This Website Pays up to $500 per Black-and-White Photo
How to Earn $500 per Photo: A Guide to The Sun Magazine Submissions
The Technical Blueprint: Preparing Your Portfolio for Editorial Standards
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| A retro pop art graphic illustrating a freelance photographer preparing black-and-white landscape prints for editorial magazine submission guidelines |
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.
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| Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash |
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.
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| Online application portal for magazine photo submissions |
Next, a form will open with an address that you need to fill out.
.png "Sun Magazine black and white photography guidelines") |
| Editorial requirements for freelance photographer submissions |
Save the questionnaire - next time you won’t have to waste time on it, the data will be saved.
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| Registration form saving process for freelance authors |
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.
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| Personal information page for magazine contributors |
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| Image submission requirements and cover letter section |
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.
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| Portfolio feedback and review status for photographers |
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.
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| Photo by Juan Rodriguez Duarte |
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!
Searching for the reason behind such inconsistent results often leads creators deeper into the digital marketing space, where everyone promises a "secret formula" for success. We tend to look for universal growth strategies that can be applied to any platform, from photography sites to video hosting. However, many viral trends in content creation are built on outdated advice that simply wastes your time. After my experience with niche websites, I decided to put the most famous promotion tools and "hacks" for video creators to the test. To avoid the traps I fell into while trying to grow my audience, you should read my next report:
Insider Tip: while facing a complete editorial rejection after spending days converting your favorite archive into monochrome can be incredibly disheartening, it is also a vital part of every freelance photographer's journey. To speed up your workflow, achieve flawless contrast, and make your next batch of submissions look truly breathtaking, I highly recommend checking out the brilliant selection of
And what do you think about such earnings? Will you send your works, or is it a waste of time?
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Liked this article? If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog! I regularly share a high-quality mix of practical daily hacks, unusual real-life stories, and fascinating debunking articles. There is plenty of useful and interesting content coming your way. Subscribe to my newsletter, follow me on
Disclaimer: this article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
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