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| PC Today: CD & DVD Drives, Palm & Windows CE Software, Online Photography | |
| May 2001• Vol.9 Issue 5 Page(s) 104-107 in print issue | |
Ten Of The Best Stock Photo Sites Where To Look When Not Just Any Picture Will Do |
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[BEST]
[STOCK]
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[RICH]
[GRAY]
Whether you’re designing a Web site, putting together a presentation, or creating a magazine, you’re eventually going to need photographs to make the project look as professional as possible. Stock photo agencies have filled this need for some time, and the emergence of the Internet has really made them flourish. It is now possible to visit a stock photo site, view thousands of pictures, and download just the one you need to complete whatever project you’re working on. Many of the best online stock photo sites share similar features. Most give you a choice between two models of buying photos for use: royalty-free and licensing (or rights protected). With royalty-free, you select an image (or CD of images) and pay a one-time fee, which will let you use that image in any number of ways in any number of different projects. (Restrictions do apply, but they’re pretty liberal.) The licensing option is much more like leasing an image. You pay a set fee to use the image one time in a set way. (You will set guidelines with the stock photo agency.) Where royalty-free photos will generally fetch a set price depending on the photo’s size and resolution, fees for licensed images will vary considerably depending on how you are planning to use them. A number of other features crop up with a certain regularity from site to site. Many require you to register (free) to use more advanced features of the site or to order images, although most let you browse the site or conduct searches without having to register. Many have some form of folder, or “lightbox,” in which you can set aside images you’re interested in so you can easily find them later. Most offer the ability to purchase single images or CDs of images grouped by theme, and many let you download low- resolution or watermarked “comps” for free to use when mocking up your projects. Finally, several sites go the extra mile by including special “designer areas” that provide design tips and tricks and advice, a very nice inclusion for those looking for ideas. Archive Photos In search of historical photos to punch up a presentation? You can’t go wrong at the Archive Photos site. This historical still photo library features more than 20 million photographs, engravings, and drawings, a portion of which are available for viewing online. (Give them a call to access selected materials stored offline.) The archive provides a photo history of all major events from the past century and a half. Drawings and engravings can take you back even further. Archive Photos features a number of different categories that you can browse through, including Hollywood Candids, Sports Photography, and World Events. One of their specialties is 1940s and 1950s vintage model released stock photos, and they offer a series of special collections that you can pick through, including sections from the New York Times, Museum of the City of New York, and the Sporting News. You’ll need a user account (free) to browse the online collection, and signing up will also give you access to the lightbox manager. Store photos you find here by clicking the Add To Active Lightbox link. All Archive Photos materials are available through licensing fees, which run from a minimum of $250 for advertising purposes to a $150 minimum for editorial use. There is also a research fee (if you use their researchers) of $75, which is waived if the photos are licensed. Even if you have no pressing need for historical images, this is still a great collection to browse through. http://www.archivephotos.com/photo/photoHome.html |
Comstock Images
Comstock Images has been in the stock photo business for over 25 years; it specializes in commercial stock imagery, particularly in the form of model-released lifestyle and business shots. Like many other stock companies listed here, Comstock offers two options for acquiring photos: royalty-free and rights protected.
Royalty-free images come either as single images or collections of images on CDs. There are many such photos available in this category. Prices range from $29.95 for single 600KB images to $99.95 (10MB) and $179.95 (28MB). CD prices run from $99 to $329; you can save substantially if you purchase “bundled” CDs containing several discs. Also make sure you check out the disc of the week, a special CD marked down 40% from regular pricing.
The other option, rights protected, has no set pricing. What you pay per image will depend on what you’re planning to use it for. The number of images available through this option is in the hundreds of thousands. A handy online pricing tool can help you determine how much images will cost you.
The Comstock site is packed with features to help you find and manage your images. The Ask Angela search system promises to deliver the images you’re looking for, and with Search-u-lator, you can submit your needs and have a research team compile links to relevant images for you. (Alternately, you can browse through categories using the left-hand column navigation menus.)
Lightboxes are available to collect and share images, and a My Comstock feature lets you create a personalized interface to the site for easy access to your activities, lightboxes, and preferences. Finally, the Comstock College of Photology section pulls together a sizable collection of educational materials to help you get more comfortable with the field in general.
