Photography is a popular niche.
And because it’s a niche that many people can turn into a full-time living, the amount spent on photography equipment, education, and tools is relatively high.
Which presents an excellent opportunity for affiliates.
If you’re new to affiliate marketing, watch this short video:
If you have a business or blog in the photography genre, you essentially have endless affiliate options to promote – which can sometimes cause analysis paralysis.
So, we put in the work and rounded up some of the best photography affiliate programs you should be promoting this year.
Best Photography Affiliate Programs in 2021
1. KEH Camera Affiliate Program
2. OtterBox Affiliate Program
3. Creative Live Affiliate Program
4. Canvas Pop Affiliate Program
5. Canon Photography Affiliate Program
6. FixThePhoto Affiliate Program
7. Adobe Creative Cloud Affiliate Program
8. Adorama Affiliate Program
9. ExpertPhotography Affiliate Program
10. B&H Photo Video Affiliate Program
11. Zenfolio Affiliate Program
12. Capture One Affiliate Program
13. Snappa Affiliate Program
14. Fotor Affiliate Program
15. PhotoShelter Affiliate Program
16. Pixpa Affiliate Program
17. Olympus Affiliate Program
18. Borrow Lenses Affiliate Program
19. Digital Photography School Affiliate Program
20. MCP Actions Affiliate Program
21. Samy’s Camera Affiliate Program
22. InCase Affiliate Program
23. Focus Camera Affiliate Program
24. BuyDig Affiliate Program
25. MasterClass Affiliate Program
26. Hiscox Affiliate Program
27. On1 Affiliate Program
28. Format Affiliate Program
29. Peak Designs Affiliate Program
30. PHLearn Affiliate Program
1. KEH Camera Affiliate Program
KEH camera is a company that allows customers to buy, sell, and trade used photography equipment.
They have a wide selection of products, have been in business since 1979, and even offer free gear appraisals and free shipping.
You can earn money as an affiliate by referring customers to their shop and by referring people to sell their old photography equipment.
They have a high average order value of $400 from the shop and an $850 average order value from those who post their old equipment for sale.
- Commission: $1 per quote submitted, 4% on completed purchases, up to 4% on all sales
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
- Application Link: KEH Camera Affiliate Program
2. OtterBox Affiliate Program
You’ve probably heard of OtterBox before. They manufacture top-quality phone cases.
While you might not immediately think of this as a photography affiliate – OtterBox is a great brand to promote to those who do phone photography. Because if you’re doing a lot of phone photography, your phone needs to be well protected from accidental drops.
Here are the details of their affiliate program:
- Commission: 10%
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
- Application Link: OtterBox Affiliate Program
3. Creative Live Affiliate Program
Creative Live is an education platform offering photography and video classes from leading experts.
They offer classes on specific software like Lightroom or Photoshop as well as tutorials on particular cameras. They even have some free classes, making it a more tempting offer for new customers to join.
Creative Live is an excellent resource for both beginner and intermediate photographers.
- Commission: 20% for new customers, 10% for returning customers, $1 for new registrants
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
- Application Link: Creative Live Affiliate Program
4. Canvas Pop Affiliate Program
Canvas Pop is a company that prints photos onto Canvas. They can print pictures that are uploaded directly to their site as well as ones off of a user’s Facebook or Instagram pages.
They also offer framed prints, triptych prints, and photo collages. Canvas Pop is a great site for beginner photographers to use for printing their best work.
The average order amount at Canvas Pop is $150. This means the average commission per customer order will be right around $7.50. However, since the cookie duration is so long at Canvas Pop, you may be able to earn multiple commissions on the same customer.
- Commission: 5%
- Cookie Duration: 90 Days
- Application Link: Canvas Pop Affiliate Program
5. Canon Photography Affiliate Program
If you’re into photography, no doubt, you’re familiar with Canon.
But what you might not know is that Cannon has an affiliate program. You can promote everything from their cameras to their inkjet printers. Some of Canon’s most popular products include Power Shot cameras, EOS DSLR cameras, EF lenses, and PIXMA printers.
Since the majority of products at Canon or high-dollar, commissions can add up fast.
- Commission: 2.5% (sometimes more)
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
- Application Link: Canon Photography Affiliate Program
6. FixThePhoto Affiliate Program
FixThePhoto is a company that offers photo and video retouching services. They also sell editing tools like Lightroom presets, PhotoShop templates, actions, and more.
