As you may well know, if you have read my bio or visited my blog before, I am a photographer. Over the years I have taken many thousands of images. Of course, every photographer would like to recoup some of the money they have spent pursuing their hobby or profession.
In the past I did work as a freelance photographer and writer, mainly for a health journal, but also some private clients. Most of my working life however has been spent either as a nurse or charity worker.
So, I have spent many an hour uploading my images to various sites. Some have been successful in that I made a modest return, others not so. For those of you who are interested the sites that I have made some modest returns on are:
If you click on any of the links above you will be taken to my portfolio on those sites, so you can check out my work. Of course, if you care to purchase any of my work, I will of course earn a commission and you will not only get a great product, but will have a warm fuzzy feeling that you have helped out a fellow artist!
So, would I recommend any of these sites over any of the others? Well, it depends. It depends on mainly two things. Are you a buyer or a seller? Lets look at each one from the perspective of both the buyer and the seller.
Photo4me.com
This site is based in the UK but sells around the world. here is what they say about themselves:
At Photo4me we have created a huge Gallery of high quality photographs created by photographers from all over the world.
We believe that in our collection there’s a picture you would love to have as Wall Art in your home – and we’ve developed a highly sophisticated search tool to help you find it.
Here is what they say about why you should buy from them:
- Beautiful wall art from our passionate and active community of photographers and digital artists.
- Unrivalled product quality.
- Fast friendly and efficient service.
- Buy with confidence with our secure server and payment provider PayPal.
Do I agree with them? Yes I do. If you check out the many photographers on their site you will find an amazing variety of images and you can buy them in so many different sizes, with plenty of choice when it comes to materials and frames etc.
They have over 875,000 images on their site and with all the different choices of frames etc, there are millions of options available. They also make it easy to visualise how the image will look hung on your wall.
They also are so confident in our products and service, they offer a 30 day 100% refund policy too! (T&C Apply)
BTW they currently have a sale ongoing for August, so be sure to check them out by clicking on the image above. Finally, the site is very easy to search for images on subjects you are interested in.
Also, if you are new to the site, sign up for their newsletter and they will send you a code to get 18% off your first order!
So, from the seller's perspective, why join Photo4me as an artist? Well, they have been around for 22 years now and the founders still run the company. They supply images to the NHS, ITV, IBIS and other companies, so are well respected in the industry.
As an artist, they provide a user-friendly interface to upload your images, specify your commission and advice on keywording etc. Their support is excellent on the rare occasion you have an issue and they pay into your account relatively quickly. Like many sites there is a waiting period of 30 days after a customer has received their order in case they take advantage of the free 30 days return policy mentioned above.
There is also a lively community of fellow artists who are also ready to encourage and share advice. probably one of the best I have come across, to be honest.
Zazzle.com
Zazzle is a very popular POD (Print On Demand) site that offers a vast range of products, not just photos as prints. You can find products such as keyrings, mugs, t-shirts, pillows, coasters, cards, gift bags, towels, bedding, the list is almost endless!
They have themed collections such as birthdays, weddings, graduation, retirement etc. They also have officially licensed stores so you can purchase customised items from brands like Disney, Marvel, Sesame Street, DC, Harry Potter, and more.
To be honest, if I was looking for any print on demand product for a special occasion, Zazzle.com would definitely be my first port of call as a buyer. The range is just so vast and you can customise almost every single product, adding your own text, images, backgrounds etc.
They also have many products that you can download and print yourself. These are cheaper as Zazzle doesn't need to send them off to be manufactured and then shipped.
As a seller, why use Zazzle? Well, if you live in the USA it's a really easy way to make some commission on your images and designs. If you live outside the USA (as I do) then its only slightly more work as you have to fill in a tax form each year so you don't have 30% of your commission withheld.
It's really easy to create products. You simply upload some images and then choose a product type on which to include your image, customise it with text (if you choose to do so - it can be dummy text such as 'your text goes here' to help guide the buyer) and then add a description some tags etc and choose your commission level.
You create collections and are in fact encouraged to do so and also its important to complete your profile with a profile image, a header image and some text about your store. You can create multiple stores and collections, such as on particular themes, whether that be product collections or themes based on occasions. Here is an example.
As well as making it easy to upload your images and create products etc, Zazzle makes it easy to track your sales and earnings. You get notifications via email when you have a sale and you also get a notification whenever you login to your dashboard.
If you are serious about joining Zazzle, I would follow these steps to avoid some of the mistakes I made:
- Browse numerous sections of the site and check out how others are promoting their products, what kind of things they are selling and how they describe their products.
- Read the blog posts that Zazzle post on how to make the most of Zazzle - really useful information in them, especially for those new to the site.
- Decide on a theme for your first store - is it going to be a bit of everything or will it focus on one particular theme?
- Be sure to check on what is trending. Zazzle regularly post about trends on the site and even have a link to what is trending in the left sidebar on the main site.
