Designers Choice was founded to be the resource where expertise meets inspiration.
Understanding the challenges of turning creative ideas into reality—from sourcing materials to monetizing your work—is at the core of its mission.
This guide on selling photos to stock websites is designed to empower you to bring your boldest visions to life.
Turning a passion for photography into a source of passive income is an attainable goal. This article shows you how to start a photography business, get your creative work in front of a global audience, and increase your earning potential.
Understanding the World of Stock Photography
What is Stock Photography?
Stock photography is a collection of pictures that people can buy a license to use. Think of it like a giant online library of images.
Instead of hiring a photographer for a specific shoot, businesses and individuals can search these libraries to find the perfect stock images for their needs, whether it’s for a website, an advertisement, or a social media post. This makes it a fantastic opportunity for photographers to make money from their best work. The photos cover almost any subject matter you can imagine.
How Do Stock Photo Websites Operate?
Stock photography sites, also known as stock agencies, act as the middleman between photographers and customers.
Here’s how it works: you, the photographer, upload your photos to their online platforms. The website then markets these photos to a massive customer base. When someone buys a license to use your photo, the website takes a commission, and you get paid a royalty.
These sites handle all the technical stuff, like hosting the images, processing payments with a credit card, and managing licenses, making it easier for you to focus on creating great creative work.
They are a major marketplace for commercial photography.
Who Buys Stock Photos?
A wide variety of potential buyers use stock sites. This includes bloggers, marketing agencies, large corporations, graphic designers, and small business owners. They need high-quality images for websites, presentations, brochures, business cards, campaign poster ideas, social media campaigns, and more.
Even search engines sometimes use stock photos for their content. Essentially, anyone who needs a professional-looking photo but doesn’t have the time or budget for a custom photoshoot is a potential client for your stock photo portfolio.
Preparing Your Photos For the Market
Selecting Your Niche and Style
To succeed in the competitive world of stock photography, it’s helpful to find a niche.
This means focusing on a specific type of photography, such as food, travel, business, or lifestyle. Having a niche helps you develop a consistent style that makes your work recognizable. A focused online portfolio is more attractive to buyers looking for a specific aesthetic.
Do some market research to see what topics are in high demand. This focus will help you build a strong online presence.
Meeting Technical Quality Standards
Stock photography sites have strict quality guidelines.
Your photos must be high-resolution, well-lit, in focus, and free of noise or other technical flaws. Most sites will reject images that don’t meet their standards. You don’t always need the most expensive professional camera, as many modern smartphones can produce excellent results.
However, a good camera gives you much control over settings, which can lead to higher-quality images. Making sure your photos are technically perfect is key to getting them accepted and sold.
Importance of Editing and Keywording
Editing is a vital step in preparing your photos. Software like Adobe Lightroom, which is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, can help you correct colors, improve composition, and make your images pop. However, avoid over-editing, as buyers often prefer natural-looking photos.
Equally important is keywording. When you upload a photo, you’ll need to add relevant keywords and a description.
These keywords are how potential buyers find your work when they search the site. Be specific and thorough. Think about what words someone would use to find your photo. Good keywording dramatically increases your chances of making a sale.
Top 15 Websites For Selling Your Photos Online
Here are some of the most popular stock photography sites where you can start your photography business.
Many of these are considered leading platforms in the industry.
Alamy
Alamy is a fantastic place to start your photography business because it has a huge and varied collection of pictures.
Think of it as a giant library that needs all kinds of books. They accept everything from news and sports photos to creative pictures you’ve taken in your spare time. This means you have a good chance of selling your creative work, no matter your style.
A great thing about Alamy is that you, the photographer, keep the copyright to your work, and they offer different ways to sell your images, known as licenses. This gives you some flexibility in how people can use your photos. Because they have such a large, global audience, your photos can be seen by people all over the world, which increases your earning potential and helps you grow your reputation.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock is one of the most popular stock photography websites out there and a great choice if you’re new to selling photos.
They operate on a model where photos have a lower sale price, but they can be sold over and over again to many different people.
This is a great way to earn passive income because one photo can make you money for years. To attract more buyers, the platform often provides offers like a Shutterstock coupon.
To be successful on Shutterstock, it’s a good idea to build a large online portfolio with lots of different images.
