11 Best Paid Stock Photo Sites

If photography is what you like and you are looking to make some money while working from home, stock photography is the something that you might consider.

The internet has a number of stock photography websites offering a huge searchable photo database of virtually every genre.

These websites are preferred by several authors, media professionals, bloggers, etc. for various purposes. Hence, this is why these stock photo sites look forward to professionals to make their original submissions on their portals.

Additionally, merely being a photographer doesn’t make you qualified to submit any photo you might want to.

These websites have image reviewers who evaluate hundreds of submissions received every day and only select the ones that meet their prescribed quality standards.

However, even if you fail to get your pictures accepted for the 1st few attempts, there is nothing to be disappointed about.

You can surely learn from your mistakes and cover any shortfalls that have been the reason behind non-acceptance. We present some of the popular stock photo sites below.

Shutterstock

Probably the most popular portal, the website offers a 30% royalty for each your pictures sold. It comes with a clean contributor section which is pretty easy to use and features various tips for getting your submissions to get accepted.

The best part about the platform is the inclusion of a ranking program of contributors that helps in earning more with better rankings that would eventually help in more sales.

Deposit Photos

In order to qualify as a member, you need to undertake an examination. With each sale you make, the profile levels-up and the higher your level the higher is the royalties. The percentage of royalty per photo ranges between 44 to 52% of each sale for new customers. The same is .30 and .35 cents for people with subscriptions make a purchase.

Fotolia

Each image that is downloaded through the Fotolia subscription earns the photographer a 33% royalty.

This site also has a contributor ranking program allowing you to earn more commission with every increase in sales. With its minimum guarantee promise, registered members can be assured of being fairly paid.

With option to register for free, it presents an active forum where photographers from different parts of the world communicate and discuss on emerging topics related to photography.

Photography Jobs Online

Another platform where a person can make extra income by selling their photography is Photography Jobs Online. One may work from their home or market their services through this portal.

The upload process is quite simple wherein photographs can be uploaded instantly and be sold to millions of potential buyers. A customer may opt to receive payments through PayPal, Checks or even Wire transfer.

123RF

This stock photography site features over 80 million creative work with over 90,000 content being added daily. It is a community of over 300,000 creative contributors.

For every sale of your content you make, the site pays you a 60% commission. They are a 100% bootstrapped company with the largest digital stock agency.

Dreamstime

For every sale of your uploaded content, you are paid 25 to 60%. The minimum payout for each request is fixed at $100. It has one of the best contributor FAQ sections that answer various important questions. There are over 61 million stock images and a community with over 18 million users.

Getty Images

The portal accepts contributors to feature their stock photography and sell it online. The collection is huge and each member is paid on a per sale basis.

However, there is no clear information about the amount or percentage that is usually paid. Registering on the portal is free and contributors can start uploading their work instantly.

iStock Photo

It is owned by Getty Images where they feature loads of information of how to become a contributor and start earning from your photography skills.

The commissions range from 15 to 45% and images are only approved after each of them is carefully evaluated as per their prescribed standards.

Even for getting registered as a qualified member to submit photographs, the contributor needs to undergo a channelized selection process.

CreStock

Powered by an easy to use platform, this needs you to create an account without undergoing a selection procedure for a contributor access. However, each submitted image goes through a review process before being accepted.

The royalty for each sale is between 20 to 40% per single image license. The download made by users with subscriptions, the fee ranges from .25 to .50 cents per image.

SnapWire

Although doing the same thing like the stock photography sites, the platform is different in terms of operations.

The reviewers only accept authentic photographs that are of high quality. These photographs might also include the ones taken on a smartphone.

The other difference is the payout which is much higher than any of the other similar platforms. It ranges between 50 to 70% per sale.

StockSnap.io

StockSnap.io proclaims to be a different site that is not like any other stock photography website. They have an interesting as well as a versatile selection of photographs uploaded by some highly talented contributors. The site features a dedicated tool for creating online graphics by following easy steps and using the available stock images.

Concluding Remarks

The list of 11 websites above has a huge database of active contributors from across the globe. Most of them feature their dedicated portals or sections for different countries to enable better communication and networking.

Moreover, the best part about these websites is their strict quality control and acceptance process which ensures only quality images being featured on their website.

Also, having such a large community means that photographer has a single stop destination to present their work and make it available to millions of customers from any corner of the planet.

This also helps in learning from fellow community members by looking at quality work and enhancing the standards of work with every passing day.

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