How to Sell NYC Marathon Photos Without Paying Platform Fees

Many gallery platforms charge a plan before you sell anything, then add processing costs and storage tiers as your archive grows. Here is how selling NYC Marathon photos works on Surf Snaps, where the costs are short and you control the one that is left.

What you pay, in plain terms

No signup, hosting or listing fee. It is free to join and free to upload.
No Stripe or PayPal fees on your side. Surf Snaps handles checkout and card processing, so you do not set up a payment processor or pay processing fees yourself. Your payout goes to your bank account.
Unlimited storage. There is no storage tier and no upload limit, which matters when one marathon day produces thousands of files.
One Surf Snaps fee, up to 10%, only when a photo sells. You choose who pays it: absorb it, pass it on to the customer, or split it.

That last choice is the whole point. If you pass the full fee on, the customer sees it as its own line at checkout and you receive the full price you set.

What the fee choice looks like in dollars

Absorb it: you price a photo at $25, the customer pays $25, and you earn $22.50.
Pass it on: you price a photo at $25, the customer pays $27.50, and you receive the full $25.
Split it: any point between the two.

If your price is already at the top of what runners will pay, passing the fee on keeps your number intact. If you want the lowest sticker price, absorb it. Either way, nothing is charged until a photo sells.

The workflow, start to payout

Create your account. Sign up free, finish your profile and add your bank account for payouts.
Shoot and cull. Keep sharp frames with readable bibs and real expression, and drop the near-duplicates.
Create a session. Set the sport (running), the place, the date (November 1, 2026) and your price per photo.
Upload. Watermarked previews are generated automatically. The full-resolution original is released only to the person who pays for it.
Share the gallery. Runners can also find it on Explore by sport, place and date.
Get paid. Payouts arrive by bank transfer on the first of every month for your sales, and My Sales tracks every order.

Pricing a marathon gallery

You set the price per photo and can change it later from your sales dashboard. Buyers pay per photo, with no packages, and photos on the platform start from $8. A well-timed finish frame or a hero shot with the skyline is worth more than a wide crowd image, so test two price points and adjust. For a longer framework, see How to Price Your Sports Photos: A Practical Guide for NYC Photographers.

You keep the copyright

A sale on Surf Snaps is a licence to the buyer for that image, not a transfer of your work. The copyright stays with you, and you can keep using the photo in your portfolio.

Check the rules before you list race photos

The marathon is a permitted event with official imagery partners, and NYRR announced Getty Images as its exclusive commercial imagery provider in a multi-year partnership in 2019. Rules about selling race-day images can apply even when you shot from a public sidewalk. Email NYRR's media office and ask what is allowed before you list marathon photos for sale. Smaller NYC races each have their own policies, so ask the organizer.

Get the gallery in front of runners

Put the street and mile in the session name so runners can match it to where they were.
Post the gallery link in run-club group chats and tag charity teams you shot.
Add the link to your Instagram bio for the week after the race.
Cover the follow-up races. For a plan, read How to Turn One Race Weekend Into a Month of Photo Sales and How Photographers Can Partner with NYC Run Clubs.

The mechanics are on the how it works page, and the fee details are on the FAQ.

Selling NYC Marathon Photos FAQ

Does Surf Snaps charge a monthly fee?

No. There is no subscription, listing fee or storage bill. The only fee is up to 10% when a photo sells, and you can pass it on to the customer.

Are there Stripe or PayPal fees for photographers?

Not on your side. Surf Snaps handles checkout and card processing, and you receive payouts by bank transfer.

Is storage really unlimited?

Surf Snaps lists no storage tier or upload limit, so a full marathon day can go up in one session.

Who owns the photos I sell?

You do. A sale licenses one image to the buyer and does not transfer your copyright.

When do I get paid?

By bank transfer on the first of every month, covering your sales.