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Free Website Content - Royalty Free - Stock Photography
Royalty-Free Stock Photography
By 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 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.
About the Author:
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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This article may be used freely in opt-in
publications and websites, provided that the resource box
is included and the links are active. A courtesy copy of
the issue or a link to any online posting would be greatly
appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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