Are you interested to know how to sell photos on Shutterstock? Shutterstock is one of the best platforms that can be used for a given purpose. Likewise, you can buy and sell photos, footage clips, illustrations & vectors.
Shutterstock has 300 million High-quality images. According to SimilarWeb (web traffic tracking tools ), they have more than 75M visitors/month. Its headquarter is located in New York. It was launched in 2003.
It operates in more than 150 countries carrying millions of customers around the world. It also provides a digital imagery license to its customers, having the aim to help them connect. They pay 25 to 38 cents per image download. So it can be an excellent way to make extra money with your photography business.
It is an excellent opportunity for all to have a smartphone or professional camera. You can earn a handsome amount of profit by selling photos on Shutterstock if you have the guts of making or trading online.
Ranging from 25 cents, you can reach millions of dollars per month. It can be a healthy source of income, even for an unemployed person if he knows how to sell Shutterstock photos.
How does Selling on Shutterstock Work?
Shutterstock carries a fantastic opportunity for a creative person carrying the capacity to generate unique digital content, including photos and videos.
You get the copyright to your creative work after you upload the images to Shutterstock. You also receive your work’s royalty fee when a subscriber downloads your work( photos or videos). All you need is to generate creative work.
It is not as easy a process as it sounds. You must be aware of the whole process and should have enough practice. You can excel in this field by following the given tips. These will stand you out among the others.
How to Start Selling Photos on Shutterstock?
To become a contributor, first, create an account on Shutterstock.
After creating your account, click on upload images to have your creative work (high-quality photos or videos).
In the third step, click on multiple files to upload the multiple images. Keep in mind that files must be over 4 MP (megapixels).
The fourth step; after clicking to next, submit your photo for review. Remember that copyright action could be taken if you upload any image that doesn’t belong to you.
Your images will not be uploaded at once, and you will have to wait for some days for the approval of your work.
Once approval is done, you can upload more of your work. You will also get notifications of the acceptance.
Shutterstock Contributor Review
Shutterstock is an online image stock platform where you can keep your photos and sell them at a relevant rate. It’s like an image store. Anyone can Upload their created HD Photos and videos with this and can sell them. They are like industry leaders.
This is a regularly updated website so this website is really smooth. They have an image license that makes an image sellable. There are many companies that buy photos or videos at a reasonable rate.
It sells vector images which are very useful and excellent, that’s can be used in wood carving machines. Overall this is an amazing website for Buy or sells all kinds of images as well.
Pros
- Easy payment system(from $35)& pays in a PayPal, Payoneer, or skrill account.
- Do not have to wait for the clients. They will find you for your great creativity.
- Can work but you don’t need to give a specific time for this.
- Income will grow day by day as profiles grow up.
- Can earn a good amount.
Cons
- In the beginning, you will get 25 cents/photos & if you reach $500 then 33 cents.
- It is much more difficult to get your pictures accepted is that website.
- You need a well-structured profile to make a good amount of payment.
- Earning depends on the quality of the photos. It does not contain the number of photos.
Shutterstock Contributor Requirements
Now, there are certain account-creating guidelines, terms, and conditions by shutter stock. Below, I have listed them, however, you can visit this page to learn more.
Account Creating Guideline:
Photo Submission Guideline
The other guidelines:
Earning Types and Structure
The amount you earn per month depends upon your work or skills. In case you are not an exceptional or professional photographer but have the expertise in creating vectors and illustrations, you are lucky.
You can also earn an immense amount if you know how to take beautiful photos and make short videos.
There are lots of processes through which you can earn from the creative work you have uploaded on Shutterstock.
Thirty Days Plan:
In this plan, a customer has a subscription for a month, and he can download different images for up to 30 days. You will get 25 cents when your vision gets downloaded by a customer. Cents-per-image will increase with the increase in the number of downloaded images.
On-demand Downloads:
In this plan, a subscriber or a customer gets an offer to download the image and use it for over one year. Here, you will be earning 1.88$ per shot. The more you get visitors or downloads, the more you will make money.
Download License:
Shutterstock gives the offer of an Enhanced Downloads license to the customers. A customer having this license gets the opportunity to download and use the image for commercial purposes. In this plan, commissions are high. You get 28$ per download.
Referred Subscriptions:
They provide photographers, the chance to earn extra money. You can get 20 percent commissions if you aid to get more subscribers. To make a 20% commission, you will have to refer more customers to Shutterstock.
Single Downloads:
In this plan, your photos get sold without any subscription as single images, and you will get 20% of the total sale price.
Payment Rules & Process:
Shutterstock gives a fair amount of sales commissions. You can get your payment through three different methods, Bank Check, Skrill, or Paypal. The minimum payout for a Check is 300$ while for electronic payment is 35$.
Now, it’s up to you how you get your price. Charges are paid after two weeks of the 1st of the month. You can manage your sales with the mobile app.
It is the number 1 microstock site. If you have a good portfolio of your work and never considered selling them out, you are missing a big chance to earn a handsome amount of money.
