
Ever wonder if you can actually get paid for pictures of yourself?
I’m not talking about some shady side hustle, you really can turn your selfies or personal photos into cash.
Whether you love taking selfies, snapping lifestyle shots, or just have a knack for photography, there are legit ways to sell pictures online and make money.
From stock photo websites to apps that pay for selfies, brands, marketers, and even authors are constantly on the lookout for high-quality images they can use for social media, marketing campaigns, or book covers.
As the owner of a personal finance website, I’m constantly on the other side of this transaction, too. I personally spend hundreds of dollars buying images from these exact types of stock photo sites for the articles here on MoneyPantry. This gives me a unique perspective on what kind of pictures real businesses are actually willing to pay for.
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You don’t need to be a professional photographer to start earning.
In this guide, I’ll share the top platforms where you can sell your photos, how much you can expect to make, and tips to protect your images.
If you’ve been searching for ways to monetize your selfies, start a photo side hustle, or simply get paid for pictures of your body online, you’re in the right place.
By the end, you’ll know exactly where to upload your pictures, how to price them, and which sites are the most beginner-friendly so you can start making money from the camera in your pocket.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks: Best Ways to Get Paid for Your Pictures
- Best for Royalties (Stock Photography): Shutterstock
- Best for Print-on-Demand Products: Redbubble
- Best for Building Your Own Brand: SmugMug
Stock Photo Websites to Sell Your Photos Online
Stock photo websites are the classic online marketplaces where brands, marketers, and content creators go to find high-quality, royalty-free images.
These platforms make it easy to monetize your photography, from lifestyle shots and selfies to professional-quality portraits.
All you have to do is upload your pictures, and the site handles everything from licensing to sales.
Each time someone downloads your image, you earn a royalty, turning your personal photos into a steady stream of passive income.
These sites are perfect for beginners and experienced photographers alike who want to get paid for their pictures online, sell stock photos, or even build a digital portfolio for commercial use.
1. Getty Images
- Royalty Rate: 20% for photos, 25% for videos
- Best For: Professional, high-end, and exclusive-looking content
- Payout Method: PayPal or Payoneer
You can become a Getty Images contributor and earn money selling your photos. It only accepts applications for photos through the Contributor by Getty Images app, which you can get for iOS and Android.
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For content licensed through Getty Images, rates are 20% for royalty-free still images and 25% for royalty-free video clips.
Getty Images is the parent company of iStockPhoto. Based on where they think your content will sell best, Getty Images editors will decide to publish your work either on iStock by Getty Images or Getty Images.
2. Adobe Stock
- Royalty Rate: 33%
- Best For: Beginners and creatives with a large portfolio (integrates with Adobe Creative Cloud)
- Payout Method: PayPal, Payoneer, or Skrill
If you have high-quality photos and you own all the rights, you can sign up to become an Adobe Stock artist with your Adobe ID and start uploading. It’s free.
When you sell images on Adobe Stock, you earn 33% royalties. It’s another one to try if you want to sell selfies.
3. Shutterstock
- Royalty Rate: Up to 40% (rate increases as you sell more)
- Best For: High-volume contributors with diverse, commercially-safe photos
- Payout Method: PayPal, Payoneer, or Skrill
Shutterstock is a global marketplace for artists and creators to sell royalty-free images. On there, you can sell photos of yourself.
If you want to sell your photos on Shutterstock, you’ll need to sign up for a free contributor account.
You can then upload your photos to the site. You’ll make money every time your content is downloaded by one of the site’s customers. You can earn up to 40% commission.
4. Alamy
- Royalty Rate: Up to 50%
- Best For: A wide variety of images, including editorial and niche topics
- Payout Method: PayPal, Skrill, or Bank Transfer
Known for paying a higher royalty rate, Alamy offers up to 50% of any sale. It’s a great platform for a wide variety of photo styles.
