Stock websites are the best ways to showcase your photographer’s talent. If you have good skills in photography and don’t want to invest any money to start your own business, then the Stock website is the right choice for you. So, here we discuss the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. Some of the stock websites paid high commission, and some of the stock sites paid low commission, but you need to join multiple Stock sites for multiplying your earning. Once you are famous, your photos are popular on stock websites, and then you will get paid more than you think. Everything takes time, be patient, create quality and illustrative stock photos and publish on stock marketplace websites.
Table of Contents
Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer
Many stock websites paid their contributor photographer on every sale. Some of the stock websites are free, but they have to buy a coffee option like Pixabay. Some Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer are listed below;
1. iStock Photo
iStock Photo is one of the oldest microstock photography companies which offer royalty-free stock photos and videos. It is the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It is founded in 2000 by a Canadian entrepreneur, and Getty Images purchase it in 2006 for $50 Million. Getty Images is the world’s largest royalty-free stock photography industry. Apart from the contributor, you can earn money from iStock Photo as an affiliate. According to iStock Photos, they serve 1.5 million customers in more than 200 countries with 200000 talented contributors.
How to apply as a Photographer in iStock Photo?
Apply the process of Getty Images and iStock photo is the same because iStock Photo is subsidiaries of Getty Images
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in iStock Photo
- Need to apply through the contributor by Getty Images App
- You need to upload 3 to 6 sample Stock footage like images, videos (youtube link), or illustrations.
- iStock Photos team reviews your submission and lets you know you are accepted or not.
- If you are 18+ then only you can join iStock Photo as a contributor
- When you accepted, you will get invitation mail from iStock or the Getty Images contributor app.
- After acceptance, each time you submit, your stock goes for a standard review process to check either it meets requirements or not.
How much may you earn from iStock Photo?
Ans: This is a little trick question. As a contributor, you will earn a percentage of the revenue generated by selling your stock to the contributor. So, it solely depends on your stock performance. iStock royalty rate is 15% for images and 20% for videos and illustrations, and exclusive contributors getting paid 25% to 45%. And if your stock is listed on Getty Images, then the royalty rate is 20% for images and 25% for video clips.
2. Alamy
Alamy is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. Photographers from 173 countries added over 100,000 new images every day, and Alamy claims they have higher commissions than their competitors. Alamy also has a huge customer base worldwide, and M&CSAATCHI, Hearst magazines, Media Group, Microsoft, The Economist, etc., are examples of Alamy clients. Their payout can imagine the popularity of Alamy, and they paid over $1 million every month to their contributors.
How to apply as a Photographer in Alamy?
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in Alamy
- First, you need to visit the Alamy contributor registration page.
- On the Alamy contributor registration page, you need to fill in your details like full name, email, phone number, short bio, and address.
- As a contributor, you need to select Photographer, Agency, and Students option during signup.
- You need to choose Additional opportunities. Right now, there are two additional opportunities, and they are Distribution offer and Novel use offer.
- Start uploading your photos to Alamy by following Alamy’s image guidelines.
- Once you upload your stock photos, the Alamy quality control team checks them and makes them ready to add captions and tags for you.
- After setting your tags, your images are live on sales.
How much may you earn from Alamy?
Ans: There is no fix earning, all the earning depends on your stock quality and popularity. Higher the sales, high will be your earning. But Alamy paid a high commission rate the similar sites. You will get a 50% commission on exclusive license images and a 40% commission on non-exclusive license images. And if you are a student, you can earn 100% commission only if your university is signup on Alamy contributors.
3. Stocksy
Stocksy is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It is a cooperative platform that was founded in March 2013 (Publicly Launched) by six founders. Founders are Brianna Wettlaufer, Bruce Livingstone, Dan Ross, Tyler Stalman, Nuno Silva, and Brent Nelson. Among six founders, Brianna Wettlaufer is the CEO of the company. Stocksy is also famous by the name Stocksy United Photography. Stocksy headquarter is located at Johnson Street Victoria, BC, Canada.
How to apply as a Photographer in Stocksy?
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in Stocksy
- First, you need to visit Call To Artists page and Apply for the Stocksy contributor account.
- Next, fill all the requirements on the contributor registration form like full name, emails, location.
- You need to submit a portfolio link, Instagram handle, and you must be 16+ year to become contributors
- After applying as a contributor, the Stocksy team reviews your application and mails you.
- After that, you will be invited to submit ten videos or images for review, no matter how many videos or photos. Send your best work for review.
- If your application is fully approved, you will receive confirmation emails with details to build your profile on Stocksy and start earning money.
How much may you earn from Stocksy?
Ans: There is no fixed regular earning, all the earning depends on the performance of your stock. Higher the sales, high will be your earning. You will get 50% commission on Standard licenses and 75% commission on Extended licenses and Market freezes.
