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 understand how to sell your photos.

In the course of this guide, I will be able 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 good luck for everything!

Other solutions to sell your photos

How to sell your photos on Instagram

You have a profile Instagram followed by many people and would you like to try to sell your shots on the famous photographic social network? If so, know that for sell their 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 purchase your photos in the biography of the profile, 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 perform the following steps.

• Instagram app - presses the button Edit the profile, tap on the text field located next to the item Biography and enter the invitation to buy your photos (eg "If you want to buy my photos at maximum resolution, visit my website or write me in Direct!"). To save the change, tap on the item end.
• Instagram Web - presses the icon oflittle man at the top right, tap on the item Edit the profile, enter in the field Biography the invitation to buy the posted photos (eg "If you want to buy my photos at maximum resolution, visit my website or write me in Direct!") and presses the button Send to save the change made.

To insert the invitation to buy the photos posted on Instagram in their posts, all you have to do is add, when creating the post, a captivating call-to-action. To publish a new post, press the button capacitor positive (+) lead placed at the bottom of the Instagram app screen, select the photo you want to sell, press the item NEXT (twice in a row) and, in the field Write a caption ..., 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 hashtag to 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 on the item Share.

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 below mentioned solutions useful, which allow you to sell your photos online quite simply.

Adobe Stock

One of the best solutions for sell your photos online è 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 videos. 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 button Sell at the top right and click on the button Introduction present on the page that opens. After that you have to create your Adobe ID by indicating name, last name, email address, Password e date of birth in the appropriate fields, press the button Subscribe 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 login, you will have to indicate if you are an author Fotolia (a "historic" microstock service that was acquired by Adobe a few years ago and that laid the foundations for Stock): click, then, on the button Yes, I'm a Fotolia author to connect your Fotolia account to your Adobe Stock account (and have the photos on Fotolia automatically uploaded) or press the button No. Proceed to the next step.

To upload photos to Adobe Stock, click the link Shop by Department 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 area Drag and drop files.

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 o No to the question Are there any recognizable subjects or properties? from the menu at the bottom right and then presses the green button Invia per l'approvazione. To complete the procedure, do not forget to upload the image of a valid identity document by clicking on the button Select document (JPEG)In mode tale da inviare the photo per l'approvazione.

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 fluctuates 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 button APPLY located at the bottom. Then fill out the registration form that is proposed to you indicating yours name, last name, your email address and yours Country of residence and accepts the conditions of use of the service by ticking the appropriate box. Finally, check the box I'm not a robot, follow the instructions you see on the screen to verify your account and press the button Continue.

On the page that opens, click on the button capacitor positive (+) lead located next to the item Photo. You can upload up to 15 photos and, on the page that opens, click on the button Search 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 field Title of the photo, presses the button Add to question and, as soon as you are ready to send the photos to sell on iStockPhoto, press the button Submit your question and wait for GettyImages to accept it within 30 business 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 button Get started and create your account by writing your name in the field Full Name, specifying the name you want to be shown to other users in the field Display Name, then indicating the e-mail address with which you want to register in the field Email Address and finally also providing the Password you want to use for login. 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 button Next.

In a few moments, you will receive a link to activate the account via email: press on it, click on the button Next present on the page that opens in the browser and fill out the form you see on the screen providing the information concerning yours address and cellphone number. Then press the button again Next to go on and that's it.

Now you can upload the image to the Shutterstock database: press the button Upload images 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). Therefore, press the button Got It! and drag the photos you want to upload to the area Drag and Drop your files here, or press the button Select multiple files in case you want to select them "manually".

After uploading one or more images, you need to click on the buttons Next e Start adding details to write, in English, a description regarding the uploaded content, so as to increase the visibility of the latter and make it more likely that other users will see and purchase 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 e 2) and so on. Finally, press the button Save at the top right and click on the button Submit 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, like Amazon and eBay, or open your own online shop (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 the own 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.

By following my advice on how to index a website, then, you can use tricks aimed at improving the visibility of your online space and, consequently, being more likely to sell your shots to a wider audience. In this regard, you can also evaluate the possibility of purchasing the book "The fotoklan method”(Published by Mondadori Electa) in which I explain how to transform a site into a successful publishing reality.

How to sell your photos