Shutterstock how does it work

Learn how to add passive income by becoming a stock photographer with this comprehensive guide from Shutterstock. Easy, free, profitable. Uploading images to a stock photography house like Shutterstock is easy, free, and can be quite profitable over time.

When you contribute to Shutterstock, you still retain the copyright to your creations, and you receive a royalty whenever a subscriber downloads one of your photos. Below, we've outlined the basic licensing plans, how to distinguish yourself as a stock photographer, and how to play the numbers game. Need images for your project?

See what our library has to offer. Also, make sure the keywords relate to your photos. Shutterstock is one of the most popular microstock sites in the world. As a contributor, Shutterstock has several advantages. Their payment percentage is higher than some other microstock sites, their minimum payout amount is less than most, and they offer a few different options to help you earn more money.

Shutterstock is also non-exclusive, so you can share the photos you publish on Shutterstock on other non-exclusive microstock sites. Remember, when submitting to Shutterstock, you should regularly upload new photos, rather than loading them all at once. That allows your images to be displayed in the fresh content area, giving your image increased exposure.

Take our Business Builders Course and join the photographers who have fast tracked their learning by uncovering the secrets to setting up a successful photography business in just 30 short days. Looking for the best canvas prints? Check this out. ON Demand. Should I Become a Shutterstock Contributor? Facebook Twitter. Photo Repair Pro. Not sure how to take your camera, your skills, and start charging for it? Not a Member? Join Today. We Recommend. Earn money from downloads Each time a customer downloads your work, they are purchasing a license.

A few tips for success There is no one secret formula that any artist can follow to create a successful portfolio, but following these guidelines should help you get started on the right path: Upload regularly. Rome was not built in a day--it takes regular submissions to build a sizeable portfolio on Shutterstock.

Mind the metadata. Titles and keywords play a crucial role in the discoverability of your content. Check out this article for tips and best practices. Curate your portfolio. Make it easier for customers to discover your work by grouping your content into sets by subject, concept or creative trend. Follow current creative trends and explore the Shot List - a monthly digest of concepts and themes requested by our customers.

The contributor blog is also a great resource for information and inspiration. We look forward to your next submission! Related Articles Can I sell my work on sites other than Shutterstock? A wonderful source of images. As a source of income, it is a bit more problematic. The claim is that you can make money by taking photos and uploading to their website. Unfortunately, it is not quite that easy. Your photos have to meet certain quality standards so you need to have a fairly high quality camera and good photographic skills.

This is not something that an amateur will be able to do successfully without a lot of practice and the ability to shoot photos that are unique and eye catching.

As a webmaster I must agree with you Allison, Shutterstock is a good service. I used it a few times and I also like it because of the pay as you go option. It seems like someone would have to sell a lot of pictures to pay a mortgage and put food on the table. If there is anything more annoying or stressful than searching for an image you need, it is having to worry about paying for it over and over and over again in the form of royalties. I love utilizing Shutterstock because I can easily search for the perfect product, pay for it once, and then use it repeatedly without having to worry about writing a check every two weeks.

However Shutterstock has an awesome Pay As You Go plan so I feel like I can buy the photos I want without having to pay a steep price per month to get them. This website seems like a really great way for people to make money on the images they produce, and for people with websites to make their pages more impressive.