You can make hundreds of dollars if you know the diversity of image, perseverance, and the right keyword.
I am not saying that you will be a millionaire overnight if you start selling photos. Potential is necessary to be there. Once you have uploaded your work, you get payments for months or years, even without doing anything.
Payment Plan & Guideline:
The payment plan includes monthly or yearly subscriptions. After getting the subscription, you got access to the image library.
You can download up to 750 images in a month. Shutterstock also carries a plan for those who need just 4 to 5 ideas. In this case, you have to pay for a limited number of images.
Your royalty earnings change with the user’s payment plan; after the user has purchased your work (image), he gets the right to enhance that image and can use it for different legal, and financial purposes.
Your payment per image increases as you upload more photos. Once your earnings crossed 10,000$, your royalty rate will increase.
How can you Sell Photos on Shutterstock?
The process to start selling photographs is simple. Take or Produce quality photos or work and start earning.
Quality, consistency, and dedication are the essential factors that can bring more customers to you. You may face formidable competition from your competitors in this field.
So, you need to add more value to your work.
It will stand you out from the competition. Shutterstock also helps you excel by giving different ideas, but you have to do a little more to increase your customers.
The followings are some key ideas that can help you get guidance regarding selling more photos on Shutterstock.
1. Know the Competition
Firstly you have to explore the competition which will help you level up your earnings. The more you put in an effort, the more you will be efficient in this game.
You can explore others’ work, their ideas, and the themes of their photos. It will make you know about the competition and spark more ideas.
Secondly, you can search for your primary photo topic by exploring Shutterstock galleries.
2. Schedule the Task
Keep in mind that if you upload all your photos once, it will benefit you but for a shorter time. Your photos will get older as your competitors upload new images.
It is an ideal situation if you upload a number of your photos each month.
You can design your schedule or task in the calendar. You can set a reminder regarding the shoot of some best frames.
3. Use Image Editor
Shutterstock has many tools that can help you a lot while selling photos on Shutterstock. The Shutterstock app is an easy and quick way to submit your activity.
You can save your time by using a tool like the Multi-select tool. Using this tool, you can add you can provide correct information to many images at once.
Secondly, a single-panel design makes navigation easy. While you are submitting your work, they will suggest the best keyword to rank you in better searches.
The best thing is the tips and advice that Shutterstock provides for the contributors. On the other hand, the Shot list tells you what has been most requested by the customers.
It helps you to plan your next submissions in the best manner.
4. Follow the Trends
You must follow or pay attention to the leading trends. Take the photos according to your designed plan but pay full heed to the prevailing global trends. In this way, your customer will get the latest composition of fashion and style in your photos.
5. Be Natural and Honest
While shooting photos, try to be natural and focus on believable imagery. On the contrary, cheesy shots or pictures taken in a typical style will not attract customers.
It would help if you avoided stilted imagery to attract more customers.
Quality photos work in this field but don’t spend a lot of money on a camera. Most of the visitors look for the pictures on their cellphones, computers, and tablets. So, you don’t need to shoot photos in Ultra HD pictures and 4K.
6. Quantity also Matters
While selling photos on Shutterstock, you also need to focus on quantity. Set a monthly goal of uploading 45 to 50 photos at least. Your revenue stream will be more consistent if you have more images in your portfolio. I hope this advice will help you get a good start.
7. Be Universal
Universality in your work can also help you cover a milestone in this field. You can be generic in your career if t is useful to a specific demographic. Don’t try to showcase brands and or any individual in your photos unless you get permission to do so.
Before you start producing content on Shutterstock, a contributor must know or understand the market demand from a producer or contributor.
You have to follow a strategy through which you can generate more content in less time. You have to work on Search engine optimization to rank your work or website on google searches in this course.
While working on Search engine optimization, don’t use the terms like “market” and “strategy.” These terms scare the photo and videographers.
Like other businesses, the secret to success in this business is to explore the competition.
Becoming a Shutterstock Contributor
If you need more encouragement to enter this field? You must know that selling photos on Shutterstock is a flexible and easy way to make money while doing what you love doing anyway.
- You may take photos while traveling to some of the incredible and wondrous places. The question arises about earning money by using these photos or making your Facebook friends and Instagram followers envious.
- For this reason, you have to know how to sell photos on Shutterstock. Once you become an expert in this field, you will be surprised by the outcome.
- If you already post or write a blog on social media, then it could be the best way to use your passion to make money.
- If you are a good and professional photographer, selling Shutterstock or stock photography is the best way to show your creativity. Here you don’t have a fear of rejection.
- If you are not a good photographer and your work is not outstanding, no need to worry. It would help if you had a quality camera Phone like iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or another high-quality camera phone. You can buy a DSLR camera if you can bear the expense.
- If you are not ready to become a full-time stock photographer, you can become a Shutterstock contributor. You can also test the potential by dipping your toe in it.
