Stock Photography
What is Stock Photography?
Stock photography
consists of existing photos that
can be licensed for specific
uses. Publishers and
designers of all types make use
of stock photos on a regular
basis. Many of the
pictures you see used in
magazine articles, blogs and
online publications, and
newspaper articles are stock
photographs. Watch for
photo credits with getty or
istock in the name - those pics
came from a stock agency. Stock photography
users include advertising
agencies, web site designers,
magazine and newspaper
publishers, and graphic artists.
By using stock photography
instead of hiring a photographer
to shoot new images, the
designer saves valuable time and
money. Sometimes that
photographs are used as-is, but
many times, particularly in
advertising, they become one
element of an overall design.
Digital Stock Photos
 Stock photos in digital
format can be searched via
the internet and are available
for immediate download.
Not that long ago, stock photos
where handled by mail via a few
of the big stock photo agencies.
The internet has changed all of
that. Now, high quality digital stock
photos are available for
sale online and can be
downloaded immediately.
File sizes and resolution vary
and files will be priced accordingly. The
photo file size needed depends
on the intended use of the
picture. For instance,
pictures used in web site design
can be smaller and lower
resolution than those that will
be used in print publications.
Understanding Stock Photo
Licensing
Stock photo agencies manage
photo rights for their
photographers. Stock
Photography is available for
sale in two
basic varieties; rights
managed and royalty-free stock
photos. Most of the
stock photography you'll find on
the internet is being offered
under a royalty-free license.
The price and use of
rights managed stock
photography is negotiated with
each use. The use
agreement will specify how and
where the image will be used and
the size of the audience or
readership. A buyer may
request exclusive rights to an
image, meaning they will be the
only ones using that photo for a
specified period of time.
Rights Managed
Stock Photos:
-
Pay a fee based on
distribution, length of use,
etc, each time you use the
image
-
Can purchase exclusive
rights to an image
Royalty free
stock photography provides
buyers with a set price and less
restrictions on use of the
photos. The terms of use
for royalty free photography
vary by stock photography
agency. Be sure to
read those terms carefully
before you buy so you don't
find yourself in violation of
the usage agreement.
Royalty Free
Stock Photos:
Stock Photography Cost
The cost of stock photography
varies greatly. Fees can
ranges from thousands of dollars
for rights managed use to
inexpensive stock photos priced at $1 for
royalty free rights. Price
doesn't necessarily correlate to
quality. Very good quality
images are available from the
royalty-free subscription and
pay-as-you-go sites.
Micro-stock agencies
specialize in lower cost images
-
offering royalty-free photos for
as little as $1 or offering
photo downloads for a
monthly subscription fee.
iStockphoto.com was a
pioneer in the development of
microstock photo agencies.
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