22 Reliable Sources to Get Commercial and Free Micro Stock Photos
For one reason or another, almost all designers using Stock Images in their designs. Stock Images/Photography consists of existing Images/photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Publishers, advertising agencies, graphic artists, and others use stock photography to fulfill the needs of their creative assignments.
There are a number of Royalty free Stock Images sources available on the web waiting to be paid for. Some of them are worth it, some are not. If you tired of spending money on High-Quality Images then we have something good for you by which you can save your money and increase your productivity.
Below, you’ll find Best Reliable Sources to Get Commercial and Free Micro Stock Images and Photographs over web. However, just make sure to read the license agreements carefully as they can change from time to time.
Buying the high-resolution image (purchasing the license) does not transfer the copyright. You may not claim that the image is your own and you may not sell, license for use, or in any way distribute the image for reuse. We recommend that you credit the agency and the photographer when you use an image. By this you benefit the community, of which you are an integral part, and help increase your success as part of the community, which, by growing contributions, gains quantity and quality.
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Commercial Sources to Get Micro Stock Images and Photographs
The popularity of digital cameras has made it increasingly easy to both sell and buy stock photos. What Royalty-Free means is that you pay for the image only once and then you can use it as many times as you like, with just a few restrictions. In other words, there are no license fees except the initial fee and no other royalties to be paid except those included in the initial cost. Here is a list of the best commercial stock photography web sites.
01. iStockphoto
For quality stock photos at low rates, this is a great place to shop. If you simply need a picture to illustrate a Web page, pay just $1, or pay more for a larger image. There are more than 70,000 artists from all over the world contributing their artwork to iStock. Photographers can also sell stock photos and receive a cut. It’s very easy to get affordable inspiration with millions of safe, royalty-free photographs, vector illustrations, video footage, audio tracks and Flash files.
02. Pixmac
Over 10 million pictures in Pixmac stock photo bank. You can start buying pictures from $0.10 aslo there is no registration required. Pixmac is here to be the fastest, most usable and reliable microstock agency out there. If you’re looking for the best picture or just trying to sell your best shot, Pixmac is your perfect tool, with accurate search results and helping you at every step. You can find almost anything at Pixmac, from Valentine’s Day and spring photos to the Easter stock photos. They also have classic royalty free pictures of business, people, animals or nature which can suit any of your advertising or professional presentation needs.
03. Fotolia
Fotolia is the worldwide social marketplace for royalty free stock images, allowing individuals and professionals to legally buy and share stock images and illustrations. Fotolia offers very large image bank of free and affordable royalty free photos and illustrations perfect for any medium, web or print. Photographers and designers constantly update Fotolia with thousands of new photos and illustrations each day, while photographers and designers receive commission from each photo sold and revenue from advertising on the free section.
04. ShutterStock
Shutterstock is one of the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world. Every day they add thousands of photographs, illustrations, and vectors to their collection of premium, royalty-free images. You can choose a 25-A-Day Subscription for the greatest savings or select an On Demand Subscription for the greatest flexibility. Select the plan that’s best for you, or choose as many different plans as you need, and start downloading today.
05. GettyImages
GettyImages offer the industry’s best and broadest collections of imagery and footage – including award-winning news, sport and entertainment content, plus rare and contemporary archival imagery. Our music collection provides a wide range of pre-cleared tracks from independent artists, chart-topping acts and popular soundtracks. From multi-million-dollar advertisers to leading newspapers, feature film and television producers to bloggers of all kinds – for premium digital content, the world’s most influential media look to gettyimages.com.
06. Corbisimages
Corbis provides a comprehensive selection of royalty-free and rights managed stock photography, illustration and footage for creative and editorial use. Corbis is a creative resource for advertising, marketing and media professionals, providing a comprehensive selection of photography, illustration, footage, typefaces and rights clearance services.
07. BigStockPhoto
BigStockPhoto is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shutterstock. They provide cheap stock photo download royalty free – high resolution images for just $1 – $2 each. Royalty free stock photos, low cost, available for purchase and download. Photographers, submit photos – designers, download photos for a buck or two. Stock photography user community.
08. Stockxpert
Stockxpert is a royalty free stock photography community with the goal to provide customers with affordable stock imagery while offering a powerful tool to photographers and digital artists to promote and sell their work.
09. Veer
Veer provides visual elements for use in professional creative work, such as graphic design, motion design, advertising and filmmaking. Our products include stock photography, illustration, typefaces, and unique merchandise. The image industry is a driving passion for the management and employees of Veer. With thousands of satisfied customers, years of industry experience, and an unparalleled set of skills, the people at Veer have what it takes to deliver exciting, innovative products to enhance creativity.
10. Photos
Photos.com is the one of the good places on the web to get professional, royalty-free stock photography by subscription. For one low price, you can download all the stock images you need. Photos.com is a division of Getty Images, the world’s leading creator and distributor of still imagery, footage and multimedia products, as well as a recognized provider of other forms of premium digital content, including music.
11. 123rf
123RF.com is one of the finest royalty-free photo library offering stunning, practical stock photos at the most affordable price! They’ve got a large collection of photos, images for your creative projects. For a single subscription fee, you can get access to a wealth of high-resolution images. Alternatively, you may purchase credits and download images, all for a very low rate.
12. DreamsTime
At Dreamstime.com, you can find a large variety of Royalty-Free stock images. they are able to provide images of a very high quality at a completely convenient price due to the continual evolution and diversification of digital technologies. All the images are carefully scrutinized and selected, in order to make sure that only the best are included and that the range of subjects is extensive.
Free Sources to Get Micro Stock Images and Photographs
13. Sxc.hu
14. EveryStockPhoto
15. FreeRangeStock
16. StockVault
17. FreeDigitalPhotos
18. Morguefile
19. FreePhotosBank
20. FreeFoto
21. VintagePixels
22. Studio25
Find Something Missing?
While compiling this list, it’s always a possibility that we missed some other great sources. Feel free to share it with us.
great list, thank you.
Sweet! Thanks!!!
thanks for sharing this post , i came to know some new sites, i always go with few sites, now i can check with others sites too :D
Excellent list, I use sxc.hu a lot. Thanks for sharing.
Great list of resources. I usually use sxc.hu, but I’ll definitely look into these other sites.
nicely done I nominally use istockphotos.com
Great list, THX :-)
This is a new free stock site: RGB Stock http://www.rgbstock.com
thax sir
Thanks for sharing this best collection
http://www.kosherstock.com is a new microstock photos website focusing on Judaism and the Holy Land (images of the Jewish culture and religion as well as pictures of Israel).
An other free stock photo site: http://www.rgbstock.com
I really enjoyed reading what you had to say.You have lots of good ideas.This is really a great stuff.Keep going.Thanks for sharing.
Here’s a brand new microstock site from the makers of Stockxpert – http://stockfresh.com :)
AbsolutVision also offers a few hundreds free pictures, check here —> http://www.absolutvision.com/AbsolutVisionV2/gallery/free_stock_images
Personally, i like shutterstock the most for both buying and selling content.. i am also using http://designbeginshere.com as a list of various agencies for different needs..
You should also be very careful with copyright when using free stock images – there is often a catch somewhere – especially with cc and similar licenses.
A great list of agencies. Check [..URL..]whichstockagency for more agencies as well as client reviews and current discounts, promo codes & offers.
Here is another. Beautiful collection of stock photos. Systematic completion.
channelphoto.com buy and sale of license Stock Photos
A good alternative to sxc is http://www.rgbstock.com/
Here’s another one: http://idrathergiveitaway.com
Hello, the iregioes.com.br have pictures of several cities in Brazil and all free. Worth a look.