They also sell video clips and have an affiliate program, which gives you another way to earn money by telling others about the site.
Because so many people use Shutterstock, it’s a wonderful platform to get your work seen and used for commercial use in projects worldwide.
While it is a giant in the industry, it’s also wise to explore various Shutterstock alternatives to diversify your sales channels.
Adobe Stock
If you already use tools like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop from the Adobe Creative Cloud, then selling on Adobe Stock is incredibly easy. You can upload your photos directly from the programs you use to edit them, which saves a lot of time.
To get started, you just need an Adobe ID. Because Adobe’s tools are used by so many designers and creative people, your photos are put in front of a huge user base that is actively looking for high-quality stock images.
Understanding the Adobe stock cost from a buyer’s perspective can help inform your strategy. Many creators often weigh Shutterstock vs Adobe Stock to decide which platform best suits their portfolio.
This makes Adobe Stock a leading platform for photographers who want a simple workflow and access to a large market of potential buyers.
The convenience and reach of this platform can help you build a successful photography business.
Getty Images
Getty Images is like the fancy, high-end gallery of the stock photography world. They are known for having extremely high-quality and often exclusive photos that are used by major companies, newspapers, and advertising agencies.
To make their premium images more accessible, they sometimes offer a Getty Images coupon, which can drive sales for contributors.
Getting your photos accepted on Getty Images can be difficult because their standards are very high, but if you do, it can lead to high earning potential. It’s the place to be if you specialize in professional commercial photography or capture important events.
Being on a leading platform like Getty gives your work a lot of prestige and connects you with a top-tier customer base that is willing to pay more for the perfect stock photo.
iStock
iStock, which is owned by Getty Images, is another major player that is a little more accessible for new photographers. It was one of the first sites to sell affordable stock photos online and has a massive library of images.
One of the best features of iStock is that it offers you a choice.
You can decide to sell some photos exclusively with them, which might earn you more money, or you can choose to sell the same photo on different platforms.
This flexibility gives you more control over your photography business.
With a huge number of potential buyers visiting the site, it’s a great place to license your stock images and grow your online presence.
Foap
Foap is a cool and modern platform that is perfect for photographers who love taking pictures with their phones.
It’s designed around “Missions,” where brands will ask for specific types of photos or videos.
You can submit your pictures to these missions, and if the brand chooses your photo, you get paid. This is a fun way to engage directly with well-known companies and create content they need.
Foap helps you build an online portfolio and connect with a community of other creators. It’s a fantastic way to turn your everyday phone pictures into a source of income and collaborate with brands on their social media campaigns.
Picfair
If you want more control over how you sell your photos, Picfair is an excellent choice.
This platform lets you set your own prices for your images, which means you have much control over your profit margins.
You can create your own personal photography store right on their website, where you can sell your photos as prints or as digital downloads.
Picfair handles all the complicated parts, like payment processing and shipping prints, so you can focus on your photography.
It’s like having your own photography website without the hassle of building it from scratch, making it a great way to start selling your best work directly to your customer base.
500px
500px is more than just a place to sell photos; it’s a global community for photographers. You can create a beautiful online photography portfolio to showcase your best work, get feedback from other talented artists, and see what’s popular.
At the same time, you can also license your photos for commercial use, which allows you to earn money from your passion.
500px is known for its high-quality, artistic photography, so it’s a great platform to build your reputation. The community aspect helps you grow as a photographer, while the marketplace provides a way to turn your creative work into a steady stream of passive income.
Dreamstime
Dreamstime is a well-respected and reliable stock site that has been around for a long time.
It’s a great option for both new and experienced photographers looking to build a diverse portfolio. One interesting thing about Dreamstime is that it rewards photographers who consistently upload high-quality work and those who choose to become exclusive contributors.
This means the more popular your photos become, or if you decide to sell certain images only on their platform, your earning potential increases.
It’s a solid choice for anyone serious about their photography business and looking for a trustworthy partner to help them sell their stock images to a global audience.
Stocksy United
Stocksy United is a very special kind of stock photography site because it’s an artist-owned cooperative.
This means the photographers who contribute to the site are also part-owners of the company. Stocksy is famous for its carefully selected, authentic, and modern-looking photos. They focus on exclusive content, so if you sell a photo on Stocksy, you can’t sell it anywhere else.
