How to Make Money from Your Smartphone Pics
It’s a bit embarrassing just how many photos we take with our phones here at Brit HQ. Pretty much every event in our office is documented—from all angles. And for the most part they just get posted to Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter. But there are a few new companies that are looking to help us, and all of you, make a little extra cash off all those photos. Whether it’s by posting the photos you’ve already taken, or going “on assignment” we’re excited to expand our mobile photo skills, and maybe pocket a little change on the side. (photo via Photojojo)
1. Snapwire: Snapwire is a site that connects people who need photos with mobile photographers who will go out and photograph the requested assignment. So if you need a photo of a skyline (of a city you don’t live in) you can post a request for the photo on Snapwire. Then the photographers in that area can go out and shoot the photo you need, and respond to your ad. You pick the winner, and pay them for the photo.
What makes us really love Snapwire are the five values that make up their mission. We especially appreciate that they respect the photographers, and let them retain control of the copyright to their images, along with paying them for the photos they take.
Snapwire is currently still in private beta, but you can sign up for access to request and submit your photos here. We can’t wait to test it out!
2. Foap: If you’re more interested in just sharing the photos you already take, check out Foap, a mobile app and web marketplace for listing your digital photos for sale. So here, you have complete creative control with the subject matter. (Foap does have what they call Foap Missions as well, but all of those are for brands running contests, not peer-to-peer like Snapwire has the potential to be.)
When you’re ready to list a bunch of your photos, you can do so via the app. To keep quality control high, Foap asks users to rate five new photos for every photo they upload. Once you’ve rated your five photos, yours will be rated by the community. You have to have a rating of at least 2.5 in order to have your photo listed. After that your photo will appear in the marketplace and be available for anyone to purchase rights to use it for just $10, of which you’ll get half. The other half goes to Foap to cover costs of running the business. Before you upload, be sure to check the two different licenses available for your photos, and see how each photo can be used.
The best part about it is that each of your photos can be sold as many times as you want. There’s no limit to the number of people who can buy it, so you stand to make some serious dough just by sharing that amazing sunset you captured on your last vacation. And it’s so easy to sign up, you can probably do it the next time you’re waiting around at the doctor’s office or in line at the DMV.
3. Scoopshot If you’re more of a news junkie than a portrait or landscape photographer, try using Scoopshot. It’s a similar setup to Snapwire (and is currently more popular in Europe based on the photo requests posted), but you can get paid to take photos of news events happening near you, and even end up with a photo in print! In addition to actual news photos, you’ll see larger outlets like USA Today using Scoopshot to run photo contests. Currently, they are looking for high school athletes participating in summer practice sessions.
If you’re looking to get a photo published somewhere (even if it’s overseas), Scoopshot is the one to check out.
Have you ever made money off your mobile photos? Tell us how you did it, and which of these services you’ll check out in the comments.