Are you looking for a way to make extra money ? Did you know you can get paid for pictures of yourself?
It might sound too good to be true but that cute face in the mirror could be earning you cold hard cash.
Intrigued? Read on. We will teach you how to make money with this interesting side job!
You can make money selling pictures of yourself by selling them to stock photo sites or by creating your own business.
In this post we will look at the best places that will pay you for pictures of your yourself:
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure for more information.
22 Places to get paid for pictures of yourself
- Pay Your Selfie
- SmugMug
- Stylinity
- 500px
- Scoopshot
- Fiverr
- Alamy
- PicFair
- Etsy
- Instaprints
- Getty Images
- 123RF
- Adobe Stock
- PhotoShelter
- Foap
- Shutterstock
- iStockphoto
- Canva
- BigStock
- Dreamstime
- Agora Images
- Your Own Website
One thing I noticed when researching this article is that a lot of the information online was out of date.
It seems like photo-selling apps shut down pretty often.
Three of the apps I looked at that got rave reviews, Clashot, SquarePeep and Pay Your Selfie, are no longer in service as of this writing.
I will continue to keep this post updated so you can get the most accurate information on how to get paid for pictures of yourself.
The Selfie app that launched the revolution
Pay Your Selfie
Launched in 2016, Pay Your Selfie was a free app for iOS and Android that paid you for photos of yourself doing different tasks.
The tasks or challenges often involved posing with a friend or using a particular consumer product.
Pay Your Selfie would then sell the content to brands looking for authentic photography for their campaigns.
You could get $1 per selfie and can cash out when your balance reaches $20.
Unfortunately no one knows what happened to Pay Your Selfie but it seems to have disappeared from the app store.
Luckily for us, there are still some other sites like Pay Your Selfie that you can use:
How To Make Money selling pictures of yourself
One of the best ways to sell your high-quality images is through stock photography websites.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to sell images on these sites and you might be surprised how much money you can make selling your photos.
Lots of brands and bloggers use stock libraries to find great photos for their advertising and social media account posts.
It is definitely the easiest way to get paid for your pictures without any investment on your end.
Stylinity
Stylinity is a mobile app that allows you to take a photo of yourself and tag all the brands you’re wearing.
This is a great app for someone who has a lot of social media followers
How Stylinity Works
Start by opening your free account. Then, simply take a photo of yourself wearing a brands clothing, use a barcode scanner to pull up each item’s information and share the image on social media.
Each product in the photo is tagged, so that by clicking a button that says “I Want This,” interested shoppers get sent to the retailer’s Web page.
You will earn Points called StylePerks for your photos and can then use them for cash or products.
SmugMug
SmugMug offers a 100% guarantee to buyers of your photos meaning you can feel safe with any transactions.
You can get started for free on the site and set your own prices. One thing that SmugMug recommends is that you pick a niche for your selfies.
Build a brand around a certain kind of photo eg. you on a beach or pictures of your hand and you will attract more buyers and more importantly, more return customers.
500px
You’ll earn 60% royalties (one of the industry’s highest rates) when you license your photos exclusively with global distribution partners through 500px. This can be a really lucrative way to make money selling pictures of yourself.
Scoopshot
A lot of brands want to move away from the big press agencies who all sell the same generic images.
Scoopshot gives them the opportunity to buy realistic photos from people like you!
You can make money by both selling your pictures on Scoopshot and just by having someone look at them too!
How Do You Earn From Scoopshot?
There are two ways to make money with photos of yourself on Scoopshot:
When you submit photos and videos to the site they become available for sale in the ScoopShot store. If someone buys one, you will get a notification and money added to your balance.
All photos and videos uploaded to Scoopshot can be used by online publishers for free with an ad embedded in the picture. If your photos or videos are used by online publishers, such as news websites, you’ll take a share in the advertising revenue — every time someone looks at your photo/video you make money.
Fiverr
You probably know Fiverr as the freelancers marketplace but it is also a good option for making money selling photos of yourself.
Selling your photography on Fiverr can be a great opportunity for anyone looking to make some money.
