How to Sell Photos on Microstock Websites

Photography is everywhere, and almost everybody carries a high-quality camera in their pocket. If your passion is photography rather than video or social media, you can still earn from it: you can sell your photos online.

Microstock photography means selling limited usage rights to your photos online. Earnings per download are usually small, often somewhere between 5 and 50 cents, but extended licenses pay more and popular photos can be downloaded thousands of times. Even in the age of AI image generation, there's still demand for real photos taken by people.

All you need to get started is a good camera and an internet connection. Most recent phones take photos that are good enough. Here's how to navigate the process and make the most of your work.

Getting started with Shutterstock

Step 1: Sign up for a Shutterstock contributor account

Go to the Shutterstock contributor site and sign up. Provide the required information and follow the registration steps.

Lit red candle with a bright flame against a black background

Step 2: Prepare your images

Before uploading, make sure your images meet Shutterstock's requirements. They should be high quality, well composed and properly edited, and they should be relevant and appealing to buyers.

Orange daylily with water droplets on its petals against a blurred green background

Step 3: Upload your images

Once your images are ready, log in to your contributor account and open the upload section. Add clear titles, descriptions and relevant keywords: good metadata is what makes your images show up in buyers' searches.

Step 4: Wait for approval

After you upload, Shutterstock reviews each image against its quality standards. This can take a while, so be patient. Approved images become available for customers to license.

Step 5: Earn money from image sales

Customers license images for websites, advertisements, publications and more. Each time someone downloads one of yours, you earn a royalty based on your earnings tier and the license type.

Low-angle view of a tall dark glass skyscraper against a blue sky with wispy clouds

Step 6: Promote your portfolio

To sell more, promote your portfolio on social media, your own website or blog, and in the contributor community. A strong online presence attracts more buyers.

Step 7: Keep uploading and improving

Upload new images consistently to grow your collection and your earning potential, and keep improving your skills and following what buyers are looking for.

Step 8: Don't be discouraged by rejections

In life, love and business, we all get rejected, and you should expect some of your images to be turned down for one reason or another.

Don't give up. It took me several attempts to get accepted, and I know people who needed more than 10 submissions who now get pretty decent sales. The most important thing in microstock photography is to keep taking pictures, keep submitting them and keep improving. Stick with it and you'll get accepted and start earning.