Best photostocks

How to choose the best photostocks?

What are stock images used for?

Stock photos are photos taken by professional photographers to buy a license for them. They are used to increase the effectiveness and impact of different content aimed at different audiences.

Advantages of stock images:

They include not only photos, but also vector graphics and illustrations. This gives an opportunity to develop brand personality and certain savings for the company (no need to hire a graphic designer, for example, instead you can buy a license to own a stock image and use it to represent your brand). 

BUT, it is worth bearing in mind that even if you buy a license for a photo, it does not mean that you own it. It is worth considering the rules of copyright and license. The photo still belongs to its creator.

There are these models of licenses:

Royalty-Free is the most popular licensing model because it is the most affordable and flexible. It is important to know that Royalty Free images are NOT FREE. You still have to pay for the license. The name refers to the fact that this is a one-time license model: once you pay, you can use the image without having to pay further license fees each time.

This license gives you lots of rights to use it for both commercial and editorial purposes, with no time limit. Once you pay for it, the image is yours forever, in any number of projects and for as long as you want, always within the accepted terms.

Rights Managed is a use-specific license: it covers only one use and is limited by time, geography, audience size, reproduction/copying and other parameters. The main advantage of this license is that it allows you broader usage rights for large commercial purposes (e.g., major media or major marketing campaigns) and may include exclusive usage rights - you may be allowed to be the only person using a particular image for the duration of your license.

The key point here is that each stock image solution sets its own licensing terms within these two types of licenses. They set them up according to their own criteria, so the rights and restrictions may vary from one stockstore to the next.

When choosing a photostock, it is best to look at the following factors:

Size and volume of the base - the more pictures the service provides - the wider the choice of materials to use.

Usability of the service - in most cases, the language, methods of payment for photos, and user-friendly interface play an important role. Not many foreign services can offer what the Russian ones can, but there are exceptions.

Pricing - depending on the platform, prices can vary from low to overpriced. It is best to look for those services where you can buy "in bulk", that is, it is cheaper to pay for several at once.

Fees - there are several types of fees, which are usually operated by photostocks. It is worth looking at how profitable it is in terms of budget to buy "in bulk" or, for example, to take advantage of a paid subscription to any image for a limited period of time. In addition to this there is an opportunity to upload your own photos. Also photostocks offer download packages, so you can upload a certain number of photos (from 5 to 60 per year).

Visual database - availability of filters, models, specific scenes and situations for representing the brand, specific photobjects, mocaps - it's very important to understand that the presence of filters makes it easy to find the right image and buy it, a significant saving of time, instead of leafing through page after page, looking through dozens of photos and do not choose the right one at the end. 

The choice of solution depends on the goals of the business, the requirements for the brand. You should take into account such small details as: subject and orientation of the photos you need, color palette, etc. Not all photostocks can offer such a variety of options by category.