If You Like Photography, Make Money With a Camera Today
Even if you don’t like photography, you can make money with a camera and very simply. A number of websites are referred to as stock photo sites. They exist solely to compile thousands and thousands of photos, videos and graphics for use by others.
Who uses these sites? Magazines, webmasters, graphic artists, advertising agencies and many others are constantly seeking fresh image content for their projects and they seek them out at stock photo websites. When they find something they can use, they simply pay for the privilege of downloading it. And this is where you come in. The website pays a commission to the person who uploaded the photo in the first place. You!
How much are the commissions, you ask? Generally in the 20% and up range, that is, 20% of the price paid by the downloader of the image. Prices for the photos depend on size from very small to extremely large. Starting at $.30 for the tiniest images to over $8.00 for the jumbo photos per download, the commissions can mount up fast when you understand that some of the more popular images get used hundreds and thousands of times per year. That’s why I say even if you don’t like photography you can make money with a camera. You do the math!
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to do this either. If you log on to some of the stock photo websites, you’ll see that some of the more popular images are nothing more than shots of a brick wall or a beach scene or even a close-up of grass!
Now don’t get me wrong, these websites all have restrictions in place to maintain the quality level of their supply of images. At most sites it’s free to register, but you must first submit a sampling of your photos to be judged by a panel of photography experts. Then, after approval, you’re free to upload more photos over time.
One of the coolest advantages of this type of work is the cost of getting into it. If you already have a digital camera, a computer and access to the Internet, you’re virtually in business! There’s really nothing other than your imagination and a good eye for detail to add to the mix before you begin uploading photos to the websites. As a matter of fact, you probably already have some images on your camera or computer that would qualify for uploading.
A good tip, I believe, before you start registering and submitting for qualification would be to peruse the various stock photo sites and read their terms of service. You should also see what kinds of photos they do and do not want at the time. Most sites seem to have an overflow of pet photos for example and don’t want anymore. Doing these two things can help in assuring that your sample photos get approved.
It would seem that the Internet has spawned yet another mini-industry: photography, make money with a camera. Have fun!