5. 123RF
- Royalty Rate: Up to 60%
- Best For: Contributors looking for a high commission rate on a global platform
- Payout Method: PayPal, Payoneer, or Skrill
123RF is a stock photo website where you can sell photos of yourself. Sign up as a 123RF Content Contributor to get started selling photos.
You can earn up to 60% commission whenever a buyer downloads your content.
6. Dreamstime
- Royalty Rate: Up to 60% for exclusive contributors
- Best For: Building a long-term portfolio on a well-established site
- Payout Method: PayPal, Payoneer, or Skrill
A popular community for royalty-free photos where you can earn a 25% to 60% revenue share, with extra bonuses for exclusive content.
7. Depositphotos
- Royalty Rate: 30% to 38% (based on contributor level)
- Best For: Consistent contributors who can level up to earn higher commissions
- Payout Method: PayPal, Payoneer, or Skrill
Depositphotos is a royalty-free stock image website. The amount of commission that you earn depends on your Contributor’s Level.
The more sales you have, the higher your Contributor’s Level, and the higher your Contributor’s Level, the bigger your royalties.
Royalties for photos vary from 30% to 38%. You can also get paid from $0.25 to $0.33 for images sold through Subscription plans.
8. BigStock
- Royalty Rate: Per-download rate, starting at $0.25
- Best For: Selling large quantities of straightforward commercial photos
- Payout Method: PayPal or Skrill
A straightforward stock image site where you earn based on the buyer’s plan, starting at $0.25 per download and increasing with volume.
You keep the copyrights to your work.
9. EyeEm
- Royalty Rate: 50% for sales on their own marketplace
- Best For: Photographers with a more artistic or authentic social media style
- Payout Method: PayPal
A photography community and marketplace where you can upload and sell your photos for commercial use.
Print-on-Demand Sites for Selling Your Photos on Products
With these platforms, you upload your images and they are sold on physical products like phone cases, art prints, and t-shirts.
The company handles all the printing and shipping; you just collect a commission.
10. Redbubble
- Royalty Rate: You set your own markup (default is 20%)
- Best For: Artists and designers who want to sell their images on a huge variety of products
- Payout Method: PayPal or Direct Deposit (ACH)
On Redbubble, you can sell your images on a wide range of products, such as:
- T-shirts
- Mugs
- Stickers
- Phone cases
- Pillows
Simply upload your images, and Redbubble will print them when the customer makes a purchase. The site will handle everything from printing to shipping for you.
Redbubble doesn’t take a set commission. Instead, the site has a base price for each product. This is what it costs the site to print and sell your product, basically. Then you set your own commission per sale. This is your artist margin. By default, this is set to 20%, but you can change it. Then the final retail price the customer pays = the base price + the artist margin.
11. Society6
- Royalty Rate: 10% on most products (with ability to set higher markups on prints)
- Best For: Unique, artistic designs and home décor products
- Payout Method: PayPal
Society6 is a website where you can sell your images on a variety of products such as:
- Phone cases
- Home décor items
- Apparel
- Art prints
- Wall art
- Tapestries
- Stickers
If you take high-quality photos, you could sell them through the site. Just upload your designs, and Society6 will handle the printing and shipping when a customer purchases one of your items.
You get 10% commission on sales, but you can set your own prices above the standard 10% for art prints, framed prints, and canvas prints. You can also earn an extra 10% on sales you refer through the site’s affiliate program.
12. FineArtAmerica
- Royalty Rate: You set your own markup
- Best For: Professional photographers selling high-quality prints and framed art
- Payout Method: PayPal or Check
Another website you could consider is FineArtAmerica. The site allows you to sell original art, prints, home décor, apparel, and more to millions of buyers from all around the world.