If you’re buying a whole CD, you have immediate download access to the images on that CD after purchasing it. (This means you don’t have to wait for postal mail to deliver your images.) Also, if you’ve collected a number of images in your lightbox and wish to have a custom CD made, Comstock can do this for you for $69 and the cost of photos.
http://www.comstock.com/web/default.asp
Corbis Images
One of the largest stock photo sites out there (with 2.1 million images total, about 30,000 of which are online), Corbis is also one of the better known, thanks to partnerships with the likes of Yahoo!. Corbis offers images in both royalty-free and licensing models, and several special sections concentrate on celebrity portraits (Corbis Outline) and real-time news (Corbis Sygma).
Royalty-free images range in price from $29 (low resolution, 2MB) to $99 (high resolution, 14MB) and $179 (ultra high resolution, 32MB); CD prices run from $249 to $379. As expected, traditional licensing fees vary depending on how you’re planning to use the image.
Users will need to register with the site to buy images and access some of the more advanced features, but you can look through the site and conduct searches without registering. The site is stocked with features, from order history and recent search sections to free comps, a design gallery, and custom CD burning. (Contact Corbis for pricing.)
http://www.corbisimages.com/
Corel Stock Photos
The Corel Stock Photos site offers you an easy way to find thousands of inexpensive stock and premium photos, as well as clip art and other graphics, all royalty-free. Stock photographs are available in a number of categories, including Abstract, Animals, Everglades, and many more. You can get these photos in several sizes, up to 3,072 x 2,048 pixels (4.6MB), with prices ranging from $8.99 to $39.99, depending on size. All stock images come in Kodak PCD (photo CD) format.
Premium photos are also available as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) files (depending on size) in a number of different categories, such as Backgrounds and Objects, Edibles, and The Daily Grind. Prices for premium images run from $39.99 for a 393 x 259 pixel, 300KB TIFF file, to $99.99 for a 3,903 x 2,553 pixel, 4.3MB JPEG file.
In addition to browsing through the various categories, you can use Corbis’ search box to find stock or premium photos, illustrations, and design bits. Simply place a check in the appropriate box below the search textbox to include specific file formats in the search. Corel does not employ a lightbox feature, but you can keep images in a shopping cart for up to one hour, for what that’s worth. On a positive note, Corel offers a full refund within 10 days of your purchase if you’re not completely satisfied. If you ever lose your digital image, you can always get a copy from Corel’s customer service department.
http://www.corel.com/
Digital Vision
Based in New York and London, Digital Vision claims to be “the world’s premier publisher and distributor of quality, royalty free imagery.” It has thousands of images online in both the royalty-free and rights protected categories. You can find a variety of moving footage titles here, as well.
Here is the pricing breakdown for royalty-free images. Low resolution images (1MB to 3MB, 72dpi [dots per inch]) cost $69. Medium resolution images (10MB to 16MB, 300dpi) are $189. High resolution images (25MB to 35MB, 300dpi) cost $219 and super- high resolution images (50MB to 75MB, 300dpi) are $249. You can also get CDs with an average of 75 to 100 images in categories such as Babies, Contexture, and Science, for $249 to $399.
Registered users of the site will get full access to the search features, lightboxes for image storage, and more. Digital Vision provides a number of free catalogs and CDs you can send away for to browse offline for images.
http://www.digitalvisiononline.com/
EarthWater
Founded in 1992, EarthWater represents the work of 32 photographers based in such exotic areas as Alaska, the Cayman Islands, and Thailand. There are over 10,000 images on this site, all available for licensing. (EarthWater has no royalty-free option.) If you can’t find the image you’re looking for, contact EarthWater, and they’ll see if they can help. EarthWater also offers a research service, for which they charge $100 to conduct a full search and ship your images to you. If you spend $600 or more, though, EarthWater will refund you the $100 research fee.
EarthWater offers a number of categories to browse through, such as Architecture and Travel, Nature, and Digital Composites. You can have EarthWater mail you any images you purchase as duplicate transparencies or on Zip cartridges or CD-ROMs. If the images are low resolution, EarthWater can e-mail them to you. While not as full of images or features as other online stock sites, the quality and exotic nature of many of the photos here make it a must-visit site if you’re looking for something special.
http://www.earthwater.com/
PhotoDisc
PhotoDisc offers 90,000 images on its Web site, all of which are available on a royalty-free basis. If you’re more interested in purchasing CDs filled with images, you’ll love their CD-ROM store. Nearly 40% of their image collection is available on CD in one of six series: Background Series, Designer Tools, Fine Art Series, Signature Series, Object Series, and PhotoDisc Volumes. CD prices run from $219 to $399, while single image prices vary according to size, from $29.95 (600KB, 72dpi) to $99.95 (10MB, 300dpi) and $179.95 (28MB, 300dpi).
