Stock Photos

A question I am often asked is where to get stock photos? When looking for photos and images there are a lot of stock photo sources available. Some of these are free, but as one would expect the free options will generally have less available, be of inferior quality, require a copyright notice applied to the image, or they will only provide a small size at a low resolution – 72dpi, with the option to “buy” a larger, better resolution version. Beyond this, it is important to note the license agreement of each stock company. Most will have a standard content license agreement wherein you are allowed to use it in web or print so long as you don’t provide it for a resale (such as template for sale) or as part of a logo.

Of the stock photo options, the one I use most frequently is DepositPhotos:

DepositPhotos
https://depositphotos.com/
Deposit Photos is one of the best as a low cost option with a good selection. The pricing ranges from .50 for xsmall to $9 for xxxlarge. The smaller image sizes will be at 72dpi and the large images are at 300dpi which is suitable for print. As with other stock photo companies they offer both a credit and subscription system.

IStockPhoto
https://www.istockphoto.com/
IStockPhoto is a resource that I have used often since they have a large selection of quality images, As with most stock photo companies images are purchased using their “credit” system. In short you pay for a predefined number of credits, and the more you buy at once, the lower per credit cost. The pricing at IStockPhoto varies considerably for image, so if you are on a budget my suggestion is to search by “price range”. For example, when you enter your keywords in the search box you will see all of the images which were tagged using your provided words. At the left is the option “price range”; here you simply move the scroller to the lowest point. Images in this category will typically cost anywhere from $3-$30 (xsmall to xxxlarge), and each will be at a print resolution.

123RF
https://www.123rf.com/
This site has a good selection and decent pricing. The “pay as you go” credit system has the option of 20 credits for $20, on up to 5000 credits for $3,680 (.74 per credit). There is a subscription option as well where you can save even more. Smaller images will be at 72dpi, and large images at 300dpi. The JPG versions (Tiff are also available) are from 1 to 5 credits.

BigStock
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/
The selection is good, and pricing is affordable assuming you buy your credits in bulk. 6 credits will cost you $13 ($2.17 per credit), while 500 credits will cost you $495 (.99 per credit). Pricing ranges from $3 for small 72dpi images up to $13 for xlarge, 300dpi images, or less if you use the credit system.

Dreamstime
https://www.dreamstime.com/
The selection quality is pretty good, and pricing is reasonable. 8 credits cost $10.

Fotosearch
https://www.fotosearch.com/
Prices typically vary from $5 to $100. Good selection overall.

Crestock
https://www.crestock.com/
The selection quality is pretty good, and pricing is reasonable. 10 credits cost $10.

Stock.xCHGNG
http://www.sxc.hu/
This is a free stock photo site that is owned by Getty Images, which IStockPhoto is a a part of. This site is ok if you are looking for an image accent, but there selection is relatively limited and the image quality poor as one would expect. I see this site as where the images go to rest before being buried.

High Quality yet Expensive Options:

There are times where you’ll need a really great image, especially for when utilizing the image for print. The following web sites provide many high quality images though some have restricted licensing so be sure to read legal disclaimers. Prices vary a lot in the following, but remember that for web-use you will typically need the least expensive (low resolution) option so long as the width/height dimensions meet your web page needs.

Masterfile
https://www.masterfile.com/

ShutterStock
https://www.shutterstock.com/

Getty Images
https://www.gettyimages.com/

Jupiter Images
http://www.jupiterimages.com/

Corbis Images
http://www.corbisimages.com/

PunchStock
https://www.punchstock.com/

SuperStock
https://www.superstock.com/

Alamy
https://www.alamy.com

Image Source
https://www.imagesource.com/

Acclaim Images
https://www.acclaimimages.com/

Inmagine
https://www.inmagine.com/

ShutterPoint
https://www.shutterpoint.com/