FineArtAmerica offers a print-on-demand service that allows you to sell your images on a range of items, such as:
- Prints
- Greeting cards
- Phone cases
- Tech accessories
- Lifestyle products
- Digital downloads
- Apparel
You can set your own prices on the site. FineArtAmerica sets a base price for each product that it manufactures, and you get to add a markup on top of that. The amount that you set as your markup is the amount you’ll earn from the sale.
13. miPic
- Royalty Rate: Up to 20% commission
- Best For: Selling mobile photography as art and lifestyle products
- Payout Method: PayPal
miPic is a social marketplace for artists and photographers to print, share, and sell their pictures as art, fashion, and lifestyle products.
You can sell products from a simple upload. You can earn up to 20% commission on every sale.
14. Instaprints
- Royalty Rate: You set your own markup
- Best For: Selling Instagram photos on a variety of print products
- Payout Method: PayPal
A print-on-demand selling platform where you can upload your photos and sell prints, home décor, and apparel. You set your prices and they handle the rest.
Freelance Marketplaces
On these sites, you sell your photos directly to clients or offer your photography skills as a service. This gives you more control over your pricing.
15. Fiverr
- Royalty Rate: You keep 80% of your earnings
- Best For: Offering custom photo packages as a “gig” for specific client needs
- Payout Method: PayPal, Payoneer, or Direct Deposit
Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelance services. You can find freelance work in more than 200 categories there.
Create a “gig” to offer your services, such as “I will provide 10 custom selfies for your brand.” You set your own price, from $5 to $10,000.
16. Snapped4u
- Royalty Rate: You keep 88% to 90% of sales
- Best For: Event and portrait photographers selling photos directly to clients
- Payout Method: PayPal
If you have some photos of yourself at events, then try Snapped4u. It’s a website where you can sell photos of events. You can post event photography and portrait shoots and get paid.
You have to pay a $10 registration fee. The site takes a commission of 10% to 12%. The maximum photo price is $20.
Apps for Mobile Photographers to Sell Photos
These apps and platforms are designed for selling photos taken directly from your smartphone.
17. Foap
- Royalty Rate: 50% (you earn $5 on a $10 sale)
- Best For: Casual mobile photographers selling authentic, real-life photos
- Payout Method: PayPal
Foap is a site that connects creators with brands who are looking to purchase visual content for their online marketing.
When a brand, agency, or another customer purchases a video or photo from your online Foap portfolio, you get a 50% commission. Foap sells images for $10 each so you can earn $5 per sale.
18. Stockimo
- Royalty Rate: 20%
- Best For: iPhone users who want to sell their mobile photos on the Alamy marketplace
- Payout Method: PayPal
If you want to get paid for pictures of yourself through an app, try Stockimo. It’s an app for iOS devices that you can use to sell your images on Alamy.
So, you can sell your iPhone photos with the Stockimo app. Unfortunately, the app isn’t available for Android devices, but you can try the other options on the list instead if you do have an Android phone. Stockimo will pay you 20% of every sale you make.
19. Scoopshot
- Royalty Rate: Varies by task or sale
- Best For: Participating in photo contests and tasks assigned by brands
- Payout Method: Direct payments via the app
With Scoopshot, you can upload your photos to the site’s marketplace where people can purchase them.
When you submit photos and videos, they become available for sale in the Scoopshot store. When a photo or video is purchased, you’ll get a notification right to your phone and your balance will be updated on your Profile.
20. ClickASnap
- Royalty Rate: Pays per view (up to 0.9¢ per view)
- Best For: Gaining exposure and earning small amounts as more people view your photos
- Payout Method: PayPal
ClickASnap is unique because it’s a photo-sharing platform that pays you based on how many times your photos are viewed.
While the per-view payout is small, it can add up over time as you build a following on the site.
For more details, chekc out my review of it titled “Is ClickASnap Legit“.
Premium & Independent Platforms
These sites offer more tools to help you build your own brand, create a professional portfolio, or sell directly to your own audience.