In exchange for this exclusivity, they give some of the best payment rates in the field. This allows photographers to earn more money. It is a great place for photographers who create unique, high-quality work. They can also join a community that appreciates its artists.
Etsy
Etsy is a bit different from the other sites on this list. It’s a huge online marketplace where people sell all kinds of handmade and creative goods, not just photos. However, it’s a fantastic place to start your online store to sell your photography. You can sell physical prints of your photos or offer digital downloads that customers can print themselves.
On Etsy, you have complete control over your sale price, how you present your work, and how you interact with your customer base. It requires more effort in marketing your store through social media and other channels, but it’s one of the best ways to build your brand.
Developing a solid Instagram marketing strategy can be particularly effective for driving traffic to your Etsy store.
EyeEm
EyeEm began as a photo-sharing app, similar to Instagram, but has evolved into a vibrant community and a marketplace for stock photography.
What makes EyeEm special is its focus on fresh, modern, and authentic imagery. It also partners with other major stock agencies to distribute your photos. This means when you upload to EyeEm, your work might get seen on other different platforms as well, which expands your reach to a much larger global audience. This is a great strategy to increase your chances of a sale without having to manage multiple accounts.
It’s an excellent platform for discovering new talent and getting your creative work in front of potential buyers.
Canva
Canva is an incredibly popular online design tool used by millions of people to create everything from social media posts to presentations.
As a photographer, you can contribute your photos to Canva’s library. This is a huge opportunity because your stock images can be seen and used by Canva’s massive user base.
While the payment for each use might be small, the sheer volume of users can lead to a steady source of passive income.
Having your work on a leading platform like Canva provides amazing exposure and is a great way to have your photos become part of thousands of creative projects around the world.
Pond5 (For Videos)
While this guide focuses on photos, many photographers also create video clips. If that’s you, Pond5 is a leading platform you should know about.
It is one of the biggest marketplaces for stock video footage, but it also sells photos, music, and audio files.
A key benefit of Pond5 is that it allows you to set your own prices, giving you more control over your earning potential.
This flexibility is great for creators who want to experiment with different pricing strategies for their work.
If you’re looking to expand beyond still images and enter the world of video, Pond5 is one of the best ways to do it.
SmugMug
SmugMug is less of a stock agency and more of a powerful tool for creating your own professional photography website.
It’s a website builder designed specifically for photographers. You can use it to build a stunning online photography portfolio that showcases your best work exactly how you want.
SmugMug also includes e-commerce features, so you can run your own online store directly from your site, selling prints and digital downloads. This platform gives you the most control over your branding and business, allowing you to connect directly with potential clients and build a loyal customer base for your photography business.
The Step-by-Step Process of Selling Your Photos
Creating A Contributor Account
The first step is to sign up as a contributor on the stock photography sites of your choice. This usually involves filling out a form with your personal information and agreeing to their terms.
Some sites may ask you to submit a few samples of your best work for review before your account is approved.
There is usually no registration fee.
Submitting Your Photos For Review
Once your account is active, you can start uploading your photos.
Each photo will be reviewed by the site’s team to ensure it meets their technical and quality standards.
This process can take a few days to a few weeks. Make sure you’ve added strong, relevant keywords and a title to each image to help the review process and improve its visibility on the online marketplace.
Understanding Licensing, Royalties, and Exclusivity Agreements
It’s important to know the terms. A license is the permission you sell for someone to use your photo.
The most common is royalty-free, which means the buyer pays once and can use the photo multiple times. Royalties are your share of the sale price.
An exclusivity agreement means you agree to sell a specific photo only on one platform.
Exclusive photos often earn higher royalties, so exclusive contributors can have high earning potential. Carefully read each type of license agreement.
Tracking Your Sales and Earnings
All stock sites provide a dashboard where you can track your portfolio’s performance. You can see which photos have been sold, how much you’ve earned, and other useful analytics.
This data can help you see what kind of subject matter is in high demand, allowing you to tailor your future work to meet that market demand.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Stock Photos
- Ignoring Submission Guidelines: Every stock site has its own set of rules for submissions. Ignoring them is one of the fastest ways to get your photos rejected. Take the time to read the guidelines on technical requirements, content restrictions, and legal forms.
