NFTs had it good and rosy in 2021, and the massive sales drew more attention to NFTs. NFTs evolved from representing digital artworks to being integrated as in-game collectibles and characters, which paved the way for further use cases and new projects.
Photography is one of the niches that has grown massively as a use case for NFTs. In fact, it was recently reported by Remarkable Commerce that photography is by far the most lucrative NFT sector for creators, with photography NFT collections bringing in as much as 2,000% more in revenue compared to other types of NFTs.
So, let’s take a look at what are the best NFT photography marketplaces to sell your photo NFTs on.
What is an NFT Marketplace?
NFT marketplaces are centralized and decentralized markets where NFTs are listed for sale. These platforms are where creators, enthusiasts, and investors go to create, buy and sell NFTs.
Some marketplaces are generic, while some are specific; for example, there are respective marketplaces for avatars, sports collections, in-game collectibles, basketball collections, pet collections, photography, etc.
We have a full breakdown in our Ultimate NFT Guide of the best NFT marketplaces which you can read here.
Can Photographers Make Money with NFTs?
Yes, photographers can make money with NFTs. But, just like any niche, you need to be active on the appropriate social media channels (such as Twitter and Reddit), and know which NFT marketplaces are the best for selling your photos on.
Photo NFTs can be both animated and non-animated photographs of humans, animals, scenes, events, and natural occurrences. Photographers can use NFTs and blockchain as another medium to promote and sell their work on.
The 10 Best Photography NFT Marketplaces for Photographers
1. OpenSea
OpenSea is the first and largest decentralized marketplace for NFTs and crypto collectibles. Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah co-founded OpenSea in December 2017, and it is the largest marketplace with the highest trading volume hitting $3.2 billion in Q2 2022. It is a flexible marketplace notable for being compatible with more wallets and blockchains than other marketplaces.
OpenSea accepts more than 150 cryptocurrencies, with ETH, WETH, USDC, and DAI being the major currencies. Among the features that made OpenSea the largest marketplace is its Lazy minting, allowing creators to mint and list their NFTs for free and paying the 2.5% gas fee after selling the NFT.
OpenSea has two listing options which are:
Fixed Price allows buyers to purchase NFTs without competing with any contender or bidder.
Timed Auction enables bidding prices on NFTs for a particular duration where the highest bidder wins the auction.
OpenSea has a broad catalog of NFTs like photography, art, domain names, collectibles, sports, music, etc. Notable NFT photographers like Isaac Wright, Justin Versano, and others list their NFTs on OpenSea. It allows creators to configure royalties on their NFTs up to 10% for all secondary sales.
OpenSea is compatible with the Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Klaytn blockchains. It also supports various wallets like the MetaMask, Coinbase, WalletConnect, Trust Wallet, Bitski, Authereum, Dapper, Venly, Torus, Fortmatic, Portis OperaTouch, Phantom, Glow, and Kaikas.
2. MakersPlace
MakersPlace is a premier marketplace co-founded by Daniel Chu, Ryoma Ito, and Yash Nelapati in 2016. It is a haven for rare and authentic digital artworks where photographers can list their original and unique photographs or any other digital artworks. It is an exclusive marketplace based on application, i.e., before you can list your photographs or NFTs on this platform as a creator, you must apply here.
The platform supports credit card payments aside from cryptocurrencies. Only authentic and unique NFTs are listed here because the MakersPlace teams subject NFTs to a rigorous authentication process before listing them. Since minting is free, MakersPlace charges 5% on primary sales and 2.5% on every secondary sale, with the usual 10% royalty in place for creators.
The platform currently has 16,977 owners and 89,060 NFTs, including photograph NFTs of seasoned photographers like Vier Bottzzini and Rizacan Kumas. The platform runs on the Ethereum blockchain and supports MetaMask and Civic wallet.
3. Quantum Art
Quantum Art is an exclusive NFT marketplace created specifically for photography. Just like OpenSea is the torchbearer of NFT marketplaces, Quantum Art is the torchbearer of photo NFTs, and was co-founded by the renowned Justin Aversano in 2019, a major player in the photo NFT industry.
Quantum Art usually handpicks and lists the best-curated NFT photos on their marketplace. The four processes established by the community to achieve this are as follows:
The first step involves artists submitting their photographs.
Then, three photographs are nominated by the Curatorial team to move to the third stage.
Collectors vote for one out of the three photos.
Then the winning photograph is listed on Quantum Art.
NFT collections are listed weekly by their registered photographers. If you’re interested in onboarding on this platform, you can submit your photos of 10 to 15 JPEGs not more than 1,000 pixels here, alongside your Twitter handle, project and artist’s statements, and CV. Or, you can send the above details directly to their email.
There are currently 58 collections and 56 NFT photographers registered on Quantum Art, and they have probably gone through the selection processes. The platform supports the Ethereum blockchain and supports wallets like MetaMask, Frame, WalletConnect, and WalletLink.
4. Foundation
Foundation is an exclusive digital art marketplace built on the Ethereum blockchain by Foundation Labs. Co-founded by Kayvon Tehranian and Mathew Vernon in 2020 and launched in 2021, it is curated specifically for photos and digital arts. About five months after it launched, the marketplace earned approximately $85,895,453.52.
Initially, the marketplace was strictly based on invitation, i.e., an existing creator within the community had to invite you via invitation code before you can join as a creator. But this has been changed, and the marketplace is now permissionless. It currently has a trading volume of $171.64 million with 37,300 traders, according to DappRadar.
