Purchasing Images from Photo Banks

Undoubtedly, most designers encounter a lack or even an absence of quality materials (photos and illustrations) in their work. About ten to fifteen years ago, this was nearly an insurmountable problem.

Today, in the age of global development and the Internet’s penetration into all areas of life, material shortages can be easily resolved. Illustrations and photographs for brochures, magazines, newspapers, books, website design, and other applications can be purchased from microstock photo banks for just a few dollars. You won’t need to hire a photographer or illustrator to prepare the necessary materials. In other words, the human factor is eliminated, which is one of the key advantages of buying images from photo banks. Moreover, the costs to buy a photo or illustration from a photo bank will be significantly lower compared to hiring an experienced photographer.

Image databases in photo banks are already measured in millions of works. The most popular modern photo banks have collections of photographs and illustrations ranging from 5 to 10 million. Moreover, these works are of high quality and have been pre-approved by photo bank inspectors. Therefore, the quality of photos on photo banks often exceeds that of those taken by hired photographers.

What about the legality of purchasing images from photo banks, you might ask? Photographs and illustrations in photo banks are usually sold under a Royalty Free license, with prices ranging from one to several dozen dollars, depending on the size. Purchasing a photo or illustration under a Royalty Free license allows you to legally use the purchased photograph or vector illustration an unlimited number of times in various projects. The only limitation may be a very large print run or using the photo and illustration as merchandise.

To buy a photograph or illustration from a photo bank, you will need to register on the microstock site and then transfer money through any approved method to purchase photo bank credits or pay for a photo bank subscription.

Standard payment methods at photo banks include major payment system cards (Visa, Mastercard, Diners, Amex) and PayPal. Some photo banks, such as Depositphotos, allow payments through Webmoney or via SMS. The minimum cost of credits varies among photo banks, averaging around 1 dollar. It all depends on the credit package you purchase at once. The larger the credit package, the lower the unit cost of one credit.

After purchasing credits, you can start downloading photos and illustrations from the photo bank in the desired size. This is essentially how the process of purchasing images from a photo bank looks. Below, I have grouped the advantages and disadvantages of buying images through photo banks.

Advantages of Working with Photo Banks:

• Low prices for photos and illustrations (image costs start at one dollar for the smallest size and up to 10 dollars for larger sizes; bulk purchases can be as low as 21 cents each);
• Huge selection and constant replenishment of the image database (leaders among photo banks, such as Shutterstock, already have around 10 million images in their collections);
• Quality guarantee for images. Every photo, illustration, and video work is inspected by the photo bank’s inspector, and only quality images are allowed for sales in the photo bank. The database contains a sufficient number of high-resolution images (over 16 megapixels);
• Ease of purchasing images. Purchasing photos and illustrations is done in real-time (online); you will only need a payment card. Some photo banks only require a Webmoney account, SMS, Moneybookers, or Google Checkout;
• Leading photo banks have launched Russian interfaces. As a result, registration, searching for, and purchasing images from photo banks occur in a language familiar from childhood;
• Royalty Free license. The license under which photos are sold in photo banks allows the use of photos and illustrations in various projects an unlimited number of times (with the exception of large print runs);
• No issues with copyright infringement. All photos and illustrations available in photo banks are licensed. All illustrators, photographers, and models depicted have given permission for the commercial use of the images.

Disadvantages of Purchasing Images from Photo Banks:

• According to the terms of the Royalty Free license, the photographs and illustrations you purchase from the photo bank may be used by other buyers in different projects;
• There is a deficiency of reportage photographs in the databases of photo banks, such as images of politicians, athletes, musicians, and significant global events. This is because photo banks have only recently started accepting such images into their collections, so the database for these types of images is still being filled;
• Leading photo banks, primarily foreign organizations, generally do not provide any paper documentation for accounting purposes. In this regard, it makes sense to use domestic photo banks.

If you are interested in the possibility of purchasing images from a photo bank, you can go to the “Purchasing Images from a Photo Bank” tab and find a photo bank that suits your price and conditions.