Stock Photo Agencies

Great News: Your boss finally gave you that big promotion! You are now in charge of the “Creative Design Section”- absolutely fantastic you say out loud. Let me at it!

It Hits the Fan: he tells you that you need to have the designs for the new company brochure on his desk by the morning- oh dear! 

You are going to need the “right images” to be the voice of the new campaign and he decides to give you one day to complete it! Heaven help you! Where to begin?

If you haven’t tried an online stock photo agency, now is a great time to start! 

It’s not that daunting, honest it’s not. Writing the content, figuring the design layout and completing the entire project on time- may be a challenge, but as for locating the images- too easy. They are readily available for your perusal, purchase and download on stock photography and image sites. Lots and lots of great looking, high quality photographs stockpiled and easily searchable- that’s the job that these businesses are especially catered to. You are guaranteed to find a suitable picture some where in the data bases of an online stock photo site. 

Do a “Google Search” on the topic- “Stock Photo Websites” or similar, and it will return you with an exhaustive list of businesses and information within that field. Now the fun really starts! Another way to shortcut the process is to search for reviews of stock photo sites and a full comparison of their services will come up for you- making it easier to find the right company for your requirements. You will still need to search the catalogues of photos to find the best images for your particular needs. 

Depending upon the type of mages that you need and how many, how often you will require photos for other projects and so forth will determine which type of subscription you decide on. All of the stock photo companies have different terms of purchase agreements and methods of transaction, so you will need to work out which best suits your needs. Generally they offer time based contracts of an allotted period of time such as monthly, quarterly and annual subscriptions with savings on the longer terms. The other common option is that of credits which you purchase and then use as the currency to complete the transaction. These are good value for small volume users or spasmodic requirements as the credits have no use by date meaning that these are exceptionally good value. The prices of stock usually vary between $1 for small images, to $2 and even $3 for a medium or larger size. You’re bound to find some thing suitable within this price range. 

Once the final selections have been made, you simply complete the online order form. 

Well- there is a little more to do than that! You need to be aware of the different licensing agreements regarding stock photos.

A very brief overview is summarized as follows: 

• Royalty-free images may be used multiple times for multiple projects.               
• Rights-ready images may be used in web or electronic media for commercial or editorial projects such as websites or email for three months.                                   
• Rights-managed images may be used in one commercial or editorial website, email or mobile project for three months.
  

You’re equipped and ready to create that masterpiece of design now. Good luck!