interesting to share a few of my best selling photos and how much they’ve each earned over the long haul.
Stock photography : Is it worth it?
Now that we’ve taken a thorough look at exactly how much money I make selling stock photos, let’s talk about whether or not it’s worth the time and energy.
Conclusions
If you don’t have the capacity to take stock video clips or if you have an abundance of great photos to upload, I don’t want to discourage you in any way. It’s all about what makes the most sense for you! If you can upload 1000+ photos and are happy with an extra $100 bucks from it each month then I say go for it.
What is stock photography?
Remember, stock photos are not meant to be an artistic expression. They are photos that are (usually) used to fill a commercial need. They're often used to portray a specific point or emotion, or to focus on a specific subject. Always keep this in mind when your camera is in your hands.
Can I make money selling stock photography?
Although there are plenty of ways to earn a living from photography, selling stock photography is one that's often overlooked. It's unlikely to provide you with a full-time income. But it could be a great way to earn some extra cash to cover the cost of your gear without taking up too much of your time.
Can I make money from stock photos?
Earning money with stock photos isn't easy, but with the right approach, you can use it to develop a great side income. Whether you're a pro photographer looking for a new income stream or a hobbyist photographer hunting for a side income, selling shots on stock photography websites could be a valuable tool in your arsenal.
Is stock photography passive income?
But don't be fooled: selling stock photography is not passive income . Unfortunately, you can't just keep uploading more and more photos, and see your income increase in line with your submissions. This is because, as more people upload competing photos to stock sites, you'll start to see your sales fall.
How to make your photos more marketable?
To make your photos more marketable, you need to offer something that end-users are looking for. Businesses, bloggers, and marketing agencies are the end users that determine what sells and what doesn’t.
Is stock photography a good investment?
Overall, stock photography is a great investment for any serious amateur looking to earn some extra money. The important thing here is that it will take a lot of patience, dedication, and consistency to revel in the fruits that microstock agencies offer.
How does it depend on how many images you have in your portfolio?
It depends on how many images you have in your portfolio. It depends on how well keyworded your images are. It certainly depends on how well researched your subjects are and how closely they represent the clients’ demands. It depends, too, on how serious you are about stock photography.
How many downloads per image to make $1,000?
With an average of four downloads per image, you will make your first $1,000. You should make some 500 good quality and different images considering that the stock photography sites may not accept some pictures. How fast you can make 500 images of interesting objects/models is up to you.
How much commission does Fotolia charge?
Fotolia’s commission rates are good. You start off with a commission rate of 20 percent for non-exclusive images and hope to get up to 46 percent. For exclusive sales, you get 35 percent to start off going all the way to 63 percent.
What is a model release?
A standard model release is a legally enforceable document that passes all rights to the images from the model to the photographer and also passes on the right to modify any images that s/he appears in during the shoot.
What is rights free image?
Rights-free images denote images that are free to be downloaded from a micro-stock website and used in any form deemed fit by the buyer. These images, however, have a non-exclusivity claus e and usually does not have a time limit for use.
Is stock photography a competitive business?
Stock photography is a very competitive business with its rules, requirements, and style, so you have to take it seriously if you want to be successful. You will have to use a variety of instruments like in any other business.
Can I take pictures of the same caliber?
At your level, it may not be that easy to start taking pictures of the same caliber. I do not doubt your abilities. But there is a certain thing called experience, and that counts. However, as you grow, you will only get better, and in no time you will start to shoot images of the same caliber.
What is Adobe Stock?
Adobe Stock was formerly known as Fotolia. This is a microstock photo website that hosts more than 57 million images online. Adobe acquired Fotolia back in 2014 to integrate the site with their new (at the time) creative cloud service.
What is a photocase?
Photocase is a smaller German company which specializes in providing high quality natural images. This has made the platform a popular choice for many buyers that want something a little different from the images supplied on other sites. They specifically look for photos of people in different life situations.
What is Shutterstock?
Shutterstock is probably the most recognized platform for the buying and selling of stock photos. The site has been around since 2003. It hosts more than 184 million images and approximately 91 million videos.
Is Stocksy a good site?
Stocksy is a smaller stock photo site but it has a good reputation amongst publishers that are searching for high quality images. The platform has very high standards. They require exclusivity for your images and you can’t sell them anywhere else.
Is Bigstock a microstock?
Bigstock has the typical features that you would expect to see in a microstock site. But, the addition of a credit system makes selling photos on this site easier and there is a unique twist.
How much does Getty Images charge for royalty free photos?
Getty Images offers between 15% and 20% commission for royalty-free photos. You must be over 18 and can only submit original images, videos, diagrams, or vectors to be a contributor. When your content has been accepted, you can opt to donate or license out your content. Exclusive images earn you money.
How many customers does Getty Images have?
Getty Images is one of the most popular names in the stock photo industry. With over 1.5 million customers in over 200 countries, large audiences around the world will see your photos.
What is Adobe stock?
Adobe Stock has the credibility of being the makers of the most popular photo editing software on the market. Plus, any photos you upload to the marketplace are easily accessible in other Adobe products.
Is Foap a profitable app?
Foap has been featured in ABC News as being a profitable app for photo selling. Users make 50% of the profits from it even when big brands, such as Sony and MasterCard buy their photos.
What is stock photography?
Stock Photography is not just making pretty pictures. It’s about making pictures that have some sort of concept to them and sits well on advertisements, brochures, and commercial websites.
Is Shutterstock the same as Adobe?
Adobe Stock and Shutterstock both sell almost the same images with the difference that Shutterstock also sells editorial photos while Adobe Stock does not. That also explains why we have so many more images on Shutterstock than Adobe Stock. Adobe Stock 2018-2019 Monthly Earnings. Blue is for 2018 and Red is for 2019.