Flexible Working Life

Not only budding photographers, but anyone with a digital camera can begin to earn money online with their photographs thanks to the Internet.There are several ways to make money with photos, you just need to have the ability to take a good pictures and some idea of what sells.

Be prepared
Citizen photojournalism is one way to sell prints and make money online.  However, have a bit of sensitivity.  It’s one thing taking a picture of a newsworthy event that may not be covered by the press, but no one in a crisis wants some stranger sticking a camera in their face so they can make a few quid.  That considered, you could sell prints online to places like Scoopt, Spy Media and You Witness.

Scoopt explains how their system works on their website: “When you send Scoopt a photo, you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide licence to market that photo for a period of twelve (12) months. During this twelve-month period, you agree not to publish the photo anywhere else. When the twelve months are up, the licence becomes non-exclusive. We will still try to sell your photo but now you can also publish it yourself on a photo blog or a picture sharing site — or anywhere else at all.”

They claim to have members from over 160 different countries and membership costs nothing, so if you catch a newsworthy story you might want to join.

Sites that sell your photographs for you
Microstock agencies (see list below) have increasingly opened their doors to amateurs and hobbyists, which is great news if you have a hard drive full of photographs that could be making you money online.
These online sites offer to host your images for free and will offer you commissions on the photographs that they sell. Not huge commissions, commissions all the same.
It’s a great way of sharing your creativity and earning a passive income online.
The best way to ensure that they sell, is  to try and capture a niche market.
Be creative and take pictures that capture an emotion or idea.

Many people looking to buy photographs will be looking for images that convey a concept, so if you take something that is really marketable, you’re on to a winner.

Selling prints offline
This is a good way to earn higher profits and it is a flexible job, but it’s not passive income.
A full job profile will be posted up soon on how you can begin marketing, promoting and selling your prints, but until then, have a look at the agencies below to start making money online and profit from your photos.

PhotoBox

istockphoto

SnapVillage

ShutterStock 

For really good pictures that you might not want to put with stock agencies, try here as the payout is higher:

British Images 

Photographers Direct

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