Tips on Stock Photography that Sells
While setting up stock photography as your profession, you need to know that you lose nothing with this one. Remember, the more you work hard, the more you will earn; the more you will be consistent, the more exposure you will get.
If you are regular in your work, if you upload regularly, the customer will become familiar with your name and recognize your style, which helps you earn more.
- High-quality photo and video quality. You will have to purchase the best lenses from Canon and Nikon.
- Secondly, when you open a new agency or a business venture entering this field, you get the chance to earn more money.
- Remember that no one is born an expert microstock producer or a professional photographer.
- Every beginner fails a hundred times before becoming successful in stock photography. They invest time in creating stock images and stock footage.
Types of Photos that Sells
Top video and Photographers who sell their content on Shutterstock think that they make a lot of money because of the strategies described in the following points.
- Business meeting time clicked photos. Maybe suddenly clicked but these types of photos are really favorite to official persons or business Holder persons.
- Office table with persons working. These types of photos are used on different websites.
- Businesswoman holding a plant crop.
- Happy mother and children laying on the grass.
- Children Photography.
- Wood board texture.
- Vegetable photography.
- Concerned Teen with Depression
- Happy senior couple photo.
- Family photography.
Tips for Better Stock Photos
Keep your camera Phone or DSLR camera with you all the time because you never know when you need to capture the shot.
- You may have planned or scheduled your photo shooting time, but the best photos come spontaneously. So, keep yourself ready for such moments.
- Don’t hesitate to upload photos on Shutterstock, upload all that you have captured.
- Keep in mind that a weird image for you could be the best image for the customer.
- So, upload all your pictures and let the customer decide what they want.
- As a Shutterstock contributor, you don’t need to spend hours editing and selecting photos.
- ou have to submit what you have captured and wait for how the marketplace reacts.
Keep in mind that a photo can’t earn for months or even years. An image might always make for 50 cents daily or weekly.
Additional Information on Selling Photos
Shutterstock is an Image storage website. It is a website for buying and selling photos with a photo license. If you hear about shutter stock from another person before using this you can see the reviews from google about this website.
From this website, you can take knowledge about photo and video pricing. According to photos demand nowadays we need a full description of pricing and a well-reviewed site for buy and sell pictures. They have been working since 2003 to supply the most relevant images to users. So it is very worth becoming a Shutterstock contributor.
You may think that why they are the best site to sell photos when there are several digital marketplaces for this purpose. For a beginner, Shutterstock is an excellent place to sell their work (photos). There might be stiff competition on Shutterstock, but there also many customers there.
Shutterstock is a good site for a customer who needs good quality images to post on an urgent basis. According to Shutterstock, they have around 1.4 million customers around the world. With this significant amount of customers in the market, your image can appeal to someone.
You can easily attract hundreds of customers to come back repeatedly if you become successful in effectively flaunting your creativity.
According to expert stock photographers, beginners earn more than experts. They based their fortunes by learning what others don’t even bother to study regarding the production process. In this process, they know all that buyers typically expect from a stock photographer.
In this business, you will find two types of producers—first, those products who earn real money from stock photography. Secondly, the producers who try to sell their photos on Shutterstock fail, and then they complain about it on Facebook pages and other social mediums.
Stock Photographers who are still following old methods do not earn a fair amount of money. To make money on Shutterstock, you don’t need to know right, good or positive people as it is done in the entertainment industry.
Means, you don’t need to develop public relation. You have to focus on the quality, thematic imagery, and tools that help you understand how good content is produced on Shutterstock.
It is a multinational company, that earns hundreds of millions of dollars. It is l on the New York Stock Exchange. Here, it is essential to know where your audience or buyers live and your potential customers.
Suppose you are a photographer and not interested in producing your content on Shutterstock. In that case, you will not know that Europe and North America have diversity in Television systems.
So, before coming up with the content on Shutterstock, you must decide on the television system. US and Canadian TV systems or a strategy adopted by European countries.
You know that prices at they are comparatively higher than other agencies. Secondly, subscriptions and packages at Shutterstock are higher than other prevailing low-cost sites.
As far as purchasing a license is concerned, there are different prices for standard and extended support. Where videos are involved, extended licenses are compulsory for the content taken from movies and TV.
Every day about 150 thousand new photos and 11 thousand new videos are customarily uploaded. If you upload footage, you will be able to earn 23.70$ in the Cart sales column.
Conclusion:
Whether you are an illustrator, video, photographer, or editor, Shutterstock is the best website for you to earn money. If you are concerned about this profession, you should know “how to sell the photos on Shutterstock.”
You will earn a handsome amount by adopting this profession and get hundreds of visitors from all over the world. They will admire your work if you flaunt your creativity in it.
So, try to be professional and creative in your career and upload as many images as possible, but don’t compromise on the quality. Remember that quality builds its reputation.
Clipping Path & Editpapa Helps the photographers to retouch the photos and make sure they are ready to sell on Shutterstock.
1 Comment
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