Sharon Housley 
What Is Royalty-Free?
Royalty-Free refers to
material that may be used for profit without paying royalties to the
original creator.
What Is Stock Photography?
Stock photos
are existing images that can be purchased and licensed for commercial or
personal use.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Royalty-Free Stock
Photography?
Webmasters and publishers can keep their website and
ad campaign costs down by using royalty-free images in their marketing
materials and webpages.
How Much Do Stock Photos Cost?
The
prices of stock photos vary. Some micro-stock photography websites like
Photo Wizard http://www.photo-wizard.net/ charge as little as $0.99
per photo, while other stock photo websites charge several hundreds of
dollars for the use of a particular photograph. In most cases, when you
purchase a license to use a photo, the rights are non-exclusive, meaning
that others can purchase and use the same image in their marketing
materials and websites. On the other hand, if you purchase "exclusive"
rights to a photo, it means that you are the only one allowed to use that
specific photo.
What Is Micro-Stock Photography?
Micro-Stock Photography is an offshoot of traditional
stock photography. Micro-stock photography generally refers to a stock
photography company that sources their images almost exclusively through
the Internet. They often accept images from amateurs and hobbyists, and
sell the images royalty-free at a very low rate.
What About These
Royalty-Free Clip-Photo CDs Available On The Market?
Stock photos
are often available on CD-ROMs containing hundreds of royalty-free images,
at prices ranging from $30 to $300 per disc. Web Design Elements ( http://www.webdesign-elements.com/ ) is an example of
one such disc vendor. Web Design Elements offers CD collections of stock
photos, logos, and web layouts, all related to a specific theme.
How Do Photographers Protect Their Images On The Stock Photography
Websites?
Photographers use a variety of techniques to protect
their photos from being stolen or used without permission. Some photos are
encrypted, while others are only viewable at a low resolution, or re-sized
to thumbnail proportions prior to purchasing a license. Still others embed
watermarks in their photos.
Can I Use Stock Photos Free Of Charge?
Not usually. Stock photography websites contain thousands
of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Legally,
you cannot use a photo you find on the web without the photographer's
permission. In regard to copyright laws, businesses must be very careful
when using unlicensed photos -- the penalties and fines for improperly
using an unlicensed photo can be steep. Keep in mind that there are also
risks in using "free" photographs. Many of the free photo websites contain
collaborative works from multiple photographers and artists. While the
websites may attempt to monitor the images in their collections to avoid
violation of copyright laws, there are no guarantees. If you opt to use
photographs or images from a free portal, it is important to keep this in
mind.
There are a number of options available to webmasters and
publishers in need of images for web content, marketing campaigns, or
packaging. Regardless of the website selected, be sure to read the
agreement and licensing terms carefully to ensure that you are adhering to
the guidelines.
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Sharon Housley manages
marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com/ software for creating,
editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages
marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com/ audio recording and editing
software.
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