Stock Photography

If you enjoy photography, try making money from your hobby. The nice part about selling photography is that anyone can do it. There are three ways to make money from photography: photos, products, and services.

A “stock photo” is a picture that you’ve already taken. Publishers like using stock photos. With a stock photo, you don’t sell the photo, you license it — you permit a client to use the image in exchange for money.

There are two ways to offer your stock photos on the Web:

Stock Agencies: An agency combines the stock photos of many photographers and promotes them for sale. The agency sets the licensing fee and gives you a percentage. There’s an overwhelming number of stock agencies — Getty, Corbis and Jupiter. Different agencies provide differing prices, commissions, qualities, and subjects. The fastest way to start earning money is with microstock. Just sign up for a free account and upload some photos. Your work is immediately available for licensing worldwide and money should come rolling in. iStockPhoto is another microstock agency. Here are some sites to try:

123RF

Big Stock Photo

Dreamstime

ImageVortex

iStockPhoto (Getty)

Shutterstock

StockXpert (Jupiter)

Your Own Website: This is great for portfolio sales and wedding and event photographers. Your work stands alone, not with others, and you can set the prices. You need either a good knowledge of Web design or hire a professional coder/designer to build your own website.

Photo Storefront: The “photo storefront” is your own, online, stock photography site, hosted by a company that provides all the tools for you. Here are some popular sites:

PhotoMerchant.net

ifp3

LiveBooks

MorePhotos

PhotoReflect

PhotoStockPlus

ThePhotoTool

Any item that can display a photo is a potential revenue source for photographers. Magnets, T-shirts, mugs, announcements, stickers, cards, mouse pads, bags - the market is unlimited.You can easily set up your own online shop, then upload your photo, pick the products you want to sell, and watch the business come your way. Make your own online product store at CafePress. Print products at 123Print, PhotoStockPlus, PrintingForLess, PrintPlace, PsPrint Mini business cards, Stamps.

If you’re into fine art, try galleries and art shows. Make high-quality prints of your work, frame them, and display them for sale to the public. For galleries, look in the yellow pages, or meander down the local art district. For art shows, look in the local newspaper for street fairs and events. You can usually rent a stall to display your prints.

If you think your work is so great, you publish it! Some places to try are: Blurb, Lulu, MyPublisher, Picaboo, Print My Photobook , Kodak Gallery, PhotoWorks, Ritx, Shutterfly, Snapfish.

I thought you might like to see this Album! Once you are done, you can order prints or create Photo Gifts. Enjoy!

The opportunities are immense. Just go out and explore them. 

Come visit my store on CafePress : Kochus Creations