Foundation has three sales options.
The “Buy Now” option allows instant purchase once payment has been made.
The “Offers” option allows creators to open their NFTs to multiple offers within 24 hours. More like a bargaining or negotiating market; if a buyer makes an offer and another buyer offers a higher pay within the stipulated time, the initial buyer’s fee will be returned to their wallet.
The “Reserve Auction” option allows for open bidding where a reserved price is set. The reserve price is the minimum price you can bid for such NFT, and bidding lasts for 24 hours with an extra 15 minutes. Once the bidding has stopped, the highest bidder emerges, and the money is sent to the creator or seller’s wallet.
Notable NFT photographers like Isaac Wright, Jonny Melon, Vier Bottzzini, and others list their NFTs on Foundation with a possible 10% royalty on secondary sales of their NFTs. The transaction or seller fee here is pegged at 15% and currently supports three wallets: MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase wallet.
5. Nifty Gateway
Nifty Gateway is another notable marketplace for NFT photographs, and it was co-founded by Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster in 2018. It was later acquired by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (owners of Gemini) in 2019, making it part of Gemini. It also runs on and supports the Ethereum blockchain.
Nifty Gateway is notable for its high-end and curated collections alongside its unique custodial system, i.e., it also serves as a custodian for NFTs bought or sold on its platform. The platform uses an “omnibus wallet” to transfer NFTs across the platform seamlessly without worrying about gas fees. This unique custodial system allows Nifty Gateway to help users recover their lost or forgotten passwords.
Thanks to the custodial option, NFT traders can make payments via debit or credit cards and crypto –ETH – in a Gemini account or supported wallet – MetaMask. The platform also supports non-custodial NFT sales between users, termed “Wallet 2 Wallet,” where they can trade NFTs with their external crypto wallets at a lower gas fee.
Minting your photo NFTs is free here, and its charge fee has been reduced to 2.5% from 5%, with the royalty fee pegged to 10% on secondary sales. All photo NFTs and others are verified to be authentic before listing them. It has a secondary marketplace where users can purchase verified popular collections like BAYC.
Nifty Gateway hosts more than 10,000 NFTs cutting across different categories like collectibles and photography.
6. SuperRare
SuperRare is another NFT marketplace for photo NFTs co-founded by John Crain, Charles Crain, and Jonathan Perkins in 2018. The platform is governed by a network of artists, collectors, and curators who focus on the uniqueness and authenticity of digital art pieces.
SuperRare is also exclusive to approved creators alone, i.e., NFTs photographers willing to onboard the platform must submit their details here and await approval from the community. This is why its listed NFTs are unique and authentic because artists are handpicked. Notable NFT photographers on the platform include Isaac Wright, Eric Rubens, and Reuben Wu, among others.
Unlike other marketplaces, SuperRare has a charge of 15% and a 10% royalty with over $100 million earned on secondary sales and over $600 million earned by artists on the platform. It runs on the Ethereum network and is compatible with wallets like MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Fortmatic.
7. Ephimera
Ephimera is another exclusive marketplace for photographers founded in 2020. The platform doesn’t support multiple editions of the same photographs or media arts. It charges 10% for primary and 5% on secondary sales with a 10% royalty for the original creator.
Creators are also handpicked and are to apply here, but the application is currently closed due to its curators’ large volume of applications still under review. The platform runs on the Ethereum network and is compatible with the MetaMask wallet.
8. Rarible
Rarible is another notable multi-chain NFT marketplace for photo NFTs. Co-founded by Alexei Falin, Alexander Salnikov, and Rhoniel Gabay in 2020. It has its native token –$RARI – and supports blockchains like Ethereum, Flow, and Tezos. Like OpenSea, the platform also supports Lazy minting and charges 2.5% on primary sales alongside a configurable royalty.
Currently, the platform has 107,004 traders with a trading volume of $298.39 million in over 200,000 sales. Rarible supports crypto wallets like MetaMask, Coinbase, Fortmatic, Torus, Portis, MyEtherWallet, and Mobile Wallet.
9. Portion.io
Portion.io is another premier marketplace founded by Jason Rosenstein in 2016. The platform is a haven for many categories of NFTs, including photography, art, fashion, etc. It also has its native token –PRT– used in governing the platform and incentivizing artists.
Unlike most marketplaces, Portion doesn’t charge creators, i.e., as an NFT photographer, you’re keeping 100% of your sales proceeds. It also offers 11% royalty on secondary sales and is compatible with the MetaMask wallet. It is compatible with the Ethereum blockchain and Palm sidechain.
10. UniqueOne Photo
UniqueOne Photo is a unique NFT photography marketplace with lofty perks for photographers. Still in its nascent stage, the decentralized platform rewards photographers with its native token –$FOTO– and allows them to set royalties, selling options, licenses, and whatever they want with their photo NFTs without charging them a dime. The $FOTO token is used to vote within the community since it is a decentralized platform.
NFT buyers, not photographers, pay the 2.5% charge fee. It supports the Ethereum network and Binance Smart Chain and is compatible with all WalletConnect wallets.
Other Top NFT Photography Marketplaces
We’ve only highlighted some of the NFT photography marketplaces out there in this article, however, the ones listed below are also really great:
Tux art
Obscura
Mintable
KnownOrigin
Atomic Hub
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*All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFT Plazas are from the personal research and experience of our site moderators and are intended as educational material only. Individuals are required to fully research any product prior to making any kind of investment.
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