This is an excellent program for beginner photographers who aren’t yet comfortable editing the photos they take. FixthePhoto specializes in wedding, real estate, product, and newborn photo editing. They can also touch up portraits.
They offer an excellent affiliate program for both their tools and services.
- Commission: 50% for each photo and video editing tool sale, 50% on the first purchase of photo and video editing services
- Cookie Duration: Not specified
- Application Link: FixThePhoto Affiliate Program
7. Adobe Creative Cloud Affiliate Program
Adobe has an affiliate program for their Creative Cloud service as well as Adobe Stock. The commissions differ a little between the two programs. However, they come to about 85% of the first-month subscription price or 8.33% of the yearly subscription payment.
Adobe Creative Cloud consists of over 20 mobile and computer programs, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and Acrobat DC. Users can purchase all of the apps in the Creative Cloud bundle or pick and choose the ones they need.
The photography bundle, for example, contains Photoshop and Lightroom and costs $9.99 per month. To have access to all 20 programs, it would run a customer $52.99 per month.
Adobe Stock is much different – it’s Adobe’s library of stock images, vectors, and videos, most commonly used by content creators.
One of the cons of this program is that they don’t pay a commission if a customer signs up for a free trial as some other programs do.
- Commission: Varies but is around 85% of the first month’s subscription payment
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: Adobe Creative Cloud Affiliate Program
8. Adorama Affiliate Program
Adorama is an electronics website with over 250,000 different products in its catalog. They offer a myriad of photography equipment, including cameras, lighting kits, lenses, and accessories.
The average order on Adorama is over $500 – which is great because their commission is pretty low compared to other programs.
With this program, you’d need to refer about ten customers per month who each spent $500 to earn $100 in commissions.
- Commission: 2%
- Cookie Duration: 30 Days
- Application Link: Adorama Affiliate Program
9. ExpertPhotography Affiliate Program
ExpertPhotography sells courses, eBooks, and cheat sheets meant to train beginning and intermediate photographers.
They have a high-paying affiliate program – giving their affiliate 50% of sales. If you have a photography blog but don’t offer any training, this could be a solution that helps your audience and adds to your business income.
- Commission: 50%
- Cookie Duration: 365 Days
- Application Link: ExpertPhotography Affiliate Program
10. B&H Photo Video Affiliate Program
B&H Photo Video is an online electronics store. They sell everything from camera equipment to TVs to surveillance equipment. They were named one of the Best Online Shops and Best Customer Service by Newsweek in 2021.
Their catalog has over 44,000 photography products and over 100,000 video products.
Here are the details of their program:
- Commission: 2% base commission, 8% on specific brands
- Cookie Duration: Not specified
- Application Link: B&H Photo Video Affiliate Program
11. Zenfolio Affiliate Program
Zenfolio is a website builder specifically for photographers. It enables photographers to showcase their work and schedule clients directly from their websites. It also has a shopping cart feature.
Zenfolio has customizable templates and galleries that are easy to set up. They also have 24/7 customer service and offer free trial plans to new users. As an affiliate, you can get paid when a customer converts from a free trial to a paid program.
This is an excellent program for ALL photographers – from complete beginner to expert.
- Commission: 30%
- Cookie Duration: 45 days
- Application Link: Zenfolio Affiliate Program
12. Capture One Affiliate Program
Capture One is photo editing software. This company offers speed editing tools and claims to have the most authentic color profiles. They have a program that’s suitable to use for all cameras as well as programs created explicitly for Fujifilm, Nikon, and Sony.
The pricing at Capture One starts at $14 per month for single users. They offer a 30 day free trial to new users.
- Commission: 25%
- Cookie Duration: 40 days
- Application Link: Capture One Affiliate Program
13. Snappa Affiliate Program
Snappa is an editing tool targeted at users needing to create social media posts or overlay text on their photos. Their program is easy to use, even for beginners.
They offer a free plan with limited features. Their paid plan for single users is only $120 for an entire year.
The best thing about Snappa is you continue to earn commissions for as long as the customer pays for the program. So even if a customer pays monthly, you’ll be getting a 40% cut each month.
- Commission: 40% (over the life of the customer)
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: Snappa Affiliate Program
14. Fotor Affiliate Program
Fotor is a photo editor and design maker all in one. Fotor can prevent photographers from needing to sign up for multiple programs to get all the functions they require.