- When you are ready to create your first store and upload images, be sure to use AI to help you come up with a name for your store that best fits your theme. Also, use an image upscaler to get larger image sizes. You really want them to be as large as possible without them being over the upload limit of 50MB (if I recall correctly). I recommend Upscayl, which is free and excellent. I use it all the time for upscaling all my images.
- Upload lots or images! The more the better. There are so many images and products on Zazzle now that you really need to be constantly uploading images, creating products and developing your collections. It takes time to get that first sale but once you do, you are hooked!
Zazzle is great if you are in it for the long-term. Its not a get rich quick method of earning some income but it can be rewarding, in time. Perseverance is the name of the game!
Eyeem
Eyeem is a photo stock library that markets images around the world and has partnerships with the likes of Getty Images, Adobe Stock, and Alamy. here is how they describe themselves:
EyeEm is a global photography community and marketplace. We connect our engaged creators with leading brands to provide original, unique and on-brand content. Our mission is to empower our community by offering them a platform to get discovered, while giving brands access to the most powerful creative imagery worldwide.“From the very beginning our goal was simple: discover talent, empower them, and give them a stage.”
So, as a buyer, Eyeem is really of interest to you if you are looking for images for your publications, website or marketing materials. Its like a traditional photo stock library and not really the place to go to to purchase a picture to hang on your wall. Its obviously of more interest to a photographer wishing to sell their images around the world.
Like a lot of stock libraries, the returns for photographers, sadly, are not what they were. Commissions paid can be quite small, as low as $ 0.01 for an image licensed for use on the web. It is possible to make more than this and indeed, the best I made was $ 99.09 on one image!
However, you really need (like Zazzle) to upload lots of images and to do so on a regular basis. Eyeem does give lots of guidance on what it is looking for and it does protect your copyright, so you retain ultimate control of them. It also runs missions for photographers join in with decent rewards if you win the mission.
To conclude, if you have an existing library of images and you don't already have them listed on a stock library, then it is worth looking at Eyeem. Be prepared to spend a lot of time sorting out your images and uploading only the best examples. Pay close attention to what is already selling on the site and read their online magazine to keep up with the latest market trends.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is one of the major stock libraries, a trusted source of high-resolution, royalty-free photos, stock videos, music tracks, and more.
So, if you are in the market for buying images, illustrations, video, music or even Photoshop templates, then check them out.
Like many stock libraries they have special offers and discounts available or you can simply license a single image, video or music track.
In terms of being a contributor, Adobe Stock have also partnered with the likes of Eyeem so if you are on that platform already, your images may also be marketed by Adobe. This does have the downside that any royalty or commission you earn may well be reduced as each agency in the chain takes a cut of the fee charged to the buyer!
Recently, Adobe have also started accepting AI-generated art so if that is your thing, check them out. However, my personal advice is to also consider Wirestock.io. check out my post on them here.
PicFair
Finally, we look at PicFair. As the name implies, they seek to be fairer to the photographer, so if you are a buyer who would like to see more of the money you spend buying images go to the actual creator, then do consider using them. If you are a photographer, then they are definitely worth checking out if you want to make a better return on your hard work in creating your images.
There is a free way to sell your images on PicFair. The differences between a free account and a paid account are as follows:
Lite (free) version:
- Upload up to 20 images
- Choose from multiple Store templates
- Set your own prices for prints & downloads
- Add your own logo and bio
- Add your own image watermark
- Multiple albums
Plus (paid) version:
- Publish your store
- Upload up to 10,000 images
- Choose from multiple Store templates
- Set your own prices for prints & downloads
- Add your own logo and bio
- Add your own image watermark
- Multiple albums
- Connect domain to your store
- Add social media links
- Add personal links to Store
- Accelerated image moderation
The paid version is currently available on a 50% discount! Normally £7.50 but now £3.75 (month billed annually) If you prefer to pay month by month its normally £11.00 but is now £5.50 (billed monthly).
In terms of commissions on your sales, PicFair works in the following way.
You set the commission rate and then its applied as in this screenshot:
PicFair Plus has a decent set of templates, so you can make your site look less 'run of the mill' so to speak.
Check out their article on the latest updates to themes here.
Conclusion:
If you are in the market for buying art (mainly photographs) to hang on your wall, then I recommend Photo4me.com. If you are looking to buy a mug, t-shirt, notebook or other POD product, then checkout Zazzle.com.
If you an image buyer looking to buy top-quality images then take a look at PicFair and Eyeem. For music, video, illustrations or Photoshop templates and the like, check out Adobe Stock.
If you are looking to make some return on your investment in your art, then any or all of these sites could be just the place for your upload your art and make some money. Depending on whether you are a photographer or a different kind of artist will influence which one is the best fit for you. Hopefully you have found this post useful and informative.
I wish you all the best in your artistic endeavours.
Post a Comment
Please leave your comments. I reserve the right to delete racist, abusive, pornographic and other distasteful posts without warning.