Kelp Market · For photographers

Get started with
Kelp Market.

Upload the photos sitting on your drive, prove they're yours, and get paid when they're licensed. The desktop app does the scanning, the verification, and the publishing — nothing leaves your machine until you say so.

Curious how creators get paid? Read the creator brief →

Specimen Upload pipeline ● Local-first
scanarchive · RAW + JPEG
verifyon your machine
publishexplicit sign-in
earn50% of every license
macOS · Windows nothing out until publish

How it works

Four steps from drive to market

01 — Download the desktop app

Grab the app for macOS or Windows and sign in. Your account is what ties published assets to payouts.

02 — Point it at a folder

Pick a folder and the app reads everything into a local index, previews included. It takes JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, and RAW files from all the big brands: DNG, ARW, CR2, CR3, NEF, ORF, RAF, RW2. New shots added later get picked up on their own.

03 — Verify your gear

The app asks your camera to photograph a challenge code. That one photo proves the camera and lens are really yours — checked right on your machine, without uploading anything.

04 — Publish & earn

Publishing is the only step that needs you signed in — until you hit it, nothing leaves your drive. Published photos earn 50% of every license, with proof that travels inside the files themselves.

JPEG · PNG · TIFF · WebP · DNG · ARW · CR2 · CR3 · NEF · ORF · RAF · RW2

Local-first

Nothing leaves your machine
until you publish

Your library, the previews, your keywords — everything stays on your machine. Browse, verify, take your time. The only thing that ever touches the internet is publish, and publish needs your sign-in.

The full journey

From your drive to your payout

Specimen From drive to payout ● who does what
local AIyoufirst time anything leaves your machine50% flows back to youyou1DOWNLOADthe desktop appmacOS · Windows2CLASSIFYsorted on its ownon its own3DESCRIBEyou add the titleand the storyyou4SIGN INone accountfor your payoutsyou5PUBLISHthe only stepthat goes onlinebuyers6EARNper license,half is yours

Shots sell one by one or bundled into datasets — either way, 50% of every license is yours.

Building an AI agent? Connect to Kelp MCP →