| |
|
|
What is Stock Photography?
by Kathy Burns-Millyard
Published on this site: August 14th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
Stock photography is simply photos taken "on spec". This means
the photographer takes pictures of various objects, people, or situations,
and sells them after the pictures have been taken. They are not on a specific
photography assignment, instead they are taking photos of subjects they'd
like to take pictures of.
Stock photography is primarily used in printed advertisements, brochures,
magazines, and websites, though there are many other ways stock photography
can be used.
Stock photography is licensed in several different ways. The two most
popular are Rights Managed Stock Photography, and Royalty Free Stock Photography.
Rights Managed photography is the use of stock photos that are licensed
for a specific, limited time and purpose. If an advertiser for instance,
needed a stock photo for one specific ad campaign, they could license
a photo for that specific use. And they'd be limited to using the photo
only for that campaign. They'd also be charged based on the size of the
ad campaign they intended to use the stock photo for.
If they wanted to use the same photo again, they'd have to pay another
fee. And that fee might be different, if the campaign use and sizes are
different. These recurring fees are called royalties, and with rights
managed stock photography they can be quite hefty. Ranging from hundreds
to thousands of dollars for the limited use of one photograph.
Royalty free stock photography allows you to pay a license fee once, then
use the photo multiple times. There are usually limitations on this form
of stock photography, however the restrictions are not nearly as narrow
as rights managed photography is. A designer or advertiser could license
one photo for instance, and use it in hundreds of different ad campaigns,
without incurring additional fees. In other words: No royalty fees need
to be paid.
Generally royalty free stock photography can be licensed for as little
as $50 up to several hundred dollars depending on the licensing source
and rights given.
One of the most popular forms of stock photography for small and web based
businesses, is royalty free micro stock photography. This is a variation
on the royalty free model, but it's referred to as "micro stock"
because designers and
advertisers pay just a dollar or two per image license.
This type of stock photography has become quite popular with website owners
particularly, because it's a very inexpensive way to get top quality photos
for use on their websites. Quality stock photos can be licensed for as
little as $1 in
smaller, web friendly sizes. And prices go up to about $3 or $5 for larger,
print quality photo sizes.
Since these photos are royalty free, designers can use them multiple times
for that one time low cost. Be sure to check the licensing restrictions
though. Royalty free does not automatically mean "public domain"
or "copyright free", and each micro stock photography site has
their own particular use restrictions on the photos you license.
Kathy Burns-Millyard. Want to learn more about Royalty Free Stock
Photography? Visit The Free Online Guide to Stock Photography at
http://www.Stocktography.com
|
|