PhotoDisc offers you a number of different ways to find images on its site. You can browse through categories such as Abstract, Nature, and Wildlife, or use the site’s search engine, which lets you search by keyword or image number. You can even select how many images per page PhotoDisc should display in the results. With Power Search you can narrow down results by selecting specific categories or concentrating just on images on CDs.
You can easily store images in a lightbox by clicking the Add To Lightbox link under an image. Use as many lightboxes as you want; if you don’t access one for 90 days, it expires. A nice feature here lets you e-mail lightboxes with attached notes.
The site also features a great section on designer resources, where you’ll find advice from master photographers, an events calendar, tutorials, and more.
http://www.photodisc.com/am/default.asp
PhotoSphere
PhotoSphere offers thousands of royalty-free images with an emphasis on photos with people in them. Prices for CDs start around $195, but you can buy CD packages, which start at around $450 for a three-CD set. Purchase single images for $30 (medium resolution) to $60 (high resolution) and download 3- x 5-inch watermarked comps for free.
One of PhotoSphere’s selling points is its concentration on offering multiple options when it comes to scenes. For example, if you find a picture you like but wish it had been shot from a different angle to better fit your needs, chances are good that it was. You can see all angles by ordering a Preview Pac Bundle ($10), which combines a 130-page catalog with 2,800 images on CD for easy offline browsing.
PhotoSphere offers its own resource center where you can get tips, tricks, and trivia; sign up for a newsletter; and enter contests to win PhotoSphere products.
http://www.photosphere.com/
PictureQuest
Looking for easy access to many stock-photo sources at once? PictureQuest offers the royalty-free images of a number of stock-photo sites, including DigitalVision, Corbis, elektra-Vision, and Artville, on one site. You can find both single images and CD collections here.
If you prefer to purchase your images on CD, you can choose from over 1,000 of them that cost between $68 and $499. If single images are your thing, you have only to choose from the 100,000 on PictureQuest’s site. They cost between $20 and $220. Special sections on the site include CD Specials and Delivery Status, so you can easily track shipments.
As a registered member of PictureQuest, you can download free, low-resolution comp images and use lightboxes to store and share images. You can also search PictureQuest for just the right image.
The search box on the front page lets you select whether you wish to search through the photographs or illustrations section. Click Advanced Search to see more options, such as limiting searches to only those images on CDs and searching through specific collections.
http://www.picturequest.com/
Royalty Free Photos.com
As the name implies, this site is all about royalty-free photos; there are no licensing agreements here. All the images on Royalty Free Photos.com are covered under one of two pricing structures, regardless of where or how many times you use them. You pay $19.95 for 5- x 7-inch, 600KB, 72dpi photos and $69.95 for 5- x 7-inch, 10MB, 300dpi photos.
This site also offers two forms of free comps: nonwatermarked for registered users (right-click and save while the image is in your shopping cart), and watermarked for nonregistered users (right-click and save anytime while searching or browsing). Images in your shopping cart will stay there for 90 days.
In addition to the site’s standard search engine, users can elect to use the Super Search feature, where you can scroll below images and click any keyword to pull up all images with that keyword. This “free association” sort of feature gives you a rather unique way to browse through the site.
http://www.royaltyfreephotos.com/
You Oughta’ Be Able
To Find A Picture. Regardless of your imaging needs, these stock
photo sites should provide what you’re looking for. 
by Rich Gray
Comstock Images has been in the stock photo business for over 25 years; it specializes in commercial stock imagery, particularly in the form of model-released lifestyle and business shots. Like many other stock companies listed here, Comstock offers two options for acquiring photos: royalty-free and rights protected.
Royalty-free images come either as single images or collections of images on CDs. There are many such photos available in this category. Prices range from $29.95 for single 600KB images to $99.95 (10MB) and $179.95 (28MB). CD prices run from $99 to $329; you can save substantially if you purchase “bundled” CDs containing several discs. Also make sure you check out the disc of the week, a special CD marked down 40% from regular pricing.
The other option, rights protected, has no set pricing. What you pay per image will depend on what you’re planning to use it for. The number of images available through this option is in the hundreds of thousands. A handy online pricing tool can help you determine how much images will cost you.
