Stock Photography
Rights Managed photos
There are two general ways to license stock photos: Rights Managed and Royalty Free. All of my images are available as Rights Managed stock photos. So what are the differences and why should you care?
Rights Managed
- Rights Managed photos are licensed on a case-by-case basis, and the fees are based on how you intend to use the image (image size, duration of use, press run, etc.). You pay only for uses you need.
- Because the rights are managed, you can find out the usage history for a given image, and whether previous (or current) uses might conflict with your project.
- Licenses are typically non-exclusive, meaning that others may also use the image, but exclusive rights are available. If you purchase exclusive rights, no one else may use the image for a similar project during the time period specified by the license.
Royalty Free
- Royalty Free photos are licensed with a one-time flat fee, usually based on the file size. You’re allowed to use the image multiple times for multiple projects for as long as you want without paying any additional “royalties.”
- Some Royalty Free licenses exclude certain uses, so you can’t assume you can use the photos for anything you want.
- Licenses are always non-exclusive. Because Royalty Free licenses usually allow the purchaser to use the image any way they want, there’s no way to know how the image has been used previously. For example, it may be used by competitors for a use similar to yours. That could be bad.
If you’re looking for high-quality images to help illustrate your project with a specific subject or concept, I can help with Rights Managed images. If you’re looking for placeholder images that are more generic, you might be better off looking for Royalty Free images.