If you dream of being a professional photographer but don’t know how to sell your photos, you are welcome to join this discussion. Many beginners get confused about whether it’s possible to make money by selling photos. There will be no shortage of people who will demotivate you, but very few will recommend the best photo-selling websites to make money.
Well, you no longer need to ask your seniors how to sell your photos online. Here is a list of the most effective websites to sell your photos and help you make your livelihood.
Best Photo Selling Websites to Make Money
In my decades of experience, I have explored a lot of photo-selling websites where most of them don’t even work. But a few of them can really make you rich only if you know how to capture a simple thing in a completely different and mesmerizing way. Here are 10 websites that will sell your photos online. Check the description and learn the process before you choose one.
1. Pixabay
Among all the websites where you can sell photos, PixieBay is the most renowned one. With an extensive inventory compact with over 1.7 million stock photos and videos, Pixabay stands high with its substantial catalog. I have used it for a long time and even recommended it to beginners.
The best part is it’s completely free, and it comes with a pretty user-friendly interface for seamless navigation. On this site, you can effortlessly browse its vast collection and even create an account to sell your photos.
Initially, Pixabay has a reputation for hosting high-quality images. The provision of vital information about each image, including size and download history, helps people decide whether to buy. But sometimes, I find some photos that are very generic and not worth the value of this site.
2. 500px
You can also try 500px, another resource for selling your masterpieces. It is a very minimalist platform to sell royalty-free images and, at the same time, to learn and gain inspiration from its vast community. Personally, I like this platform for its minimalist design and the supportive community.
Even though 500px offers easy image licensing, you may not always determine prices or ensure photo security. And that’s why I often get confused about whether to try another site. But what finally impressed me was its affordability, particularly the Pro plan. This one is even more cost-effective than launching a personal photography website via alternatives like SmugMug.
With a large community of photographers, 500px ensures a huge network for creative exchange. Here, you can showcase your work and engage with others’ creations. Thus, it encourages artistic growth in a very effective way.
3. Shutterstock
It would be tough to believe if you say you never heard about Shutterstock and you are a photographer. Shutterstock is a global hub where artists and creators can vend their royalty-free visuals, including images, footage, vectors, and illustrations. And this one is very popular worldwide as a reliable photo-selling website.
Whether you are looking for a photo to buy or sell, this website will always come in handy for any purpose. Not just photos, you can also explore videos, music, and any creative visuals you need for a purpose. Eventually, you can search for specific types of images to save your time.
I like the minimalist interface of this website, which lets me submit images effortlessly and offers a very straightforward streamlining process. Furthermore, Shutterstock distinguishes itself with thousands of educational materials for students.
4. iStock
The next one is iStock. It is a prominent platform for photographers to monetize their creative works and also explore a pile of royalty-free visuals and audio resources. With a rich and extensive repository, iStock flaunts over 148 million multimedia assets, including images, videos, illustrations, and audio files.
There are different categories of images and other visuals available on this site for both selling and buying. Eventually, numerous photographers are using iStock to showcase their creativity and earn their livelihood from this platform.
There is no doubt that iStock is just like a dynamic marketplace for creators and consumers. I admire this platform for a specific reason, and it is a situation when I didn’t manage to sell some of my photos using other websites but through this one. From my perspective, it’s the best one for beginners.
5. Etsy
If you are looking to sell your photos as a digital printing pattern, Esty is your must-try. Even if it’s known as a worldwide marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique items, including crafts, artwork, jewelry, etc., it is also very popular for trading photos.
Using this platform is easy, and you need to open a seller account if you wish to sell products or photos. When you have the account, you can list your photos or products, set prices, and add their details. Then, your shop will be ready to showcase your photos to sell.
Etsy has a surprisingly huge community that will buy your photos if they are worthy. However, I will specifically recommend this platform if you have many ideas to sell besides photos. That will be even more profitable in this case.
6. Adobe Stock
I’m sure that I don’t need to introduce you to the name Adobe. This is the best creation in the world of photo editing. Moving over just editing the photos, Adobe is trying to cover all the areas related to visuals, like photos. And Adobe Stock is an example of their effort.
However, It is really a very reliable platform where you can sell photos. Even though I personally didn’t use it, my friend thinks it’s the best website to sell your photos, and it can surpass any other platform without any doubt.
While checking it, I was so moved by the availability of exciting photos with special effects. Photographers, designers, and editors worldwide use this platform to sell their creativity, and if you are good at making special effects, it’s the best place for you.
7. Smugmug
The next one is Smugmug, and the motto of this platform is to power the photographers. And the most prioritized part of this platform is to help photographers sell their masterpieces. Smugmug will let you store your photos, sell them, and also, share them.
You need to capture the best moment, and this reliable platform will do the rest. They will find buyers interested in buying your photos and will take only a shorter percentage of the price.
While exploring this platform, what really got my notice was their security. I am pretty sure about their serious security fact that they will never let you lose your photos. Besides, it’s very easy to create an account, and the entire process is both time and effort-saving.
8. Alamy
Whether you have raw photographs or illustrations, you can sell them easily using Alamy. This is another reliable platform to buy and sell images from any corner of the world. You can search for images and find whatever you are looking for very easily.
You can create an account as a seller and list all the images you plan to sell. A huge community of Alamy is waiting for your creativity, and anyone in the ocean-size community will definitely buy them from you.
However, Alalmy is also a very secure platform to sell your masterpieces. It is convenient and effortless to use it as well. There are many photographers who are earning a huge sum just from this platform. Besides images, you can also sell videos and other visuals too.
9. Getty Images
Let’s meet Getty Image, a minimalist platform to sell and buy stock images directly from the owner. Photographers from around the world gather on this platform with their mesmerizing creations, and you can join them here to sell what you capture.
Once you have gotten a seller account, Getty Images lets you showcase your photographs, illustrations, vector images, video clips, audio, and other visual creations too. Besides, you don’t need to think about security as this platform ensures top-notch security for the user.
A lot of photographers and designers are making money just by using this platform. The entire process is very easy, and you can even start it for free. Besides, if you want to buy images, you don’t need to look further. Getty Images is all you need for the matter of buying and selling photos.
10. Foap
And finally, it’s Foap. This platform will let you establish your own brand of original royalty-free stock photos for a huge community. Even though I’m mentioning it in the end, you can consider it as my special recommendation. I used Foap for years, and believe me, I’m still using it, especially for getting photography ideas.
It’s almost like an inspiration for me because I managed to sell a lot of photos directly from Foap. However, this platform is secure like all the nine mentioned ones. You can visit the Foap website and directly talk to a Foap expert to learn how to sell your photos here.
Usually, you have to create an account and cover the other steps to do that. But the expert will help you make it even easier. You can choose any of the three types of missions and move forward with this convenient platform.
So, these are the best photo selling websites you can try. Remember that having some photos may not make you enough money. You need to know how to capture photos properly. It might sound easy, but actually, it’s not. You can use some photography apps for your Android to improve your skills.
Final Verdict
Even though earning money by selling photos seems difficult for the beginner, it’s not impossible at all. There are a huge number of people who are earning their livelihood solely by selling their photos. And the following websites always help them with the utmost security and easy process.
If you ask me what’s my favorite one, I would definitely go for Pivibay and iStock at the same time. Foap is my favorite as well. Though I didn’t personally use all these platforms, I checked them through to ensure that they work and are secure before forming the list.
Feel free to explore any website that interests you. If you find this article helpful, please share it with fellow photographers to help them earn an income. Thank you for your suggestion, and have a great day.