Also Read: Make Money as a Photographer – All Possible Ways
4. Dreamstime
Dreamstime is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It was founded in 2000 A.D. and one of the oldest microstock websites to earn money as a photographer. Along with stock photography and footage, Dreamstime also provides stock music. Serban Enache is the owner, CEO, and Co-Founder of Dreamstime company. Its headquarters is located in Brentwood, Tennessee, United States. For promotion, Dreamstime provides both royalty-free and paid stocks. Along with earn money as a photographer, Dreamstime also provides a referral program to earn a significant percentage of a sales lead.
How to apply as a Photographer in Dreamstime?
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in Dreamstime;
- First, you need to visit the Register page by clicking on the Register page link.
- Next, fill all the requirements on the contributor registration form like full name, emails, location, etc.
- You need to upload your stocks with short descriptions, tags and submit them for review.
- Apply as a contributor on Dreamstime; the Dreamstime team reviews your application and mail you either you accepted or not as a contributor.
- Once you accepted, you can upload images and sell until and unless you follow the guidelines of Dreamstime.
How much may you earn from Dreamstime?
Ans: There is no fixed regular earning, all the earning depends on the performance of your stock. Higher the sales, high will be your earning. You will get a 25% to 50% revenue share based on the net amount for the transaction. If your file is exclusive, then you get a 10% additional bonus; this means exclusive contributors get a 60% revenue share on all sales and also get a $0.20 bonus for each approved submission. Dreamstime also has flexible payout options. You can easily withdraw your earnings from bank checks, PayPal, Payoneer, or skrill as soon as your earning is reached $100.
5. Getty Images
Getty Images is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. And Getty Images is the world’s largest royalty-free stock photography industry. Getty Images, Inc is owned by Getty Family, and it is British American Publishing, media, and web design industry. Getty Images, Inc owned more the 100 subsidiaries like iStock, Unsplash, WireImage, Comstock, Thinkstock, etc. This company was formed in 1995 as Getty Investment and now provides rights-managed and royalty-free image services worldwide. Apart from the contributor, you can earn money from Getty Images as affiliates. According to Getty Images, Inc, they serve 1.5 million customers in more than 200 countries with 200000 talented contributors.
How to apply as a Photographer in Getty Images?
Apply the process of Getty Images and iStock photo is the same because iStock Photo is subsidiaries of Getty Images
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in iStock Photo
- Need to apply through the contributor by Getty Images App
- You need to upload 3 to 6 sample Stock footage like images, videos (youtube link), or illustrations.
- iStock Photos team reviews your submission and lets you know you are accepted or not.
- You must be 18+ to join iStock Photo as a contributor
- When you accepted, you will get invitation mail from iStock or the Getty Images contributor app.
- After acceptance, each time you submit, your stock goes for a standard review process to check either it meets requirements or not.
How much may you earn from Getty Images?
Ans: This is a little trick question. As a contributor, you will earn a percentage of the revenue generated by selling your stock to the contributor. So, it solely depends on your stock performance. iStock royalty rate is 15% for images and 20% for videos and illustrations, and exclusive contributors getting paid 25% to 45%. And if your stock is listed on Getty Images, then the royalty rate is 20% for images and 25% for video clips.
6. Adobe Stock/Fotolia
Adobe Stock is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It is a microstock agency owned by American Multinational company Adobe, Inc. Adobe acquired Fotolia in 2015, and currently, there are more the 57 million high-resolution stock images and videos available. Apart from stock images, Adobe stocks also provide vector graphics, illustrations, audio, and 3D assets. There are mainly three licenses for their contributors; extended, enhanced, and standard.
How to apply as a Photographer in Adobe Stock?
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in Adobe Stock;
- First, you need to sign up for a contributor registration form from the adobe stock contributor registration page.
- You need to fill in general information like email, full name, date of birth, and location on the registration page.
- Once you are accepted as a contributor, you can sell your stock and earn money from Adobe Stock, but you need to follow their contributor guidelines while uploading.
How much may you earn from Adobe Stock?
Ans: This is a little trick question. As a contributor, you will earn a percentage of the revenue generated by selling your stock to the contributor. So, it solely depends on your stock performance. For example, Adobe stock pays a 33% commission rate on stock images and a 35% commission rate on videos. You can easily payout your earnings through PayPal or Skrill until your revenue reaches $25.
7. 123RF
123RF is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It is founded in 2005 and has headquarters in Malaysia. Now, 123RF gets 90k daily content from their 300k creative contributors. Various big brands and companies are clients of 123RF. Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, American Express, Deloitte are examples of clients companies of 123RF. 123RF has an 8.3 out of 10 trust pilot rating.
How to apply as a Photographer in 123RF?
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in 123RF;
- First, you need to signup as a contributor from the Sign Up As A 123RF Content Contributor form.
