The Tools & Strategies You Need

So, which is the best place to sell photos online? If you’re just starting out, selling photos on stock photo sites might seem like the easier option. But if you’re serious about making money from your photography, eventually you’ll want to sell your photos on your own website.

Another option is to sell digital downloads of your images or stock photography. With this method, buyers can download the high-resolution files and print them on their own or use them online. You’ll still need to set up a payment system and a way to deliver the files, but you’ll make more money per sale this way.

Photography services

Building your store on WordPress gives you an inherent advantage because WordPress was built for blogging! And unique, high-quality content is a cornerstone of being found when people search for you online. 

An exclusive license means that the buyer is the only person who can use the photo. The photographer cannot sell the same photo to anyone else while the exclusive license is in place.

Royalty-free license

Before you can make a living selling photographs online, you need to think about what you specifically want to sell. Physical prints of your photos? Digital downloads? 

One way to sell photos online is using a print on demand service. These companies print your images to order on one of dozens or hundreds of potential products. Once it’s ready, they ship the mug, calendar, t-shirt, or whatever it may be, directly to your customers. This way, you can sell your photos without having to worry about investing in inventory, purchasing special equipment, or shipping orders. The downside is that you’ll likely make less money per sale, and you won’t have as much control over the quality of the product or the customer experience. 

Digital downloads

Select the one that works best for your needs including your location, your target audience’s location, and your personal preferences. 

7. Set up shipping

You can also click across the top of the screen on each tab to customize specific aspects of your store. Let’s explore those specifics now. 

6. Pick payment gateway(s)

Or, perhaps you’re somewhere in the middle. You’ve sold some beautiful shots to a stock photography site and have a steady flow of shooting and editing, but you’d like to expand your business to make more passive income. 

In order to successfully sell photos online, your WooCommerce store will also need some standard pages like About, Contact, Terms and Conditions, Shipping and Returns, etc.

A royalty-free license means that the buyer does not have to pay the photographer every time they use the photo. The buyer only needs to pay for the photo once and can then use it an unlimited number of times.

Royalty-free extended license

The first step in building an online store is to choose a domain name and web host. A domain name is what visitors type into their browser to get to your site, like WooCommerce.com. If you don’t already have one, you can usually purchase one from your web hosting company.

A web license allows the buyer to use the photo on their website – that’s it. You can choose to offer variations of this license for corporate vs. nonprofit usage or even add stipulations for where and how many times the image can be used on a website. It’s totally up to you!

Exclusive license

Now that you have WordPress installed, it’s time to choose a theme. This influences the design and layout of your website. If you’re selling photos, you’ll probably want to choose a theme that’s clean and minimalistic so every image or stock photo can really shine.

Pricing is completely predictable; you pay for the functionality you need, not the number of sales you make.

Ease of use

Adding filters is a great way to let customers narrow down the results so they can find what they’re looking for more easily. For example, you might add filters for things like print size, print type, and price. Search functionality also helps customers find specifically what they’re looking for. Jetpack Search is one option here, offering advanced features like instant filters and spelling correction.

11. Install additional extensions for more features

Beyond that, you may also want to create pages to build trust with your visitors, explain important information, and demonstrate your expertise.

But if you’re stuck on how to create an online store to sell photos online, you’re in luck. WordPress and WooCommerce give you the power to bring your vision to life – while leaving you in full creative control. 

For example, if you love taking pictures of animals, you might consider becoming a pet photographer. This niche is growing in popularity, as more and more pet owners want professional photos of their furry friends.

stock photo of a dog on a blue dog bed

Take a minute to learn copyright basics

First, you need to make sure you have the copyright to the photo. Otherwise, you could be infringing on someone else’s intellectual property. 

Before you build anything, however, you need to pick a niche.

Choose a photography niche

With WooCommerce, you can quickly upgrade your hosting plan and switch providers if the need arises. You’ll also have more control over things like speed, and there’s no limit to the number of products and variations you can have. Learn more about how WooCommerce scales.

Security

No matter your specific situation, selling your photographs online is a great way to share your work and generate revenue.

