How to sell your photos.Wow! What beautiful photos! Why don’t you try to sell them? “. Is this the reaction all your friends have when you show them your latest shots? So why don’t you actually try to follow their advice by putting your photographic works up for sale? Ah, here it is: you have already tried, but you have not succeeded! So let me help you figure out how to sell your photos .
In the course of this guide, I will have the opportunity to explain to you in more detail how to take advantage of some online services – even the hugely popular Instagram – to try to sell your shots. I’m sure that if it’s quality photos, you’ll be able to find people interested in their purchase. I know: you may not be able to turn this into your main job, but you can always try to supplement your salary by cultivating your hobby for photography. Not bad?!
So, what are you doing still standing there? Courage: make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need to concentrate on reading the next paragraphs and, above all, implement the “tips” that I will give you. I am sure that, by following my advice carefully and scrupulously, you will eventually be able to complete your “business”. I wish you happy reading and I wish you a big good luck for everything!
Index
- How to sell your photos on Instagram
- How to sell your photos online
- Adobe Stock
- iStock Photo by GettyImages
- Shutterstock
- Other solutions to sell your photos
How to sell your photos on Instagram
Do you have an Instagram profile followed by many people and would like to try to sell your shots on the famous photo social network? In this case, know that to sell your photos on Instagram it is not possible to have an ad hoc function that allows you to do this. However, no one prevents you from advertising the sale of your shots through your profile bio and the description of each photo posted in it.
If you want to insert an invitation to buy your photos in the profile bio , log in to your account from the official Instagram app (which is available for Android , iOS and Windows 10 ), or log in from the web version of the social network and then make the following steps.
- Instagram app– presses the Edit profile button , tap on the text field located near the Biography item and enter the invitation to buy your photos (eg. ” If you want to buy my photos at maximum resolution, visit my site or write me in Direct! “). To save the change, tap on the Finish item .
- Instagram Web– presses the little man icon at the top right, tap on the Edit profile item , enter the invitation to buy the posted photos in the Biography field (eg ” If you want to buy my photos at maximum resolution, visit my site or write me in Direct! “) and press the Send button to save the change made.
To insert the invitation to buy the photos posted on Instagram in the posts of the same, all you have to do is add, during the creation of the post, a captivating call-to-action . To publish a new post, press the (+) button at the bottom of the Instagram app screen, select the photo you want to sell, press the Next item (twice in a row) and, in the Write a caption … field , enter the call to action (eg ” Do you want to buy this photo at its full resolution? Write me in Direct to find out how! “). Then add the hashtagsto describe the content of the photo (and make it more visible), if you want to add the place where the photo was taken and press the Share item .
If you want to increase the chances of selling the photo to more users, I recommend sponsoring it. To do this, however, you must have a company account: if you want more information about it, read the insights in which I explain how to sponsor on Instagram and how to sell on Instagram : there you will have all the information you need to do so.
How to sell your photos online
Doesn’t Instagram seem like the best “place” to sell your photos or, in any case, do you want to add to the latter other services specialized in the sale of photographic material? Well, then you will find the solutions below useful, which allow you to sell your photos online in a rather simple way.
Adobe Stock
One of the best solutions to sell your photos online is Adobe Stock , a service that offers the possibility to upload and sell photos and videos, obtaining earnings percentages that reach 33% for images and 35% for movies. Payment is made with PayPal when the minimum threshold of 50 euros is reached.
To use Adobe Stock, you need to connect to its home page , click on the Sell button at the top right and click on the Introduction button on the page that opens. Then you have to create your Adobe ID by indicating your name , surname , email address , password and date of birth in the appropriate fields, press the Register button and follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the operation. If you already have an Adobe ID account, however, you can log in directly with your credentials after pressing the button I already have an Adobe ID .
At the first access, you will need to indicate if you are a Fotolia author (a “historical” microstock service that was acquired by Adobe a few years ago and which laid the foundations of Stock): click, then, on the Yes, I am an author button Fotolia to connect your Fotolia account to your Adobe Stock account (and have the photos on Fotolia automatically uploaded) or press the No. button . Proceed to the next step .
