Unsplash – Why I Give Most of my Work Away For Free
I’ve been contributing to the Unsplash library for just over five years now. If you’re not familiar with the platform, it’s a stock photography site offering images that are free to download and use however you please.
Additionally, they have a subscription plan for premium images. Contributors to Unsplash+ are paid for their accepted submissions. More on this further down.
For the bulk of this note, I’ll be covering the free aspect. Uploading work that can then be used in all manner of creative projects, by anyone who uses the internet.
Why give your work away for free?
Firstly, this is just my personal experience of using Unsplash. It won’t be for everyone. A professional photographer, for example, certainly wouldn’t give most of their work away for free. They could, however, still benefit from the gigantic user base by uploading some of their images.
Me? I’m just having fun with photography. I’m far from being a pro. As a passion project, I also like to keep it free from creative restraints or revenue goals.
Once you start building a portfolio on Unsplash, alongside features on their home and category pages, the view counts are unrivalled. Way more eyeballs on your work than you’d ever be able to achieve on social media.
Your stats include views, downloads and also where people are using your images. Through the Unsplash API, users across various platforms (Figma, Wix, Notion, Mailchimp, etc.) can incorporate your photo into their projects.
Ultimately, this is what I love to see. Otherwise, my work would only sit on a hard drive or, most likely, eventually be deleted.
Popular content & features
To do well on Unsplash, you need to get a feel for what they like. Everything on their homepage and category pages is hand-curated. Therefore, these will all give you a decent idea of what’s popular and most likely to be featured.
As you build out a portfolio, you can start submitting your images to each category page. For example, a shot of a modern building could be submitted to the Architecture & Interiors page.
As mentioned above, these features are where the magic happens (especially on the homepage). Sit back and watch as your views start to enter the millions.
Unsplash also feature their contributors in blog posts, such as round-ups of the previous month’s best images, as well as on their social media channels.
Your profile page
Each view of one of your images is an opportunity for the user to click through to your profile page. From here, they can view:
Your photo.
Your bio/description.
An available-for-hire badge (optional).
A support via PayPal button (optional).
Your location.
Options to connect (website, IG, etc.).
Your interests (tags relating to your work).
Your full portfolio.
Any collections that you may have curated.
The biggest opportunity here is linking to your website. Maybe you can then get them signed up to your newsletter if you have one, or they could even reach out asking to work with you.
Unsplash+
Lastly, let’s talk about Unsplash+. This is a paid service that certain contributors can submit to. You’ll need to apply, and from what I remember, it’s probably best to build up your portfolio first and make sure you’ve had a few features.
Each month, they release a new set of briefs. Other than the glory days when the initiative first launched and you could submit anything, now it’s a little more specific.
Each brief is based on current trends and demands, so it won’t always necessarily line up with your usual style or subjects. That said, there are plenty to choose from and you can submit to however you many you like per month.
Nowadays, I’m just submitting the odd image here and there if the brief is something I’d be shooting anyway. You’re paid a one-off fee per image, and can usually enter up to 30 images per brief.
Zero regrets
As I’ve chopped and changed creative focuses over the years, built and binned various portfolios, and generally not had any clear direction, one thing remained solidly in place. My Unsplash portfolio.
As I have issues with hoarding too many files, it’s also the only place that many of my photos now exist. Without it, I’d never have seen them again.
In case you hadn’t guessed already, I’m a huge fan! I love the community, the folks that run it, the website itself, and, of course, seeing how and where people all over the world are using my images. Happy days!
