Businesses big and small use stock photography to add color, excitement and flair to advertising campaigns. Using stock photography is appealing because of its relatively low cost, quick turnaround, and easy accessibility.
The photos distributed by various stock photography outlets are created by photographers when they are off assignment. Some of their best work is produced then as their creative spirits are free to express themselves. With hundreds of thousands of stock photos already available, you are bound to find something that captures your vision.
In order for you to make an informed decision on where to purchase your photos, you should understand the different types of stock photography, the types of stock photography outlets, the importance of quality, and the pricing.
- Types of Stock Photography
Royalty Free: Royalty free photos range in price from as low as $1 to as much as $300 depending ontheir quality. These are the most common form of stock photography on the market today. Royalty free means that once you have paid for the photo, you have the right to reuse it at will. However, it does not give you full rights over the photo to redistribute it in any way, shape or form. That would infringe on the photographer's intellectual property rights and is punishable by law.Sometimes there is alimitation in the number of print copies you may use a photo in. A subcategory that is relatively new to the industry is that of micro-stock photos. They are available in different qualities but are all sold at very low prices ranging from 20 cents to $10. Sites that sell micro-stock photos rely on selling large volumes of photos to make profits rather than selling smaller volumes at lower prices.
Rights Managed (Licensed) Images: Rights managed (RM) photography is significantly greater in price than royalty-free photography. Pricing ranges from several hundred dollars to the thousands, all depending on what your contract stipulates. Whenyouuse RM photographs, you must pay per specific use and are limited to a maximum print run agreed upon by both parties. For example, you can create a brochure and copy it at or below the maximum number of copies youragreement stipulates. The price is determined based on the geographic location of usage, size of print runs, and the length of time you own exclusive rights to it. Rights managed photography gives you the advantage of having sole rights to an image for a certain period of time. In so doing, your competitors or anyone else will not be able to use that image, thus making your advertising campaignunique.
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Author: Daniel A.