In today’s time, stock photo banks have flushed the World Wide Web just as stock photos have flooded databases. However, what is the best place for cheap stock photos? There are a variety of factors in determining the right stock photo website to depend on. Here is a quick summary:
Content of the Image – One of the most important factors is the image itself. You don’t just need stock photos; you need quality stock photos – ones that truly convey your message to your readers. However, the quality of stock photos totally depends on your taste, in your niche, and the suitability of the content to gain more viewers. After all, aesthetics do have its perks to invite more traffic to your website. So, whether it might be for your header, texture, banner, or for a simple article post, you need to find the suitable image that will speak for your site – and you need a suitable photo bank to get it from. A particular photo bank can have more than 100 million stock photos however you only need a few images for your slider, and one for your header – thus, truly finding the right image is crucial. Moreover, as people say, the more stock photos an image bank has, the more chance of finding the right image that you need. Fotolia has a roster of over 41 million royalty-free images. Shutterstock, on the other hand, has over 50 million. Dreamstine, meanwhile, has over 33 million stock photos and images.
Content cost – Basically, the cost of an image would solely depend on its quality and resolution. However, if you browse deeper in the world of online stock photography, you will find great offers at half the price you would expect. A single Pay-As-You-Go image from Fotolia would cost as low as $0.74. Moreover, special offers begin at 10 credits for the affordable amount of $14 – with which you will be paying for images using credit points. For Fotolia, credit points start from 10 going up to 9,400 credits with prices that start from $11.20 to $5,600. Credit is an easy way to pay for your images because credits do not easily expire. Fotolia credits are valid for up to one year with free access to images, vectors, and videos (an HD 1080 format). Moreover, you can already purchase images for only 1 credit – the regular image size is 400X200 while a maximum 5000X3500 image costs only around $12. For Shutterstock, meanwhile, best value payment package plans become more affordable when you sign up for a yearlong subscription than a one month shot. A one month subscription for 750 downloads costs $249. However, if you do sign up for a yearlong plan, the payment is reduced to only $199 per month. Moreover, if you only need a few images from Shutterstock, you can go for the basic plan of 5 downloads for the cheap amount of $49. Meanwhile, a 25 image download from Shutterstock costs $229. This particular kind of plan is valid up to a year, so you don’t need to go in a rush to hastily download every image that you lay your eyes into. For iStock, as owned by Getty Images, you can pay per download with credits. A minute 6 credits would cost $60.Six (6) credits is already suitable enough to pay for 6 essential images, 2 signature images, and 1 essential video clip. Meanwhile, the maximum is 150 credits good for 150 essential images, 50 signature images, 25 essential video clips, and 8 signature video clips – all for the price of $1,250.
Subscription Plan – it is also important to get the subscription that works for you. If you are the minimalist type, you can go for credits to purchase a few images. On the other hand, if you need a massive amount of content, you can go for a full yearlong subscription. The best subscription package if you need a massive number of stock photos is to go for Shutterstock wherein you can download as much as 750 images per month. A single month subscription for 2 downloads from Depositphotos only costs $20. Meanwhile, 5 downloads per month from Dreamstine costs insanely cheap at the price of only at $0.05 – comparatively low compared to Fotollia’s $0.74 cost per image. For iStock, you can either settle for an Essentials Subscription allowing you 250 downloads for only $207 and $415 for 250 downloads from their premium Signature Subscription.
Image Resolution – preferably, if you wish to use a large scale image for a background or texture, you need images that have a superbly high resolution. For Fotolia, the average XL size would be 4500X3000. For iStock, a double XL can averagely measure up to 5000X3500 pixels. Dreamstine meanwhile, for extra-large, image size can go as high up to 3800X2100, maximum is 5000X3000 and Tiff can measure up to a whopping 7200X4100. An average Depositphoto, on the other hand, can measure up to a maximum 3500X3500. The image size can vary from image to image and you can easily choose from among the many images displayed in photo banks.
Although there are many more factors to consider when choosing the right stock photo bank, it is still best to explore first to know which photo bank suits your style well. It takes a small amount of effort to look for the best and quality-made cheap stock photos that will suit you well.