Shutterstock – Submit Photos For Money

When I first began to submit my photos to Shutterstock, I wasn’t sure that I was going to make any money.  I must admit that it took more than one try to be accepted there as a contributor, and my current portfolio is very small, but it was more than worth the effort.  I consistently make sales at Shutterstock on a portfolio of less than one hundred images.  In fact, only iStockphoto earns me more, and the difference in earnings between the two sites is pretty small.

The Shutterstock application process consists of first submitting ten images for approval, as well as a rather easy Online test.  Seven out of ten images need to be approved in order to be accepted.  If less than seven images are approved, you have to wait a fully thirty days to try again.  These images need to be at least 4.0 MP and they are especially demanding on the quality of these initial submissions.  So, only upload your very best images.

In my first attempt to become a contributor at Shutterstock, six out of ten images were accepted.  In my case, they seemed to prefer my textures, as five out of the six approved images I chose to submit were textures.  In my second attempt, eight out of ten images were approved, four of which were textures.  I had spent my month of waiting honing my skills, specifically with the intention of reapplying.

After being accepted, I found that they were a little more accepting of my photos.  In fact, I have overall about an 80% acceptance rate there, which I hear is pretty good.  Unlike iStockphoto, they will accept a lot of my more “artistic” images such as HDR photos and certain abstract textures.

Since Shutterstock operates on a subscription model. you won’t make a lot of money for each download.  You will however get a lot of downloads.  In fact, it is typical to make about $0.25 t0 $1.88 per download, depending on which subscription type the customer has.  Consistently uploading new images, which I actually don’t do, keeps your images near the top of the results.  iStockphoto tends to give more weight to older images, but Shutterstock takes the opposite approach.  Adding new photos daily will not only build a bigger portfolio, but will keep a few images in the front pages of a search result.  Both will result in more money.

You will first need to go the Shutterstock For Contributors website and register.  Once you have registered you will receive further instructions on how to submit your initial photos.  Once you are approved you will make money for your photos!