How To Make Money Selling Photos Online in The UK 2024

Selling photos online in the UK is one of the easiest side hustles to start. Anyone can sell their pics and make money from their photography skills. The key to success with this side hustle idea is to find the best platforms that pay generously for good photos.

Here, we will take a look at exactly how to make money selling photos online and we will reveal the most profitable platform to use in 2024.

How To Sell Photos Online and Make Money in the UK - Quick Steps

Before we take a detailed look at the process of selling stock photos online in the UK, here is a brief overview of the steps that you should follow.

Choose a platform to sell your images. You should spend time researching different platforms to find one that best suits your experience, skills, and portfolio.
Take high-quality images using a phone or camera. You can use a smartphone to get started and invest in professional equipment when you start to make money.
Upload your images to your chosen platform. The key is to upload a lot of different images to increase your chances of selling.
Use social media to showcase your skills. Create a portfolio on Instagram or Pinterest to attract buyers and brands.

What Are the Different Ways To Sell Photos Online in the UK?

In this guide, we will focus on how to make money selling stock images online in the UK. However, there are other ways that you an sell your photos for money. Selling stock images on platforms such as Shutterstock is a great option for beginners. However, professional photographers may be better suited to alternative methods.

Here is an overview of the different ways to sell photos for money online in the UK.

Selling photos online through stock image platforms

One of the best ways to make money selling photos online in the UK is to sell photos through stock image platforms such as Shutterstock. We like this method because it is possible for literally anyone to sign up to a stock image platform and start selling images through the marketplace.

Stock image platforms don’t pay that much per photo sold. However, it is a great way for beginners to start making money and is also one of the best remote side hustles to consider in 2024. In fact, it is possible to make money this way by uploading images that are already in your camera roll.

Stock image platforms are used by businesses and content creators to find photos for their content. Photographers can earn money every time a user downloads one of their photos from the marketplace. The best way to make money is to upload generic images that can be used in a variety of niches. Sunrises, people working from laptops, and people exercising are all examples of stock images that sell.

Selling photos online through Etsy

Photos are one of the best digital products to sell on Etsy in 2024. People buy images from Etsy to use as digital wallpaper, printable wall art, or as stock images for content. It is possible to make a lot more per sale through Etsy than it is by selling your photos on a stock photo platform. However, the most successful Etsy photo sellers are professionals who use high-end equipment to capture breathtaking images.

Etsy is also a great place for graphic designers or photo editors to sell their work. There is a high demand for unique and modern images that can be used to decorate homes in the UK.

Some of the most sought-after images on Etsy include landscapes and pictures of animals. Personalized images are also a very popular niche that talented photo editors could tap into. You could learn how to manipulate images for humor or sentimental value and offer these services to Etsy users.

Also read: How to set up an Etsy shop.

Selling photos for money online through a personal website

If you’re a seasoned photographer that wants to build a full-time photography business, the best way to sell photos for money online in the UK is to build your own personal website.

It is possible to build your own website for free using a platform such as Squarespace. You could sell photos that you’ve already taken or offer photography services to people who are looking for a talented photographer.

Selling photos through your own website is the most profitable way to make money selling photos online in the UK. However, it is difficult to find success as a complete beginner.

Sell Your Photos on Shutterstock

Best Places To Sell Stock Photos in The UK

Selling images through stock photo platforms is the best way for beginners to start making money by selling photos online in the UK. To maximize your profits, it is a good idea to upload your images to several stock image platforms so that you can reach as many customers as possible.

Luckily, there are numerous stock image websites to sell your photos for money in the UK. Here is a look at some of the best ones to use.

Shutterstock - The best place to sell pictures for money online in the UK

Shutterstock takes the top spot on our list because it is one of the most widely used stock image websites in the world. Furthermore, Shutterstock provides creators with a variety of educational resources that can be used to maximize the money that they make by selling photos through the platform. This is perfect for beginners who want to learn more about this excellent side hustle opportunity.

For experienced photographers, Shutterstock provides a service called Shutterstock Custom which connects photographers with brands. This program allows photographers to earn money by creating unique content for some of the world’s largest brands.

The Shutterstock platform is easy to use and offers fast, secure payments to photographers. It is completely free to create an account and upload your photos in the UK.

Zenfolio - The best platform for professional photographers to sell photos

Zenfolio is a great platform for photographers of all levels to sell photos online however, it is particularly good for experienced photographers. The platform makes the process of earning money very simple and supports a variety of payment methods.