To upload photos to Adobe Stock, click the Browse link located in the center of the page and select the images you want to upload and sell or, if you prefer, drag them directly to the Drag and drop files area .
After uploading a photo, it will be examined by the Adobe Stock algorithm, which will recognize its content by automatically proposing the category and tags that concern it. Check that these are the right ones and finally answer Yes or No to the question Are there any recognizable subjects or properties? from the menu at the bottom right and then presses the green button Submit for approval . To complete the process, don’t forget to upload the image of a valid ID by clicking on the Select Document (JPEG) button , in order to send the photo for approval.
iStockPhoto by GettyImages
iStockPhoto by GettyImages is another solution that I invite you to consider, as it allows you to earn from the sale of your photos, perceiving a percentage of earnings that varies between 15 and 45%. Payment occurs in the following month, as long as the minimum threshold of $ 100 is reached. The service is also available as an app for Android and iOS .
To sell photos on iStockPhoto, linked to its main page and presses the ASK QUESTION button located at the bottom. Then fill out the registration form that is proposed to you indicating your name , surname , your email address and your country of residence and accept the conditions of use of the service by ticking the appropriate box. Finally, check the box I am not a robot , follow the instructions you see on the screen to verify your account and press the Continue button .
On the page that opens, click on the (+) button located next to the Photo item . You can upload up to 15 photos and, on the page that opens, click on the Search button on your computer to upload the 15 photos you want to sell (they must be in JPG format and each can have a maximum weight of 3GB).
Then fill in the Title field of the photo , press the Add to question button and, as soon as you are ready to send the photos to sell on iStockPhoto, press the Submit application button and wait for GettyImages to accept it within 30 working days.
Shutterstock
Shutterstock is another popular photo selling service, also available as a web service and as an app for Android and iOS . It offers the possibility to sell your photos at prices ranging from 0.21 to 2.90 euros for each shot and payment is made at the end of each month, regardless of the total sales made.
To sell your photos on Shutterstock, connected to the main page of the service, press the orange Get started button and create your account by writing your name in the Full Name field , specifying the name you want to be shown to other users in the Display Name field , then indicating the e-mail address with which you want to register in the Email Address field and finally providing the password you want to use for access. Then put the check mark on the box concerning the acceptance of the conditions of use of the service and the declaration that you have already reached the age of majority (otherwise, you cannot continue) and then click on the buttonNext .
In a few moments, you will receive a link via email for activating the account: press on it, click on the Next button on the page that opens in the browser and fill out the form you see on the screen providing the information concerning the your address and mobile number . Then press the Next button again to go on and that’s it.
Now you can upload the image to the Shutterstock database: press the Upload images button and follow the instructions that appear on the screen to upload your photos (they must be in JPEG format and must have a minimum size of 4 Megapixels). Press the Got It! Button . and drag the photos you want to upload in the Drag and Drop your files here area , or press the Select multiple files button if you want to select them “manually”.
After uploading one or more images, you must click on the Next and Start adding details buttons to write, in English, a description regarding the uploaded content, in order to increase the visibility of the latter and make it more likely that other users will see and buy. the photos in question.
Then select one of the images you uploaded just now and, from the menu that opens, indicate the type of file uploaded (eg. Photo ), the type of use that can be made of it ( Usage ), the description ( Description ) , the category ( Category 1 and 2 ), and so on. Finally, press the Save button at the top right and click on the Submit button located at the bottom right. Within a few days, you will receive an email from Shutterstock in which you will be given the outcome (positive or negative) of the uploading of the photos on the platform.
Other solutions to sell your photos
There are also many other solutions to sell your photos on the Internet. among these is to turn to online stores , such as Amazon and eBay , or open your own online store (if you remember I explained how to do such a thing in a dedicated tutorial ).
Still another solution could be to put your photos up for sale on your website , especially if it already has some visibility. If you don’t have your own website yet , why not create one? Maybe it could help you sell your photographic works or, at the very least, it could give them more exposure.