Category: Apps for Money

5 apps to sell stock photos (that anyone can use)

First things first. What is stock photography? Selling stock photography which is more the type of photography you see say pictured in blogs and websites of flat desk layouts and coffee mugs and different popular themes. They do not necessarily sell for much (depending on the app but you can usually sell them multiple times with no license or royalty). But you can make money selling photos with some apps. 

Full disclosure- I have not done well on these apps but believe you should check them out because they are popular and you may have better luck than myself.

Top 5 stock photography apps to sell your camera photos

Here are my top 5 based on experience.

1. EyeEm

• Available: on App Store and Google Play.
• Pros: great community and very supportive. Cool missions which may get you good attention (and prizes!!) but these pictures are not taken by a camera phone for the most part; so that can be frustrating if you use a camera for taking pictures…
• Cons: while there are articles about success stories using a smart phone to take photos on this app, this would be a pro if most photos did not look just impossible with a phone. *you never know though!
• Pay: Once approved for market you can get a cut of each sale and sell each photo as many times as you want.
• Earning Potential: 
  • I am unsure of exactly how much you make here. I believe it’s a percentage of how much someone buys it for…but beware here because people can sign up for subscriptions to buy a set amount and that will impact your sale price… so from what I hear, it can get low even if you see it advertised for more online. Those are for people that do not have these more or less unlimited access to pics.
• Premium collection. Once selected I was very excited. After selected, you wait some (some are not long) for these pics to get accepted into say Getty’s collection. Cool huh? Well.. EyeEm and Getty split whatever is really paid for the photo (so it may say $350 online but not if the buyer has a subscription which then it’s a lot less.) Now EyeEm takes a cut of the cut they get from Getty…so your best pictures may land you a few bucks.

2. Foap

• Available: get the app on the App Store or Google Play.
• Rundown: includes both missions and also you can upload photos outside of those for the general market.
• Payout? Missions can pay about $50-$250.
  • Outside of missions, photos on Foap’s market pay $5 each time someone buys (licenses) your photo. Note there is no limit to how many license your photo. No exclusivity so you keep the rights and can sell it as many times as you want here and on other apps that do not grant buyers exclusive use of the photo upon purchase.
  • Note: when uploading photos anywhere you should check the terms you are agreeing to. Not all sites are like this and you don’t want to grant an exclusivity license one place and go post that photo a bunch of other places. Foap I believe for some challenges wants exclusivity so it depends. 
• Issue here? Guess who determines if you get in the marketplace for non-mission photos… Your competition. The app’s FAQs state that a photo with an average rating (3 out of 5 stars) means you get on the market if at least 5 people rate the photo. The app has improved in that it shows what photos are on the market and it does not appear that you even need 5 ratings. Although I would imagine poor ratings do not help. 
• Mission selection – if you submit a photo to a mission Foap’s reviewers decide whether it is actually included as a submission in the mission. Best part? You are never told if yours is in there unless you search for it. (Personally I think this is an awful system)
• My thoughts: Try it out and see because who knows!
  • I think posting a lot of photos here that follow current stock photo trends (ice cream in summer, easter eggs in spring, fall foliage in fall, etc.) may be a better strategy with this app. But if you have any ideas let me know in the comments! 

3. Twenty20

• Available: find the app on the App Store. Or you can sign up on the website here: https://www.twenty20.com/sell.  
• Rundown:
  • Has competitions which have a voting period for users to determine the top photos.
    • The top 20%, top 10% and top 20 photos are presented to more potential buyers.
    • From among the top a winner is also chosen for that challenge.You get a badge on your profile if you make it into the top 20%, top 10%, top 20 for each competition. Just a badge..no money
  • Outside of the challenges, you can also upload other photos directly to your profile that are available for sale. Photos are automatically for sale once added to your profile.
• Pay/commission: $2.00 per photo licensed.
  • Each photo can be licensed an unlimited number of times. And it is a non-exclusive license (meaning you maintain rights to use the photo yourself as well)
• Signature Collection: 
  • You can also nominate other users’ pictures to the Signature Collection.
    • If a nominated photo is selected for the collection, it is featured more prominently to potential buyers.
• Thoughts: I have had pictures sit around and get a notice that they sold way after forgetting about them so that is nice residual income. 
  • Nice people here. Generally I would say photo apps have very supportive users if they allow comments. Unfortunately, not all do, such as this next app…

