Whether you are an amateur photographer or someone who makes their living taking photographs, you may well be wondering if there is a way that you can get paid for posting photos online and make money from some of the photographs that you take that are not related to your work.
The simple answer is that yes you can. In fact, get paid for posting photos online on photo sites such as ClickASnap and stock image sites is a great way in which you can increase your exposure as a photographer.
Why might you consider getting paid for posting photos online?
There are a number of reasons anyone might consider to get posting photos online with the hope of being paid for them. If you already work as a photographer in a particular field, for example, family portrait photography then you might enjoy taking photos of a wide range of other things in your spare time.
As they are not related to your work you may want to keep them separate but still share them with others as an example of your work and be paid for them.
Likewise, if you are just starting out as a photographer you may not have found your niche or had a chance to set up a website and build up a client base. Sharing your photos online will put your work out there and show people what you are capable of. Being paid for those photos is of course simply a bonus, a very good one.
Sometimes you may just capture a particularly amazing shot and want to share it with people regardless of your background in photography. When it is possible to be paid for posting that photograph online it is even better and is a great way to have other people validate the photo that you have taken.
So how does it work?
There are plenty of sites online where you can share your photos and get paid for doing so, the trick is to find the right one for you.
On most sites, you only get paid for your photo when you sell it. The site takes a cut of the money, and you will receive the rest.
Because these are stock photo sites you will obviously be able to sell your photograph more than once, so a really good photo could prove to be quite profitable.
If someone really likes your work, they are more likely to be tempted to see what else you have taken, and this could quickly mount up to a few sales.
Photo Sharing Sites
Check the photo-sharing sites out there and look for one that offers something a little different to users – on some sites you actually get paid when your picture is viewed, even if you don’t make a sale.
When it comes to picking the site that you want to use, make sure that you read all of the terms of service for users. Different sites take different percentages of commission for your photos, so it is important to make sure that you know exactly what you are signing up for.
Also, see if there are any other restrictions on how you can receive your money. Different sites set different limits when it comes to how much you need to earn before they will pay out – these limits are usually smaller if you choose to be paid by PayPal, and much larger if you want a cheque. So if you opt for this route, make sure you set up a PayPal account.
You shouldn’t expect posting photos online to make you a huge amount of money, but with the right shots, the type of thing that people are looking for you could see the money building up over time.