You can find all of these settings by logging in to your WordPress dashboard and navigating to WooCommerce → Settings.

With WooCommerce, you own your data. This means you can export your products, customers, and order data at any time. On other platforms, you may be locked into their system and unable to get your data out. 

Flexibility

Other sites want more fresh, quality content just like you. Partnering to write guest posts on ones with similar audiences is a great way to spread your brand and gain links, which indicate to search engines that you have valuable information – like amazing stock photos – to share. 

4. Search engine optimization (SEO)

Thoroughly convinced? Now let’s walk through how you can build a store so you can quickly start selling your photographs online. 

Build your store

Check out this breakdown of the real-deal benefits of choosing WooCommerce over other ecommerce platforms:

Price

It should also include features like a gallery or portfolio to showcase your work, as well as integration with WooCommerce so you can start selling those photos.

demo of a WordPress theme on three devices

Some themes come with these types of layouts built in. But you can also use extensions like Product Photo and Video Gallery or Product Gallery Slider to achieve unique photo designs.

Stock photo sites are a great way to reach a large audience of potential buyers. And since the sites are already established, there’s no need for you to invest any time or money in setting up your own website. However, you’ll have less control over how your photos are presented and advertised. And since there’s so much competition, it can be hard to generate interest in your portfolio. 

The great news is that you may be able to mix and match the kinds of sales you make. Selling digital downloads of stock photos doesn’t prevent you from also offering products through print on demand companies or pitching photography services for those with custom requests. 

Choose an ecommerce platform

Install the extension you need, activate it, and connect the print on demand service to your WooCommerce store. 

10. Organize and display your photos

Learn more ecommerce SEO basics for beginners. 

5. Paid advertising

Input your store’s address (or general location) and customize the options, including selling locations, shipping locations, and your store’s default region. 

initial settings in WooCommerce

You’ll need to configure your tax settings as well. This includes things like sales tax and VAT.

You might need to adjust settings and features with your hosting provider as your business grows. After all, the last thing you want is for your site’s performance to crash during peak traffic times!

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your site so that you’re found when people are looking for what you have to offer. If you want to sell photos online, it’s an important skill to learn. Much of this has to do with the content on your site (which is why blogging is important), but engines like Google also consider technical elements like accessibility, site speed, and user experience. Finally, search engines look for other indications that vet the quality of your site – like links from others and mentions of your name or brand around the web (which is why writing guest posts can be helpful). 

So what are the best places to sell photos online? While it depends on the specific needs of your business, creating your own store is almost always a much better option than stock photography websites. 

Building an online store enables you to sell your photos and reach new audiences without having to worry about fees that are common with stock photography sites. And with WooCommerce, you can do it all yourself. 

Web hosts are what make your site available for people to view – pretty important if you want to sell photos online. They store your site files and serve them to visitors’ computers when they type in your domain name. Though there are several web hosting companies out there, we’ve put together a list of hosting solutions we recommend.

2. Install WordPress

WooCommerce is a highly flexible platform that allows you to mix and match features and functionality to create the perfect combination for your store. Other platforms may not offer the same level of customization.

Just like with shipping and payments, WooCommerce comes with a few different built-in options, as well as plenty of other tax methods available as plugins. WooCommerce Tax is a popular option that automatically calculates taxes based on location at checkout. 

9. Add photography products to your store

You can share about your latest photography session, provide tips and advice for others who want to learn the trade, or simply write about your latest inspirations. The key is to consistently write content related to your target audience. Your goal is not to create a sales letter, but instead provide helpful or interesting information. 

Here are a few extensions that are great for photographers:

  • WooCommerce Memberships: This extension lets you sell access to digital content, create subscription-based products, and more. This could be used to sell things like access to stock photo libraries.
  • WooCommerce Photography: This allows you to watermark each stock photo, protect your images, and create galleries, among other things.
  • Image Watermark: As the name suggests, this extension lets you watermark images in your store. This is a great way to protect your stock photos from being stolen or used without permission.
  • WooCommerce Bookings: This extension lets you sell appointments, rentals, and other time-based bookings. This could be used to schedule in-person photo shoots, print consultations, or other services.
  • WooCommerce Product Add-Ons: This extension lets you offer customization options for your products, like frame choices and matting options. On a stock photo product, for example, people could check a box to add a commercial license.