With Fotor, you can edit and retouch photos, create collages, and do graphic design.
With Fotor’s affiliate program, you can earn 25% of sales on a recurring basis when one of your referrals signs up for a subscription service.
- Commission: 25-35%
- Cookie Duration: 90 days
- Application Link: Fotor Affiliate Program
15. PhotoShelter Affiliate Program
PhotoShelter is a website builder for photographers. Their web templates allow photographers to showcase their portfolio, sell from their website, and even deliver customer photos.
Pricing ranges from $10 to $45 per month. They offer a 14 day free trial to new users.
- Commission: $6-$165, depending on the program
- Cookie Duration: 60 days
- Application Link: PhotoShelter Affiliate Program
16. Pixpa Affiliate Program
Pixpa is a portfolio website builder for photographers. It’s an all-in-one platform that enables its users to build a website, deliver and sell client galleries, host an online store, sell images as downloads, and host mobile galleries.
Pixpa has many customizable themes for photographers to choose from.
Pricing ranges from $7 to $16 per month. They do offer a 15 free trial (no credit card needed.)
- Commission: 50% of first-year revenue
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: Pixpa Affiliate Program
17. Olympus Affiliate Program
Olympus is a manufacturer that makes cameras, camera accessories, binoculars, and audio equipment. They have cameras for novices to experts and even have a line of waterproof gear.
The average order value at Olympus is over $500.
- Commission: 3%
- Cookie Duration: 60 days
- Application Link: Olympus Affiliate Program
18. Borrow Lenses Affiliate Program
Borrow Lenses is a company that allows photographers and videographers to rent the gear they need. They have all the top brands and allow users to rent equipment from 3-90 days.
Borrow Lenses also has a shop in which they sell their used gear.
This is a great site for photographers who need one-off equipment or who prefer to rent and try before buying.
- Commission: 5-10%
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: Borrow Lenses Affiliate Program
19. Digital Photography School Affiliate Program
Digital Photography School offers ebooks, courses, and presets to photographers. Some of their popular courses are 31 Days to Becoming a Better Photographer and Lightroom Mastery.
They also have a package of 101 Lightroom presets.
Currently, the Digital Photography School affiliate program is by invitation only.
- Commission: 40%
- Cookie Duration: not specified
- Application Link: Digital Photography School Affiliate Program
20. MCP Actions Affiliate Program
MCP Actions sells editing and learning tools for photographers. Some of their popular products are Photoshop actions, and Lightroom presets. They also have photography training classes as well as posing and props guides.
MCP Actions is an excellent program for photographers who want “done for you” presets and actions.
- Commission: 20%
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: MCP Actions Affiliate Program
21. Samy’s Camera Affiliate Program
Samy’s Camera has been in business since 1976 and carries a plethora of photography equipment, including all the most popular brands. At Samy’s, they carry cameras, lenses, tripods, printers, and other equipment.
Samy’s also buys used cameras and photography equipment.
The average order value at Samy’s is over $500 – which means as an affiliate, you’d earn around $15 for each customer you refer.
- Commission: 3%
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: Samy’s Camera Affiliate Program
22. InCase Affiliate Program
InCase is a company that makes protective cases for electronics and photography gear. They have a few different bags explicitly made for DSLR cameras.
On the InCase website, customers can shop by device or category.
This is a great program to promote to photographers who travel a lot and need to keep their equipment well-protected while they’re on the go.
- Commission: 12%
- Cookie Duration: not specified
- Application Link: InCase Affiliate Program
23. Focus Camera Affiliate Program
Focus Camera has been in business since 1966. Their brick-and-mortar location is in Brooklyn, but they also have tons of equipment for purchase on their website.
Focus Camera has DSLR cameras from Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and more. They also sell mirrorless cameras, medium format, point and shoot, and instant cameras.
- Commission: 3%
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: Focus Camera Affiliate Program
24. BuyDig Affiliate Program
BuyDig was founded in 1983 and has been selling online since 1997. BuyDig has a large selection of cameras and camera equipment. They offer their customers free shipping and a 45-day return window.
BuyDig can be promoted to any photographer needing to purchase new equipment.