The Comstock site is packed with features to help you find and manage your images. The Ask Angela search system promises to deliver the images you’re looking for, and with Search-u-lator, you can submit your needs and have a research team compile links to relevant images for you. (Alternately, you can browse through categories using the left-hand column navigation menus.)
Lightboxes are available to collect and share images, and a My Comstock feature lets you create a personalized interface to the site for easy access to your activities, lightboxes, and preferences. Finally, the Comstock College of Photology section pulls together a sizable collection of educational materials to help you get more comfortable with the field in general.
If you’re buying a whole CD, you have immediate download access to the images on that CD after purchasing it. (This means you don’t have to wait for postal mail to deliver your images.) Also, if you’ve collected a number of images in your lightbox and wish to have a custom CD made, Comstock can do this for you for $69 and the cost of photos.
http://www.comstock.com/web/default.asp
Corbis Images
One of the largest stock photo sites out there (with 2.1 million images total, about 30,000 of which are online), Corbis is also one of the better known, thanks to partnerships with the likes of Yahoo!. Corbis offers images in both royalty-free and licensing models, and several special sections concentrate on celebrity portraits (Corbis Outline) and real-time news (Corbis Sygma).
Royalty-free images range in price from $29 (low resolution, 2MB) to $99 (high resolution, 14MB) and $179 (ultra high resolution, 32MB); CD prices run from $249 to $379. As expected, traditional licensing fees vary depending on how you’re planning to use the image.
Users will need to register with the site to buy images and access some of the more advanced features, but you can look through the site and conduct searches without registering. The site is stocked with features, from order history and recent search sections to free comps, a design gallery, and custom CD burning. (Contact Corbis for pricing.)
http://www.corbisimages.com/
Corel Stock Photos
The Corel Stock Photos site offers you an easy way to find thousands of inexpensive stock and premium photos, as well as clip art and other graphics, all royalty-free. Stock photographs are available in a number of categories, including Abstract, Animals, Everglades, and many more. You can get these photos in several sizes, up to 3,072 x 2,048 pixels (4.6MB), with prices ranging from $8.99 to $39.99, depending on size. All stock images come in Kodak PCD (photo CD) format.
Premium photos are also available as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) files (depending on size) in a number of different categories, such as Backgrounds and Objects, Edibles, and The Daily Grind. Prices for premium images run from $39.99 for a 393 x 259 pixel, 300KB TIFF file, to $99.99 for a 3,903 x 2,553 pixel, 4.3MB JPEG file.
In addition to browsing through the various categories, you can use Corbis’ search box to find stock or premium photos, illustrations, and design bits. Simply place a check in the appropriate box below the search textbox to include specific file formats in the search. Corel does not employ a lightbox feature, but you can keep images in a shopping cart for up to one hour, for what that’s worth. On a positive note, Corel offers a full refund within 10 days of your purchase if you’re not completely satisfied. If you ever lose your digital image, you can always get a copy from Corel’s customer service department.
http://www.corel.com/
Digital Vision
Based in New York and London, Digital Vision claims to be “the world’s premier publisher and distributor of quality, royalty free imagery.” It has thousands of images online in both the royalty-free and rights protected categories. You can find a variety of moving footage titles here, as well.
Here is the pricing breakdown for royalty-free images. Low resolution images (1MB to 3MB, 72dpi [dots per inch]) cost $69. Medium resolution images (10MB to 16MB, 300dpi) are $189. High resolution images (25MB to 35MB, 300dpi) cost $219 and super- high resolution images (50MB to 75MB, 300dpi) are $249. You can also get CDs with an average of 75 to 100 images in categories such as Babies, Contexture, and Science, for $249 to $399.
Registered users of the site will get full access to the search features, lightboxes for image storage, and more. Digital Vision provides a number of free catalogs and CDs you can send away for to browse offline for images.
http://www.digitalvisiononline.com/
EarthWater
Founded in 1992, EarthWater represents the work of 32 photographers based in such exotic areas as Alaska, the Cayman Islands, and Thailand. There are over 10,000 images on this site, all available for licensing. (EarthWater has no royalty-free option.) If you can’t find the image you’re looking for, contact EarthWater, and they’ll see if they can help. EarthWater also offers a research service, for which they charge $100 to conduct a full search and ship your images to you. If you spend $600 or more, though, EarthWater will refund you the $100 research fee.
