Anyone can become a member of our community, however we only accept quality-based photos for inclusion in our database. We carefully review each application received. You may apply to become a member by registering and uploading your first files. If they are approved, you will see them on your personal account. If they are not selected for inclusion in the database, you will be notified via email, including the reason and/or suggestions for improvement. After solving the problem, you can upload them again.

As soon as your application is accepted, your files will be available for sale on the site. Upon review, the file will be included as a 1st level file. Depending on the quality of the shot, composition, subject and print size, the file will have more or less downloads than other similar shots. As soon as a specific file reaches 10 downloads, it automatically becomes a 2nd level file and begins to sell for a higher price. In a similar way, as soon as the file has 100 downloads it becomes a 5th level file. This approach is intended to give an equal chance to all files in the very beginning. It is also a way to encourage good shots that have less downloads, against other similar shots that have many downloads.

For each transaction, the photographer receives a 50 percent fee. Exclusive images receive a 60 percent fee, while exclusive photographers enjoy an additional bonus of $0.20 for each approved submission. Considering all bonuses that are awarded to the buyer, the actual royalties can reach up to 80% or more. Dreamstime awards the highest royalties in the industry, according to a recent study of PDN Magazine.

Any photographer may request to be paid for his/her sales on Dreamstime.com as soon as the balance has reached $100 and the photographer submits a payment request from the Management Area. We currently send payments by bank check, Paypal or Moneybookers.
We ask our contributors to maintain/keep online a minimum of 70% of their approved/accepted submissions for at least 6 months.

The categories and their end-user prices are as follows:
Downloads using the Royalty Free license

Image downloads	Level	License	Version	Price for Registered Users
0-9 downloads	level 1	RF	Small size (800x600 pixels)	1 credit ~ as low as $0.83 per image
			Medium size (3MP - up to 5MP)	2 credits ~ as low as $1.66 per image
			Large size (5MP - up to 8MP)	3 credits ~ as low as $2.49 per image
			Highest size (over 8MP)	4 credits ~ as low as $3.32 per image
10-24 downloads	level 2	RF	Small size (800x600 pixels)	2 credit ~ as low as $1.66 per image
			Medium size (3MP - up to 5MP)	3 credits ~ as low as $2.49 per image
			Large size (5MP - up to 8MP)	4 credits ~ as low as $3.32 per image
			Highest size (over 8MP)	5 credits ~ as low as $4.15 per image
25-49 downloads	level 3	RF	Small size (800x600 pixels)	3 credit ~ as low as $2.49 per image
			Medium size (3MP - up to 5MP)	4 credits ~ as low as $3.32 per image
			Large size (5MP - up to 8MP)	5 credits ~ as low as $4.15 per image
			Highest size (over 8MP)	6 credits ~ as low as $4.98 per image
50-99 downloads	level 4	RF	Small size (800x600 pixels)	4 credit ~ as low as $3.32 per image
			Medium size (3MP - up to 5MP)	5 credits ~ as low as $4.15 per image
			Large size (5MP - up to 8MP)	6 credits ~ as low as $4.98 per image
			Highest size (over 8MP)	7 credits ~ as low as $5.81 per image
Over 100 downloads	level 5	RF	Small size (800x600 pixels)	5 credit ~ as low as $4.15 per image
			Medium size (3MP - up to 5MP)	6 credits ~ as low as $4.98 per image
			Large size (5MP - up to 8MP)	7 credits ~ as low as $5.81 per image
			Highest size (over 8MP)	8 credits ~ as low as $6.64 per image
Subscription	any	RF	any	as low as $0.20 per image
Additional format (RAW or vector)	~	RF	~	Double the largest size at which the image is available

Downloads using the Extended licenses:

Extended license	Level	License	Resolution	Price for Registered Users
Unlimited Seats	any	U-EL	any	25 credits ~ as low as $19 per image
Increase Maximum Copies	any	I-EL	any	50 credits ~ as low as $38 per image
Web Usage	any	W-EL	any	50 credits ~ as low as $38 per image
Print Usage	any	P-EL	any	50 credits ~ as low as $38 per image
Sell the rights	any	SR-EL	any	image based as low as $350 per image

For each image that a user downloads as Royalty-Free over the Internet, the photographer receives the following:

Level		Version	Earnings from Registered Users Downloads
			Non-Exclusive	Exclusive
Level 1		Small size	$0.50 per image	$0.60 per image
		Medium size	$1.00 per image	$1.20 per image
		Large size	$1.50 per image	$1.80 per image
		Maximum size	$2.00 per image	$2.40 per image
Level 2		Small size	$1.00 per image	$1.20 per image
		Medium size	$1.50 per image	$1.80 per image
		Large size	$2.00 per image	$2.40 per image
		Maximum size	$2.50 per image	$3.00 per image
Level 3		Small size	$1.50 per image	$1.80 per image
		Medium size	$2.00 per image	$2.40 per image
		Large size	$2.50 per image	$3.00 per image
		Maximum size	$3.00 per image	$3.60 per image
Level 4		Small size	$2.00 per image	$2.40 per image
		Medium size	$2.50 per image	$3.00 per image
		Large size	$3.00 per image	$3.60 per image
		Maximum size	$3.50 per image	$4.20 per image
Level 5		Small size	$2.50 per image	$3.00 per image
		Medium size	$3.00 per image	$3.60 per image
		Large size	$3.50 per image	$4.20 per image
		Maximum size	$4.00 per image	$4.80 per image
Subscription	any		$0.30 per image	$0.36 per image
Unlimited Seats	any		$12.5	$15
Increase Maximum Copies	any		$25	$30
Web Usage	any		$25	$30
Print Usage	any		$25	$30
Sell the rights	any		50%	60%
Exclusive photographers receive $0.20 bonus per approved submission.

Note that credits acquired before April 6, 2006 are rewarded as web-resolution even if the buyers downloaded the printed version. This happens because these credits are using the old pricing, when a web version was not available.

Dreamstime.com acts as an agency providing quality images to professionals of the industry, as well as helping professional or amateur photographers sell their portfolio online. We do not require exclusivity for the images you upload, but each uploaded image becomes subject to our terms and conditions, and you must own the rights for each image you upload to our database.