Getting A Snapshot Of Royalty Free Stock Photography
People who make a living as photographers have various options to earn money. Most of the time, ad agencies hire the expertise of professional photographers for their marketing projects. Another way photographers can make money is by taking creative snapshots of unique subjects and allowing those pictures to be used by others through licensing. This aspect of photography is called stock photography.
When it comes to stock photography, there is one very important thing that you must remember: stock photos are not sold, they are “licensed”. When you buy a stock photo license, it means that the photographer gives you the permission to use his or her creation while still retaining the ownership of the stock image.
The most popular type of stock photography license is the royalty-free stock photography. Royalty-free stock photography may sound good to you because of the word “free”. Take note, however, that royalty-free (RF) stock photos do not come for free. When you buy a “royalty-free” stock photography image, it means that you are not paying royalties each time you use a photo. A royalty-free (RF) license generally allows you to use a photograph, vector, or video without any restrictions on the time duration, number of uses, or the number of prints.
While royalty-free stock photography sounds like a very good deal, there are a number of drawbacks with this kind of licensed images. When selecting a stock photo for an ad or presentation, for example, most people want a fresh image that will not appear anywhere else because this is what makes a product, service, or company different from its competitors. However, since royalty-free stock photography is non-exclusive, it means that it is readily and easily available and hence, is more likely to be used by others too. Because of this, the uniqueness of your product or business may be diluted.
The advent of RF stock photography has made buying top-quality images more convenient. However, just because RF stock photos seem easy and affordable does not mean that you should omit reading and following any terms and conditions set by the stock photo companies. Despite being lenient, you may still be obliged to adhere to certain licensing rules and policies. Thus, before you purchase any royalty-free stock photo, make sure you have understood all the rules and conditions regarding the sale.
There are several options for purchasing royalty-free images. Some vendors have their stock photo portfolios saved on a CD-ROM. Vendors use CDs because it’s very easy to view hundreds of photos this way. Once a selection is made, the chosen photos in high resolution form can be sent directly to the buyer via the Internet. Other vendors choose to feature all their available photos in websites. This is yet another convenient way to see images, but since there are millions of pictures to be viewed, it may not always be the fastest. But, once a choice is already made, the downloading of images can take only a few minutes. And lastly, some vendors offer royalty-free unlimited use of CD-ROMS to customers. Although this can be more expensive, it gives you the chance to continue making use of the pictures without having to work through that particular vendor again.
Some royalty-free websites offer photographers the opportunity to list their photos even without registration fees. Stock photography has truly opened up new avenues for amateur photographers who want to sell their photos all over the world. It has also opened up new avenues for small-scale businesses who can now afford to find high-quality images that enhance their marketing projects at very low prices.
Many buyers of RF stock photography are looking for that one great picture that can truly enhance their marketing materials, such as websites or brochures. They may go online and decide to pay for a royalty-free stock photo subscription. Subscriptions are usually priced at around $300 to $400. That may sound really steep, but these subscriptions give you 24/7 access to millions of images for six months. In the end, you might save a considerable amount of money from such a subscription. However, as with any subscription, you have to carefully read all the rules and conditions first so you know what you’re getting into.