EarthWater offers a number of categories to browse through, such as Architecture and Travel, Nature, and Digital Composites. You can have EarthWater mail you any images you purchase as duplicate transparencies or on Zip cartridges or CD-ROMs. If the images are low resolution, EarthWater can e-mail them to you. While not as full of images or features as other online stock sites, the quality and exotic nature of many of the photos here make it a must-visit site if you’re looking for something special.
http://www.earthwater.com/
PhotoDisc
PhotoDisc offers 90,000 images on its Web site, all of which are available on a royalty-free basis. If you’re more interested in purchasing CDs filled with images, you’ll love their CD-ROM store. Nearly 40% of their image collection is available on CD in one of six series: Background Series, Designer Tools, Fine Art Series, Signature Series, Object Series, and PhotoDisc Volumes. CD prices run from $219 to $399, while single image prices vary according to size, from $29.95 (600KB, 72dpi) to $99.95 (10MB, 300dpi) and $179.95 (28MB, 300dpi).
PhotoDisc offers you a number of different ways to find images on its site. You can browse through categories such as Abstract, Nature, and Wildlife, or use the site’s search engine, which lets you search by keyword or image number. You can even select how many images per page PhotoDisc should display in the results. With Power Search you can narrow down results by selecting specific categories or concentrating just on images on CDs.
You can easily store images in a lightbox by clicking the Add To Lightbox link under an image. Use as many lightboxes as you want; if you don’t access one for 90 days, it expires. A nice feature here lets you e-mail lightboxes with attached notes.
The site also features a great section on designer resources, where you’ll find advice from master photographers, an events calendar, tutorials, and more.
http://www.photodisc.com/am/default.asp
PhotoSphere
PhotoSphere offers thousands of royalty-free images with an emphasis on photos with people in them. Prices for CDs start around $195, but you can buy CD packages, which start at around $450 for a three-CD set. Purchase single images for $30 (medium resolution) to $60 (high resolution) and download 3- x 5-inch watermarked comps for free.
One of PhotoSphere’s selling points is its concentration on offering multiple options when it comes to scenes. For example, if you find a picture you like but wish it had been shot from a different angle to better fit your needs, chances are good that it was. You can see all angles by ordering a Preview Pac Bundle ($10), which combines a 130-page catalog with 2,800 images on CD for easy offline browsing.
PhotoSphere offers its own resource center where you can get tips, tricks, and trivia; sign up for a newsletter; and enter contests to win PhotoSphere products.
http://www.photosphere.com/
PictureQuest
Looking for easy access to many stock-photo sources at once? PictureQuest offers the royalty-free images of a number of stock-photo sites, including DigitalVision, Corbis, elektra-Vision, and Artville, on one site. You can find both single images and CD collections here.
If you prefer to purchase your images on CD, you can choose from over 1,000 of them that cost between $68 and $499. If single images are your thing, you have only to choose from the 100,000 on PictureQuest’s site. They cost between $20 and $220. Special sections on the site include CD Specials and Delivery Status, so you can easily track shipments.
As a registered member of PictureQuest, you can download free, low-resolution comp images and use lightboxes to store and share images. You can also search PictureQuest for just the right image.
The search box on the front page lets you select whether you wish to search through the photographs or illustrations section. Click Advanced Search to see more options, such as limiting searches to only those images on CDs and searching through specific collections.
http://www.picturequest.com/
Royalty Free Photos.com
As the name implies, this site is all about royalty-free photos; there are no licensing agreements here. All the images on Royalty Free Photos.com are covered under one of two pricing structures, regardless of where or how many times you use them. You pay $19.95 for 5- x 7-inch, 600KB, 72dpi photos and $69.95 for 5- x 7-inch, 10MB, 300dpi photos.
This site also offers two forms of free comps: nonwatermarked for registered users (right-click and save while the image is in your shopping cart), and watermarked for nonregistered users (right-click and save anytime while searching or browsing). Images in your shopping cart will stay there for 90 days.
In addition to the site’s standard search engine, users can elect to use the Super Search feature, where you can scroll below images and click any keyword to pull up all images with that keyword. This “free association” sort of feature gives you a rather unique way to browse through the site.
http://www.royaltyfreephotos.com/
You Oughta’ Be Able
To Find A Picture. Regardless of your imaging needs, these stock
photo sites should provide what you’re looking for. by Rich Gray
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