This Website Pays up to $500 per Black-and-White Photo

How to Earn $500 per Photo: A Guide to The Sun Magazine Submissions

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash

In search of earnings on articles, I came across a site that is interested not only in them, but also in photos.

I have a large archive of photos, as this is one of my hobbies. I always take photos of everything and everywhere. So, I decided to try to send some of my photos.

What kind of photos are accepted?

After looking through several photos on the site, I realized that they accept various pictures that suit the editors: from people and buildings to animals, food, and nature. I started downloading photos that, in my opinion, are close to the site’s themes, or just non-standard.

Since all the photos on the site are black and white, I had to process each one; in addition, the photos shouldn’t be too heavy, and I also had to compress them. I will write about the sizes later.

If the editors like your photo, you will receive a message by email. If they don’t like it, you will also be notified.

How much do they pay?

So, the main question is payment:

Interior Photos — $200 each;
Cover Photos — $500 each;
A Thousand Words — $200 each;
Photo Essays — $200 each.

What is this platform?

The site is called The Sun Magazine, which publishes essays, fiction, poetry, interviews, and black-and-white photos. The site is a bit like Medium in that there are no ads, and authors are paid from subscriptions. But you can’t write an article or blog there yourself. The editor decides whether to publish materials.

Requirement

  • Image files must be black-and-white;
  • files must be in 72 dpi GIF, JPEG, PNG, or TIFF format;
  • individual files must be smaller than 2 MB;
  • model releases aren’t required for images taken in a public setting, but model releases are required if a person’s face is recognizable;
  • up to 30 photos can be sent at a time;
  • you can send an unlimited number of files with 30 photos;
  • you can see examples of photos on the website.

How to submit?

Just click the Submit Online button.

Screenshot by the author

Next, a form will open with an address that you need to fill out.

Screenshot by the author

Save the questionnaire — next time you won’t have to waste time on it, the data will be saved.

Screenshot by the author

Click on the button — Save address and Continue.

Next, you will see a page where you can attach photos. There is also a small form to fill out.

Screenshot by the author
Screenshot by the author

Add all the files, wait for them to load, and add a Cover Letter if you have something to say. I added it. After that, click Submit. You will see a message that the photos have been received, and you will be notified when they are checked. A letter with a similar message also came in the mail.

How many photos did they accept from me?

I sent 11 folders of photos; it took me several days to process them. I didn’t add 30 photos to all the folders; I wanted to divide them into categories to make it easier for the editors to choose.

Screenshot by the author

The photo review can take up to one month. I don’t remember how long it took them to get my photos, but I think it was two weeks. They responded to me with one letter. I thought they checked one folder. But to my surprise, they looked at all the photos and rejected them all. I was distraught. How could it be that out of about 250, not one was worthy…

Also, I didn’t get any detailed feedback about what was wrong with my photos.

Maybe later I’ll make a few more attempts to send some photos to this site, but for now, I don’t want to, because the time that I spent hasn’t paid off at all.

It could also be that the problem was in too much, or in what was shown in my photos. But it’s strange, because one of the photos I saw on their website was a plate of food folded into a smiley face, there were also stairs and other stuff… What brilliant works of art…

If I didn’t succeed, it doesn’t mean you won’t succeed… Good luck!

While I keep experimenting with photography platforms, I've already turned my best designs into something beautiful. If you're looking for something useful with a touch of art — visit my shop! 🦝

And what do you think about such earnings? Will you send your works, or is it a waste of time?

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