Stock footage is used a lot these days. They are used by companies or individuals who develop websites, bloggers, graphic designers, advertising agencies and news agencies, etc. They can be purchased from imaging sites. There are several stock image websites available. Some of them provide images for free, while others are paid sites.

A stock image website is also known as a stock agency. It has photos taken by professional photographers of common places, landmarks, nature, events or people, etc.

Stock images can be acquired from agencies free of charge or by paying the legal rights to use them.

The different ways in which the user can acquire stock images are:

Public domain:

When an image is available in the public domain, it means that it can be used for free. The user does not need a license to use them. These images can be used for commercial and personal purposes.

Managed Rights:

A rights-managed image is one in which the securities agency specifies how to use it. For example, you can specify the size and resolution of the image, the geographic area of ​​use, the period of time of use. It can be used by a single user or by multiple users.

Free kingdom:

Greater flexibility is provided when using royalty-free images. Royalty-free means paying a one-time fee for non-exclusive use of the image for a lifetime. You can decide how to use the image, how many times to use it, how long to use it, how many projects you can use it for, etc. You just need to comply with the license agreement.

However, there are certain restrictions on its use.

• Images cannot be resold or transferred to another owner.
• Images must not be used in an offensive way.
• There may be a limit on the number of copies used.
• These images can be used by multiple users.

Extended License:

The extended license improves the facilities offered by the royalty-free license.

Some examples of facilities offered are:

• It can provide the user with the flexibility to use unlimited copies of a printed image.
• You can sell the image to other owners with this license.
• You can order the owner of the image to remove it so that it is not offered to other users.
• An extended license is the most expensive option.

Therefore, when you need an image for your next project, it is best to do a cost benefit analysis. This will help you decide if you want to spend on an image or how much you want to spend on the image and if the expense is worth it.