Smartphones are making almost anyone believe they can become professional photographers. Well, there's the good old Social Media that enables such pipe dreams. Well, the truth is, you can actually make money selling photos online through sites like Dreamstime.com. If you are a photographer at any capacity, and wondering whether this is true, you might have come across a couple of Dreamstime reviews.
If you're still wondering whether it's legit or not and want to know more about it, read this review and you'll know exactly where you stand.
What is Dreamstime?
Dreamstime, found at www.Dreamstime.com is a Stock Photography company that claims to be able to pay people to upload loyalty-free images, videos, vector and illustrations and then sell the images to users around the web. Dreamstime has been around since 2004, under the management of CEO Serban Enache. The stock photography company is headquartered in Brentwood Tennessee.
How Does Dreamstime Work?
Basically, if you are a photographer or content creator, you can create a free ”Contributor” account and start uploading content. The Dreamstime team will then review your images for quality control. Once they approve your submissions you will earn credits every time a user downloads your content.
How Do I Sell Images at Dreamstime?
Once you create an account to become a Dreamstime contributor, you can log in and start uploading content. There's a limit to the maximum number of submissions you make per day, based on your average acceptance rate.
To upload the highest number of allowed submissions, your approval rate has to be higher than 80%. The highest is 50 images and the lowest is 6.
Images have to be at least 3MP and less than 70MP in size. You can view the full list of requirements here.
Once they approve your submission, they will start you off as a level 1 user. As you continue your contributor journey, they will upgrade you based on the number of downloads your content receives, how old the content has been on the website and how much money you've earned.
How Much Money Do Dreamstime Contributors Make?
Exclusive Contributors earn between 25% and 50% per transaction. There are five earning levels, with the lowest, level 1, featuring images with zero downloads and those that are less than six months old.
Level 2 is for non-exclusive images (images with no ownership rights), and then level 3 to 5 feature exclusive images only. Exclusive contributors can earn up to 60% of the net revenue the image brings in.
Depending on your earning level and type of content, you can earn anywhere between $1.02 and $17 per download.
If you don't want to be an exclusive user, you can choose to donate your content instead, and these are the images that are available for free on the website. Some contributors improve their popularity by donating some of their work.
If you don't like what you've read so far, you can start earning money right away at Swagbucks.com or Fusioncash.com. You can also start working either part time or full time at My Top Work At Home Recommendation.
How Does Dreamstime Pay Contributors?
You can request for payout when you reach the $100 minimum threshold for withdrawal. Dreamstime pays its contributors in either of the following ways
- Mailed check
- PayPal
- Skrill
- Payoneer
After you verify your identity by sending them a photo of your ID or driver's license, your funds will be available almost instantly.
What We Like About Dreamstime
High earning potential
Dreamstime pay structure is actually one of the best in the market. If you are good at what you do, you can make a shitload of money. Some of the most proficient users make money in the thousands every month.
It is available worldwide
Unlike some work at home opportunities, you can join Dreamstime from anywhere in the world. Their payout modes, including PayPal actually back this up.
Positive BBB
At the time of this review, Dreamstime has a good reputation, and the Better Business Bureau can confirm this, with an A+ rating.
Dreamstime Complaints
With so many scams out there, you would not want to spend time with Dreamstime only to realize they are all a bunch of crooks. Before joining, you might want to know the following.
The minimum payout amount is too high
The minimum amount you can withdraw is $100 bucks. Call me uptight, but that's too much, considering how hard it is to for beginners to sell content. Some contributors have complained of having to wait for months before making their first sale.
You don't have to wait until you earn 100 bucks to get your money at Swagbucks.com or Fusioncash.com. If you are not in the business of taking photos for a living, you might want to check out My Best Work At Home Recommendation.
It takes “centuries” to rise up the ranks.
Okay, so I may be a little dramatic, but it does take a long time to reach level five. You will have to be very active, with a very high approval rate to make it there. The ranking system relies on how many sales you are able to make, which is hard enough with thousands of people uploading millions of photos every day.