- You need to fill in some basic information like your full name, email, location, phone number, and payment modes on the registration form.
- Once you signup and become a registered user, you have to access features like My Account, Likebox, and many more. Now you can submit your stock for monetization
- While submitting the stock, strictly follow the contributor guidelines then your photos are live and ready to earn money.
How much may you earn from 123RF?
Ans: There is no fixed regular earning, all the earning depends on the performance of your stock. Higher the sales, high will be your earning. You will earn between 30% to 60% commission when buyers download your content. You can easily withdraw your earnings using Paypal, Payoneer, Skrill, or Alipay (only for China) when your earnings reach $50. All the content on 123RF is exclusive to upload or sell your content to other platforms also; this will increase your earning opportunity.
8. Shutterstock
Shutterstock is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It was founded in 2003, and headquarter is in New York. The owner of Shutterstock is Jon Oringer, which is also executive chairman. Share of Shutterstock is listed in New York Stock Exchange as SSTK script. Shutterstock maintains over 350 million stock photos, illustrations, and vector graphics from their one million+ contributors. They also launched various products like Shutterstock film & music, Shutterstock apps, Shutterstock labs, and computer vision. More than 1 billion photos, music, video clips, and illustrations were downloaded to date. Shutterstock serves worldwide with sites in 21 languages.
How to apply as a Photographer in Shutterstock?
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in Shutterstock;
- First, you need to visit the registration page of contributor on submit.shutterstock.com.
- On the registration page, you need to fill in general information about you, like full name, email, display name, and password
- You must be 18+ year for signup as a contributor on Shutterstock
- Now you have to submit content for verification. Once your content is verified, then your stock is available for sales
- Now continue uploading stocks as per contributor guidelines and earn money
How much may you earn from Shutterstock?
Ans: There is no fixed regular earning, all the earning depends on the performance of your stock. Higher the sales, high will be your earning. Contributors earn 15% to 40% commission on different earning levels. Shutterstock is paid on a net 30 basis through PayPal, Skills, or Payoneer.
Also Read: Make Money as a Photographer – All Possible Ways
9. BigStock
BigStock is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It is founded in 2004 with the motive of Images and videos for everyone. Headquarter is located in New York. Shutterstock acquired BigStock in 2009, and now Bigstock is working as a subsidiary of Shutterstock. Both Shutterstock and Bigstock work in microstock photography fields. Previously BigStock has the name BigStockPhoto, and after the acquisition of Shutterstock, it was renamed as BigStock in 2010.
How to apply as a Photographer in BigStock?
Apply the process of Shutterstock and BigStock is nearly similar because Shutterstock acquires BigStock, and currently, Bigstock acts as ad subsidiaries of Shutterstock
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in BigStock;
- First, you need to visit the registration page of the contributor by clicking on create an account on Bigstock How to sell Images page.
- After registration, you need to upload images as per contributor guidelines
- When your upload images are approved, your image will be ready to earn money for you.
- Finally, improve your earning potential by creating and uploading more images as per BigStock submission requirements.
How much may you earn from BigStock?
Ans: There is no fixed regular earning, all the earning depends on the performance of your stock. Higher the sales, high will be your earning. When buyers download through the Credit system, you will get $0.5 per photo download, and when you download on subscription, you will earn between $0.25 to $0.38 on each download as a contributor. Besides, as a contributor, you can earn a referral on BigStock by joining the referral program. You can easily cash out through PayPal, Skrill, or direct bank deposit when your earnings reach the minimum cashout amount of $30.
10. Pond5
Pond5 is also one of the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer. It is founded in 2006 by two founders, Tom Bennett and Marcus Engene. Pond5 headquarters located in New York. Besides stock photos, Pond5 also provides stock video footage, Music track, Sound effects, After effects templates, and 3D objects.
How to apply as a Photographer in Pond5?
Ans: You need to follow the following steps to become a Photographer in Pond5;
- First, you need to signup on Pond5 Platforms.
- Fill in your basic information like full name, username, emails, and passwords, and then click on signup.
- Now you need to upload your stock works and click on start selling, and they will give you contributor agreement by pops up.
- After accepting the contributor agreement, you have to fill in all mission information like your short bio, profile picture, and more.
- Then you will get verification mail; after verifying, you will get full access to the artist profile. Upload more stock works as per contributor guidelines and earn money.
How much may you earn from Pond5?
Ans: There is no fixed regular earning, all the earning depends on the performance of your stock. Higher the sales, high will be your earning. A contributor can earn 40% commission on nonexclusive licenses and 60% on an exclusive license to your stocks. You can easily get your payment via Skrill, bank checks, or PayPal after reaching the minimum payout threshold of $25.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, here we explain the Best Stock Website To Earn Money As A Photographer and how to apply, and how much earning potential. If you have any confusion or need more detailed articles on each stock photography site, please comment on us. Thank You.