You are allowed set the price, and you could charge $100 or more per high quality photo.
Alamy
Make money while you sleep with Adamy! This British stock photography site is one of the best for contributors like you!
Upload your images and they will be for sale on the site within 24 hours – plus you will get 50% royalties for any sales.
PicFair
When you join Picfair you’ll get your own personal, beautiful photography store to sell your images as prints and digital downloads.
Every image you upload also becomes part of Picfair’s central marketplace – separate from your personal store – which is used by image buyers around the world.
Picfair’s flat commission rate on every image you sell is 20%, which is added to the buyer’s total price.
This means that the price you set is the amount you will receive when you make a sale.
For example, if you set $30, you will get $30, and the buyer will pay £36, with the extra £6 going to Picfair.
Etsy
Do you have an amazing photo that would make for incredible decor?
Sell it on Etsy!
You would be surprised at how well photos do on Etsy, in fact everything from there are people selling feet pics and making a lot of money on the site!
You can get started on Etsy really easily and only pay 20 cents per listing (however, start your Etsy store with this link and you will get 40 free listings).
Etsy charges a 5% transaction fee for every sale.
If you want to open your Etsy photography store, here are some tutorials to help:
How To Start An Etsy Store Successfully
ETSY SEO CHECKLIST (FREE PRINTABLE)
Instaprints
Instaprints allows you to get paid for your Instagram selfies. People may use them for photo books or prints for their home.
Simply link your Instagram profile with your Instaprints account and get paid for pictures of yourself!
With Instaprints you can set your own rate and they will handle all the shipping and printing to customers.
You can expect to earn $5 – 50 or more selling pictures of yourself on Instaprint.
Getty Images
Getty Images is one of the big players in the stock photo World and is used by many of the big newspapers and publications.
All content on GettyImages is exclusive, meaning you can’t publish the same or similar images to other stock sites or licence them yourself.
You’ll get 20% commission for exclusive image sales when you list your pictures on Getty Images.
123RF
You can earn between 30% – 60% commissions from each license sold on this large stock photo site that boasts of over 5 million users. Once your balance reaches $50, you will paid via PayPal, Skrill or Payoneer.
Another nice thing about this site is that your work is non-exclusive, meaning you can also list it elsewhere.
Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock is reportedly the world’s largest marketplace of stock photos.
To become an Adobe Stock contributor, simply create an account and upload your photos to be curated by experts in order for them to get approved.
Adobe offers 33% commission every time your pictures are sold or licensed!
PhotoShelter
PhotoShelter is a bit different from the other stock photo libraries. With PhotoShelter, you will get your own website where you can showcase and sell your photos.
To get started, choose from nine website templates & build your site in minutes. You can create photo galleries and also use the built-in shopping cart & partnerships with major print labs to earn more money with prints.
It costs $10 a month for the basic website plan but there is a free trial you can access to try the site for free.
Foap
Foap is a marketplace and app where you can add photos or videos. When someone makes a purchase from the app, you get to split the earnings with Foap.
Foap connects creators like you to brands who are looking for visual content for their online marketing campaign.
You can make up to $5 per photo with Foap.
Shutterstock
With Shutterstock, there is no cost to sign up and you can get paid right away.
You will need to sign a release before selling your images for commerical use.
For every image sold on the site, you earn up to $120 which makes it a good place to list your photos for sale.
iStockphoto
iStockphoto is a branch of GettyImages and one of the biggest stock photo marketplaces where you can get paid for pictures of yourself.
If you want to become an iStock contributor, you need to submit an application to the GettyImages app. The nice thing about this site is that you can sell your photos on iStock and on other stock photos sites as there is no exclusivity.
How Does iStockphotos work?
Buyers purchase a license that allows them to download your photo for their personal or commercial purposes. You will receive a royalty for every license purchased. The amount you earn depends on the type of license.
Canva
It doesn’t cost anything to list your content on Canva and you can reach over 185m contributors.
As a Contributor, you’ll receive 35% of your every content license purchase making this a great place to sell your photos.