4. Snapwire

• Available: Get the app on the App Store or Google Play. 
• Pros: Perhaps the best paying one out there. You can make good money off a picture which is rare with the others.
• Con/Warning: first you need to prove yourself. There are missions and you can only submit so many when you are new.
  • If you win, are nominated or have a photo “selected” from your portfolio which gets it on the market for sale, then you move up levels. Then you can access more requests from buyers that tend to have higher cash rewards. Also, leveling up = ability to submit more photos for each mission. 
• Thoughts: I commonly see some photos get nominated by those in higher “levels” that seem very off point (in my opinion). Some reviews complain about favoritism. Maybe that is the reason or maybe it is just easier for these reviewers to auto-sort and only review the photos submitted by “experts.”
  • Basically: It makes it hard to move up when you are new and there do seem to be many favorites – you will see once you use it.

5. Shutterstock

• Rundown: To become a contributor to sell photos, I would suggest visiting this website first. 
  • It is a little more involved in first becoming a contributor, whereas the other apps you just start submitting.
  • Once you become a contributor, you can download an app in the App Store or Google Play.
  • Note: if you are submitting photos to be sold, make sure you get the Shutterstock Contributor app.
  • There is also an app that is geared towards browsing and buying the Shutterstock photos. This is for buyers. If you want to sell, then you want the contributor app.
• Approval Process: 
  • Approval is required for each photo uploaded to your profile.
  • Following approval, the photo is available on Shutterstock’s webpage. If you run into issues in getting photos approved (and I would suggest doing this before you upload your first pictures), read the FAQs and guides.
  • There are requirements that are a little different than the other apps I mentioned.
• Thoughts: This platform is picky which may lead to top quality photos but they license out to buyers at very very low prices. It is a well known site so a lot of low prices can add up since these photos can also be sold/licensed multiple times.

Other notable mentions

Other Stock Photo Apps to Check Out – Recommended by Many Others

1. Clashot

2. Bylined

3. Scoopshot

4. Stockimo

Other Ways to Make Money with Photos

There are ways to sell photos besides via stock photo apps and sites. For example, you can put your photos on products such as T-shirts, mugs, mousepads, clocks, etc., and sell them through sites such as RedBubble.

See my Redbubble profile here.

Final Thoughts

Stock photography is competitive (everyone has a smartphone with a smart camera) and typically not lucrative.

• As with most money making adventures, do not do stock photography expecting that you will make a certain amount of money. Or any money – there is no guarantee.
• But, if you have a lot of pictures to choose from already and/or generally enjoy photography, I think it’s worth checking a few out to see if it’s something that will work for you.

So what is my recommendation?

• If you are reading this article, you really should try a few of these apps out!
• You never know which app may work for you, and you will learn a lot about the trends in stock photography.
• It is also fun to do if you are into photography. Stock photos are a bit different and I have enjoyed learning about them. 
• Since the smart phones out today provide high quality cameras built-in already, this is an area many can get into. Even if only for a hobby. But it can perhaps lead to a bit of side income as well!!

Want to use your phone and enhance the pictures it takes? Check out some camera accessories for smart phones. 

NOW: Try some Out and Tell me your Experiences and Thoughts!

I would love to hear your experiences with these apps and sites!

• Are there better ways to sell?
• Which ones have been a hit for you? Which haven’t??
• I was lucky to get tips and tricks not just through blog posts but comments too! So share your stories or contact me!

Since this is a popular post, look forward to a follow up post with more platforms to sell photos on soon. Also, see my post on stock photography tips and tricks.