21. 500px
- Royalty Rate: Up to 60% (free members) or 100% (paid members) on exclusives
- Best For: Professional photographers building a high-quality portfolio
- Payout Method: PayPal or Direct Deposit (ACH)
500px is a photography community online. You can sell your photos on there and you keep your copyright. The best aspect of the site is that you can get paid up to 60% to 100% royalties.
Paid members can earn up to 100% royalties and free users can earn up to 60% on content licensed exclusively with 500px.
22. SmugMug
- Royalty Rate: You keep 85% of the markup you set
- Best For: Creating a professional, personal website to sell your photos directly
- Payout Method: PayPal or Direct Deposit (ACH)
SmuMug allows you to sell your photos. You can set your own pricing for your photos.
To sell there, you will need to get a subscription. Currently, you can get the money back from your subscription after you’ve made $500 in profits selling on the site. SmugMug partners with print labs to put your photos on canvas, metal, glass, paper, and keepsakes.
23. PhotoShelter
- Royalty Rate: You keep 85% of the markup you set
- Best For: Creating a professional, personal website to sell your photos directly
- Payout Method: PayPal or Direct Deposit (ACH)
With PhotoShelter, you can create an online store for your photography without any coding skills. It offers tools you can use to design your own store and sell your photos.
The platform is not free to use. There’s a free trial though that you can use to try out the site.
24. PicFair
- Royalty Rate: 100% (you set your price; PicFair adds its 20% commission on top for the buyer to pay)
- Best For: Photographers who want total control over the price they earn
- Payout Method: PayPal
With PicFair, you can have your own photography store. You can launch your PicFair store in minutes. The site handles things like payments, producing your prints, and shipping them. You can have your prints shipped anywhere in the world.
You can set your own prices. The site charges a flat commission rate of 20% on every image you sell. But, this commission is added to the buyer’s total price. So, the price that you set is the amount you will receive when you make the sale. Let’s say you set the price of the photo at $20. You’ll earn $20, and the buyer will pay $24 with the extra $4 going to PicFair.
25. Etsy
- Royalty Rate: You set your own price (Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee + other fees)
- Best For: Selling physical prints or digital downloads with a handmade or artistic feel
- Payout Method: Direct Deposit
If you have some great photos, you could consider selling them on Etsy. You can sell prints of your photos or design items with your photos on them, like mugs, mats, and rugs. You can also sell digital products on Etsy. So, you could sell digital copies of your photos. You can set your own rates.
Etsy does charge listing fees. You’re charged a listing fee of $0.20 for each item that you list for sale on Etsy.com or Etsy’s mobile apps.
When your item sells, you will be charged a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price you display for each listing plus the amount you charge for delivery and gift wrapping.
26. Wirestock
- Royalty Rate: You keep 85% of all royalties
- Best For: Photographers who want to easily submit to multiple stock agencies at once
- Payout Method: PayPal, Payoneer, or Skrill
A platform that simplifies the process of selling on multiple stock photo marketplaces at once. You upload to Wirestock, and they distribute it for you, with you keeping 85% of all royalties earned.
Sell Directly with Your Own Website
If you want to get paid for pictures of yourself, the ultimate way to control your brand and keep 100% of the profits is to sell photos from your own website.
This requires more work, but the payoff can be huge.
To make things easier, there are many eCommerce platforms out there that can integrate with your website.
Basically, you use eCommerce solutions to sell stuff through your own branded website.
These solutions all have their own features, but, typically, most will provide you with payment processing and a cart that can easily be integrated into your website.
Here are some great eCommerce solutions:
And, if you want to sell your photos on products, as sites like Redbubble and Society6 allow you to do, you can use print-on-demand services to produce your products for you. One you can try is Printify.
What Kind of Pictures Sell the Most? (A Buyer’s Perspective)
As someone who buys stock photos every week, I can tell you that we’re rarely looking for glamorous selfies.
