Last Updated on 05/02/2023 by Chris Gampat
The Phoblographer has written a lot about photo sharing sites that screw over the photographer. By that, we mean that they won’t pay a photographer for the work that they generate — luckily Clickasnap isn’t doing that. Instead, they’re choosing to pay photographers based on views, digital downloads, sales, etc. It seems like a great idea, right? Well, let’s analyze a bit further.
What is ClickaSnap
According to their website, Clickasnap claims to be the world’sâ first and only one-stop-shop for sharing, managing, and monetizing your art. “We want to help people earn money for their work,” their description claims. “We are tired of parasitic companies capitalizing on your work earning billions whilst you earn nothing. ClickaSnap is here to address that.” To most photographers, that sounds wonderful. And depending on who you are, you could see them as either a savior or a partner. To each their own, of course.
Here’s what the rest of their description says:
With systems in place to sell your photos as downloads, physical prints, earn per view, private art galleries, and the ability to licence your photos with world first licensing systems. We are constantly innovating to ensure you receive the best experience, the most exposure, and most importantly real money for your content. We want ClickSnap to be the world’sâ largest still image club, learn from masters, teach others, watch your content be subjectively judged by real people unknowingly rating your content. Join in conversations, spend time on our forums, upload your content, lose no rights, earn money for that next lens. Help us grow, and in turn we will help you earn an income. Welcome to Web 3.0, the web companies that give back.
Of course, they’re far different from Getty and a whole bunch of other platforms.
Is Clickasnap Worth it?
We’ll admit that we haven’t done a thorough test of it for ourselves. But based on how photographers make money, we think that it could work very well if you’ve got a massive online following or if you’re a semi-professional photographer. We don’t think that you’ll get rich quick off of it — or at least most photographers won’t. But it surely can work pretty well.
Pros
- Photographers get paid by views
- They’re genuinely trying something new.
- Various ways to monetize your images
Cons
- You have to pay money to get your start with the platform to begin with
- The photography available isn’t all that exciting
How Does Clickasnap Work?
Before I get into my issues with Clickasnap, let me first explain how it works for those that don’t know.
It’s simple. Photographers upload their images, and depending on what subscription they’re on, they can earn money from their photographs. There are a couple of ways to earn money. The first way is through views. That’s right, Clicksnap will pay you 0.25¢ for each view you get. You can also sell your images as digital downloads, and in some cases, as physical products (such as prints). Photographers can only withdraw funds once they have earned $15.
Unsplash is one of the biggest culprits of abusing photographers for example. They take a photographer’s work, strip them of all their image rights, and don’t pay them a single penny. Payment, in their eyes, is exposure. So it’s no surprise we don’t like them. But, in steps Clickasnap. It’s a company that wants photographers to get paid, but there are certainly some flaws in its execution.
How Does ClickaSnap Make Money: A Possible Issue for Some Photographers
“Clickasnap is the world’s first, free to use, paid per view still image hosting site,” says CEO Tom Oswald. Nothing in that statement is factually incorrect. However, it is misleading.
Photographers using a free account don’t get paid. They can upload photos, but they’ll need to subscribe to a paid account if they want to earn money. So my problem with the above quote is the lack of full transparency. I get that companies need to do fluffy, persuasive PR, but have more respect for the photographer. Don’t imply they can earn money without investing some of their own.
The Landing Page
When arriving at the website, you’ll see a range of images uploaded by photographers. Sadly, there’s a lot of photography that my blind grandmother could make – and she’s dead!
What’s the problem with this? Well, if a company is looking for stock photographs, the first impression is important. If I arrive on the first page of a stock photo website and the first thing I see is amateur work, why would I spend time searching and hoping to find quality photographs? Clickasnap needs to implement some form of quality control for its home page, and fast!
This issue may seem small, but it really could drive companies to go back to using the rights grab websites to get images for free. While we don’t like services such as Unspalsh, they offer a clean website with quality photographs on the home page, making it more attractive to users. If you want to knock them out of the market, sites like Clickasnap need to offer something attractive to those who pay for stock photography.
This brings us to the next issue.
The Website
I have no clue what the company’s budget is, but it’s not difficult to create a clean website in 2021. Honestly, the website looks better placed in the early 2000s. That doesn’t mean it’s hip and retro, it means it’s visually unpleasing.
On several pages, there are typos in the copy. It makes the site look unprofessional and may put people off. Some of the links at the bottom of the home page don’t work. And some of the links feel like they take you to a different website, even though it’s the same one.
Essentially, branding and image are all over the place. It’s really not a user-friendly experience.
Is ClickaSnap Legit or a Scam?
I like the concept. I like that Clickasnap wants the photographer to get paid. But, the company must ensure it offers a platform that helps the photographer. Any serious company wanting to pay for stock photography will be put off by the above issues.
Think of it like this. Let’s say I go to a physical photography gallery to buy some prints. As soon as I walk through the door, the first thing I see is awful work. I decide to keep going, but when I ask the staff a question, they don’t give me a transparent answer. The copy underneath the prints are full of spelling errors. The layout of the gallery is confusing, and it’s easy to get lost. Am I going to take out my wallet and invest in some work? No.
User experience is everything, as is design and execution. I hope Clickasnap succeeds, mainly for the photographer. But it needs to get its “digital gallery” cleaned up in order for that to happen.
Clickasnap pays photographers after they’ve earned $15, and you can earn money by generating views, selling photos, prints, etc. So you’ll either need to really grind for it, or already have a big following. In which case, your revenue stream will be complemented by Clickasnap.
0.25¢ a view. You’ll get paid once you earn $15.
There are plans starting for as low as around two Euro a month.
