500px Prime
You’ll receive 70% net for every license sold, and your images may appear in big-name ad campaigns if you submit them for commercial licensing.
First sign up for a free account on 500px. Then submit your photos, enable your store and complete the required forms for each image (including model releases, liability releases, etc.).
You’ll also have the option of selecting an exclusive or non-exclusive license for the images. You’ll earn more for an exclusive license, but that means you can’t license or sell the photo to anyone else.
SmugMug Pro
SmugMug Pro first you have to buy a Pro subscription, starting at $12.50 per month, to take advantage of this high royalty; there’s no free option.
Here’s an example of how the pricing structure works, from SmugMug’s website:
“You sell a 5×7 for $10.79 and the SmugMug default price for it is $0.79. The markup is $10.00. You keep $8.50 as profit (85% of $10).”
Shutterstock
Earn up to $120 per image download on Shutterstock. This site has a fairly complicated pricing structure.
Shutterstock also sells stock video footage, including HD and 4K videos, as well as images and vectors.
You can also refer other photographers and make a small profit, typically around four cents, each time they sell an image. If you refer a customer who purchases images, you can earn 20% of their first purchase, up to $200.
iStockphoto
iStockphoto has been selling stock images since 2001.
To apply, just select the most appropriate category (photos, illustrations, video or audio) and fill out an application (it’s free).
The iStockphoto team will review your qualifications and you’ll have to take a short quiz to assess them. The final step is to upload a few samples of your work to make sure it’s top-notch.
Once accepted with iStockphoto, you’ll receive a minimum of 15% of any sales. However, if you have “Exclusive” status, your earnings can increase to 45%.
Etsy
Etsy’s not just for selling wedding decorations, custom Halloween costumes and quirky cat-themed gifts. You can also sell your photos!
While the fee structure is beneficial to a photographer (Etsy keeps 20 cents on each sale as well as 3.5% of the sale price).
If you choose to sell your images on this site, you’ll need to invest time and energy into marketing your designs and images. But Etsy takes such a small cut of each sale, it may be worth your while.
Etsy offers a helpful handbook to help you learn about branding, marketing, how to price your items and how to succeed. When you set up your own Etsy store, you set the prices, so your earning potential is virtually unlimited.