We’re looking for authentic, real-life photos that tell a story. Here are the categories that are always in high demand:
- Lifestyle & Everyday Moments: Photos of you working on a laptop, drinking coffee, laughing with a friend, or organizing your desk. These are incredibly valuable for blogs and marketing.
- Hobbies & Skills: Pictures of you gardening, painting, working out, or cooking. These are perfect for niche websites.
- Business & Work Concepts: Photos of you in a home office setting, looking frustrated at a computer, or celebrating a success. These are very popular for corporate use.
- Body Parts (The Non-Obvious Ones): This is a huge market. We’re not talking about nudes, but pictures of hands typing, feet walking on a trail, or a person’s back as they look out a window. These are used everywhere in advertising and on blogs.
Pro Tips for Selling Pictures of Yourself Safely and Profitably
Here are a few tips that can come in handy.
1. Understand the Lingo: “Royalty-Free” vs. “Rights-Managed”
Most stock photo websites license images as “royalty-free.”
That means a buyer pays once and can use your photo multiple times (and you can sell the same image to many different buyers.)
It’s a volume game that can turn into a steady revenue stream if you upload consistently.
“Rights-Managed,” on the other hand, gives a buyer exclusive rights for a specific use.
It usually pays more per sale but limits how often or where you can sell that photo.
So always check the licensing type and know exactly what rights you’re granting (this protects your images and your income.)
From my experience buying stock photos for marketing campaigns, I almost always go for royalty-free images. They’re more flexible and tend to sell better for contributors looking to maximize earnings.
2. Quality is Everything: Use Good Lighting
You don’t need a professional studio, but you do need good, natural light.
Photos that are dark, blurry, or grainy will be rejected by every platform.
Stand near a window or shoot outdoors on an overcast day for the best, softest light that looks professional.
3. Always Use a Model Release for Commercial Use
If you’re selling photos of yourself for commercial purposes (like ads, promotional campaigns, or product marketing) every legitimate stock photo site requires a signed model release.
This is a legal document that gives them permission to use your image commercially.
Most platforms provide templates, so make sure you submit one with each photo when needed.
Protecting your rights ensures you get paid fairly and avoids legal issues down the line.
Frequently Asked Questions About Selling Photos of Yourself Online
Here are the answers to some of the common questions about selling selfies and pictures in general.
Basically, it means someone pays once and can use your photo as much as they want. You can sell that same pic to a bunch of people, so it’s all about volume.
Keep it simple: use natural light, no blurry shots, and a clean background. Sharp, clear pics always sell better.
Yep, if your photos will be used for ads or products. It’s just a legal form saying they can use your image. Easy to get, and most sites provide a template.
Yes, most platforms allow non-exclusive licensing, meaning you can sell the same image across various sites. However, some sites may offer higher commissions for exclusive content, so keep that in mind.
Add a watermark, show only low-res previews, register your copyright, or track usage with services like Pixsy.
Check the site’s rules, think about how unique and high-quality your pic is, and adjust from there.
Yes, platforms like Dreamstime and 500px are known for being beginner-friendly. They offer straightforward submission processes and resources to help new photographers get started.
For sure! Just make sure your lighting and composition are solid. People online don’t care if it’s a phone pic as long as it looks good.
Make Money with the Camera in Your Pocket
Believe it or not, you really can make money selling pictures of yourself. Thanks to social media and the rise of online marketplaces, there are tons of platforms where you can sell selfies, lifestyle shots, or personal photos and actually get paid.
It’s one of the easiest ways to start a side hustle. You already carry a camera in your pocket. With a bit of persistence, some creativity, and the right platforms, you could turn your photos into a steady income stream.
And the best part?
With so many websites and apps that let you sell selfies and get paid for pictures online, getting started has never been simpler. Your next money-making opportunity might be just a click away!
I’m feeling great and energized, off to the gym with my straw-nana smoothie!
Lol! I am glad this post got you feeling great ands energized Bella. Have a great workout!