BigStock
BigStock is a popular stock photo marketplace for photographers, artists and entrepreneurs to showcase their work.
The BigStock team reviews all submissions before approving them so that only high-quality photos make it onto the site
BigStock is another great stock photo library where you can sell pictures of yourself for cash. Their pricing is a bit complicated, in general you can make 50 cents and up per photo or 30% of the sale.
Dreamstime
Dreamstime is the World`s largest stock photo market place. You’ll get 60% revenue share from all your sales if you are exclusive and upload bonuses. Non-exclusive contributors enjoy royalties between 25% and 50%
Your Own Website
Wondering how to make money selling pictures of yourself with a website or blog? One way is to launch your site and sell your stock photos directly, skipping the middle man.
Most stock photo sites sell their pictures in two different ways:
- Selling individual photos
- With a monthly subscription that allows for a certain number of downloads a month
Here are some examples of stock photography sites that are very successful:
If you want to start your own website to sell photos of yourself, its easy! I’ve created a step by step tutorial that will show you how to launch your website in an afternoon for less than $5 a month.
Another way to promote your site with a photography blog that teaches people how to great stock images themselves.
Another idea is to launch a YouTube channel where you show people how to use stock photos in their branding.
Create a name for yourself by teaching others how to take amazing selfies then, redirect them to your website where they can buy your beautiful photos.
Agora Images
Did you know that you can also get paid for photos of yourself by entering contests?
Agora has a lofty goal, to enable people to make money with their best photos by joining the biggest international photo contests.
How Agora Works
On AGORA images there are 4 user levels.
Your level as a photographer, and the price of your pictures, depend on the amount of stars you have accumulated.
Participate in Sponsored Contests with your best images to compete with other users on the platform and earn money or win prizes.
Tips for Selling Your Photos To Stock Image Sites
Improve your photography skills
Even if you are already good at taking photos, bear in mind that the better pictures you sell, the more money you will make.
Invest in a good camera and a ring light (you can get a cheap one from Amazon)
An editing app is also very useful, some good software is Lightroom which has a free app version.
Boost your online presence
If you want to be really successful on the stock photo websites, it can help to promote yourself and your photography business. Make sure you have an Instagram account with lots of great images as that will act as your portfolio.
Take a variety of photos
If you want to make money selling pictures of yourself, you will have a much higher success rate if you have lots of different good quality images to download.
Invest in a selfie stick and practise taking pictures from different angles and in different poses.
Get Paid For Pictures Of Yourself FAQs
Is it legal to sell photos for yourself?
Yes, you can sell a photo of yourself for profit with no worries as long as there is no one else in the photo.
Pictures of people are a little more complicated.
If you take a photo with friends or even with anyone in the background, you cannot sell it without first getting a release.
The other people in the photo must sign a release or you need to obtain a signed model release form.
How can I get paid for taking pictures of myself?
You can get paid for taking photos of yourself by selling them on stock photo library sites or your own website.
If you want to make money selling other types of photography, check out this list of 15 Best Stock Photo Sites To Sell Images.
Can I get paid for selfies?
Can you get paid for pictures of your body?
Yes! There is a huge market for photos highlighting certain body parts. In fact, I have a whole article on How To Sell Foot Pics For Money.
Another place where you can sell feet pics or other photos of your body (risque or otherwise) is by opening an OnlyFans account.
For more information on the more x-rated side of this, you can read my post on How To Sell Nudes Online (25 Tops Sites)
What is the best photo selling app?
What is the best place to sell photos online?
That really depends on the type of photos you are selling. Classic stock photos with beautiful scenery do well on the big sites like GettyImages while more edgy pictures can sell well on sites like InstaPrints.
Get Paid For Pictures Of Yourself – Final Thoughts
Many people dream of making money from home. They might picture themselves working in their pyjamas while sipping coffee, or perhaps they imagine spending more time with family and friends.
Although these dreams are achievable through work-from-home jobs like data entry, there is another option that allows you to make money by doing something you already love: taking photos!
There are many ways to sell your pictures so why not get started today?
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