The Best Platform for Selling Photos Online: A Guide for Photographers
Producing beautiful photos is the goal for every photographer.
The real challenge - and opportunity - lies in effectively delivering your work and consistently making money from it.
The online photo market is booming and there’s no reason you can’t have a piece of the pie.
So what exactly is the best platform for selling your photos online?
This guide cuts through the confusion to help you discover the ideal platform to generate income from your photography.
Understanding Your Needs - Beyond Basic File Storage
The first step to selling your photos online is knowing what you need - is basic data storage and file sharing ability enough?
No.
Not if you want to grow your business and make regular income from photo sales.
You can transfer photos via cloud services and online file sharing platforms. Functionally, it works. But there are some important questions to ask yourself before you settle for this method:
Do you want your photo delivery to look and feel professional?
Is client experience important to you?
Is it easy for clients to buy from you and receive their deliverables?
How important is managing, protecting and monitoring access to your work?
Do you want to sell printed photos as well as digitals?
If presentation, monetization and professionalism are important to you, it’s time to ditch generic, unbranded file sharing platforms and look for a dedicated online photo sales platform.
Easy isn’t Enough - Why File Sharing Falls Short
It’s difficult to change tack when you’re used to sharing photos with clients via platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer [LINK TO EACH] or even email.
But serious online sales and longevity as a professional photographer requires a serious upgrade in the photo display and delivery department.
It may have been good while it lasted - when your photo output, business needs and sales ambitions were low - but stop and take stock of what basic file sharing sites lack when it comes to photo sales and delivery:
Professionalism & branding: No custom branding or personalization. Functional file sharing sites look and feel generic and cheap. The presentation of photos is purely functional; not remarkable in any way
No sales functionality: Generic platforms are not intended as an e-commerce solution. You can't directly make sales or offer upsells or promotions in-house, which leads to missed money-making opportunities
Subpar client experience: Viewing photos is clunky and unattractive. There’s no intuitive way for clients to select favorites, share easily, leave you a review, or place an order.
Inefficient workflow: There are minimal, if any, automation, communication and customization features. Sharing photos feels transactional rather than the thoughtful, guided experience it can be. There’s an increased admin load trying to piece your sales process together outside the software
Limited control & security: Basic security generally exists but features tailored for selling photos don’t. Access can be difficult to manage, watermarking isn’t available, and custom download permissions not an option
Elevating Your Business: The Power of an Online Gallery Platform
Deciding to sell your photos via a dedicated online gallery software is the next best step in getting serious about increasing your photography-based income online.
More than a simple storage solution; it’s a comprehensive business tool designed to elevate every aspect of your photo sales and fulfillment workflow.
Let’s review exactly what a purpose-built gallery platform brings to the table and what to look for when choosing yours:
Beautifully showcased photos - images are the star of show, presented boldly in easy to digest and aesthetically pleasing ways. Incorporate your own branding, sort and order photos however you like and create a fully immersive experience by embracing hybrid galleries
Permissions & control - customize the level of gallery security, usage terms and watermark features. Select who has access to which photos, who receives them for free, who needs to pay, who can share photos and how etc.
Efficient delivery - not only can clients immediately see their photos (no click to display required) they’re easy to purchase, share and download in just a couple of clicks. Photo display and delivery works on desktop and a dedicated mobile app for on-the-go convenience. The gallery is integrated with professional photo labs for automated product fulfillment and shipping. In-house AI-powered functionality to search, sort and share photo efficiently is available
Profitable sales - opportunity to streamline on-the-spot photo sales and upsell with automated campaigns, promotional offers and in-house product design ability. Expand sales to the client’s network of family, friends and colleagues. Offer digital and print products as well as related add-ons like slideshows, video, gallery backup and photo art galleries. Automate fulfillment and customize product offerings
Customisable & flexible - adjust designs to suit your style, change settings to suit your needs, expand your storage as required
Elevated customer experience - transform your client journey from average to exceptional. Wow them with sophisticated design, ease-of-use, fully-featured galleries and online shop, done-for-you customer support, and an immersive overall experience far beyond what’s possible in standard file sharing platforms
Other Types of Online Photo Sales Platforms
In addition to dedicated online photo gallery and sales software, there are other options to consider when looking to sell your photos online, depending on your goals and intent:
STOCK PHOTO SITES - established shared media library sites photographers contribute their photos to for individuals, organizations and media outlets to purchase on a per use and type of use basis. There are premium stock photo sites, micro stock sites and niche-specific sites. Commissions are typically small but stock photo sales can be profitable once you’ve contributed many photos and / or if you figure out what’s popular and regularly searched for, then shoot specifically for it. Some stock photo sites are free to contribute to, while others require an application process. Payment is a portion of the licensing fee
Examples: ShutterStock, 123RF, iStock, Adobe Stock
DIGITAL MARKETPLACES - similar concept to stock photo sites, digital marketplaces can include various types of media and assets for sale such as music, fonts, templates, photos, videos, mockups etc. Users are generally required to pay to market their assets and / or the platform takes a commission of each sale. Decent profit typically comes from volume of sales
Examples: Envato, Creative Market, Etsy
SELF-MANAGED E-COMMERCE - for those who want to sell photos to the general public via their own online store. This gives photographers complete control and generally involves no commission on sales. Outlay is in the ongoing subscription to the software or plugin. Self-managing sales requires significant setup and greater personal responsibility over marketing, sales, fulfilment and technical support
Examples: WooCommerce, Shopify, Square, Big Commerce, Big Cartel
Finding Your Ideal Platform for Profitable Online Photo Sales
If you’re serious about selling your photos online, doing it well and making a profit, the investment into a purpose-built gallery and online store platform for photographers is the only way to go.
You don’t need anything but your time to get started - free trials are available, as well as free plans and various plan options to suit your individual needs and business goals.
Setting up your own online gallery and shop - either for the general public or customizable on a per client basis - opens up a whole new world of professionalism and sales opportunity.
You can sell your photos to clients, to their networks and to the general public, while supporting your business operation and growth with a whole suite of sales, marketing and workflow tools designed to save you time and make you money.
Ditch basic file sharing platforms for profitable, professional photo delivery and start selling your photos online today.
