Make Money Online By Selling Your Photos

In the world of making money online, there are countless ways to make a spare buck. A lot of the methods involve marketing, sales, websites, and all other kinds of more internet savvy stuff. Perhaps you’re a bit old fashioned, or don’t have time for all of that. No problem! There is an easy way to make some extra money online and bypass all of the above methods, and all it takes is a little imagination, and a good camera.

Stock photography is huge, and it’s getting bigger every day. Graphic designers, newspapers, magazines, books, artists, and web designers are all potential people that need good stock photography, and the need for it never runs dry. These types of people are willing to pay good money for good quality stock photography, and if you have a knack for taking pictures, you can cash in on this need! Besides making extra money, selling stock photography is fun, and it definitely gives a sense of satisfaction when someone purchases or downloads your work. The highest demand and most money can be made by submitting high resolution, top quality shots, but you would be surprised at what the rookie photographer can pull in each month, even with a basic digital camera.

Below are a few sites that will buy your stock photos. Remember, good quality coupled with good quantity are keys to success, as the more photos you have, the more options you give people to download. Equally as important as quality and quantity are keywords. Name your photos exactly how people would search for them. For example, don’t name a photo of the Empire State Building “tall building”, name it “Empire State Building.” Easy, I know, but it’s often overlooked, and since people find your pictures in search engines and on these stock photography websites, you want your shots to be found with ease.

Here are five sites that will allow you to earn money from your stock photos:

1. Fotolia - Fotolia is the newer on the scene of micro-stock photo agencies, and they offer a nice potential for higher earnings. For each picture sold, the photographer receives a commission based on the type of license that was sold to the customer. Like the others listed below, quality really counts here. Quantity comes second.

2. Dreamstime – At this site, you earn a 50% commission on transactions involving your shots, and exclusive photos can earn 60%. There are also other forms of bonuses, and you can make a lot of money here. They are said to be one of the highest paying sites for submitting your work. It’s definitely worth a look.

3. Shutterstock - Boasting a lively and helpful community, Shutterstock is a huge player in the stock photography website arena. Pay works a little different here, as buyers subscribe monthly and are allowed to download a certain amount of images per month based on their plan allowance. You get paid a shiny quarter each time your photo is downloaded. There are a lot of photographers making great money from this site, some in excess of $300 a day.

4. Big Stock Photo – This is a huge site, and grows steadily each day. Here, you earn a commission of around .50 when someone downloads one of your photos. Jam packed with how-to’s, tutorials, and guides, it’s a great place to go for beginners and pros.