Stock photography is not a get-rich-quick scheme and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling a course. It is, however, a real and repeatable income for photographers who treat it as a catalogue business: shoot what buyers need, keyword it properly, upload steadily, and let a growing library compound.
What it pays
Most sites pay contributors 15–40% of an image’s price. Photofolio pays up to 65%, and pays in pounds. A Standard image sells for 1 credit (£6); a Premium image for 3 credits. Subscription downloads are paid from the allocation the subscriber used. You can see exactly what you will earn per download on the sell your work page, which has a calculator.
What sells
Not sunsets. The steady sellers are working life, small business, health and education, British places and seasons, industry and infrastructure, and clean images with copy space. Read what stock photos sell in the UK for the detail, and check our published zero-result searches — those are open briefs.
Getting started
- Apply on the sell your work page. It takes a few minutes; we review portfolios by hand.
- Upload 20–50 of your strongest commercially useful images first, with releases where people appear.
- Write titles and captions a picture editor would write, and 15–40 accurate keywords. Our keywording guide shows how.
- Add steadily: a few images a week beats a hundred once a year.
Non-exclusive
Photofolio does not ask for exclusivity. Sell the same work elsewhere if you like. We would rather win your uploads on the share we pay and the way we treat you.
Payouts
Withdraw by PayPal or bank transfer once your balance reaches £25. Your contributor dashboard shows every sale as it happens.