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Stock Photography - I'm sure you've heard, seen, or used it before. Say you're looking for an image for a presentation but all the images you find have large watermarks attributed to a company like 500px or Getty Images. These are known as stock images. The way they work is that photographers are either hired or set out to take very general pictures such as people smiling or doing work in an office - very generic photos. This way, any company can buy a license to use these photos if said company does not want to hire a photographer themselves and need one or two images.  The BenefitsStock images can benefit both the photographer as well as the company using them. The photographer gets a royalty for their image being used and the company gets to use an image with little work involved (as opposed to hiring out a photographer, booking a shoot, and scheduling time out of a workday on said shoot). Additionally, companies have the ability to browse libraries of millions of photos to use. However, libraries require different licenses and fees. For example, one library might offer for the use of a single image for a lump sum for unlimited publications whereas another library might require the company to pay monthly or yearly for the use of a photo. Both have benefits depending on the use of the image(s). If a company is running a promotion where they won't need the image after, a temporary license might be the best route. But if a company plans on printing banners with an image for inside their office, an extended or unlimited license might be required. The short-term is cheaper in the short run but could get expensive over time where in comparison the unlimited license would have a higher cost upfront but then no fees past then. Again, each library of images works on a different basis.  An ExampleAn image like the one above (people sitting around a laptop) might be used in conjunction with a magazine advertisement about finances. I reworked it a little bit in PhotoShop (shown below) to demonstrate how a stock image can be used for marketing promotions. Photographers are expensive so a company might need an image fast, so stock images are a great money and time-saving alternative.  Does this image look like something you'd see in a magazine or online?
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AuthorPenh is a photographer who likes to create content for local businesses. He studies at Eckerd College aiming for a degree in Film Studies with a minor in Marketing. He has worked with local brands to help better their content that is pushed to social media channels and websites. You can find some of his work at Seek Adventure Media. |