- Poor File Organization and Metadata: Keeping your photo files organized is essential for an efficient workflow. Also, skimping on metadata (keywords and descriptions) is a huge mistake. Without good metadata, buyers won’t be able to find your creative work through search engines on the site.
- Using Generic Or Overused Themes: The stock photo market is crowded. To stand out, avoid clichés and generic concepts. Buyers are increasingly looking for authentic, natural-looking images that tell a story. Focus on creating unique content that reflects your style.
- Neglecting Legal Requirements and Model Releases: This is a big one. If your photo includes a recognizable person, you must have a signed model release from them. Similarly, if you shoot on private property or include recognizable properties, you may need a property release. Without these legal documents, your photos cannot be used for commercial purposes, which severely limits your earning potential.
Strategies to Maximize Your Stock Photography Income
- Building A Large and Consistent Portfolio: One of the best ways to increase your income is to build a large and diverse portfolio. The more high-quality photos you have online, the higher your chances of making regular sales. Consistency is key, so try to upload new content regularly to keep your online portfolio fresh and active on social platforms.
- Analyzing Trends and Customer Demand: Pay attention to what’s selling. Most stock photography sites provide trend reports and insights into what customers are searching for. Use this information to guide your photoshoots. Shooting content that meets current market demand is a surefire way to boost your sales. This kind of market research is invaluable.
- Selling On Your Own Website Vs. Stock Agencies: You can sell photos through stock agencies, your website, or both. Stock agencies provide access to a huge customer base but take a significant commission. Selling from your site, built with a website builder, gives you much control over branding and pricing, and you keep all the profits (minus payment processing fees). An online presence on your site, combined with submissions to stock agencies, can be a powerful combination.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Copyright, Watermarks, and Protecting Your Work
When you create a photo, you automatically own the copyright. This means you control how it’s used.
While stock sites handle the licensing, it’s still your work. Some photographers use watermarks on images they post on their personal photography website or social media to prevent unauthorized use, but you should not upload watermarked images to stock agencies.
Understanding Model and Property Releases
As mentioned earlier, model and property releases are legally required for photos intended for commercial use. A model release is a contract with the person in your photo, giving you permission to sell the image. A property release does the same for recognizable buildings or locations. Always secure these releases to avoid legal trouble and ensure your photos have the highest earning potential.
FAQ’s:
What Types of Photos Sell Best on Stock Websites?
Photos that feature people in authentic, everyday situations tend to sell well.
Business, technology, health, and lifestyle themes are also very popular. For commercial photography and product photography, clean, well-lit shots are in high demand. Ultimately, high-quality images that feel genuine and reflect current trends are the most successful.
Do I Need A Professional Camera to Sell Stock Photos?
While a professional DSLR or mirrorless camera offers the best quality and control, it’s not always necessary.
Many modern smartphones can capture high-resolution images that are good enough for stock sites, especially for mobile-focused platforms like Foap. The most important thing is technical quality: the image must be sharp, well-lit, and free of noise.
How Much Money Can I Make Selling Stock Photography?
Your earning potential can vary greatly. Some photographers make a few extra dollars a month, while others earn a full-time income.
Your success depends on the size and quality of your portfolio, the demand for your chosen niche, and how effectively you keyword your images. It’s a numbers game: more high-quality photos on more online platforms lead to more sales.
It’s a great source of passive income, but it takes time to build up.
Can I Sell the Same Photo on Multiple Stock Websites?
Yes, you can, as long as you are not under an exclusive agreement with a stock agency.
Selling the same photo on multiple different platforms is called non-exclusive distribution. If you sign an exclusivity contract with a site like Stocksy, you cannot sell that specific photo anywhere else.
Exclusive agreements often come with higher royalty rates for exclusive contributors.
Conclusion
Turning a passion into a profitable photography business is an incredibly rewarding endeavor. Selling photos on stock photography sites remains an accessible and effective way to share quality work with a global audience and generate passive income.
The journey requires dedication—from preparing images and choosing the right platforms like Adobe Stock or Getty Images, to understanding the legal side with property releases.
With a robust online portfolio, an awareness of market trends, and a dedication to consistently delivering outstanding creative work, anyone can establish a thriving presence in the stock photo market. You possess the vision; now you possess the knowledge to begin.