You may lose clients because of billing practices.
Well, this actually applies to both clients and contributors of the website. The majority of complaints from clients has to do with the automatic billing situation. Clients who use a subscription service to get loyalty-free images sometimes get overcharged, with some having to pay tens, or even hundreds of dollars for a single image.
See, the problem is that if this user was loyal to one contributor and ends up getting overcharged at the end of the month, they will cancel their subscription (I know I would) and the contributor is left high and dry.
Is Dreamstime Stock Images Legit?
Dreamstime is not a scam. It is one of the most popular stock photography companies out there. They pay contributors well and you won't find many contributors claiming to have been scammed. Their reputation with the Better Business Bureau is great and they pay people through PayPal.
However, if you are to make real money with Dreamstime you simply have to be a professional. You have to be good at what you do. You can't get started right away and make money today.
If you want to start making money right away, check out Swagbucks.com or Fusioncash.com. You can also start your financial independence journey online through My Top Work At Home Recommendation.
Well, that's my two cents about Dreamstime. If you have questions or comments, feel free to chime in below.
Until next time
Eddy “with a Y”
Contributors beware.
I was a contributor of Dreamtime
After two years, I made a grand total of $40 and change
I disabled all the images in my account and requested the balance be payed to me.
Dreamstime says it will not pay me the $40 owed because its less than their minimum payout of $100.
I made it clear to them that I wish to permanently close my account and cease being a contributor.
They have not paid me what they owe me.
It is industry standard practice, and contributors assume, that the terms of the contributor signed contract are in effect while the person is a contributor. To expect one to assume otherwise is unreasonable, confusing, and deceptive. Nowhere in their contract does Dreamstime state that they have the right to retain any balance in the account in perpetuity after the account is closed. I am no longer a contributor. I therefore have every right to ask to be paid the balance in my account.
I have contributed to numerous stock sites including Shutterstock, Adobe, and Getty who graciously paid me what was owed me after closing my account regardless of the balance.
Ill let Dreamstime have my $40.
Apparently they need it more than I do.
A ‘business’, and I use the word very loosely, entirely without scruples. Misleads potential clients with a free trial and then charges them! Misleading Language and Layout. Poorly Designed and Poorly Coded. (It even takes multiple payments! Very unethical as it is so easily avoided.) Will be reporting to Federal Trade Commission. Criminal. Scam. Dishonest. Lies.
I have been submitting images to Dreamstime since 2012 and currently have 2230 pictures there. I have a good idea of what their criteria is and the reasons images are declined. From time to time, they seem to have a turnover problem with their editorial staff. People are not properly trained or supervised so reviewing the number of images they receive on a daily basis is a nightmare. Images are declined simply because the editor is behind in the daily quota so a mere keystroke is used to solve this dilemma. Last year, I had a 90% plus approval rating. Not bad. Recently, they began declining images for vague and ambiguous reasons such as too general in nature. If you complaint to the supervisors the editors will retaliate because they do not like any criticism. I have to believe based upon my years of experience in the business world that things are a bit chaotic for them at this time probably for a number of reasons. They appear to be going through a rough patch. I would like to end by saying that on balance my experience with them has been good and they have always paid promptly. I hope things get better for them.
Dreamstime is horrible! I agree with the comment above. I posted pics when beginning my journey in photography and it was the worst app i could have chose. They kept my photos and would not release them. After 6 months (as they claim 6 months you can take down what you have posted) I contacted them, then was told I had my password and phone number wrong and have been logged out of the account since. Very upsetting.
Thanks for sharing your experience with this site. It definitely doesn’t sound like a good one.
I am here to warn anyone AGAINST contributing their images to Dreamstime. They operate under very unethical terms and conditions. I have been trying to close out my account and have my images taken off their site. They refuse to do so claiming images must remain online for 6 months. No explanation. My images have no sales, no money owing and I made a grand total of $1.50. They are a scam. Stay away!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.