The Google Listings & Ads extension is a great way to create and manage product advertisements from within your WooCommerce dashboard and take advantage of free shopping listings. 

But you may choose to go a different route. Let’s explore each of your options in a bit more detail. 

Print on demand

You can also add a WordPress backup tool so that a copy of your site is saved in case of a security breach or even if you make a simple mistake. With something like Jetpack Backup, your site is saved in real-time, so all you have to do is pick a restore point and your store will be up and running again with a single click. All of your work and customer orders are safe!  

Beyond the subject of your photography, it’s a good idea to think about how your photos will be used. Will businesses use them on their website? Will people print and hang them in their homes?  Will they use them for their social media profiles? 

A creative commons license allows the buyer to use the photo for free in certain ways. For example, the buyer could use the photo on their website or in a blog post. However, they might not be able to sell the photo or use it for commercial purposes.

Public domain

Now that you have WordPress and a theme installed, it’s time to install the WooCommerce plugin so you can start setting up your store.

An editorial use license grants the buyer the right to use the photo for editorial purposes. This could include using the photo in a newspaper article or blog post. It does not allow the buyer to use the photo for commercial purposes like in advertising or on a product.

Commercial use license

Listing photos on your own website gives you a lot more control over the whole process than selling on stock photography sites. You can design your site however you want, advertise your photos however you’d like, and set your own prices. You also don’t have to worry about competition from other photographers selling photos online right next to yours. Plus, building your own site provides the added benefit of giving you access to superior analytics so you can make better decisions about how you promote your business.

One of the most important settings to configure is your payment gateway. This is how you’ll actually get paid when you sell your photos online.

However, you may want to offer multiple license types for the same stock photo. In this case, you’ll want to select “Variable product,” and select Downloadable

Today we’ll discuss how to sell photographs online and cover everything from choosing a niche to building your store the right way. 

Why you should sell photos on your own site

Social media is great for stock photography marketing because you’re naturally creating content that people want to follow. As your audience grows, you can share your newest images with thousands of people at a time. Read our article about choosing a social media platform, but you can bet that Instagram and Pinterest will be great options to pursue. 

2. Email marketing

Social media is a great way to reach new audiences and promote your products. This is especially true if your customers will primarily be individuals rather than businesses.

A rights-managed license means that the buyer must pay the photographer every time they use the photo. The fee depends on how the photo will be used.

Creative commons license

These are just a few examples, but there are plenty of other extensions available for WooCommerce stores.

12. Add pages to your photography store

A royalty-free extended license allows the buyer to use the photo in ways that are not typically allowed under a regular royalty-free license. For example, the buyer could use the photo on a product or in an advertisement.

Rights-managed license 

After you’ve chosen your web hosting company and registered your domain name, the next step is to install WordPress. This can usually be done with a single click from your web hosting control panel or cPanel. If not, don’t worry; it’s still pretty easy. Just follow along with the official WordPress.org guides on how to install WordPress with popular hosting plans.

3. Choose a WordPress theme

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A commercial use license allows the buyer to use the photo for any commercial purpose, including advertising and marketing. The buyer does not need to get permission from the photographer before using the photo commercially.

Print license

WooCommerce is designed to be easy to use, even for beginners. Where other platforms can be complicated and time-consuming to set up, you can get started with WordPress and WooCommerce in a matter of minutes.

Then, you’ll need to scroll down the page and configure the specifics about your product. If you’re selling just a single type of product or stock photo, you’ll want to use the “Simple product” type. If selling digital downloads of stock photography, be sure to click the box next to Downloadable

Learn more about ecommerce shipping. 

8. Set up taxes

This helps you narrow your audience further and identify potential search terms to target. Once you have some ideas in mind, do some research on the subject and see what other photographers are doing.

You can also take additional measures to secure your store, like installing a WordPress security plugin or using two-factor authentication. 