Zenfolio caters to people who are looking to buy photos that can be framed or printed. This means that the most successful photographers are those who use specialist equipment to shoot high-quality images that look great on a wall.

iStock Photo - Great stock photo platform with high payout rate

iStock Photo is a platform that rewards photographers a generous 45% payout for each stock image that they sell. This rate is quite high compared to some other platforms which is why we have decided to include it in our list.

If you choose to use iStock Photo alongside other platforms, you will only be rewarded with a 15% royalty. However, this can be a worthwhile compromise if it means increasing your reach.

iStock is a branch of Getty Images - one of the biggest stock image websites in the world. This means that your photos will reach a huge audience of potential buyers. To be successful on iStock, upload photos that can easily used by businesses for websites and social media content.

How Much Money Can You Make Selling Photos Online in the UK?

The average stock photography platform will pay between £0.25 and £1 per image sold. If you upload regularly and take photos that are high-quality and useable, it is possible to sell 100 photos per day. Photographers that manage to do this could easily make £100 per day by selling stock photos online.

However, it can take time to build up this income. At first, you may only sell a couple of images per day. The majority of stock image sellers who make a full-time income have been selling their photos online for years.

The amount of money that you can make selling photos online in the UK also depends on which platform you use.

Shutterstock pays a minimum of £0.10 and a maximum of £5 per photo sold. On the other hand, Zenfolio offers higher rates that can be determined by photographers. Although it is tempting to use platforms that offer higher payouts, it is easier to start with low-paying sites until you build up experience and skill. When it comes to photography, the money that you can earn is directly related to your skill. The key to increasing your profits is to take better photos.

Top tips for making money by selling stock photos online

It really is possible to make money selling photos online. However, like most side hustles, success doesn’t happen overnight. Luckily, we have taken the time to ty out this side hustle idea for ourselves. Here are our top tips for making money after trying for 3 months.

Follow stock photo guidelines. The main reason that beginners fail at selling photos online is that they fail to follow stock image guidelines. When you sign up for a platform, familiarize yourself with the guidelines before uploading any photos.
Upload regularly. If you want to sell photos successfully, you should aim to upload new images to your profile at least twice per week. You may need to upload 100 photos before you make any sales on stock photo platforms.
Offer free images to draw attention to your profile. Some stock photo platforms allow creators to provide free images that can be used by businesses. Doing this is a great way to draw customers to your paid images and build up authority as a stock image photographer.
Optimize image descriptions. Always make sure to write clear, detailed descriptions for your photos. This will help them to appear in search results when businesses are looking for stock images to buy.
Be patient. The biggest lesson that we learned by trying this side hustle is that making money by selling photos online takes time. Don’t expect to make any sales for at least 1 month. Keep updating your profile with new photos and eventually, you will start making sales.

Conclusion

It is possible to make passive income by selling photos online through stock image platforms, Etsy and personal photography websites in 2024. For beginner’s the best way to start earning is to sign up to a stock image platform that allows you to upload images from your camera roll. By regularly uploading photos, it is possible to make £100 per day from stock image websites. The key to seeing success is to be patient and take original photos that will appeal to a wide audience.

FAQs

Yes, it is possible to make money selling photos online. The three main ways to do this include selling photos through stock image platforms, selling photos on Etsy and selling photos on a personal website. Anyone can sign up to platforms and start selling photos for cash.
The best type of photos that sell are photos that can be used by businesses for website and social media content. Businesses typically look for generic images that can easily be paired with text content about a specific subject. Therefore, the best type of photos to sell are generic shots that can be interpreted in several ways.
iStock pays a rate of 45% per photos for users who only upload photos to their platform. This is one of the highest rates on the internet. Shutterstock also pay well with a commission of 33% per photo sold.

All of our articles are written to help our readers to learn about different side hustles, how they work and how to start earning money from them. Although we mention potential earnings, it is important to understand that there is no guarantee that you will make money from any of the side hustles that are mentioned on our site. Making money from a side hustle requires consistency and significant effort. While we aim to provide useful insight into each side hustle opportunity, it is down to you to follow the right steps towards making any profits.

About The Author

Ruby is the founder of The Rich Girl Guide and has been writing content around personal finance, side hustles and wellbeing for over 3 years. You can find some of Ruby’s published articles on The Motley Fool UK, Tradingplatforms.com and Buyshares.co.uk.