# Photosharing That Pays Me?



## Cory (Oct 13, 2013)

Is there anything like a flickr or Shutterfly that pays the photographer for downloads and ordering prints? I do all kinds of stuff where I share pictures and thought that I can maybe put that to work to pay for more gear.
Thanks for any ideas.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 13, 2013)

Smugmug will let viewers order prints, you set the price and the markup. Don't expect people to just discover you and start ordering prints though. You will need one of the higher packages, the low end ones don't do this.


There are a ton of stock photo sites that will sell your images and give you a small amount. You will need 10's of thousands of top quality images to make anything at it. Some of the best ones are very particular, some of the others don't care much, and don't pay much either.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/how-to-sell-stock-photos-part-1/

People who design web sites often want royalty free images that meet their needs.


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## Cory (Oct 13, 2013)

Thanks. Someone else recommended SmugMug.
I figured that I'm the team photographer for a few sports teams and do several other "sharing" things so I can increase the arenas that I shoot in and then market each separately some of which can possibly reach nationally and beyond. Seems like a sensible approach?
My skills are rapidly improving and everyone says I should start charging. 
Thanks again for the input.
Added:
What's a reasonable amount to charge for a download?


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## Valvebounce (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi Cory.
Are you talking about what to charge for stock photos, because I think the various sites set that fee. 
If you are talking about things like the races you mention in your other post, then you will probably need some sort of sliding scale based on the level of the athletes to get the most from this venture, I'm not sure but amateurs at social club level may expect their pics at a much lower price than pro athletes, on the other hand that might not work once someone pro asks why they should pay more for their pic than an amateur, the only reason I can see for this is if the club "subsidise" these pics by paying you a small fee? 

Cheers Graham.


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## Cory (Oct 14, 2013)

Thanks. It's a really great and friendly running club that I'm a member of and this whole thing spawned the idea of me doing this for all of the venues that I shoot for (as well as expanding).
This is a very serious running club, but also extremely social. I thought that keeping it really "light" might be the best idea at maybe like $1 per download if that makes sense at all. Just wondering what's generally typical. "Typical" might not apply in this case, as you alluded, but is $2.50 generally typical, 0.25, $5?
And then I guess prints would be a different story altogether.
Thanks again.


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## beckstoy (Oct 16, 2013)

I use ZENFOLIO, which I pay about $80/year for. I create albums for my clients for each project, set price points for a lot of products (from prints to canvas prints to coffee mugs) and then just email them a link, which they share with their family/friends who order directly from the site.

Works well for me. They'll give you a month or two free, if you wanna dork around with it. I especially love it for the portfolio viewer, which I just link to through my regular website. Cycles my photos, plays music, looks really clean, and collects info from interested ppl.

http://www.zenfolio.com/


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## wayno (Oct 16, 2013)

Redbubble is another one.


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## Tyroop (Oct 16, 2013)

I signed up for Fotolia a couple of years ago. Pricing varies, but I normally make around 25c per photo. They pay out when your account reaches $50, which is therefore 200 downloads. I'm about half way there and still haven't received a payment. The photos I like personally don't sell because there is no commercial value. Stock photography requires very specific types of photo and there are tens of thousands of highly accomplished photographers (and illustrators) selling their work who you have to compete with.

Over 90% of the sales I have made have been of one particular photo. It seems to be a photo that people want and that other photographers don't have to offer. It was just a quick snap I took while wandering around a Burmese refugee camp on the Thai side of the Thai/Burmese border in Mae Sot. The guy who recommended Fotolia told me that his best selling photo was of garbage collectors collecting garbage. Photos you think will sell don't, and often the ones that sell are the ones you don't think will sell.

People don't necessarily want aesthetically pleasing photos, they want photos to illustrate a certain subject. There are also lots of cliche photos, for example, happy families in perfect situations, attractive businessmen and women shaking hands on business deals, etc. These contrived photos are not at all like the real world photos I take.

Then there is the business of model releases if your photos contain people, being careful not to include trademarks, submitting noise-free images, etc. It can be a real pain meeting all the requirements and submitting the type of photos that are wanted. I have had far more photos rejected than accepted.

When I started I thought it would be an easy way to make money, but that isn't how it has turned out. It's still quite satisfying to think that someone has actually paid money - even if only a small amount - for a photo that I took, but like most things online these days the only people who make any serious money are the big boys.

You mentioned Flickr in your original post and I thought that images could now be submitted to Getty Images via Flickr.


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## SteveinAu (Jan 18, 2014)

If you are interested in sites for stock photos it might be worth you maybe investing a small amount in a course on the subject which would save you a lot of time and grief in doing your own research over the internet. Ther are lots of courses that you can find which would put you in the right direction.

http://www.camerabiz.net


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