If you plan on selling other products in the future, make sure to choose a theme that’s easily customizable and can be adapted as your business grows.

4. Install the WooCommerce plugin

Now that you know why selling photos on your own website is the best option, let’s take a look at how to build an online store.

1. Select a web hosting company and domain name

Launching your store is a huge accomplishment – congratulations! Now you can turn more of your focus towards attracting the right people and converting them into customers. Marketing your online store is an entirely different discipline, but it’s one you can learn about and improve over time. WooCommerce has dozens of helpful articles to help you learn marketing strategies for your online store. Here are some jumping-off points for inspiration: 

1. Social media

For instance, if you’re selling digital photographs, you’ll need a platform that makes it easy to showcase your work and sell photo downloads. At the same time, you’ll want one that won’t break the bank and that can scale as your business grows.

Some of the top themes for photographers include:

  • Affiche: Designed specifically to showcase prints, you’ll be ahead of the game with this clean, modern theme. It’s block-based and completely responsive, so it’s easy to customize and will look great on every device.
  • Frame: Built to help visitors navigate large catalogs of products and categories, this theme is great if you serve multiple niche audiences. Quickly display your most popular images and direct visitors to groups of photos perfect for them. 
  • Emoly: Take advantage of unique layouts and gallery displays to stand out from cookie-cutter sites. This is perfect for artists with intricate styles and has lots of features to design your own look. 
  • Hotel: This is a particularly great option if your goal is to book sessions or showcase your work for custom sales. It integrates with WooCommerce Bookings so you can get started quickly. 
  • Storefront: This is a great free, go-to theme that’s simple to set up and integrates perfectly with WooCommerce. With more than six million downloads, it’s a proven option that checks all the boxes.

Are you an amateur photographer looking for ways to monetize your passion? Are you a pro looking for a new way to make some extra cash? 

If you’re selling physical products yourself instead of just selling photos online, you’ll need to set up shipping. First, select a shipping zone, which allows you to apply a set of rules to those in a specific geographic region. These rules dictate the shipping methods and rates available. To add a shipping zone, all you need to do is go to WooCommerce → Settings, then click on the tab that says Shipping. Click the button that reads Add shipping zone

adding a shipping method in WooCommerce

You can add as many shipping zones as you want to meet the needs of your customers. 

While it may seem like common sense that the person who took the photo owns the rights, this might not always be the case. For example, if you took the photo during the course of your employment, your employer may own the rights. 

We’ve barely scratched the surface, so learn more in our guide for Google Search Ads for Beginners. 

Sell photographs online 

It integrates seamlessly with major payment providers, like PayPal and Stripe, as well as international options and digital wallets, like Apple Pay and Amazon Pay. This makes it easy to sell your photos to a global audience. And with the WooCommerce Payments extension, you can manage all your transactions directly from your WordPress dashboard, making it even easier to get paid for your work. 

Scalability

When customers arrive on your site, how will they browse your selection? You might want to display a grid of thumbnail images on your store’s homepage, with each image linking to the product page for that stock photo. Or, you might want to showcase a slideshow of featured products.

Now, set up the methods that will be available for each zone. For example, you might offer free shipping to those in your immediate area, and flat rate shipping to all of the other zones. If you want to get even more detailed, you can use the Table Rate Shipping extension to create detailed rules based on weight, cart total, and more.

Most serious customers will search specific keywords – “art deco architecture pictures,” “pet hamster photos” – not generic terms like “photos for sale.” 

A public domain license means that the photo is not protected by copyright and can be used by anyone for any purpose.

When it comes to photography, it pays to focus on a niche. Not only will this help you connect better with your audience, it will also make it easier to sell your photographs online.

WooCommerce is free to use and open-source (as is WordPress), while other platforms can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month. Though you will need to purchase a hosting plan and domain name, the costs are very reasonable – about $120-$150 a year for hosting and $12-$20 a year for a domain name.

The most relevant option for those selling photographs online, however, is WooCommerce Payments, which allows you to accept payments in more than 135 currencies via credit card, debit card and express pay options like Google Pay and Apple Pay, among others. 

Ready to earn money with your photos? Get started today!