If you are running a business, you are probably involved in some kind of promotion and advertising. Now, images are one of the best tools in this area. Not having to use one can greatly affect your reach. Since conducting your own photoshoot can be expensive and time-consuming, you are inclined to download from the Internet. And, the internet is one big whirlpool of images – both free and with a price tag.
Typically, you need to have the rights to copy the image and use the individual’s image before you can use that picture for your advertising campaign. If you took the photograph yourself, then you own the copyright. If you employee took it, then company owns the copyright. But if you simply found the image in the internet, you will need to get a license from the original copyright owner.
To protect yourself against copyright issues, it is best to purchase a blanket license to use the photos for commercial use from a stock photo website. In this case, you don’t have to track down the copyright holder and get a license to use the image in your campaign.
Now, there are two types of royalty-free license: standard and extended. The Standard royalty free license comes with perpetual rights to use the images in any project. On the other hand, the Extended royalty free license extends the usage rights to include unlimited print runs and use of merchandise for resale. It is also known as Enhanced in other stock photo agencies.
Where to Buy Images for Commercial Use
To avoid copyright issues, you can purchase stock photos for commercial use from the following websites:
Stock Photo Secrets
For the cheapest deals in the market, you can buy images for commercial use at SPS. The regular price of images is between $44 and $80, which is the lowest among well-established stock photo agencies. But, members get to enjoy an exclusive 50% discount on all Extended License images. If you have an active subscription at the stock site, you can download images for as low as $22 each (depending on the size of the pack you purchase).- Depositphotos
Depositphotos has a wide offer in cheap stock photos, including Extended License that is available on-demand. Image costs range between $64 and $89, which is the second cheapest among well-established stock photo agencies. With over 60 million high quality photos in the library, you can simply pay in advance for photos for commercial use and use them whenever you want within one year of purchase. - Shutterstock
One of the most popular stock photo sites, Shutterstock is home to over 180 million high quality images. They offer images for commercial use with an Extended License on demand, starting at $199 for two photos. Depending on the size of the pack you want to buy, you can get download stock images between $68 and $99.50 each.
If you want to save yourself from copyright trouble in the future, ditch the free images from the web and visit one of these three reputable and well-established stock photo agencies. They all offer high quality images at very low prices.