- Commission: 2% with performance incentives
- Cookie Duration: 7 days
- Application Link: BuyDig Affiliate Program
25. MasterClass Affiliate Program
MasterClass is a popular teaching platform with classes taught by leading experts and celebrities. MasterClass has photography classes taught by Jimmy Chin – an academy award-winning film director, and Annie Leibovitz, a celebrity portrait photographer.
The annual membership to MasterClass is $180, which will net you a $45 commission.
- Commission: 25%
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: MasterClass Affiliate Program
26. Hiscox Affiliate Program
Hiscox is a company that offers small business insurance to photographers. With Hiscox, photographers can get a quote and manage their insurance policies online.
This is an excellent service for any type of photographer working professionally – even if photography is currently only a side hustle. As an affiliate, you can earn $25 for each person you refer who gets a quote – if you have a medium to large audience, this could be a very profitable program.
Here are the affiliate program details:
- Commission: $25 per quote
- Cookie Duration: 7 days
- Application Link: Hiscox Affiliate Program
27. On1 Affiliate Program
On1 is a photo editor with various plug-ins and effects. On1 offers software, courses, and presets. Their On1 Raw Photo editor works on a computer or mobile. They also have a few free effects and presets that users can try out.
- Commission: 10%
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: On1 Affiliate Program
28. Format Affiliate Program
Formate is an online portfolio and website builder. It has templates that can be customized and has the capability for photographers to sell digital downloads and prints through their website.
Pricing ranges from $12 to $25 per month, depending on the features needed.
The nice thing about the Format affiliate program is that you can earn 30% of the first year worth of customer payments.
- Commission: 30% of the year worth of payments
- Cookie Duration: 90 days
- Application Link: Format Affiliate Program
29. Peak Designs Affiliate Program
Peak Designs sells high-quality travel bags and straps for camera equipment. Their designs are stylish, and they have far more options than we’ve seen on other sites.
Peak Designs is a great program to promote to traveling photographers, especially those with an affinity for style.
- Commission: 10%
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Application Link: Peak Designs Affiliate Program
30. PHLearn Affiliate Program
PHLearn is one of the number one programs teaching Photoshop and Lightroom mastery. The subscription to this program comes with over 200 tutorials, and 500+ presets, actions, and LUTs.
Subscription prices are $12.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
This is a great program to promote to beginner photographers who aren’t comfortable using Photoshop and need more in-depth guidance.
- Commission: 20%
- Cookie Duration: not specified
- Application Link: PHLearn Affiliate Program
Frequently Asked Questions About Photography Affiliate Programs
What are the highest paying photography affiliate programs?
Some of the photography affiliate programs with the highest commission payouts are FixthePhoto, Expert Photography, Zenfolio, Capture One, Pixpa, and Fotor.
However, just because an affiliate program has a high commission percentage doesn’t mean it will be the best earner for you. You also need to look at the average order value and match up a program to fit your audience’s needs.
Also, finding affiliate programs like Snappa that pay recurring commissions throughout a customer’s lifetime may prove to be very profitable.
Are there any affiliate programs for iPhone photographers?
Looking to appeal to the masses? Then finding photography courses for iPhone photographers (i.e., social media influencers or moms who want to take cute pics) is a pretty smart move.
You can find iPhone photography courses on Udemy and Skillshare. Unfortunately, there is no affiliate program for the popular course, iPhone Photography School.
Do I need money to get started with affiliate marketing?
Here’s what you need to get started with affiliate marketing: an audience.
Building an audience usually involves creating a website and building an email list and growing a large social media following. The good news is that you never have to pay to become an affiliate. You simply fill out an application and wait for approval or rejection.
But, to be successful, you need people who look to you for advice. After all, if you have no one to recommend to, you can’t earn any commissions.
Want to know which affiliate marketing method works best for you? Answer the short quiz below:
Looking For More Affiliate Programs To Promote?
Here are a few more affiliate programs you can check out:
- Legendary Marketer
- Credit Card Affiliate Programs
- Baby Product Affiliate Programs
- Coffee Affiliate Programs
- SaaS Affiliate Programs
Conclusion
Photography is a popular niche with lots of equipment, and educational material photographers need to purchase. As an affiliate, this presents a lot of opportunities for you.
Start by promoting a couple of these offers and tweak your affiliate marketing strategy for optimal effect.
And remember, affiliate marketing is more than just placing links in your blog post. You need to create truly helpful content and only promote products or courses that will benefit your audience.